How do you get to the next level?

One of the opportunities that arises from being at CPAS is being able to encourage and support churches as they seek to develop their youth ministry, whether this is well established or fledgling. For sure, most of the time youth groups start because the church sees an unmet need in their community, whether it is young people hanging around in the graveyard or whether it's suddenly finding a dozen young people attending the Alpha course (which happened in the church I am a member of here in Leamington).
The challenge, however, is so what do we do now? A group may have formed, people may be coming, but is this all there is to it? How do we develop the work and take it to the next level of community, of unity, of spirituality?
There are many useful areas we can look at, including seeking God for vision and direction for the ministry, developing our leaders who work with the young people and providing guidelines for how youth groups can operate safely. These are all essential if we are to develop what we do, but I wonder if these all miss out a vital component.
This component is how the rest of the church and young people relate. We have tended to find adults who are willing, if not keen, to work with young people and let them get on with it, but what is needed is a greater awareness and understanding. For young people to feel like they belong to the church they don't only need a group where they can grow and feel safe (belong), they also need opportunities to contribute to the life of the church and to use the talents and gifts that God gives them, just as we all do.
So the challenge for me is how do we help the local church fully welcome young people into the community of faith, where we all grow together, recognise we all have something to contribute (regardless of our age) and we can inspire one another.

Andy

'Awkward'.

'Awkward', is what I heard a radio presenter say after playing Cheryl Cole's latest single, 'Parachutes'. He was basically implying that Cheryl must feel embarrassed by the words to her latest song due to the break-up of her marriage to footballer, Ashley Cole.
Now my eight year old daughter loves Cheryl Cole and is really keen to buy her album when she's saved up enough pocket money so I've been thinking about what kind of role model is she and is she someone who I would want my kids listening to.
I've only heard a few songs from the album as they've been on the radio or on TV and it's a fascinating insight into the life and soul of Cheryl. The album was recorded and released following Ashley Cole's previous infidelity and it seems that Cheryl put this out as a public way of saying that she's committed to the marriage, despite her husband's wanderings. In today's society I find that impressive and a wonderful breath of fresh air.
If we are talking to young people about relationships then the song lyrics to some of these songs could be really useful: 'Fight for This Love' looks at commitment through adversity, 'Parachutes' is about support and trust, and '3 Words' is about how powerful the words 'I love you' are.
Unfortunately for Cheryl Cole, she is discovering that in a relationship it takes two people to share in this kind of commitment to make it work and she is now under immense pressure to separate from Ashley. I heard on the news last week how she was being advised that 'staying with him could have an adverse effect on her career'; how can that be a reason for splitting up?! But then I guess that's the world of celebrity. And there have been countless vox pops shown of people in the street encouraging her to ditch him.
I find myself being impressed by Cheryl. Life must be incredibly difficult at the moment and you could see this on her face as she performed at The Brits the other week. But if her songs are any sign of her feelings and commitment, then I think that she could be a great role model for young people today. And, yes, sometimes life is 'awkward'.

Andy