Bringing the Web to Life

The Web of Youth Ministry: A model for a balanced youth program. Graphic image depiction.

Web of Youth Ministry

Create a balanced youth program with this simple but thorough model (image PDF).

Bringing the Web to Life is a youth ministry leadership development curriculum for congregations offered by the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. Download the complete Bringing the Web to Life curriculum (PDF) (Word).

This curriculum is based on the 8 components of the Web of Youth Ministry (PDF). Each session is created to be able to stand alone, or be used in conjunction with other sessions. The way you choose to use this material is up to you. You may choose to pick one or two sessions that contain information you think is vital for your youth to have right now; select a number of sessions and present them all at once in a weekend or overnighter or present one session a week, or a month, throughout the whole year.

These sessions should be co-facilitated by youth and adults. In the spirit of shared youth leadership, which you learn about in Workshop 4 Shared Leadership, ensure that the skill level, capacity and maturity of youth leaders is in direct proportion to the amount of leadership they take on in facilitating the workshop and that you reflect and provide feedback to your co-facilitator to aid in the process of learning and growing in their leadership.

Each session concludes with a Taking it Home handout which is a review of the session and an invitation to participants to practice the things they’ve learned throughout the week and share what they learned with others.

Workshop Overview

Workshop 1 Web of Youth Ministry: an introduction to the eight components of the web of youth ministry, this session addresses how to create a balanced youth ministry that is appropriate to the size of the congregation and youth developmental needs and interests. Download Workshop 1 (PDF) (Word).

Workshop 2 Living in Covenant: this session describes why and how Unitarian Universalists live in covenant with one another and the world we live in and guides participants in creating a covenant they can live into throughout the year. Download Workshop 2 (PDF) (Word).

Workshop 3 Meaning of Leadership Worship: in this worship, participants will listen to stories, sing songs and engage in activities that explain the basics of what leadership is and how they can serve the world as leaders. Download Workshop 3 (PDF) (Word).

Workshop 4 Shared Leadership: this session asks participants to think about how their strengths, weaknesses and growing edges may complement others in the group and addresses responsible youth empowerment. Download Workshop 4 (PDF) (Word).

Workshop 5 Active Listening: this session describes why listening is an important aspect of leadership and provides practical skills for active listening like non-verbal communication, paraphrasing and asking probing questions. Download Workshop 5 (PDF) (Word).

Workshop 6 Creating Inclusive Community: through role play, participants learn how to create a climate of acceptance and identify barriers to creating inclusive community. Download Workshop 6 (PDF) (Word).

Workshop 7 Leadership Styles: this session describes formal leadership roles and different leadership styles, explores when they may be applicable and gives participants the opportunity to practice embodying different leadership styles. Download Workshop 7 (PDF) (Word).

Workshop 8 Building Multigenerational Connections: using a fishbowl activity, this session brings youth and adults in the congregation together to get to know each other and discover the importance of multigenerational relationships. This session requires advanced planning. Download Workshop 8 (PDF) (Word).

Workshop 9 Conflict Resolution and Transformation: through role play, this session provides concrete skills for staying engaged during and resolving conflict. Download Workshop 9 (PDF) (Word).