Change is afoot at PYM, with new national positions being filled for 2007. Amanda Wells reports.
In late 2006, two new youth coordinators were selected for the South Island: Stephanie Redhead (from Calvin Community Church in Gore) and Robyn Burnett (from Hornby Presbyterian in Christchurch), who will both combine this work with other roles. The North Island co-ordinator position is being re-advertised in early 2007.
Jo Ryan, a student in Dunedin who was the PYM intern in 2003, has been holding together PYM operations on a part-time basis in 2006. She’s been working with the Youth Focus Group, which was set up by former youth coordinator Mo Mansill and stepped up to an enhanced role after her departure. Jo says she’s excited about seeing new people take up bigger, more permanent positions.
Jo says the new staff will come into a situation “where there’s already a whole lot of momentum going”. Rather than having to kick things off from scratch, they’ll be able to add new projects around those that are already operating successfully.
Having two people will mean better pastoral care and enhanced networking, she says, including the ability to travel, to more widely spread areas. “They’ll be able to have a lot more contact with youth workers, which is what it’s all about.”
A key focus for PYM is building relationships between youth workers and encouraging them in their ministries. Jo says PYM is about encouraging the Church’s young people to have a long term perspective “so they will continue on in that faith”. Young groups and events are “not just party games but digging deeper. There are values that run through everything we do.”
Leadership training course Going Somewhere operates regionally, although new national staff means more support for starting it in new areas. 2006 was the fifth year in Wellington of Going Somewhere, which brings together young people with leadership potential and encourages them to use their gifts in their churches and communities. Dunedin took up Going Somewhere in 2004, it started in Auckland and Blenheim in 2005, and in Christchurch in 2006.
Many of Going Somewhere graduates have started to lead youth groups or taken up leadership roles. Jo says being challenged to exercise their gifts means young people become involved when they might otherwise have stayed on the sidelines. People got to know those from other churches doing similar work and started to think, “if they’re doing it, I can do it”. “There are many people for whom it was a significant kind of turning point.”
Sue Holani, family ministries facilitator at Whakatane Presbyterian, came to PYM conference Connect for the first time last year. She says she wasn’t sure what to expect, so contacted Jo: “Getting from Whakatane to Otaki seemed a challenge. Jo was great in giving me contacts to try and get lifts with. She kept contact with me and always answered my endless emails and calls. I thought I'd known her forever when we did meet!”
Sue says at Connect she asked people a lot of questions that related to issues within her youth group: "how am I to grow our church", "why are youth leaving", "is it me, am I that bad", "what can I do to keep them?"
“The answers I got were that they were in the same boat, or ‘this is what we did to help our church’. I think meeting so many people who face the same ongoing problems is what really enriched my leadership/ministry.”
Sue says the worship, which is lead by the Connect Band from Wellington’s PIC Newtown, was a huge highlight. “It just lifted me so high. It felt so good to sing loud, to praise and praise and praise and really feel 'connect'ed to God through song. And not to feel shy or alone in the want or need to worship that way was really awesome. The band was truly amazing.”
Sue encourages people working with youth to tap into PYM’s resources. “Get to the next Connect conference. Be prepared to sing, laugh, cry, learn and grow! It really did blow me away.
“I went by myself knowing no-one. I came away completely blessed with having met so many great people.”
Desmond Uili of PIC Newtown has been involved in his church’s youth ministry for more than 10 years. PIC Newtown’s youth group has about 40 members, with maybe 25 turning up on a Friday night but more than 45 to some of weekend events.
Des says the chance to play every year at Connect has had a big impact on the worship group that has become the Connect Band. The Connect Band will be playing at FaithFest in March, and is actively looking into other festivals like Samstock.
Des says another band has just started that has grown out of the youth group. “We’re very passionate about our music.”
All PIC Newtown’s youth ministry leadership team goes to Connect, along the band’s 10 musicians. Des say the best things about Connect are the chance for youth leaders to network and “know they’re not alone”. People always come back fired up with good ideas and full of motivation, he says.
Des attended Youth Assembly and General Assembly 2006, and says he enjoyed spending an intense period of time with strong leaders from around the country. “I’m really passionate about my work.”
He says it makes a big difference to know that other youth leaders are dealing with the same challenges.
Emily Wotton, youth, children and family ministry co-ordinator for the Auckland Presbytery region, says young people in Auckland are typically overextended, with an abundance of leadership opportunities at school and in community groups, as well as churches.
It’s part of Emily’s job description to support and promote PYM, and she says she’s excited by the energy the ministry has. “I think there’s a huge amount of momentum that has grown and has got to the stage of snowballing.”
Part of this energy is being invested in looking at familiar programmes in different ways, for example, running Going Somewhere over a weekend rather than eight weeks, to better attract those with excessive time commitments. Strong interest has already been expressed by a number of churches: “they’re saying they’ll make it compulsory for their volunteer leaders”. Emily says that Going Somewhere in 2003 and 2004 attracted a huge crosssection of the Church, creating connections and friendships that have proved durable.
As part of her presbytery role, Emily’s planning to hold regional gatherings next year to help break down the barriers between Auckland’s suburban enclaves.
She says that funding bodies are starting to recognise the potential in Presbyterian youth ministry, with half a dozen people now being funded in roles around the country, compared to the situation in the past of having only one national coordinator.
“We could still do with more to make the ministry more effective and have better geographic coverage.”
She says she’s energised by her contact with PI churches, some of which have huge, “joyous and energetic” youth groups full of talent. “They’ve really changed the atmosphere at Connect.”
Youth ministry faces the challenge of supporting young people into the next phase of their lives, Emily says, which is where programmes like studentsoul (profiled in the December 2006 issue of sPanz) become crucial.
But Emily says leaders working with young people also need to be able to see a career path so that “it’s a longer term job”. The development of the Centre for Christian Leadership is being watched with interest in youth ministry circles, she says. “We have so many people in their mid to late 20s and early 30s with leadership potential. We’ve almost producing too many leaders to keep up with at the moment, and we want to make sure they're not snapped up by other denominations.”
Creating a vital youth programme means the rest of the Church must be ready to pick up the ball.
As Whakatane’s Sue Holani says, “sometimes you don't know that a need is waiting to be filled until it is”.
Connect: the national youth leaders’ conference, held every year in July, to inspire, equip and entertain. In 2006, Connect celebrated its fifth birthday, with about 150 people attending to be inspired, challenged and entertained. Connect 2007 will be 2 June to 1 July at Forest Lakes Camp near Otaki.
Going Somewhere and Going Somewhere Deeper: eight-week regional courses designed to grow your young people into leadership roles.
Fuel: the PYM magazine, published quarterly to maintain connections, promote resources and spread the word about PYM happenings, as well as provide a helping of inspiration.
And in 2007? Get set for even more…