Youthscape,
Bute Mills,
74 Bute St,
Luton,
LU1 2EY
Charity no: 1081754 | Company no: 3939801
Innovative youth work born in Luton delivered everywhere
Youthscape Essentials is an innovative new course for volunteer youth leaders that increases your skills and confidence about work alongside young people – whether that’s running a community project, church youth group, or helping out from time to time on a Sunday morning. You can join a group online or in-person at a venue near where you live. You can also register and train to deliver the course to others.
Church engagement with young people is in decline, but it doesn’t have to be. Launchpad is an informed, practical and hopeful project that teaches church leaders how they can initiate youth work in their church.
Only a quarter of churches in the UK have youth work during a Sunday service or youth activities midweek. That leaves most churches wondering if it’s possible to do anything and, if so, how to start. Most churches can’t afford a paid worker and find it difficult to recruit volunteers. They’re also acutely aware that the kind of youth work needed may need to look very different to accommodate the changing culture. No wonder it’s often overwhelming and intimidating to think about starting something from scratch.
Launchpad is Youthscape’s answer to this challenge. It’s a new programme designed to give church leaders the insights, strategies and confidence they need to help the church take this step forward. Piloted with the Capital Youth programme in the Diocese of London, initially in 2017, more than thirty vicars have completed the course in the first twelve months.
Over five two-hour sessions Launchpad features expert, insightful teaching on youth culture, case studies of different types of youth work, and guidance on how to build a team of volunteers. Participants complete simple exercises that build into a concrete strategy. Some will learn how to develop youth work from successful children’s work; others will explore starting with a handful of teenagers already in the church; or taking the bigger step of reaching out to young people in the community to begin a project. Launchpad is a chance to think again, to see the possibilities that arise through innovation, informed strategy, and a renewed vision for youth work in church.
The final session is a chance for the wider church to engage with the project and find the confidence and momentum to put a strategy into action.