Posts by Mere Agency (Page 8)
Christian Men: Take Up Your Cross in Housing Schemes!
by Andy Constable One of the biggest problems in schemes across Scotland is the breakdown of male leadership. We have many young men without role models. We have lots of men living off the state to provide for their income instead of working. We have many men being bossed around by their…
Why Confrontation is Crucial for the Christian
by Andy Constable One of my biggest struggles in ministry is having ‘confrontational’ conversations with people. I find it almost unnatural to broach difficult conversations and offer biblical rebuke. In particular I find it hard to confront people on their sin issues. This is an area…
How Social Media is Changing the Way we do Youth Ministry
“I’d die if I didn’t have my BlackBerry.” Recent comment from young person According to the news, a UK survey shows that TV is being pushed aside by mobile internet devices in the lives of young people. Among 7-16 year olds, 61% have a mobile phone with internet access, and use that phone for an…
Don’t work in schemes if you can’t use your brain!
By Andy Constable Biblical thinking can very often be in short supply among many young Christians who want to work in ‘poorer’ areas. They can be guilty of explicitly reasoning that ‘thinking’ is somehow unspiritual or implicitly believing that the people they are working with only need…
Youth Groups That Do What They Say On The Tin!
In the UK, there’s a product called Ronseal. It’s a popular varnish/wood stain product available in most hardware stores. Their advertising strap line is really well known: it’s supposed to be simple, straight-forward, and down-to-earth. “Ronseal: It does exactly what it says on the tin.” In…
Youth Groups That Do What They Say On The Tin!
‘Off the shelf’ Christmas assemblies for schools
Being the new chaplain on the scene, it falls to me to deliver this year’s Christmas assembly in the local high school next week. The expectation is for me to deliver a short seasonal message to a large group of teenagers (who don’t really want to be there) to help them think more about Christmas.…
Christian Youth Work : Developing Healthy Partnerships
One of the things that we notice about the young people in Niddrie is that many of them like bikes, both the pedal kind, and the motor kind. So bikes present us with a great opportunity for contact with many young people and also with other organisations working in the area. As a church, we want to…
What does ‘real’ friendship look like in an inner city housing scheme?
By Andy Constable As I have worked in Cape Town and Niddrie a question that I have often asked myself is what does friendship look like in these places? What does it mean to be friends with people here? We naturally build relationships around our socio-demographic. We are friends, generally, with…
Should the church help young people into work?
If any professional ever had a claim to the title ‘Jack of all trades’, it would surely be the church Youth Worker. What other profession can boast such diversity in roles as: counsellor, entertainer, artist, cleaner, cinematographer, people manager, taxi driver, web developer, teacher, caretaker,…