Like many youth workers there is no one typical day in my working life. There is, however, one guarantee; the day will always start at my coffee machine.
Having got a coffee, where I head when I leave depends on what’s in the diary. It’s very easy to say that as a youth worker every day is different, but generally when you are linked to a church it’s locally based. As a youth officer, I really have a varied role; I can find myself heading anywhere across my Diocese to meet a youth worker or Bishop, but similarly I can find myself travelling across the country for wider meetings, writing and planning at home or having a day of prep and meetings in my office.
I try and make sure that I only work two sessions a day - to keep a good balance between family life and ministry - however some days that is just not possible due to demand. Today is sadly one of those days, which means there is a fine balance between driving, family time and prep.
There is a lot of time travelling in my role and I find the car a great place to pray, think and write (in my head). This morning having grabbed my coffee I drive 20 minutes across the Diocese to one of our secondary schools to meet with the group of school chaplains and catch up with them. Someone else chairs the meeting, but I am a member of the group and it’s great to hear the innovative work that is going on in the diocesan secondary schools. Over the years I have worked with the schools to lead year group communions, pilgrimages to Taize and speak at school services. This morning’s meeting includes a presentation on ‘What If learning’ and feedback from one of the chaplains on a chaplaincy course they have been on.
...one of the saddest parts of my role is hearing the stories of how churches are treating their workers and the pain and anguish it causes
After networking with some of the chaplains on the way out, I grab a quick sandwich in the car and then drive 40 minutes more across the diocese to meet with one of the youth workers I mentor. I really enjoy coaching and mentoring youth workers. I feel it helps them gain new perspectives on their role. It’s a real honor and a privileged role that God has put me in, as I stand alongside people and see them develop. As I've been in my role for a while, it’s been great to see young people grow into young adults and youth workers of ordinands. There has been a big growth in employed youth workers in the diocese over the last 12 years, and it was great a few years ago to find out that a member of one of the first youth groups I ran as a parish worker had become employed by one of the churches in the Diocese. I now find that I spend more of my time mentoring and meeting workers than I did at the start. However one of the saddest parts of my role is hearing the stories of how churches are treating their workers and the pain and anguish it causes.
Once I've met and chatted over coffee (fourth espresso shot of the day) it’s time to jump back into the car and head to the home for a quick bite to eat and see my wife and spend time reading with my daughter, before heading back out for an evening meeting. With both my wife and I in church ministry, this is a fairly regular occurrence of grabbing time together before an evening meeting.
Diocesan Youth officers in the Church of England exist to support parishes and youth workers in the engagement of young people. Each youth officer’s job description is different and each one has different priorities depending on diocesan vision and history. One of the key elements in mine has been running diocesan-wide youth events. This evening’s meeting is with my very great team of volunteers who help me run our annual youth weekend. It’s been going in one form or another for over twenty years and we have seen countless young people come to Christ, develop leadership skills and go deeper in their faith. I try and delegate as much of the weekend to others as I can, as like many employed people, God has blessed me with some very talented, innovative, experienced and quite frankly amazing volunteers. I am also passionate about giving people the opportunity to explore their gifting, try things out, and develop as leaders.
Chris Curtis. CEO of Youthscape, once said that you had to be either heroic or mad to be a youth officer
This evenings meeting is halfway through the yearly planning process and having set a theme at the last meeting we are putting the program and content together. The planning offers me the space to give a couple of volunteers the opportunity to have a go at something new, which they hesitantly accept. After prayer it’s time to head home (driving 30 minutes), give thanks for the day gone and gather my thoughts for the next day, which includes a meeting in Manchester with my amazing regional colleagues and planning for the weekends teaching for the course I co-run. Usually, when I arrive home, if my wife is still awake, I will spend time with her or will chill out in front of a tv series or catching up on the days sports action.
What does it take to be a youth officer? Well Chris Curtis, CEO of Youthscape, once said that you had to be either heroic or mad to be a youth officer as you spend time advising parishes that don’t necessarily have to do what you say. I don’t think I fall into either category but I did love my role and time in the DYO network – there are about 50 of us across the country. I get my energy from my faith and the continued diversity of the role.
Mark Montgomery will soon be taking up a role as Missioner to the Kings Hill Community in Kent, and an associate priest. He has launched some free online resources to help churches engage with young people which you can find here. He tweets @monty_blog and blogs at standingonthecusp.
