Youth Ministry often includes mentorship, connection activities, and individual or small group meetings. Today's youth leaders assist young people facing new challenges with increasingly complex contemporary realities: sexual and digital identity, mental and emotional health, body image and self-esteem, environmental crisis, performance anxiety, technology, screens, social media, the vision of justice, etc.
The existing material needs to be updated and adapted to this new reality that our teenagers live in.
CAMPAIGN GOAL:
SEMBEQ wants to develop relevant and accessible training to equip all those who work with adolescents and young adults in various ministry contexts.
Each donation will help with
Research and/or translation of the best resources;
Building online courses (articles and readings, etc.);
Creating training video capsules;
Paying mentor coaches;
Provide free training.
Training format
Online courses with complementary readings
Personalized coaching
Role-playing real-life situations
Training content
Purpose and role of a youth leader/coach;
Generation Z‘s world perspective;
Mental and emotional health;
Sexual identity;
Technology;
The digital world;
Self-esteem;
Accompaniment, listening, and mentoring;
How to reach teenagers in their reality with a missionary mindset,
The pastoral approach and discipleship.
Your donation will help us train youth leaders, parents, leaders, young adults and all those who work with our young people.
In this second part of our Youth 2023 project, we focus our efforts on the Académie Mouvement Jeunesse. AMJ is a unique one-year program that teaches students how to live their faith on mission in ordinary life. It is training tailored to the student's life context, neighborhood, and local Church.
To better equip our students to allow them to live a rich and profound experience and to allow them to deepen their faith in their local Church, we have put together a three-year development plan for AMJ.
This second part of the project requires more effort. We want to encourage young adults to get involved, to ensure a succession of leadership in our Churches, and a renewal of our Churches' view of youth.
OUR PLAN FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS
Year One
Develop a leadership-internship program that will allow the student who wishes to do so to continue at AMJ for an additional year while being involved as a youth leader in their Church, free of charge.
Expand AMJ's offerings, including incorporating a worship component, translating new materials, and producing new teaching materials as needed.
Hire a biblical counselor who is present at all times for the students, who understands the reality of youth, and who can address their questions and concerns.
Increase our social media presence on AMJ accounts.
Year Two
Solidify first-year objectives:
Integrate and roll out the internship-leadership program with between two and four students,
Test the new material and worship component,
Ensure the integration of the new AMJ biblical advisor.
Offer scholarships for university research to students wishing to begin a master's or doctoral degree on a subject relevant to the Church in Quebec.
Design a summer training program at AEBEQ camps that enables our students to apply their learnings from AMJ by serving as leaders at the camps.
Welcome 15 students to AMJ.
Year Three
Consolidate initial goals:
Host four students in our internship-leadership program at no cost,
See registered students develop in worship and their call to ministry,
Have a fully integrated biblical counselor present for students at all times.
Offer one or two scholarships and send 75% of student leaders to summer camps.
Initiate a mission trip project for AMJ
Hire a coordinator,
Develop an international mission training project,
Plan the trip.
Have 20 students at AMJ.
OUR GOAL :
We are asking God for 100 people who are ready to commit to Quebec’s youth through their donations:
40 people who commit to giving $5 per month
30 people who commit to giving $10 per month
30 people who commit to giving $15 per month
For a total monthly amount of $1,000 for 100 people.
We need your prayers! This three-year project will reflect our commitment to the youth of Quebec and, by God's grace, will transform our vision of the Youth in our Churches' population.
Your monthly commitment will have a real impact on Quebec's youth! Thank you for your interest!
81% of young people say they do not trust the current leadership, while only 27% have felt inspired by their church's leadership. In addition, 22% of young individuals report having had the chance to develop their leadership skills within their church. A third of millennials express feelings of inadequacy and believe they are not capable of assuming leadership roles. Merely 7% of Canadians view the church as a platform for cultivating leadership abilities. Half of young people exhibit symptoms of anxiety or depression. The Church urgently needs revitalization to address this flawed perception.
What's important to young people today: living their experiences and sharing them on social media. They're on an identity quest, seeking a way to identify with something. For example, young people who attended Bible camps were three times more likely to remain religiously affiliated than those who never went. Today, young people no longer buy a brand, they adhere to it.
"1/10 of young adults raised in the Canadian Church can be considered disciples today." They want space to develop their leadership and creativity.
"No less than 73% of Generation Z youth told us they had experienced periods of anxiety or depression, and this is the primary intergenerational difference with millennials." Léger 360
"The number of young people suffering from anxiety has been rising steadily in Quebec over the past 15 years. Resources for support are scarce. Conversely, drug prescriptions are on the rise." La Presse
We need to adapt our ways of doing things and reach young people where they are.
WHERE CAN YOUNG PEOPLE BE REACHED TODAY?
In the most accessible places. We live in an accelerated world, and so do communications. Meeting points are not the same as they used to be. We need to be present on social media, build our reputation and develop the trust that what we offer is relevant to young people. That means being online, where young people are.
HOW WILL WE DO IT?
Creation and development of a youtube channel.
Videos from 3 to 8 minutes
1st year = 1 time a month, 3rd year = 1 time a week
These videos will provide the contextualization of modern theological issues and equip young people to engage with the topics relevant to their generation.
These videos will spotlight young people whose example can help others.
These videos will provoke discussions on issues that are relevant to young people.
Publication of Reel/TikTok/YT Shorts
Short videos (less than a minute)
1st year = 1/week, 3rd year = 3/week
Eye-catching themes and editing
A positive tone
Interesting, intriguing subjects
Use these platforms as a springboard to our youtube channel.
Present the Gospel as a way of seeing the world differently and providing answers.
Develop an online chaplaincy service
Offer 24/7 help to answer questions and accompany young people with online pastoral care tailored to their needs
Easily accessible online and 100% confidential
Reach gamers via platforms where they are (e.g. Discord)
Christian support for young people from someone who understands their reality and is equipped to help.
CONCRETE ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT:
We have an action plan that will unfold over 3 years. Starting from the first year, we will specifically address three identified needs. Throughout this timeline, we will establish bi-annual milestones to consistently enhance and optimize our social platforms. Our ultimate goal is to fully integrate and actively engage with the platforms that young people predominantly use by the end of year 3.
OUR NEEDS:
Hire content designers to develop and create content.
Restructuring of our creative team to adapt to new online elements and increased frequency of publication.
Materials and consultation to develop and articulate theological material in a way that will resonate with young people.
Time and money to train in-house teams and hone our knowledge of reel/TikTok/shorts content for quality content.
Structure for the online chaplaincy system, search for candidates to fill positions, and find the best missionaries who already know the digital terrain.
Training candidates in contemporary issues and gradual integration.
