Youth Work: Ideas to Inspire
By Danny Brierley

The largest employer of full-time youth workers in England and Wales is neither central nor local government. It is the Church! Yet the Church often chooses to direct most of these people to work with the estimated 7% of young people that are already part of its congregation. The vast majority of young people in Britain¡¦s towns and cities have little or no contact with the Church and therefore remain unaffected by the youth work it carries out. 

The Church is well placed to engage with young people. It has big-hearted volunteers, buildings and car parks in nearly every city, town and village in the UK. The challenge for you and your congregation is to follow Christ¡¦s example by freely offering hope and acceptance to young people who are not already part of the church congregation.

Here are some ways that your church can connect with young people in your area:

1. Ask young people what they think you should do. They¡¦ll have the best ideas!

2. Provide a community fun day on the church car park with giant inflatables, BBQ and sports. Better still - involve young people in the planning.

3. Create a homework club. You¡¦ll need CRB-cleared volunteers, computers, suitable furniture and a good-sized room.

4. Provide a secure basketball hoop or two in the church car park for use by local young people.

5. Provide broadband-connected computers for young people to use during supervised sessions.

6. Enable young people to make a film about what its like to live in your local area. Provide a Premiere for local authority dignitaries to attend. End with an Oscar¡¦s ceremony to celebrate their success.

7. Become a volunteer mentor with Oasis Youth Inclusion or set-up your own schemeƒv. Call 020 7450 9033 for details.

8. Host a ¡¥battle of the bands¡¦, giving local music talent a venue. Consider different themed events.

9. Host a Youth Alpha course in a setting young people will be comfortable with. Email youth@alphacourse.org for more information.

10. Provide robust all-weather furniture in the church grounds (or car park) for young people to use.

11. Contact your local YMCA to find out whether you can make use of their facilities for one-off youth events or summer holiday clubs.

12. Coach your church stewards to welcome and engage with young people that ¡¥pop in¡¦ to church services.

13. Meet young people where they are by working with them off church premises. Ask the local Youth Service to train your volunteers in the art of this detached form of youth work.

14. During school holidays switch the youth club from the evening to the daytime. Better still - work with other churches to run a full programme throughout the school holidays. There could be funding available. Ask your local Youth Service.

15. Help young people to lobby their local authority or councilors on issues that concern them.

16. Look at whether your church could provide adequate skate board facilities. Trial the idea by hiring ramps for a weekend in your church car park.

17. Sign up for Comic Relief or BBC Children in Need and give young people the opportunity to come up with their own fundraising activities.

18. Enable (all right, watch) young people set up a website, providing information about their youth project, community and views.

19. Help a group of young people enter a team into the local sports league. Check out if there¡¦s a midnight basketball league in your area.

20. Still in search of ideas? Want to improve your youth work skills? Sign up for the What Every Youth Worker Should Know course -www.Youthwork.co.uk/Training/VolunteersCourse.