Trainee Youth Leader

Working for Thornbury Baptist Church in Thornbury

Project Type: Single Church

Project Area: North

Job Title: Trainee Youth Leader

Type of Post: Trainee

Number of Hours: 40

Allowance/Salary:
Pocket Money of £35 a week. All SWYM expenses and direct Youthwork expenses to be arranged with Line Manager

Accommodation:
To live in Thornbury with a host person or family from the church

Training Options Available:
Foundation Year: Yes
Trainee Youth Worker Course: Yes
Advanced Youthwork Course: No
Associate: No

Job Description:
The groups you will join are listed on the Timetable, and the overall aim will be to develop the Youth ministry in any way, in conjunction with the other Youth workers, and particularly your Line Manager. More specifically;
-Pray for the Young People, and to love and serve them in appropriate ways in them becoming holistically well-rounded and independent young adults
-To observe and learn from what you see around you, reflect on what you see and how you can play a part
-To learn how to better work with others, taking an active part in all groups you organise, and teams you join
-To learn to be a good communicator in various settings, and to understand communication from others
-To take responsibility for looking after yourself in Youthwork, in terms of time off, asking for what you need, working safely, adhering to Child Protection guidelines etc

-Actively seek to deliver and develop good quality Youthwork in School with the Youth and Children’s Leader, concentrating on Castle School
-Take a part in the local church community, including worshipping and sharing with people you connect with
-Take a part in the life of the church team, including general team tasks and prayer
-Aim to model a mature, responsible yet fresh and genuine relationship with God, knowing the boundaries between professional and personal life
-Take on other duties appropriate to Trainee Youth Leader in agreement with your Line Manager, other Youth Leaders or TBC Leadership Team
In accepting this voluntary position you are acknowledging that you are called by God to this work, and that you confirm your commitment to TBC’s vision, mission statement, and Religious Ethos and Employees Policy

Essential Criteria:
-Good management of self, organisational skills, and self-motivation
-Have a clear personal faith and desire to grow in this area and be part of local church community
-Enjoy working with Young People & Children and have desire to empower and encourage them
-Be willing to learn and take direction from others with a teachable spirit
-Be servant hearted

Preferred Criteria:
-Some Youthwork experience
-Ability to take the initiative, and be creative in strengthening and (with supervision from Line
Managers) developing the Youthwork
-A sense of calling into this area of ministry, confirmed by others who know you well

Draft Weekly Timetable

Project History & Affiliations:
Thornbury Baptist Church (TBC) is an independent Baptist Church, which is part of the Celebration Network in the South West. We try to avoid labels but we would describe ourselves as an evangelical/renewal based church. We seek to teach the Bible in a life application manner; have a strong prayer life; reach out to others through a variety of means and to know more of God and the power of His Spirit.

There was a student Youthworker for 3yrs before I started working here in September ’03 and there had been a Youthworker before him; there has been strong support for Youth and Children’s work for many years. In the 5 ½ years I have been in post, I had a full-time Volunteer for 2 of them. Now the Youthwork continues to grow.

Structure & Vision of the Project:
Most Young People leave Thornbury aged around 18 so we focus on 11-18 year olds, splitting them into two Groups; 11-14 and 14-18. For each of these two age groups, we run relationship-building groups, and more Discipleship-based groups. In addition, we try to have a presence in the community, especially local schools.

I focus my efforts on the local Secondary- The Castle School with assemblies, class input, two
weekly lunchtime groups assisting Sports coaching, and lunchtime detached work around the site. After 18, we keep in contact with them wherever they go and offer one to one support, and look to run defined pieces of work with them, for example form a mission team for a particular trip.

About the location of the Project:
TBC is a church of approximately 350 adults and 150 children and young people, a family church drawn from across the generations. Thornbury is a small market town of about 13,000 people, situated 15 miles north of the centre of Bristol in the Severn Vale between the A38 and river Severn. Thornbury is mainly a middle class community with young families and a significant retired population. Although there is much local employment it also has a strong commuter workforce.

About the youth work of the Project:
I would describe this an excellent place to gain experience in Youthwork, as we have contact with many young people in a broad spectrum of situations. We have good relations with local churches in the town and have been a main player in local community summer outreach fortnights over the last few years. One of the groups we worked closely with during these outreaches was New Generation Music and Mission (NGM), which has its headquarters in Thornbury and we have good links with them.

Outside Thornbury, we take it in turns with other churches with youth groups to run a youth event called Re:Gen, and as a church we are a part of the regional celebration network and attend a Bristol-wide Youth event Called the Mix. When taking groups away we often link up with friends from other churches nationally.

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