Currently trying to develop a policy for using Social networking as a youth work tool, thinking about issues of the balance between meeting young people where they are and endorsing the use of particular networks, how much time? Can you measure the impact? I tend to work to a personal policy of I don’t add young people, I let them know I am there and will accept friendship invites from them but I don’t invite them myself. Do you have a policy? If so can I see a copy please, if you don’t but are working on similar things can we share ideas? If you weren’t even thinking about it but you’ve suddenly thought “if I were to produce some sort of policy I would include this” please share your ideas.
Many thanks
Simo

written by Simo

Vcashpiont are offering grants of up to £2500 for people aged between 16 & 25 to start a volunteer project in their local communities. The projects need to be run by young people and for young people, applications are from individuals but for projects that will involve both that person and at least three other young volunteers in helping their community, interested or no anybody that might be?
Check out www.vinspired.com to find out more.

written by Simo

Just received this video on Facebook (thanks to Carol), it is something that is encouraging the church to get back to the heart of Worship, reminding us that worship is for God and not for us, thought you might find it interesting/useful.
Enjoy.

written by Simo

If your visiting having read ground level, the profile page in Youthwork Magazine then a very big welcome to you.
Regular readers may remember that a while ago I talked about putting up a video tour of the bus, well I have finally done it, as part of the preparations to put it on the market, so if you want to see it inside and out please click below.

written by Simo

Well I had a meeting with the DDO (Diocesan Director of Ordinands) this morning as I continue to explore where God is calling me in my future ministry. It seemed to go well, some though provoking questions and quite a bit of reading to do now but I think it was positive, I now need to get on and do some reading before seeing her again in July. Thanks to all of you that were praying and I will keep you updated.

• ‘Being a Priest today‘ by Christopher Cocksworth & Rosalind Brown
• ‘Ministry in three dimensions‘ by Stephen Croft

I would be very interested in borrowing them.

Cheers

written by Simo

well almost… I have been asked to write a case study on the bus project for Youthwork Magazine and submitted my article at the beginning of this week. I think it should be in the next issue (which I guess is due out in three weeks or so guessing from when I got my last issue). Although mostly focused on the bus and only short I have tried to relate it to rural youth ministry as much as I can as well. I am looking forward to having a copy in my hands and I’m sure I’ll put a note up here when I finally see it in print.

written by Simo

Last week we had the APCM at church, I had been waiting for this before I felt I could say too much about my thinking on the blog, but now the info is out with that annual report it all become a little easer as it is out there in the public domain anyway.

When I first arrived in Faringdon I was on a three year contract which was then extended for a further two years, this takes my contract until end of July 2009 but for the last year or so I have started thinking about what is next for me. Come that date next year I will have been in full time Church based Youth Ministry for 10 years (all bar a month) and I feel that perhaps I should be heading in a slightly different direction. As many of you probably know I feel passionately about Youth Work in rural churches, I have been frustrated by the focus on Urban Priority areas, not because I begrudge a focus on them but because I have been aware of a need in rural areas that seams to have been overlooked. (There is also a slight sense of irony here as the rural population of Britain is growing faster that any other!)

So I have had this vision for several years to set up a charity (called Not Ashamed, based on Romans 1:16 (I love that verse!) hence my owning the domain notashamed.co.uk) to ‘encourage, enable and equip good quality Youth Work in and through rural Churches’.

At Soul Survivor last year I went to a seminar by Bishop Graham & Jackie Cray called Getting Collard, obviously about ordination, this is again an idea that has been with me for quite some time, and something that had been suggested when thinking and talking about my vision as well. This has started much thinking and praying and as a result I feel I am being called to ordained ministry and that somehow this fits with the Vision, I don’t know how it all fits together, but I truly believe this is where God is calling me at the moment. As a part of this process I have an appointment with the DDO (Diocesan Director of Ordinands) on the 23^rd May to help start the process of exploring this calling.

At the same time as all this I am also looking around at what other jobs are around, I don’t know about you but it seams to me there is no one place to look for jobs in youth ministry, there seam to be several and not one that has all

I thought it might be helpful to have a list of places to look for ministry jobs and so at the bottom of this post is what I have got so far and I am sure there are several I have missed, especially any outside of the Anglican church, if you know of others please let me know and I’ll add them.

In the mean time I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as I look to what the future holds for me and my family.

job search monitor

church of England newspaper

churchtimes

cross rhythms

written by Simo

Having started a sermon series at church toward the end of last year, we were looking at ways of making them available for people that missed the service or were out leading a group. We came to the conclusion that the easiest way to do this now was to record and put them online, thus was born www.allsaintsfaringdon.co.uk. As was inevitable with this situation eventually one of my sermons was going to appear and that has happened today (it’s taken me a while to get it sorted this week). So if your interested in hearing what I had to say on the subject of calling click here and download.

written by Simo

This year I did my tax return ages ago, about May time, one of the advantages of this I discovered is that you can chose to pay your bill through your tax code which I thought would be good. Shortly afterwards I received a new tax code which has since been used. It was therefore a surprise when last week I got a bill through telling me I had to pay by today! I phoned the tax office who didn’t really seam to know what was going on but assured me I didn’t need to pay the bill as the money had been collected through my tax code. I’m now thinking I should have asked for this in writing, there is this little voice at the back of my head that is saying if they told me wrong I am going to be fined for late payment, although I don’t owe them any money, it should be fine, stop worrying!  

written by Simo

Thanks to those of you that made the call, I have just heard that Project Inspire won it’s bid , although the info I gave before was not quite correct, they have won a grant of £90,000 and this will enable them to get going with the project and will make a huge difference to both the village community and those around the area, well done to Fernaham and Project Inspire, I look forward to visiting St John’s and seeing what it’s like after the work has been done.

written by Simo