What is it to be a youth, children and family worker?

Working as a youth, children and family worker is, first and foremost, being flexible as every day is different with children and young people of various ages and needs. Toddler groups, Dan’s Den, youth groups, children with additional needs, Alpha courses or Sunday morning worship, the possibilities of engaging children and young people are endless in Christchurch.

Michael, the youth, children and family worker in Christchurch, a Methodist URC LEP, in the Yorkshire West Methodist District, is also working to create working relationships with schools. They want the schools to know that they are here to help and cater to their needs.

Engaging with schools

“I went to one of the primary schools we started working with and asked them how we can help. They said anything that improves the children's mental well-being, so they queried the children to know what activity they would like. They answered a gymnastics club and a chess club. I can't do gymnastics, but I can do chess. The club has become so popular now that we've had to make it to senior chess and junior chess.”

At a Grammar school, Michael also organised a lunchtime club for children – including a Thursday board game – who might be on their own to eat, giving them a safe space where they can play have a laugh and be themselves. “Last year we had only two regular Year Seven. This year the club was open to Year Eight and Nine too and we have had up to 22 children coming,” adds Michael.

Going to schools is not about providing them with a religious presence and preaching, but providing help and support however it is needed. Sometimes, children met at school end up joining other youth activities provided by Christchurch. Occasionally, children and their families also attend some services held by the church.

“It is great seeing the children at school, uniform groups or in church as our work is about creating links, creating a community and trust so they can open up and let us know when something is wrong. We engage with people who might not have religion in their lives and we hope to be positive role models,” says Michael.

Michael is also involved with Bradford Youth Service and the Oakley Youth Forum which aims at giving young people a voice and opportunities in the community. One of the feedbacks they received was that young people also needed dedicated Warm Spaces between school and going back home. In Christchurch’s café, they prepared hot chocolate and board games and some young people came.

“The point wasn't to have hundreds come ups, but to have the kids who needed it. One of them comes to some other groups, so we want to cater and respond to children and young people’s needs, and give them opportunities,” adds Michael.

Before Christmas, the schools invited Michael and his colleagues to do five different assemblies on Advent. About 1,500 young people attended and enjoyed that the team engaged with them instead of just teaching them what Advent is.

Bringing Young people back into the church

The pandemic and the lockdowns were quite a challenge as nobody knew what to do and contacts were limited. In Christchurch, a side effect was that the young people who were on the margins of the church did not come back and they are still trying to build a youth presence within the church.

“Many young people have misconceptions about church, that it's just for the elderly, there's nothing that it can offer to them,” regrets Michael. Recently, they were trying to get young people to join a local Christian camp, but some of them told Michael that they risked being bullied by other kids at school if they went.

But the team works hard to shatter those misconceptions: they work ecumenically with other denominations to create a joint Sunday night youth group as well as with other Methodist churches to offer Friday evening youth clubs.

In one of the Friday sessions, they created a section called 95: “Research shows that 95% of young people don't go to church. So we thought it was a good conversation opener. The very first time, we asked on a scale of 1 to 10, do you like church? And they all said 0. I think the problem is they associate church with not offering them anything.”

Being a youth, children and family worker is tough but rewarding. It requires empathy, creativity and hope that in 1, 10 or 20 years the seeds planted today will bring young people back in church. “We will keep gently nudging them, keep showering them with love. And maybe one day we'll have some of them say let's give it a go,” concludes Michael.