KEVIN “ “
PEOPLE CALLED INTO THE ‘PRECIOUS’ WORLD OF CHRISTIAN YOUTH OR CHILDREN’S MINISTRY KNOW THAT IT CAN BE A MESSY AND NOISY CALLING. MESSY BECAUSE, WHATEVER YOUR AGE, YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO WORK IN A CULTURE SOMEWHAT UNLIKE YOUR OWN. AND NOISY BECAUSE, APART FROM THE OBVIOUS, THERE ARE VOICES. VOICES WHICH CAN OFTEN CAUSE US TO DOUBT OURSELVES, OUR CALLING, AND SADLY OCCASIONALLY, GOD.
DWELL is the place and space where the only voice to be heard is that of the author of your calling. It is a place where you will hear Him say, “welcome my good & faithful servant, in you I am well pleased.”
DWELL creates time for you to feel cherished, feel loved by God, through others who recognise your value. It is a reward for the work you have done and will do for the Kingdom of God.
DWELL is not a place or space to resource your ministry with new ideas or the latest methodologies; in fact, it is positively discouraged. It is for you to come into the presence of God, free from those competing voices.
DWELL is one of the first events to make it into my diary every year. It is not a luxury; it is an essential to my life as a Christian Youth Worker. It has become to me ‘that’ weekend where I realign myself with the Jesus who first called me to faith in Him and who later said, “I have work for you to do”.
Though I have called it such, DWELL is not an event, rather it is an experience; I have experienced the value of it, I have experienced the affirmation it gives; I have experienced the camaraderie of others.
I look forward to seeing you there.
Our values are fundamental to our work and how we interact with all who we meet.
BRINGING WHOLENESS THOUGH SAFE SPACES
We believe that our work provides safe spaces for the young people we meet. We also believe that we can provide more of these. That could be a Chaplain mentoring in a school, or sitting on a street corner chatting, it could be providing a space for a member of staff to share worries or concerns, or it could be the activities that we provide from our residential centre.
We see ‘wholeness’ as being at least three different aspects; physical, mental, and spiritual. We aim to provide support in all three areas. Our values are crucial for the culture of our organisation and team. We believe that working closely to these values enables us to live out the vision and mission for CYM.
