All Issues articles – Page 72
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IssuesKids company closure leaves thousands without support
The collapse of Kids Company has led to thousands of vulnerable children and young people losing vital support. The charity, spearheaded by Camila Batmanghelidjh, closed in August following financial difficulties, amid allegations of improperly handled sexual abuse cases. Founded in 1996, it was reportedly working with and supporting more than 36,000 young people a year, benefiting from business and government support.
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IssuesKids company closure leaves thousands without support
The collapse of Kids Company has led to thousands of vulnerable children and young people losing vital support. The charity, spearheaded by Camila Batmanghelidjh, closed in August following financial difficulties, amid allegations of improperly handled sexual abuse cases. Founded in 1996, it was reportedly working with and supporting more than 36,000 young people a year, benefiting from business and government support.
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IssuesReady-to-use Discussion: Santa Claus
Even without the sneaking-into-your- house-late-at-night thing, Santa Claus is pretty creepy, right?
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IssuesFirst Class Delivery
Postman Pat: The Movie sees our favourite fictional mail delivery man auditioning for a show which looks quite a lot like Britain’s Got Talent. This got us thinking – what would other classic children’s TV shows look like if they got a 21st Century makeover?
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IssuesReady-to-use Mentoring: Clarity
This year I moved into a new role mentoring artists for a Christian record label. One of the key issues I find musicians struggle with is the muddiness of ‘not knowing.’ Not knowing what to do, how to do it, or why it matters. It restricts their creativity, undermines their goals and paralyses their to-do list! My advice is mostly common sense, but without an outside focus they don’t know where to begin or what to get on with first. The potential is there, but confusion robs them of achieving it.
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IssuesQ&A: Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborne is a Christian activist who leads The Simple Way community in Philadelphia. He has just released his new book, Executing Grace. Editor Jamie Cutteridge spoke to Shane about justice, Donald Trump, gun violence, young people and Jesus
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IssuesSimpl. (Profile: Shane Claiborne)
It’s a hot Sunday afternoon in East London. The sun is shining and I’m all set to interview Shane Claiborne. There’s only one problem - I can’t find Shane Claiborne.
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IssuesThe power of small churches
I grew up in a big church, with a big youth ministry. The smallest church I’ve worked in had about 600 in Sunday attendance, and the other churches I worked in ranged from 2,500 to 8,000 attendees. Much of this was because I was passionate about ministry with younger teens, and only larger churches tend to have the budget for a specialist in that area.
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Issues‘My church cut my hours’
At the start of summer 2011, if you had asked me, ‘How’s life?’ my response would have been, ‘Life is good.’ I had been the fulltime youth worker in my home church for almost 18 months. I had married a wonderful and supportive woman just over a year earlier and we were newly-weds creating a shared life together.
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IssuesRecharge: Reimagining the Church
Recharge is a Bible study just for you, to nurture your own relationship with God. So stop, sit, breathe and read. This month, Danielle Strickland reflects on Church
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IssuesMessy Church: the story so far
There aren’t many things that have caught the attention and imagination of children’s workers quite like Messy Church. Most churches across the UK will have come across Messy Church in one form or another, and you may even be running a Messy Church yourself. Ten years on from its launch, Martyn Payne of the national BRF Messy Church team asks: is it a passing fad or a glimpse into the future for children’s ministry?
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IssuesReimagining Church with young people
Lots of churches are great. Lots of congregations which meet to worship in buildings up and down the land are genuinely forming communities
of equipped disciples who are working, together with the Holy Spirit, for the transformation of the world. Many have a good spread of ages, are growing, and seeing the kingdom come in their communities. -
IssuesYoung People, Youth Group and Church
Young people see youth group as a fun place to be; they see church as a place to experience God.
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IssuesHelp! I love my youth group but not my church
Churches are odd places. They attract a bizarre combination of people, with as many theologies, ideals, beliefs and practices as there are members. Being part of a church can be complicated, and working for one can be downright difficult. But, as we all know, they are also glorious - and through all of the mess and chaos, the Church is still God’s chosen vehicle for blessing the earth. So how do we press on through the politics and red tape? Which challenges are ‘character growth’ opportunities, and which are simply not our battles to fight? Phoebe Thompson spoke anonymously with youth workers who are living with the tension of loving their young people but not their church - to hear their struggles, and share their advice for youth workers in similar situations.
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IssuesHow to Survive the Church Meeting
The church meeting: a place where the best and brightest of your church congregation meet to discuss the big, important matters of the day - such as, ‘what colour should the chairs be?’ and ‘do we need to update the hymn books?’. How do you survive these hours of torture? Surely there must be a way to make them tolerable. As per usual, we have the answers…
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IssuesLGBT Young people and the Church
The story of Lizzie Lowe haunted every youth worker and pastor I know. The account of the Christian 14 year-old’s death and the reports from her friends that she took her life because she feared telling her church and family that she was gay, sent shivers down our spines and briefly turned our eyes to consider whether we could have contributed to this culture, even contributed to this death.
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IssuesDiverse Church
Suicide rates among LGBT young people are higher than any other social group. Within Christian contexts, coming out to loved ones can be a daunting prospect – leading some young people to hide the truth, leave the Church entirely, or even consider taking their own lives. Diverse Church is a collection of Christians seeking to offer a pastoral response to LGBT young people, who are wrestling with issues of sexuality and faith.
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IssuesThe Church of Cool
When I first became a member of a church youth club there were no smoothie bars, games consoles or trendy youth worship bands.
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IssuesThe Church of Minecraft
‘Games like Minecraft give people a project to work on, a consuming passion, and a sense of community and collaboration. When immersion in the game world becomes a more attractive option than real life, the Church needs to take note. Jane McGonigal famously said that in the gaming world, players can become “super-empowered, hopeful individuals.” That should be our vision for the Church.’
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IssuesInterstellar Church
As I write, some amazing scientists have just managed to land a probe on Comet 67P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko. It seems as likely to have succeeded as trying to throw a dart at a mosquito in Mali while standing in Scunthorpe, but they’ve done it! How did they do that? How did they calculate the maths and physics with such precision? Something to do with Newtonian principles, apparently.
