All Issues articles – Page 56
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Issues
Teamwork Games
There comes a time when even the most skilled manipulator of group dynamics has to accept that the group could do with a little boost. A set of creative games can be a great way to work through some of these issues, or at the very least, show the dysfunctional nature of the group. Therefore, here are some teamwork games.
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Issues
'Other' Games
Having a connected theme across the games and the rest of the session can be a really helpful way to make introductions to big ideas and concepts. But sometimes, games can just be fun and have no real link to each other or the rest of the session. Here are some unrelated, just-for-fun, with no-real-point-at-all, games. You’re welcome.
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IssuesNostalgia games
Over the last few issues we’ve looked at games we played as kids which we shouldn’t nowadays. But was it really all doom and gloom back then? Did we just spend our childhoods flying kites into electric pylons? Of course not! So let me try and make amends with a column looking back at some of the great games from our youth. Time to get all nostalgic as we remember Opal Fruits, Panini sticker albums, four channels on the telly, Care Bears, non-X-Factor Christmas number ones, Marathon bars, Jackanory and Cabbage Patch Dolls
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IssuesOutdoor games
I don’t know about your church but let me be honest about mine – our halls aren’t great for games. So I’m keen to leave our buildings and play some games in the great outdoors as often as possible. Going outdoors can present its own problems, but let me encourage you to leave your buildings and go run around outside. To help with that, here are three great outdoor games that have worked really for us:
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IssuesGames for small numbers
In the last issue I focused on games that are suitable for the great outdoors: ones you can play when you have lots of kids and lots of space. But I know that there were some of you who, on reading the introduction to that column, would have thrown their magazine straight in the bin. (Metaphorically of course – it should actually go in the recycling.)
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IssuesLittle Gamers
Smart phones and tablets have placed gaming at the centre of our society. You don’t need to spend long on public transport to see someone playing ‘angry birds’ or ‘2048’, but what does this mean for our children? Are video games evil or could they help child development? Dr Bex Lewis investigates…
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IssuesReady-to-use Mentoring: The listening game
I recently did some mentoring training for a fab youth discipleship programme called The Ascent. I loved their heart for discipleship and willingness to learn new mentoring skills in order to get alongside young people and walk with them through their ongoing faith and life journey.
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IssuesFunny Jones
Comedian Milton Jones is known and loved for his witty one-liners. On the release of his new book – Ten Second Sermons – he chatted to Youthwork’s Jamie Cutteridge.
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IssuesMental health funding
Last month’s announcement of an increase in mental health funding is a response to a report published by a taskforce of serviceusers and experts in the field, offering a comprehensive review of the current state of mental health services in the UK. Recent press reports have been rife concerning the challenges facing mental health services, so news that NHS England have committed to investing more than £1bn a year over the next five years into this area is very welcome, as is the call for ‘parity of esteem’ between mental and physical health problems.
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IssuesFun Games
One question I get asked a lot is: ‘Why do you have games in your sessions?’ You might want me to talk about reinforcing the theme or complementing the teaching, but the main point of a game is to have fun. Church is allowed to be fun (joy is a fruit of the Spirit) and a very good way to have fun is to play together. Of course there should be a time to be contemplative, but there should also be a time to run around screaming while waving your hands in the air (to paraphrase Ecclesiastes 3:7). So for this issue, I decided to go for three games
that are pure, unadulterated fun. -
Issues
Movie: Frozen
Disney princesses are usually romantic fodder for Prince Charming to sweep off their feet - but not Anna.
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Issues
Resource On Trial: Fruitfulness on the Frontline
Children’s workers put resources through their paces.
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Issues
Schools’ Work: Virtuous Friendship
The schools’ work page has taken on a new format. We will be featuring three sections: ‘dream’, ‘develop’ and ‘do’, all themed under one heading. Each box has its own purpose.
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Issues‘Why would you give up your Friday nights for me?’
I was generally a good lad but a little cheeky - and still am. Mum and dad weren’t Christians, but the church had a real presence on our street and some of our close neighbours were regular attenders.
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IssuesReady-to-use Mentoring: Petit Fours
This month’s mentoring resource is all about fours. Hopefully the following ‘fours’ will help you to bake some delicious delights of your own with your mentee as you follow your own special recipe for discipleship! Bon appetit!
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IssuesReady-to-use Mentoring: Lost And Found
What’s the most precious thing you have ever lost? When I was 18 I had my backpack pinched – and with it, a diary I had kept for several years, including throughout my amazing gap year teaching in Tanzania. It contained my memories, thoughts, experiences, poetry, drawings, doodles and so on (I also lost my Walkman and Michael Jackson cassette tape but let’s leave my age out of this). As you can imagine, I was gutted.
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IssuesForward Thinking
The future can seem like a scary place. On a global scale, seismic developments are changing the landscape of societies, economies and technologies at an alarming pace. Futurist Patrick Dixon explores what the world may look like in a few decades time and how youth work – more than ever – has a key part to play.
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IssuesHave we forgotten overseas mission?
A few years ago - the sight of a tanned, heavily braceletted 19 year-old with braided hair strolling through the doors of church after a life-changing six months in Africa was a fairly common one. The pendulum of missional thinking now seems to have swung in the opposite direction – with less and less young people travelling abroad, choosing instead to spend their year out in the UK on an urban mission placement or church internship. National leader for YWAM England Carl Tinnion can’t help but ask: have we forgotten about overseas mission?
