For whom is this file meant?For anyone in a helping profession, especially for youth animators(priests, teachers, counselors and so on).
What are their contents of this file?*Material use in our training seminars for your animators.
*These papers are not notes to be read, like a road.
*They are not lecture notes, nor are most of them self-explanatory.
*They make sense chiefly as training material.
As such, they are a tool in the hands of the trained animator.Tools, nothing more, nothing else.By themselves, those papers will not turn anyone into an effective youth worker.
The whole point of training programme is precisely this:Youth ministry (or any ministry, for that matter) depends mostly on the quality of the youth animator and on the relationships and atmosphere he hopes to create. It is not a theoretical problem to be solved through files, lectures or discussions.
How can I use the material provided here?You can use it in a wide variety of ways, provided you have (1) gone through the training seminars; and (2) have some direct experience of youth work. There is no substitute for either of these to requisites.
The youth worker, we believe needs to be: 1. A person of inner balance basically happy and emotionally healthy.
2. A person who is able to relate to others and understand the basics of human relationships.
3. The person who can lead, be in charge of a group, help people in distress, communicate effectively.
4. A person who understands the needs and problems of young people.
5. A person with a critical grasp of our society.
6. A person open to various orientations in youth work, willing to learn from them.
7. A person of deep faith, happy to share with others the Lord's love and goodness.
Will all this preparation help the animator, too?Yes, apart from his contribution to the growth and happiness of so many young people (who from more than half of our population), he himself matures receives love, keeps young to quite Arthur young Pinero
Those who love deeply
Never grow old
They may die of old age
But they die young
May you grow up, grow old help many and die young!
Dimensions one and two: PERSONAL GROWTH AND RELATIONSHIPS Anyone engaged in a helping profession a priest, a teacher, counsellor, doctor, social worker... Needs to develop his own personality; to grow as a responsible, caring, happy individuals, who is able to relate to people and bring out the best in others?
This is particularly true of youth work: Youth ministry, in fact, is not based on a set of techniques nor on a theoretical grasp of youth problems. It is essentially a set of relationships. The better you can relate the more effective your ministry will be. And, to begin with you yourself need to come to grips with your penitential and your flaws, and to be engaged in a constant effort at self renewal.
Dimensions one and two of our programme are aimed at helping the youth worker to become a stronger, happier person, able to relate, to understand. It also initiates him to the group dynamics style of learning.
Dimension three: LEADERSHIPDIMENSION THREE IN OUR TRAINING PROGRAMME IS LEADERSHIP* What do you do when you are in charge of group?
* How good a leader are you?
* How can you become more effective leader?
The following training sessions answer this session at a practical level. (as always, you will learn and teach no by reading the notes or lecturing on them, but by going through the exercise with a group).
A leader needs to communicate well. Communication is a vast subject and cannot be covered in a couple of session.All we have here is morsel. You will need to learn more on in your own.
As a leader or helper you will lead to perfect your helping skills such as listening, responding, and understanding various problems and symptoms. This is why we bring in a bit of counseling in this section.
Dimension four: YOUTH PSYCHOLOGYStudies on youth have become a minor industry in the recent decades. most of the studies are done in America. While we learn from them these important to keep in mind the cultural differences between a Californian teenage and a youngster living in Kumbakonam. Western studies throw light on the common psychological needs, problems and expectations of adolescents. They also alert us to some problems our youth face (or will soon face), especially in the cities. They invite us, above all, to undertake serious and extensive research on our youth. This is an area where enormous gapes have to be filled.
Dimension Five: Social AwarenessA young person's questions, view, hardships and dreams are sharped to a serious grasp of the social conditions of our adolescents.
This is an area that youth movements are concentrating on with increasing interest.
There is a growing sense of the structural injustices of society, of the need for change, of an intelligent and articulate presentation of how our society works.
This concern is by no means restricted to youth workers. Experts from different fields can be brought in to help the youth worker (and youth) get a vision of our society.
Dimension Six: VISION AND STRATEGYCovered so far are:
1.The youth worker's growth as a person.
2.Human relationships, how they work, how they can be better.
3.Styles of leaderships and ways of becoming better leaders.
4.A Sympathetic understanding of the needs and problems of adolescents and
5.Critical grasp of our society.
In this sixth section, we reflect on our goals and methods, and formulate strategies.
* What is my vision of youth work?
* Which are the main youth movements and organizations that operate in our country and world wide?
* What are their respective approaches?
* What can I learn from others' experiences?
* Which approaches will work best in my context?
* These and other questions of policy, methodology and praxis are covered in Dimension Six
Dimension Seven: Faith* What do you really believe in?
* What is the purpose of your ministry with youth?
* How do you find God in this work?
* How do you share the Lord's love with the young?
* Each of us needs to answer theses questions for himself?
We need to develop enough inner strength to carry on each day to love the unloved, to start again failure, to forgive and not to be discouraged.
The Secret Of Such Strength is Faith* Faith in the Lord, in His love and presence and plans.
* Faith calling us to a loving commitment.
* Faith showing us the Lord's face in every face, behind the different questions and the vanished hopes.
* Faith that shows us our tremendous possibilities for the ministry, if we are united with the source.
