It's the beginning of another academic year. And, for children, youth, and certainly their youth and children's workers, this is a big time of change.
There is so much to be thinking about, and I want to offer four pieces of advice, four things that we must seek to remember (yet I often forget) at the beginning of the new school year:
- Facilitate good transitions
For a good number of your youth and children, September means moving up into a different group, which may mean a different time, a different evening and a different place. This is such an easy time to lose people, so throw everything into making sure that those people in the moving boat are really well looked after so it doesn't become a time when they become detached. Some of these transitions might feel really big - like being in church instead of in a group for the first time - so lots of love and care will be required. And some of these transitions won't work very well - that programme that worked for the previous cohort might not work for the new one. Don't panic - that's okay! It's about the young people, not the group (as much as we love it!), so as tiring as it feels, we may need to make some changes!
Should we teach hard doctrine to children?
This term at our children's groups, I made the decision to attempt teaching the doctrine of union with Christ — …