THE PERFECT GETAWAY
Youth weekends away and summer camps can be unmissable highlights of a young person’s year. As the person organising these feasts of fun however, it can be hard to stay inspired with fresh ideas. We’ve gathered experienced practitioners, and asked them to recall how they’ve made key elements of their own getaways so special.
Use the journey
Becky Coster, Youth co-ordinator at Cotton End Baptist Church, Bedfordshire
It’s Friday night, you left work an hour ago, your head is still full of all the projects you’ve left unfinished and you find yourself sitting in the church minibus surrounded by hyped-up teens, already pumped full of sugar and set for the action ahead.
The truth is, while you may still be adjusting to weekend mode, for your young people; their weekend adventure began the moment they set foot on the minibus. So how do we make the most of this valuable journey time? Here are a few top tips to see you on your way:
➽ Make everyone feel welcome; from the moment you set off, make sure your group all feel a part of your trip.
➽ Find out ‘where they’re at’; set aside your own issues and concerns and find out what sort of week your young people have had. Be aware of any issues that may affect them over the course of the weekend.
➽ Be prepared; arm yourself with sat-navs, maps, directions; the more prepared you are, the easier your journey will be.
➽ Turn the radio off! Take the opportunity to talk to your young people, have fun and build community with them..
Develop a theme
Pete Wynter (Leader of Onelife)
Developing a theme for the camp not only provides a sense of continuity throughout, but also helps in planning an unforgettable experience. The most memorable weekends away that I’ve run have been held together by a theme that is chosen to inform and compliment any teaching you do, but also helps to fuel creative ideas for building community, activities and generally messing around!
Deciding on a theme is not always easy. Prayer is always a good place to start, especially if you can gather a few of the team that are going to be involved in the residential. Spending time together, talking and praying through ideas will help them to really own the theme and run with creative concepts that can be inspired by it. Here are a few pointers to help you decide on a theme:
➽ In the past I’ve been inspired by particular books that I’ve been reading at the time – which then provide a good platform and background reading for talk titles.
➽ On other occasions, it’s been a particular bible verse or passage that has been use to inform a theme. For example, last year I used the title, ‘What else will distinguish us?’, taken from Exodus 33, and we spent the weekend looking at what it meant to be distinguished by the presence of God at work in our lives.
➽ Sometimes it’s good to stop and review where you think the group are spiritually. If there’s an area that you feel could do with some attention then choose a theme related to that. For example, once we wanted to focus on better community in the group, so we looked at the book of Acts and how all the believers had everything in common as they began to express a new lifestyle in the name of Jesus.
Use food creatively
Fuzz Kitto (International youth mission consultant)
A retreat often runs on its stomach! So food with a wow factor and fun can make a real difference. Here’s an idea for you – an affirmation meal. We do ‘Wollumsom’ in my Korean-Australian church (which means Vietnamese rolls).
Get some rice paper from Chinese or East Asian supermarkets. These are dipped in warm to hot water where they soften very quickly. Lay these on a plate and lay a row of food down the rice paper. You could have a mixture of bean sprouts, cooked chicken cut into small cubes, cooked minced meats, diced cucumber and tomato, diced onions, mixture of herbs, a range of sauces – whatever you know your group likes!
The rice paper is then folded across the food at the bottom and then wrapped across the food from the left and rolled up. You can leave the top open or fold it down as well. Sitting around a table or tables, have people make a roll that they think the person on their right might like. Then together hand it to that person saying, ‘I made this especially for you and with it I want to say what I really appreciate about you is...’ People then eat and talk. Then everybody makes a roll for the person two to their right. It is repeated until everybody is full or everybody around the table affirms everybody else.
Read all contributions in the March 2010 issue of Youthwork magazine. Check out our great subscription offers now!