1. CORE Skills Developing and extending key skills for children’s ministry Katherine Lyddon Diocesan Children’s Work Adviser
2. 1. To help you to develop an understanding of children and the skills required to nurture children in their journey of faith. 3 Aims of CORE 2. To provide you with the opportunity to explore and reflect on your own experience of faith and Christian journey, and the effect it has on your own work with children. 3. To help you capture and share a vision of a Christian community which children's faith is expressed and valued.
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6. Introductory Session Katherine Lyddon Diocesan Children’s Work Adviser Developing and extending key skills for children’s ministry
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13. Approaching a session What challenges have you met, or are you anticipating, in your work with children? Think of a memorable session. What worked well and why did you remember it?
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16. Assessing Training Needs Look at the outline of these CORE sessions. Fill in the boxes to help you assess which topics are priorities for you.
21. Thank you for coming Katherine Lyddon Diocesan Children’s Work Adviser
Notas do Editor
Who am I – flip chart, pens Why am I here? – post-its, pens Children and culture – children’s magazines and internet sites Children and the church – P20 photocopied Approaching a session – Building relationships - Assessing training needs – photocopy p21 Biblical thoughts – 3 bibles Worship – Bible, cake ingredients and cake to share.
Feedback to record hopes and fears on a flip chart. Discuss the hopes and concerns that the children may be bringing to the groups with which you are involved. Write these on the flipchart too, and compare this list with the first.
How many ways can this questions be answered? Write as many as your like, one on each Post-it note. Join up with one or two other people and talk about why each person is here. Come back together, how did different people interpret the question? How did you feel during the exercise? What insights does this exercise given into working with children?
Any adult who wants to work with children needs to understand a little about what it is like to be a child in today’s world. An adult leader can never be a child, but can make some effort to get inside the world of children. What influences our children? Values are strongly communicated through the media. Look at these magazines and websites and do the following: Share your findings.
The world of children and how children develop is explored further in CORE session 1.
Share the experience of a memorable session yo have led with children, one you have seen led, or one you experienced as a child. What worked well and why did you remember it? What challenges have you met, or are you anticipating, in your work with children?
Atmosphere, layout, welcome. How can you start the session off to build relationships with the children? When planning, always build in time to engage with a group and individual children. One-to-one conversations are usually easier when a child is engaged in a low-key practical task. Use ‘circle time’ techniques from time to time. With younger children, a ‘show and tell’ can be an important, regular part of the session. For older children, frequent positive affirmation games will build up the groups’ capacity to relate positively and share more deeply. Always plan to spend time on what is important, and avoid giving time to activities that benefit the adults more than the children. For example, if you meet on a Sunday morning, avoid a weekly commitment to ‘producing’ something that has to be performed for the adults in the church. Consider how you plan and review together.
How have your groups worked together so far? Many of our principles for working are implicit but with children, especially working with a new group or meeting for the first time after a break, it may be good to work together to produce a code of conduct and agree on it. The process is really important. You could take suggestions from adults and children, followed by a vote to decide which to include.
This session has drawn attention to just some of the skills and knowledge that are important for any adults working with children on behalf of their church. Some of this skils comes with experience, but only if you take time to do some conscious learning as well, and alos take time to reflect critically on your experiences. Look at the outline of these CORE sessions on the Assessing training needs questionnaire and fill in the boxes to help you assess which topics are priorities for you.
Split into 3 groups. Summarise in 3 statements what your theology would be if this was the only passage you new. How would this affect the church? Different church traditions have different ideas about why children are in church. Listen to these models and see if you recognise any of them.
CHILDREN ARE THE CHURCH OF TOMORROW – Children will become useful disciples when they become adult members. The church will aim at keeping them in contact with the church so that their real learning and work can begin when the time comes. THE CHILDREN ARE THE CHURCH OF TOMORROW BUT NEED TO LEAD A CHRISTIAN LIFE NOW – children’s work will be seen as schooling in the Christian life. The children’s activities may work on the assumption that the faith must be learnt and a Christian way of life followed. Information giving and Bible teaching will aim to lead to a vibrant adult faith and spiritual life. CHILDREN ARE PART OF TODAY’S CHURCH – the rest of the congregation will treat them as equally valuable members, it will make sure children’s provision in the church is of high quality, aimed at equipping children for ministry. Children will be enabled to take part in all aspects of church life. If someone came into your church and tried to guess what your theology of children was by watching thelife of the church, what conclusions do you think they would draw? Think about visiting another church and guessing what their theology of children might be.
Let’s listen to 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. It goes on to say that even the weaker parts are indispensable. God has given everyone gifts but they are all different.
Its like different ingredients in a cake. If you just have 1 ingredient (unless it’s the chocolate chips!) its not very nice by itself, but when you combine it with all the other ingredients, you make something quite delicious. Whilst listening to some music, think about the gifts and talents that you have in relation to children’s ministry. We all have a concern for children and we can offer our different skills in different ways.
Who am I – flip chart, pens Why am I here? – post-its, pens Children and culture – children’s magazines and internet sites Children and the church – P20 photocopied Approaching a session – Building relationships - Assessing training needs – photocopy p21 Biblical thoughts – 3 bibles Worship – Bible, cake ingredients and cake to share.
