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Youth Ministry
Y-Net

Y Net is the name of our support system for youth workers. It is part of our denominational plan to help youth ministries be healthy and vibrant.

Y Net appoints experienced youth pastors to act as Point Persons for a cluster of churches. They initiate relationships which allow for sharing of ideas, problems and solutions, and a ministry of encouragement. The goal is to keep workers oriented toward our five point vision for healthy youth ministry.

An annual Point Persons Clinic is held to build up these dedicated people who volunteer their time for our conference. The most recent was in Calgary, April 25-27, 1998, with 13 present. Bill Clem, Student Ministries Director for Sonlife Ministries was our resource person. Some key items were addressed as follows:

A. The Heart of Jesus: Building into People and Groups of People

We want to instill the heart of Jesus into individuals. How? We can follow principles which Jesus used in his discipleship: Help His disciples love each other, and build each other up Build His disciples into a team which could be sent out Infuse His ministry with prayer and teach His disciples to pray Teach the Word of God plainly and with authority Explain who He is and what the disciples’ relationship with Him is about Make contacts outside the circle so that more could hear about Him We want to instill the heart of Jesus into whole groups of people. We can follow Jesus’ ministry principles and the disciples’ work in Acts: Build people up in faith and personal commitment to Christ and each other as the body Equip gifted people to lead and minister to others Win people outside the group As growth occurs, multiply leaders to expand ministry effectively We need to learn how to build Christ’s character into individuals and into the group as a whole. Accomplishing both areas is critical to building the church of Jesus.

B. The Training Process

Too often training stays theoretical. Not enough chance to work on stuff in the real arena of people. There are several great ways to get into the field as workers and teens:

Summer missions trips like SOAR. “Students Equipped to Minister to Peers” (SEMP) which teaches kids how to reach their peers. Counsellor Training Programs at our camps. Great teaching/action balance which prepares teens for leadership at home.

Many youth groups have identified leading teens who are FATR: faithful, available, teachable and responsible. Work with them through resources like:

How to begin a ministry team, teaching them how to lead their peers. How to build a caring community, practice in caring for peers How to equip students to reach their peers, for peer evangelism

These resources will be introduced at our National Youth Convention, NYC99 in Banff.

C. Sharpening Tool

Cam Rowland, Niverville MB, overviewed a tool designed to help Point Persons build more helpful relationships with their clusters. It looks at five “fuel tanks” which every person needs to keep replenishing. We went through it step by step, stopping at each area and drawing in our own “fuel gauge” measurement. The resulting conversation was enlightening, vulnerable, encouraging and challenging – a real ministry time!

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Last modified October 31, 2000.

Ideabank is a quarterly newsletter published by the Board of Christian Education Ministries, a board of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.

© 2000 Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.
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