All NexGen Pro articles – Page 114
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IssuesFirst Class Delivery
Postman Pat: The Movie sees our favourite fictional mail delivery man auditioning for a show which looks quite a lot like Britain’s Got Talent. This got us thinking – what would other classic children’s TV shows look like if they got a 21st Century makeover?
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IssuesReady-to-use Mentoring: Clarity
This year I moved into a new role mentoring artists for a Christian record label. One of the key issues I find musicians struggle with is the muddiness of ‘not knowing.’ Not knowing what to do, how to do it, or why it matters. It restricts their creativity, undermines their goals and paralyses their to-do list! My advice is mostly common sense, but without an outside focus they don’t know where to begin or what to get on with first. The potential is there, but confusion robs them of achieving it.
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IssuesSimpl. (Profile: Shane Claiborne)
It’s a hot Sunday afternoon in East London. The sun is shining and I’m all set to interview Shane Claiborne. There’s only one problem - I can’t find Shane Claiborne.
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BlogReady-to-use Reflective Journal: Prayer circles of emotional health
There are certain building blocks which help us to stay emotionally healthy; the activity below is a way to engage with God around those building blocks.
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BlogHow churches can support unaccompanied minors in Europe
The famous quote from Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer sums up the mood of many this week: “The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.” Whilst “its children” could be interpreted as UK children; the parable of The Good Samaritan expands “its children” to anyone in need, the outsider, the one from other countries. This seems even truer today as we recognise the Global Village and Global City we call home.
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IssuesThe power of small churches
I grew up in a big church, with a big youth ministry. The smallest church I’ve worked in had about 600 in Sunday attendance, and the other churches I worked in ranged from 2,500 to 8,000 attendees. Much of this was because I was passionate about ministry with younger teens, and only larger churches tend to have the budget for a specialist in that area.
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IssuesRecharge: Reimagining the Church
Recharge is a Bible study just for you, to nurture your own relationship with God. So stop, sit, breathe and read. This month, Danielle Strickland reflects on Church
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BlogReady-To-Use Discussion: The Persecuted Church
According to Open Doors, 100 million Christians around the world face persecution.
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BlogFive inventions that have 'helped' the Church
Inventions are created to make our lives easier. As Christians, we often have to fight for technological advancements to make their way into the Church. Whether that be the fight to get some cool new electric guitars into our worship, or the decision to update the stovetop kettle to an electric urn, there has often been opposition. But some inventions have made things genuinely easier. We look at some of the best below
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BlogThe Church and its role in youth ministry
The first Youthwork Blog of the year comes from Fraser Keay, who shares his thoughts on youth ministry and the important role the Church has to play.
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BlogYouth work isn’t dead. The Church needs a reformation.
In the last Youthwork blog, Dave Welch pronounced that youth work was dead, and it didn't need a revolution. Ali Campbell agreed with some of David's points, but he doesn't feel youth work is the problem...
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BlogThe Church needs to learn from young people
In the first of our blog series, Martin Saunders called for a revolution in youth ministry (you can read the original article here). But what does this revolution look like? Becca Dean wonders if the Church might have more to learn from young people, than to teach them
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BlogStop going to church
What if the youth ministry revolution we need is not a revitalising of the old, but a completely fresh start? This week, Joel Toombs holds nothing back
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IssuesMessy Church: the story so far
There aren’t many things that have caught the attention and imagination of children’s workers quite like Messy Church. Most churches across the UK will have come across Messy Church in one form or another, and you may even be running a Messy Church yourself. Ten years on from its launch, Martyn Payne of the national BRF Messy Church team asks: is it a passing fad or a glimpse into the future for children’s ministry?
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IssuesReimagining Church with young people
Lots of churches are great. Lots of congregations which meet to worship in buildings up and down the land are genuinely forming communities
of equipped disciples who are working, together with the Holy Spirit, for the transformation of the world. Many have a good spread of ages, are growing, and seeing the kingdom come in their communities. -
IssuesYoung People, Youth Group and Church
Young people see youth group as a fun place to be; they see church as a place to experience God.
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IssuesHelp! I love my youth group but not my church
Churches are odd places. They attract a bizarre combination of people, with as many theologies, ideals, beliefs and practices as there are members. Being part of a church can be complicated, and working for one can be downright difficult. But, as we all know, they are also glorious - and through all of the mess and chaos, the Church is still God’s chosen vehicle for blessing the earth. So how do we press on through the politics and red tape? Which challenges are ‘character growth’ opportunities, and which are simply not our battles to fight? Phoebe Thompson spoke anonymously with youth workers who are living with the tension of loving their young people but not their church - to hear their struggles, and share their advice for youth workers in similar situations.
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IssuesHow to Survive the Church Meeting
The church meeting: a place where the best and brightest of your church congregation meet to discuss the big, important matters of the day - such as, ‘what colour should the chairs be?’ and ‘do we need to update the hymn books?’. How do you survive these hours of torture? Surely there must be a way to make them tolerable. As per usual, we have the answers…
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IssuesLGBT Young people and the Church
The story of Lizzie Lowe haunted every youth worker and pastor I know. The account of the Christian 14 year-old’s death and the reports from her friends that she took her life because she feared telling her church and family that she was gay, sent shivers down our spines and briefly turned our eyes to consider whether we could have contributed to this culture, even contributed to this death.
