First week back

Well It's been an eventful first week back into this new year. We have a New Minister. How exciting is this. We have been a vacant charge for over two years and I have never had a minister as my boss. So as we get ready to have a full time Minister again we can hardly believe that we have a minister.

As long as I have been in my job here i have had a line manager but never a Minister as my line manager. I have had one in the past and my experience of this was not so good. Sometimes youth workers and ministers see things very differently. My idea of Church from some people's idea is very different and yet even I am coming round to some proclaiming the Gospel and that relational youth work needs to be more than it is. I'll explain.

Don't get me wrong, I still think there is a need in this day and age to build up trust and relationship and the right to speak to a young person. I don't think now that many people will even entertain going to Church unless they have a connection or a relationship with someone from that Church. I am realizing though there still has to be a preach the Gospel element. For me that is taking the Gospel and using the culture that is around me in this Parish. Relationship alone can't work. It's a good theory. Someone sees what you are and the more they get to know you, they start asking questions and the chat can go to Christianity. In some cases this works but not in as many as youth work books would like us to believe. I think they leave out the next step and that is what is wrong with youth work in Churches today. We don't go that extra step, the discipleship, mentoring step.

I still don't think that traditional ways of measuring young people and Church work. It still really annoys me when people count my job success by the number of young people who attend Sunday service. If that is all my job is then I don't want to be that kind of youth worker. I see Church youth work as a job for all week. To be involved in school, community and Church groups.

I know that I have has a free reign here in my job so far. It will be challenging to work with someone else but I look forward to that challenge. With a team there is so much we can do and achieve for God. So it is with anticipation and expectation that I wait for my new boss.

I will also get a chance to explore my call to Ministry of word and sacrament further at the beginning of next month. I go to the enquirers conference. So another step on the way and who know maybe I'll become one of those Minister types after all. Who would have thought it but for now I'll have to wait and see and trust God.

Til Next Time