Youth Ministry Training Webinar 8

By Jennica Davis-Hockett

YM Training Webinar 8 (square)

UPDATE: This webinar will be hosted live on April 12th at 1pm EST and it will be recorded. We are canceling the previously scheduled Thursday evening webinar to encourage attendance the #Uuwhitesupremacyteachin webinar onThursday, April 13 at 8 PM eastern. More information about that webinar available on the Black Lives of UU.

For a long time many Unitarian Universalist congregations have successfully used the traditional model of youth ministry consisting of a weekly youth group, maybe some off-site trips or overnights, and a yearly youth-led worship service. As Natalie Briscoe, Congregational Life Staff in the Southern Region notes, "These traditional models are effective delivery mechanisms for often stellar curriculum, especially if that curriculum is a part of the Tapestry of Faith programs. The Youth Group model also certainly serves the particular needs of youth by providing a space for growing leadership, exploration of newly discovered beliefs, and the intimacy of small group ministry." But that's not true for everyone, and for some congregations for which that model has worked in the past, times they are a changing. Briscoe notes that the traditional model of youth group "has often created an unintentional silo within a well-meaning congregation, where the youth become a hidden and completely separate entity. The attempt to give youth a cohort-specific space can also marginalize the youth and prevent the formation of meaningful cross-generational relationships. Other congregations struggle with sporadic attendance, an absence of a core group of committed individuals, and the pull of so many other obligations and options during the youth group meeting time." If any of these descriptions sound familiar, please join our next Youth Ministry Webinar on April 12 at 1pm Eastern (April 13 at 8pm Eastern webinar cancelled) to explore Models of Youth Ministry. We will discuss exciting new ideas for augmenting the traditional youth group-based model, as well as mentor-based Youth Ministry and methods for creating intentional multigenerational communities with a focus on integrating youth through meaningful and respectful relationship. This webinar will be full of creative ideas and groundbreaking models that are sure to meet the needs of the Youth Ministry in congregations of every size and shape. Register now.