Centre for Youth Ministry graduate Becca Dean writes about her experiences of formal youth ministry training , offering practical advice on finding the right course and getting the most from the experience. Complete with expectations, surprises and thought-provoking bubble bath…‘In the beginning...’
Six years ago I found myself at a bit of a crossroads. I had made a momentous decision to forgo a well-planned career in optometry and had somehow hopped into the vocation of ‘Christian youth work’, mainly due to a sense of calling and responsibility (and possibly a slight predisposition to facilitating ice-breakers).
What I found after a year’s taster in youth work was that I absolutely loved it. I loved working with young people; they totally gripped me, and all I really wanted to do was work with them full time in whatever way God would have me do it. The problem that confronted me was that however much I knew I wanted to do full time youth work, in total honesty I knew that I was still very much a work in progress, and would need some support in becoming the youth worker that I wanted to be. I remember being very encouraged, though, by the Biblical example of David, who, whilst was aware that he was the future King of the Israelites, had a long period of time in training between his initial anointing and taking up his role years later.
Six years on, and a degree in ‘Youth and Community Work with Applied Theology’, and three different church youth work ‘posts’ later, I am still very much a work in progress, needing a great deal of support in becoming the youth worker that I want to be. Despite my hopes, I didn’t leave my degree course the finished product (but don’t tell my youth group). Rather, my three years in training allowed a period of time to broaden my experience and understanding, as well as developing personally and professionally. I honestly feel very privileged for having had the opportunity to purposefully invest in my learning so early on in my career.
Why do it?
For me training was an obvious step. It allowed me to learn and grow within a very safe and supportive framework. Rather than limiting me, it freed me to extend my own understanding and expectation of what Christian youth work could be, and who I potentially could be as a youth worker.
Youth work training is a fantastic time of being exposed to a wealth of new ideas: theological, practical, academic and sociological. It offers a deep and diverse community to learn from: tutors, fellow classmates and youth-workers-in-training, other professionals and the various people groups and communities you learn to work within.
I know that many people can be put off further education if their previous learning experiences have been difficult. I was one of these people; I don’t think I really grasped that I was doing a degree until half way through my first year, and if it hadn’t been for the ‘job’ aspect of being a student youth worker I don’t think I would have signed up for the course at all.
I had always ‘under achieved’ at school, where my behaviour and attention span were my biggest weaknesses, and my teachers’ biggest nightmare (if you’re reading this, sorry). I struggled motivating myself to do homework, motivating myself to listen and focus in lessons, and even ‘fitting in’ socially. I was distinctly below average! What I found in my youth work training was a truly amazing turning point for me. My inability to conform, my passion to talk, discuss, or go off and learn myself were no longer hindrances, they were assets. Obviously my limited attention span could be (and was) problematic from time to time, but I was suddenly learning about things that brought me excitement and enthusiasm, and the way in which I was learning enabled me to tap into resources that during school I’d learnt to cope with rather than celebrate.
Undertaking training is about investing in yourself and the youth work you plan on doing in the long term. It’s about stretching your perspectives, discovering and refining your own resources, gaining skills in understanding young people and their contexts, and seeing them through a lens that goes beyond the superficial. Whilst you may also wrestle with God and theological ideas, expect to go deeper with an authentic understanding of spirituality that will go hand in hand with what you’re learning and practising.
Where to do it?
Unfortunately this is where I’m fiercely biased - you can’t get better than Midlands CYM in my opinion - so maybe a good way round that is to look at your needs and preferences, and look for courses that best suit those criteria.
There is currently the best choice of youth work training organisations in the UK that there has ever been. Try asking yourself some of the following questions, and then look to the various training bodies to find which could be a good fit for you.
Consider:
• Where and when am I likely to learn best?
• What are my needs in terms of support or context?
• How much practical experience do I want to have whilst studying?
• What is my financial situation?
• What other aspects of my life will be impacted by my learning?
• Where are the gaps in both my experience and understanding of youth work?
Key tips
Let change and learning start with you. The more you are prepared to learn and grow, the easier it will be. This will be hard at times, and easier other times. It’s easy to get defensive when what we thought we knew is challenged or even criticised, but this will be inevitable as we start to question, reflect, and encounter a vast range of ideas and experiences that are different to ours. One of the things I learned repeatedly (and often the hard way) was that the more I tried to prove myself as the finished product, the more I isolated myself from opportunities to learn, grow and be challenged.
You won’t save the world... but there is huge value in what you will do. I moved from Ipswich to Stoke-on-Trent for my training experience. Prior to this, I didn’t know where Stoke-on-Trent was, yet as I travelled across from East Anglia to the north-west Midlands I went with the conviction that what I was doing was for the Lord and that I simply needed to be ‘b and courageous,’ to ‘go in and take possession of the land the Lord [my] God [had] given [me] for [my] own,’ (to quote Joshua 1 slightly out of context). Yes God was with me wherever I went, just like He was with Joshua as he took on his calling. But really the expectations I had of what it meant to follow my calling to Stoke-on-Trent was a little beyond reality (even with God).
I’m not saying that God won’t bless what you do, or do great and amazing things through the work you do during your training. But I am suggesting that what God’s hand at work looks like may be different to what you expect. So don’t be discouraged when the work you’re doing isn’t necessarily awe-inspiring or earth-shattering at every youth meeting.
There will be significant value in all the youth work you do. Be kind to yourself as you learn that you may not change the world around you quite as much as you would have liked. Whilst you will probably be more of a blessing to the young people around you than you can realise if you continue to love and serve them whilst loving and serving God, you may find that what changes most in these three years is you.
Generally, you get what you put in. Managing essays, practical youth work, and maintaining some kind of healthy personal life is a fine art. But invest in all of these areas. Be enthusiastic about participating in your own learning where you can, delivering good youth work where you can, and being part of a learning community where you can. I’ve found that the more enthusiastic and wholehearted you are in these areas the more likely you are to get the very best out of each situation.
Look for learning at every opportunity. In youth work training, the learning definitely doesn’t just take place in the classroom. It occurs in discussion, in research, in leading youth groups, in all kinds of conversations. If you get good at reflective practise it will then happen everywhere; at the cinema, away on holiday, or even in the bath - you may find yourself reflecting on models of community cohesion as you consider the bubbles (just me?).
Don’t avoid being challenged. Some aspects of training will come less easily. Some assignments will be particularly tough, as will some relationships with tutors, classmates, or colleagues. Sometimes the more difficult aspects of training will allow you the most valuable learning long-term. For me it was working in ways that went against the grain, or addressing difficult situations that I’d really rather avoid. Sometimes it’ll be tough but you just have to get over it and get on with it (I’m definitely thinking deadlines here). Being challenged is uncomfortable, but is much better to address than avoid.
If you need help, ask for it. In my attempt to appear to be the best youth worker since Jesus, it’s taken me a long time to realise that we are not superhuman. Actually, maybe we are even at our best when supported by others.
If you are a perfectionist - or even just a show off - this could be the hardest lesson to learn. But while you’re training you will have access to all kinds of really wise people who will offer you support in all kinds of ways. Generally people involved in youth work training will want the trainee youth workers to develop in the best way that they can, and so will be willing and keen to support you in doing this.
There is definitely a place for being self-motivated, able, and proactive, but needing help is not something that stops after training, so it’s definitely worth learning how to do while you’re training.
The learning doesn’t stop. Since taking on my first post-training job in 2008, I have been plagued with the knowledge that, whilst I thought I was all qualified and shiny and had nothing left to learn, this couldn’t have been further from the truth.
When I passed my driving test, I remember being advised by my that the learning didn’t stop, it was just different kind of learning as I drove myself around without an instructor (or screaming parent) close by. It was. And so it is with youth work.
After training you take the tools you’ve learnt and continue to use them as you muddle through and continue to aspire to do the best youth work that you can for your context. I’ve been lucky enough to be supported by both the invaluable friends I made over my course at CYM, and even continued to learn from some of the amazing people who trained me.
It’s a weird but exciting thing: once you get a taste for learning and developing and exploring the yet unknown, it’s hard to stop. You may find yourself a little bit of a youth work geek and begin drawing models of developmental theories on napkins in coffee shops (just me?).
Whilst I admit that I am still young in my career and always learning more, I am a total convert to youth work training. It’s a fantastic opportunity to really invest in developing your skills, expanding your knowledge, and refining those natural abilities that will be nothing but a blessing to your youth work in the long term. Good luck!
Becca Dean is Youth Pastor at Carpenters Community Church, the author of Be Live Pray and a graduate of MCYM.
