| In this Unit, you will think through the foundations of what Christian youth work is all about. What are you trying to achieve with your young people? How does it differ from secular youth work? What can you learn from the approach of others? What does your local community and organisation think about young people and what you are trying to achieve with them? These are all questions that get addressed in this Unit. The word 'culture' is often used - but not often understood! Through this Unit, you will come to a deeper understanding of what 'culture' actually is - and what defines the youth culture in your community. You will learn different approaches to youth culture and be able to reflect on which approaches you feel most comfortable with. In this Unit, you can explore in detail what it is that makes your Community tick; the stakeholders, who is who, what is what and where your organisation fits into it all. You will have the opportunity to reflect in-depth about how your work impacts the community and how the community impacts your work. You will also think about how the young people you work with are viewed in the community and what they think about the community in return. Effective Christian Youth Work will inevitably require a basic understanding of the Scriptures; to teach and to nurture young people and also to build a biblical framework for youth work practice. This Module provides a basic introduction to the Old Testament: its history and key themes. Students will be encouraged to develop a deeper understanding of the Old Testament and apply some of the key themes to their own youth work practice. Youth Work is not carried out in a vacuum. Young people are part of the community: the local community, the family community, the school community, the church community and so on. Effective youth ministry is often dependent on the youth worker understanding the Community context of the young people they work with. This Module is designed to provide the tools youth workers need to understand and 'map' the community of the young people they work with. Effective Christian Youth Work will inevitably require a basic understanding of the Scriptures; to teach and to nurture young people and also to build a biblical framework for youth work practice. This Module provides a basic introduction to the New Testament: its history and key themes. Students will be encouraged to develop a deeper understanding of the New Testament and apply some of the key themes to their own youth work practice. To be effective in Christian youth work, students will need to be sure exactly what it is that Christians believe. This is important so that there own youth work can be built on sure and certain foundations. But also, youth workers will be asked questions about the Christian faith by the young people they work with. As the Bible says, we need to be ready to make an account of the faith. This Module takes students through the basics of Christian doctrines in such a way as they are encouraged and enabled to apply those doctrines to their own youth work practice. Themes such as the nature of God, the nature of salvation, who Jesus is, the role and person of the Holy Spirit, and the end times will be explored. If youth workers are to lead young people into the fulfilment of their potential, it is important that the youth worker has developed a self-understanding. This Module explores what it means to be made in the image of God and who we are as human beings. The students are then encouraged to reflect on their own life-journey and develop a basic understanding of how it is that 'who they are' impacts on 'how they minister'. Relationships and Boundaries Effective youth ministry is educative; what is known as Informal Education. This Module explores the education process that underpins effective youth work, different models of education and how/why it is that different people learn in different ways. Students will be encouraged to analyse their own youth work within a model of education and think about how various young people with whom they work actually learn. All youth workers are called to be leaders. However, there are many different ways to lead and different ministry contexts demand different skills and approaches to leadership. In this Module, students explore a number of different models of leadership. They are then encouraged to analyse their own preferred style of leadership, strengths and weaknesses in leadership and analyse what type of leadership is needed within their own youth work context. Foundational to effective Christian youth work is the desire to lead young people to Christ and see them devote themselves to a life of discipleship. This Unit considers what discipleship is and what a life of discipleship might entail. Biblical ideas and theological ideas are explored and students are encouraged to reflect on their own ministry with one young person in particular, thinking through how that young person is being nurtured as a disciple of Jesus Christ. All Christian Youth Work is carried out in the context of the Church. The Youth Work may be linked to a specific Church, or a separate Youth Work Project may be sponsored in some way by local Christians. It may be that the Youth Work is outside an immediate Church context but the workers and leaders are Chriatians. Whatever the context, Christian youth workers need to understand what the Church actually is and how their ministry relates to the Church. This Module explores Biblical ideas of Church: What Jesus taught about the nature of the Church, how the Gospels writers understood the emerging Church community, what the Book of Acts teaches about the early Church and how Paul and the other New Testament writers developed ideas of what Church is. Students will be encouraged to understand the many models and images of 'Church' in the Bible and analyse the context of their own youth work in the light of that learning. In this Unit, you will explore the principles of mission and evangelism - and how they differ. You will think through how mission and evangelism has been carried out in your own community as well as how mission and evangelism could make an impact on a global level. You will also consider principles from both the Old Testament and the New Testament for mission and evangelism. Youth ministry that is effective and professional takes into account the need to form suitable relationships with young people whilst recognising the boundaries of those relationships. This Module encourages students to reflect on the importance of relationships and boundaries, to case-study one relationship in particular and to analyse their own strengths and weaknesses in building and maintaining appropriate relationships with their young people. The Aims of this Module:
1. To understand how Culture can be defined
2. To understand how Youth Culture can be defined
3. To understand how Youth Culture has developed in your own social context
4. To develop tools of understanding that will inform your youth work practice
5. To be able to analyse and critique the Youth Culture/s with which you work
The Aims of this Module:
1. To understand what Christian youth work is
2. To understand how Christian youth work has developed in your own social context
3. To understand why you want to be involved in Christian youth work, what it is that motivates you, what your values are, what your strengths and weaknesses are in Christian youth work.
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