All NexGen Pro articles – Page 107
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IssuesThe Youthwork Box Office
Roll up, roll up! Welcome to the youth work box office – the home of youth work related moving pictures and talkies (aka videos). We’ve gathered the best DVD resources and YouTube clips out there, for your viewing pleasure. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show….
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IssuesXY Boys: How to keep boys in Church
The gender gap in the UK Church continues to grow, with more women than men filling our pews. How can we redress this gender imbalance in our youth groups and ultimately the Church of the future ? Christian Vision for Men ’s Carl Beech believes we need a fundamental shift in the values underpinning our youth ministry
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Issues
'Porn on the Brain'
‘I’ve heard about ten or eleven year-old children who are traumatised by porn; they’re not talking to their parents until they’re going through
real issues of withdrawal or eating disorders. -
IssuesRussell Brand
No one seems sure of how it’s happened, but Russell Brand has become the UK’s articulate voice of youthful concerns.
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BlogRussell Brand vs Jeremy Paxman
Russell Brand divides opinion like no one else on the telly. But what kind of example does he set to young people?
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IssuesYouth Work Lab: Branding
A young person I work with recently pointed at my shoes and exclaimed, ‘What are those?’ Unaware of the current meme (look it up) I was about to reply, when I realised the question wasn’t looking for an answer, but rather was to publicly call me out the fact that my choice of footwear was not relevant to this young person, and as it appears, many young people in the youth club. Not having the right brand, in the eyes of the young people, made me a target of ridicule. Branding can play an enormously important part in the lives of young people.
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Blog
Three things bravely learnt
A word from Premier Childrenswork journalist Lucinda van der HartNovember 2012
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Blog
Ready-to-use Games: Ice Breakers - Food Games
As Jane Austen (might) have said: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a youth worker in possession of a plate of food must be in want of a youth group’. Food is, and has always been, a real crowd pleaser (see the feeding of 5000 and manna and quail in the desert for proof) and the combination of food and games is, quite simply, a one-way-ticket to success-ville.
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BlogReady-To-Use Games + Ice Breakers: Water Games
On our wonderful British Isles we are not often short of water in the summer months. Here are some ways to utilise the blessing of water with youth games! You will need water balloons, gym balls, dog bowls, bed sheets… the list goes on. What could possibly go wrong?
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Ready-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Christmas Games
Hark! Christmas approaches: the wonderfully quiet and easy-going period of the calendar, with plenty of space and time to organise elaborate and complicated events. Possibly. Either way, there’s very little chance that your group will be ignoring it – so why not jump on the Christmas bandwagon with this collection of Christmas games.
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BlogReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Pool Games
Ah the pool table, a youth club tradition older than the tuck shop, messy games and having to break up fights. While young people can obviously be left to their own devices, sometimes a communal game around the table can offer a bit of variety. Here are some of our favourites:
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BlogReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Dodgeball Games
Everyone knows the five Ds of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and… dodge. What you may not know is that there are also five distinct ways to play dodgeball, and here they are...
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Ready-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Group Work Games
Working together is obviously the kind of thing we want to encourage as good, holistic, community-building, life-affirming, kingdom-growing, adjective-embracing youth workers. Admittedly most games have some sort of collective vibe to them, but these ones have a particular emphasis. They are essentially the antithesis of solitaire.
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BlogReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: “I’m a teenager, get me out of here!”
You may presume that ‘I’m a teenager, get me out of here’ is similar to a famous TV programme. You would be absolutely right. These games can be used as a whole hour of entertainment or you could use one game a week to build up the tension. Collecting stars is the aim of each game and at any point of any game those taking part can shout: “I’m a teenager, get me out of here” to stop the game. It would be a good idea to pre-warn the young people that they should bring some clothes that they do not mind getting messy, and a plastic bag to put them in, ready to be washed by indulgent (or mildly annoyed) parents.
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BlogReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Christmas Fun
Yes, it’s happened. Somehow we are already in the run-up to Christmas. While we try to get our heads around that, here are some games to include on Sundays, Christmas parties, or even around the Christmas table.
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Blog
Ready-to-use Games - Ice breakers: Who, what, where, why Games
At the heart of the human experience we find a host of questions: Who? What? Where? Why? As good, holistic youth workers we don’t want to ignore these primal urges of our young people. We don’t want to trivialise them with pat and trite answers - so here are some games. No, wait, that doesn’t sound right...
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BlogReady-To-Use Games + Ice Breakers: Kids Games
Sometimes, we forget that young people are just glorified, slightly grown-up, children. In an attempt to make our groups cool and culturally relevant, there’s a danger we only play the most sensible, modern games (as unlikely as this sounds). This month’s games are the kind you’d play with kids: a bit simpler, a bit sillier, but just as fun…
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IssuesReady-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Outside Games
Let’s take a step of faith. It’s July. The sun WILL be out. Let’s repeat that: the sun WILL be out. As such, we’ll take our youth groups outside and have all kinds of outdoor fun. For all of these games you’ll need a heap of space, like a field, or multiple fields, ideally with trees and scrubland. Basically, you need the set from The animals of Farthing Wood. So, here are some ideas:
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IssuesReady-to-use games + Ice breakers: Uno games
STANDARD UNO Play UNO according to the rules in the box. You have read the rules in the box, right? We’re not going to bother to explain this one.MULTI-CARD UNO The author of this piece once got into an argument at a Christian youth work conference when he insisted that ...
