Session 1 – Teamwork
Aim: To give an understanding of what it means to work as part of a team.
Learning o utcomes: By the end of the session the group will be able to:
· State what a team is.
· Explain the importance of working as a team on an event.
· Identify what their contribution is to the team.
· Reflect on when they need to ask for help and advice.
Content:
1. Introduction – ask the group in pairs to come up with places or areas where teams exist (eg sports team, fire brigade team) and a definition of what they think the word ‘team’ means. 5 mins
2. Take feedback verbally. 3 mins
3. Show the PPT slides 1 to 8. See next page for outline guidance. 8 mins
4. Divide your group into smaller groups of two or three and give each group a card on which is written a different challenge. The challenges are: to design and build a new tower block; to win a synchronised-swimming Olympic gold medal; to stage a performance of Oliver in the West End. (If you have large numbers you can give 2 groups the same card.) Show PPT 9 and ask each group to consider why this group of people would (or would not) be effective in achieving the goal on their card. 2 mins
5. Show PPT 10 and ask each group to focus on the picture that best suits their goal. What would that team need to do to achieve its goal? Explain that you are not looking for specific skills such as ‘swim’ but more universal ideas such as ‘plan’ or ‘train’. 5 mins
6. Show PPT slides 11 and 12. Again, see next page for more guidance on what to say. You could also refer to the ‘Personal Specification’ list on the back page of the Junior Team leaflet. 5 mins
7. Staying in the smaller groups, give each one a large piece of flip-chart paper and ask them to write on these a list of the gifts and skills that would be useful to the team, using a large marker pen (eg listening, praying, music skills, drama skills, encouraging). Then ask each individual to take a differently coloured pen and tick or put a ring around those qualities they feel they have. (You may need to circulate and encourage the reticent to acknowledge their skills). 10 mins
8. Ask a volunteer from each group to hold up their sheet of paper. Explain how no one individual has all the necessary skills and gifts. God requires each member of the team to contribute for the good of the team rather than for themselves. Explain that it is perfectly OK to ask for help and advice – they are not expected to have to handle everything themselves. Teamwork is about supporting each other when help is required. But they do have plenty to offer and do need to offer that. Show PPT 13 and chat for a few moments about the key characteristics of a team player. 3 mins
9. Bring everyone together and close with a time of prayer when they can pray for the whole team, giving thanks for its gifts and skills and pray about their own contribution to the team. 4 mins
Resources:
PowerPoint slides
Challenge cards
Paper and pens – one each for the group
Flip-chart paper and pens
Outline guidance for Power P oint s lides
1. Title page
Display from the outset.
2. What is a team? (1)
Simply display and read out.
3. What is a team? (2)
Display and read out. Either explain or ask what ‘mutually agreed’ means. If you wish you can flick between slides 2 and 3 to see which definition the group prefer. It is important that you ask the question so the group earth the training in their own experience. This is not a theoretical debate about the purpose of teams but is a practical question about their team.
4. Why bother with teams?
Read through the list which is by no means exhaustive. If possible have one or two short anecdotes to illustrate the points from your own experience of teams.
5. Biblical basis for teamwork
In advance have members of the group ready to read out these Bible passages. You may need to set the context briefly for the group before the passages are read.
6. Quote on attitudes
You may need to explain the quote. The aim of the question is to instil confidence in the group that they each have something to offer by way of their attitude and approach. Some of the group may feel that because they can’t play music, be in the drama or lead a talk that they don’t have much to offer. The key is to say that God is far more interested in our character – who we are – rather than what we can do… though this is, of course, a challenge to us to try and be like Christ!
7. Example is …
This summarises what you have just said and is memorable. Ask the group to read it aloud.
8. Cycle picture
Explain that you are soon going to be doing a short exercise in teams but before you do you want them to think about why it is some teams don’t succeed. Ask them why this team of cyclists are unlikely to be successful. (No 1 will soon burn out; No 2 is sulking; No 3 isn’t interested; No 4 is asleep!) Remind them of the earlier slides about teams working together to achieve the goal.
11. What are we trying to do?
As we reach the end of this section it is important to focus the group on the core messages of what their team is all about. Try to earth the points in actual names or tasks that they will be involved with.
12. What makes a good team?
If slide 11 is about what they are being asked to do, this final slide is about how they can achieve it. Again, this list is by no means exhaustive and it will help if you can illustrate one or two points from personal experience.
Session 2 – Working with d ifferent a ge g roups
Aim: To give an understanding of the characteristics of each age group and the kind of influences on them.
Learning o utcomes: By the end of the session the group will be able to:
· State the differences in physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual characteristics of each age group they may be working with.
· Identify the world that the different age groups are growing up in and highlight the different influences on them.
· Reflect on what some of the implications of this might be for their ministry.
Content:
1. Introduce the session by asking them to think back to when they were in the age groups below and ask them to think about the questions next to each age group.
· 0 to 4 years – what can they remember?
· 5 to 7 years – what toys did they play with?
· 8 to 10 years – what was their favourite game that they played?
· 11 to 14 years – what music did they listen to / films did they watch? 1 min
Before the session, write one age group and the matching question on a sheet of flip-chart paper. Put each sheet in a different corner of the space you are using. When you say ‘go’, the group go around and write on each piece of paper their answer to the question. This should be a fun activity that gets them thinking about different age groups. Tell them that they have three minutes to do this. 3 mins
2. At the end of three minutes stop the group and ask for volunteers to hold up each piece of paper and run through the things written on them. 2 mins
3. Have a selection of magazines/comics for each age group and ask the group to flick through them to spot how they deliberately appeal to the target age. 7 mins
4. Divide your group into threes or fours (try to group together those working with the same age range). Give each group a large sheet of flip-chart paper and ask them to draw an outline of a body. They should consider this ‘body’ to be a typical child of the age they are to work with. In and around the body they should write or draw in the kinds of things this child thinks, says, does, watches, reads, plays with, enjoys, eats etc. 5 mins
5. Now give out the age group handouts for each age group and go through and highlight the specific age group characteristics of the age group(s) they will be working with. Take comments as you go. 8 mins
6. In pairs ask the group to think through how all the things that have been discussed might influence the way that they might relate to and teach the age group they will come into contact with. For example get them to think about how they might present a Bible story for a group aged 4 or a group aged 11. What if it is a group of boys? Or girls? Would drama work? What about craft? How might you encourage the group to pray? What about singing? Take some feedback verbally. 10 mins
7 Close with a time of group prayer in which they pray for the children/young people they will meet and ask for wisdom in learning how to relate to them. 5 mins
Resources:
Flip-chart paper and pens
Age-group handouts
A selection of magazines/comics
Session 3 – Leading a s mall g roup
Aim: To give an understanding of the value of small groups and how to lead them effectively.
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the session trainees will be able to:
· Identify some good reasons for working in small groups with children and young people.
· State the skills needed to lead a small group.
· Explain different ideas for praying with children in a small group.
· Identify how different personalities might behave in a small group and learn how to handle them.
Content:
1. Explain that the trainees will be working with small groups of children and young people at various times during the event. These small groups will have different purposes and it is important that they develop skills of leading small groups as these are essential for building good relationships with the children. 2 mins
2. Divide the group into pairs and ask them to think of reasons why it might be good to work in small groups with children and young people. Take feedback and write on a sheet of flip-chart paper. 5 mins
3. Show PPT slides 2 and 3 and see how many of the points the pairs had listed. 3 mins
4. Introduce a role play exercise. Tell the young people that they are going to pretend to be a small group of children. Download the ‘Character cards for session 3’ and give each person a character to play (they shouldn’t show anyone else their part). An adult leader takes the role of group leader and tells a short Bible story (eg the Lost Sheep from Luke 15:1–7) and then asks a selection of questions about the story such as: How many sheep were there in total? How would the sheep who was lost have felt? What was the shepherd’s reaction to finding the sheep? What is the point of the parable? How might the Pharisees have felt? What about the tax collectors? The group has to play the part shown on the piece of paper given to them. Carry out the role play for about three minutes and then ask if the group can identify the parts played. (If you don’t think all of your group will be able to cope with this role play, ask a few confident individuals to take part, and ask the rest of the group to try to work out which characters are being portrayed.) 7 mins
5. Print and give out the ‘Character descriptions’ handout from the download and work through each type of child, highlighting ways of dealing with each. 5 mins
6. Ask the group to write on a Post-it some of the skills that they might need to run a small group of children effectively – one skill per Post-it. 3 mins
7. Show PPT slide 4. Add new ideas to the Post-its if you wish. 5 mins
8. Talk about prayer and how important it is for prayer to be part of a small group. Go on to explore ways of encouraging children to pray together. Ask the group to form a circle with the Post-its spread out in the middle, together with a sheet of flip-chart paper. Take it in turns to pray just a sentence prayer, going round the circle. Explain the importance of not forcing children to pray, so there needs to be an option not to pray. Ask the group to pray, ‘Lord, help me to… in my group time,’ choosing a phrase from their pile of Post-its and placing it on the sheet of paper. Anyone not wanting to pray aloud can simply place their Post-it on the sheet. 3 mins
9. Give each person a small supply of play dough (paper and colouring pens are a suitable and less messy alternative). Ask them to model or draw something or someone that they would like to pray for. Again go round the circle but explain that you’re going to pass round an object (for example a Bible) and that when a person is holding it, they should pray. If anyone doesn’t want to then they just pass the object on. 5 mins
10. Ask the group if they can think of any other ways of praying which might be useful. 3 mins
11. Allow the group time to ask any questions they have on leading a small group. If you have them, give out copies of Top Tips on Leading s mall g roups (SU 978 184427 388 1). Thank the group for coming and say how much you are looking forward to working with them on the event. 5 mins
Resources:
Flipchart paper and pens
Individual character cards for role play
Character descriptions handouts
Post-its
A4 paper and felt-tip pens
Play dough