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The Workshop Will Begin in a Moment

Best practices in youth ministry

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A MidAmerica Region of the UUA webinar powerpoint on "Best Practices in UU Youth Ministry"

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Page 1: Best practices in youth ministry

The Workshop Will Begin in a Moment

Page 2: Best practices in youth ministry

Midsize Mania

Best Practices in Youth Ministry

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Introductions

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This Conference Is Being Recorded

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Best Practices in Youth Ministry

Facilitator:Nancy Combs-Morgan, MidAmerica Coordinator of

Emerging Models of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, and Faith Development Director, Heartland District

[email protected], (859)494-2424

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Best Practices in UU Youth Ministry

Why do we focus on new models of youth ministry?

A clear goal of faith development?

The role of Social Justice in youth ministry

The role of worship in youth ministry

What informs our next steps?

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Framing our Vision for Youth Ministry Tapestry of Faith http:///www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/62884.shtml

All people are lovable beings of infinite worth, imbued with powers of the soul. We are obligated to use our gifts, talents, and potentials in the service of life.

We carry on our Unitarian Universalist religious heritage and are part of a community of faith that has value and provides resources for living.

We honor our responsibility for the care and creative transformation of our religious heritage and

community of faith. We are moral agents who can make a difference in the lives of other people:

challenging structures of social and political oppression promoting the health and well-being of the planet acting in the service of diversity, justice and compassion

We recognize the need for community and affirm the importance of families, relationships and connections between and among the generations.

We appreciate the value of spiritual practice as a means of deepening faith and integrating beliefs and values with everyday life.

Joy and Sadness are all part of our lives: hope, mystery, joy, healing, and personal transformation come together with life's challenges.

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Goals for UU Youth Ministry

Ethical development

Spiritual development

Unitarian Universalist identity

Faith development

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What Do We Know about what youth are seeking…

To be a part of a youth ministry experience, which is: -congregationally based -spirit and faith centered -counter oppressive -inclusive and multicultural, andGrounded in a multigenerational faith community

(Youth Ministry Working Group, www.uua.org/youthministry)

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Where we have been….

For over 20 years the key components of UU youth ministry were the “Steps to Building Community” – bonding, opening up, affirming,

stretching, deeper sharing and goal setting.They remain important, but there should be more…

UU Youth Ministry Framework: Learning, Worship, Social Action, Leadership Development,

Community Building With a Multigenerational and Multicultural Lens

Learn more about where we have been: “We Would be One:A History of Unitarian Universalist Youth Movements,” Wayne Arnason & Rebecca Scott. Boston:Skinner House Books. 2005

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A Pledge of “Where we are going….”

 Unitarian Universalist congregations are called to start and maintain youth groups; fostering leadership and spirituality with youth, and building communities wherein all youth are affirmed, empowered, and spiritually nourished.

 The “best practice” for this pledge is to make sure that the youth group experience is not isolated or separate from the overall congregational experience – think of ways to connect in multigenerational ways

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UU Youth are thirsting for WORSHIP….

Worship that is interactive; with music that resonates with their life; with rituals that can be incorporated into their spiritual practices, and which challenges them theologically and ethically

Broaden the concept of “where” worship happens…

Create opportunities for youth to engage in spiritual reflection through small group ministries and/or other programs, which allow them to create worshipful experiences.

http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/

sharingjourney/index.shtml

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Creative Arts in UU Youth Ministry

Invite and encourage youth to sing in your choir or to provide instrumental music during worship – make sure they are part of the planning and rehearsal process

Consider expanding the concept of youth groups to “creative collectives,” where rotating youth are invited to bring their best creative selves, to share music, videos, visual arts, etc….

Use the concept of “creative collectives” to have a collective movement experience, recruit a d.j., open the experience to be multigenerational and have them be mindful of people with different abilities

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Pastoral Care in UU Youth Ministry

A consistent and significant quality of UU youth is their deep caring….they open their hearts to one another and they need guidance and training in how to be a “caring community”

Invite and train youth to be part of the congregation’s lay pastoral care team, working closely with the minister

Review the role of covenant in caring communities Link anti-bullying efforts to pastoral care…couple this with asking

youth to help organize your congregation’s involvement in such outreach efforts, such as creating a “It Gets Better” video, http://www.itgetsbetter.org, have youth and adults take the “It Gets Better” pledge. Or take part in “The Trevor Project”, http://www.thetrevorproject.org

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The Role of Governance in UU Youth Ministry

Recruit and train youth to serve on congregational boards and committees(not just youth specific committees or the RE committee)

(Youth on Board, www.youthonboard.org)

Have sessions on processes of decision making; process observation, and group consensus building. Include discussions on how the youth group makes decisions early in the year; include in covenant.

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UU Youth are Socially Committed

Make sure that your congregational social justice endeavors are multigenerational. Ask youth to be active leaders in these efforts.

“When Youth Lead” by Jill Schwendemen http://www.uua.org/documents/lfd/1006_2020_sj_programs.pdf

Consider youth/adult team leaders for “Standing on the Side of Love” efforts. http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org

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Widen Youth Voices and Participation

Take time to evaluate in your congregation the possibilities for youth to be full members – what are your guidelines for membership. Have youth members help to lead new members sessions

Coming of Age programs and membership, “The Coming of Age Handbook,” Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh

http://www.uua.org/beliefs/congregationallife/religiouseducation/7000.shtml

Are all of your committees, task forces, boards, etc…open to youth leadership?

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Welcoming Youth of Diverse Backgrounds, Needs, Abilities, Identities, and Faiths

A goal of UU youth ministry must be to incorporate the lens of welcoming all youth (The Mosaic Project), http://www.uua.org/multiculturalism/mosaic/index.shtml

Seek Inter-faith experiences for your youth, http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/new/171877.shtml

“A Chorus of Faiths” Inter-faith curricula for teens, http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/108182.shtml

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Remember to be mindful of the developmental tasks of youth

Key developmental tasks of the middle adolescence stage (ages 15-18)

1) finding a valued place in a constructive group 2) cultivating problem-solving skills 3) acquiring support systems and knowing how to use them 4) finding ways to be useful to others5) finding ways to feel a sense of basic self-worth

(Nurturing Children and Youth:A Development Guidebook)

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Next steps:

Evaluate how your congregation is currently doing with youth ministry; TRY A NEW MODEL.

Invite discussion on the findings of the UUA’s Youth Ministry Working Group

Have a clear goal to sponsor youth in their leadership development – send them to Youth Midwest Leadership School , www.mwls.org/youth

Have youth/adult congregational conversations on how to truly be a multigenerational community

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Best Practices in Youth Ministry Webinar

THANKS so much for taking part. Feel free to share and reproduce this presentation – it is for your use

PLEASE take time to fill out our MidAmerica MidSize Mania webinar evaluation:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CK7P96B

STAY IN TOUCH and let us know what future topics would be of interest to you and your congregation!