Category: Ministry


Many people like the idea of using laser skirmish to provide a technological ‘upgrade’ to classic wide games such as ‘Capture the Flag’. However, some people have raised concerns at the idea of promoting shooting games in a Christian environment.

I’d consider the idea of creating a purpose-built laser skirmish battlefield at Youthworks Outdoors with the latest simulation weapons for those who might like to take advantage of it, and to offer an alternative activity for groups whose leaders or teachers find this unappealing.

But, would it be grossly unpopular and potentially offensive to the majority? Would you let your school or youth group dress up in camouflage and play war games in the bush? Or would you find the very notion to be antisocial and insensitive?

Read the full article at sydneyanglicans.net and get on board with the comments!

Imagine if you could split up the church into different venues for the singing time, and then have the same sermon delivered at the same time to all groups of people?

This exact scenario is what I encountered at a recent visit to Saddleback Church, in California.

It was great to see that this church is so keen to meet people where they are at that it seeks to deliver music that meets the needs of the congregation. It was also a clever way to deal with the need to provide overflow seating for their overflowing venue.

However, I couldn’t but help that this was market-driven ministry that had gone too far.

Read my full article at www.sydneyanglicans.net

The rhythms of the calendar are quite different for an outdoor ministry than a parish ministry. In NSW especially, the lion share of the ministry happens in the warmer months, leaving the winter months ideally suited for more intense training and preparation.

From this challenge came a solution that we believe will work to see people well-trained and thoroughly-equipped for a lifetime of ministry, whether in the outdoor context or otherwise.

Instead of adopting the ‘normal’ academic year, we will now be offering apprentices the opportunity to spend most days in the warmer months bringing the Word to children and youth, and spend the winter months of their second and four years being taught subjects in the Diploma of Theology. To complement this theological training, apprentices will train for a Certificate III in Outdoor Recreation in first year, and then a Certificate IV in their third year.

Four years of ministry experience, coupled with training in the hard skills of outdoor recreation, and the soft skills of theology.

Check out the whole article at sydneyanglicans.net

PS: I’m looking for ten new MTS Outdoor Ministry Apprentices to start in September. Applications close in two weeks. Visit outdoorministry.youthworks.net for details.

I have found, especially through my youth ministry experience, that it is well worth the investment in time to help a group get to know each other at the start of a session or event. Whether it’s a youth group evening, or a leader’s training event, it’s worth making the time to have a ‘mixer’.

Read my latest sydneyanglicans.net article to see three mixers I’ve done to death, but still work just fine.

In school education, ‘resilience’ is the latest buzz-word.

One of the interesting findings of recent research is that spirituality has been shown to be a key factor in helping people build this resilience.

The only way a state school could teach spirituality would be for them to ask the local religious communities to send representatives to teach the children of their respective faiths.

Yet, what I have just described is exactly what our NSW state school system currently enjoys with Special Religious Education (SRE).

SRE brings a smorgasbord of spirituality into our state schools. It is taught for free by skilled and passionate volunteers from the community. It offers the tools needed to help students form resilience in this pressured and chaotic world.

If SRE didn’t exist, we’d invent it. So why would we ever want to lose it?

Read my full article at www.sydneyanglicans.net