All NexGen Pro articles – Page 117
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Issues
Christmas Songs
As Christian knowledge in the UK slowly dwindles, it’s less and less likely that people will know the words to Christmas carols. This makes it hard to use them as illustrations when communicating with people who don’t regularly go to church. There is good news, though. Lots of contemporary Christmas songs are really Christian allegory waiting to be unlocked and used as handy illustrations for your all-age, evangelistic carol service. Here are four secretly Christian Christmas songs, ready to use for your next Christmas assembly.
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IssuesChristmas is for life, not just for Christmas
Christmas is the busiest time of the Church calendar, but how do we take all that energy and enthusiasm and dissipate it throughout the year? Alex Taylor has some ideas…
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IssuesChristmas Games
As I sit here staring out of the window, watching the leaves on the trees turn brown, looking at the conkers spread across the pavement and seeing my Facebook feed fill with back-to-school photos, it can mean only one thing: it’s time to write my column for the Christmas issue. Yes, such are print deadlines that even Tesco would blanch at mentioning the C-word this early in the year, but that is the sacrifice I’m making for you, dear readers.
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IssuesSlaughter at Christmas
We’ve all heard the Christmas story, but in our overfamiliarity, have we missed the dark side of the story? Krish Kandiah explains how the unexamined side of the nativity can influence your children’s work
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IssuesChristmas Journeys
Christmas comes but once a year… yet seems to last for longer and longer each time it comes. It’s easy to get tired of the festival before the day has actually arrived. However, the story is central to our faith so, this Christmas, we’ve decided to provide something a little bit different, to help you and your church community engage with this amazing story in a new way.
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BlogReady-to-use Games and Icebreakers: Christmas Games
Christmas games are always a mixed bag. On the one hand, everyone is so excited by the birth of our saviour / imminent school holiday that you could pretty much put an empty Santa hat in front of them, label it a game, and that would be enough. On the other hand, the need to connect to *cliché klaxon* ‘the reason for the season’ means that more effort is actually required at Christmas than at any other time.
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Issues
Christy Wimber
In a rare and privileged interview, Youthwork met Christy Wimber – daughter-inlaw of John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard movement. Continuing his ministry today, Christy speaks all over the world on the gifts of the Spirit, and popped in to share a few pearls of wisdom with us.
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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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BlogReady-To-Use Discussion: The Persecuted Church
According to Open Doors, 100 million Christians around the world face persecution.
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BlogFive inventions that have 'helped' the Church
Inventions are created to make our lives easier. As Christians, we often have to fight for technological advancements to make their way into the Church. Whether that be the fight to get some cool new electric guitars into our worship, or the decision to update the stovetop kettle to an electric urn, there has often been opposition. But some inventions have made things genuinely easier. We look at some of the best below
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BlogThe Church and its role in youth ministry
The first Youthwork Blog of the year comes from Fraser Keay, who shares his thoughts on youth ministry and the important role the Church has to play.
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BlogYouth work isn’t dead. The Church needs a reformation.
In the last Youthwork blog, Dave Welch pronounced that youth work was dead, and it didn't need a revolution. Ali Campbell agreed with some of David's points, but he doesn't feel youth work is the problem...
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BlogThe Church needs to learn from young people
In the first of our blog series, Martin Saunders called for a revolution in youth ministry (you can read the original article here). But what does this revolution look like? Becca Dean wonders if the Church might have more to learn from young people, than to teach them
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BlogStop going to church
What if the youth ministry revolution we need is not a revitalising of the old, but a completely fresh start? This week, Joel Toombs holds nothing back
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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…
