Working with Youth Initiative Volunteers
To grow the commitment to intentional asset building in congregations, it’s crucial to select volunteers who will be committed to building positive relationships with children and youth—and encouraging others to do the same. Toolkit Handout 17: Equipping Youth Leaders to Build Assets outlines asset-building qualities and skills that are important for volunteers who will be working with children and youth. Review this list with leaders of youth initiatives, adding other items to the list as appropriate for your particular programs or activities.
Once volunteers are secured, plan with leaders to give the presentation of this tool kit to all who will be working with an initiative. Be sure that volunteers know and understand the asset-building goals that you have. Consider what skills they may need to sharpen or learn in order to maximize their potential as asset builders. Invite professionals in youth work from community churches, schools, and youth-serving organizations to help volunteers learn and practice these skills.
Generations Serving Side-by-Side
At the very heart of congregations are willing volunteers, motivated to serve their neighbors in need. These Christians’ acts of service transform lives through the amazing power of love: their love and God’s love. This core mission of congregations is fertile ground for building assets in young people—young people who are served by such congregational ministries and the young people who volunteer.
For youth who serve in congregations, there is great value in serving side-by-side with skilled and caring adults. Intergenerational serving—generations working together in the name of Christ—is a great way to build assets. When this serving is combined with intentional reflection and learning, it becomes a powerful strategy for nurturing faith, addressing social issues, and strengthening intergenerational relationships.
Despite the potential benefits, there are some barriers that can get in the way of intergenerational serving projects. There may be the perception of a “generation gap” between teenagers and adults. Conventional wisdom insists that teenagers and adults want nothing to do with each other. There is, of course, a measure of truth to this misperception. Young people do like and need to be with peers. So do adults. But research consistently emphasizes that young people want—and need—to be in relationships with many caring, responsible adults. And adults enjoy the freshness, vitality, and energy of teenagers. How do you design serving projects that overcome some of the barriers? Here are some strategies.
Teach intergenerational skills. Because some people spend so little time interacting with other generations, the prospect of doing so can be intimidating. Provide some information, share your expectations, and suggestions to make success more likely. For example, adults may not actively welcome young people as co-workers. They may say little to youth working on a project with them unless a young person makes a mistake. While adults may not mean to be critical, such limited communication discourages youth from taking initiative in serving. Work with adults to be intentional in welcoming youth (“Great to see you, today. I’m glad you’re here!” and so forth). Be specific in describing what is needed (“I need your help here, Sam. Could you please take this knife and cut these carrots into slices about as thick as a quarter?”). Ask youth to suggest good discussion-starter or ice-breaker questions for adults to use in getting to know youth better. Take time to clarify expectations. Before beginning a serving project, teach skills needed to complete the project, successfully. Ask adults to suggest good discussion-starter or ice-breaker questions for youth to use in getting to know adults better.
Involve all generations in planning and preparation. When the people who perform service to others are involved in planning and preparation, the serving has a more powerful effect on their lives. A Search Institute study found that the more personally responsible that a young person is for her or his own serving experience, the greater the chance it affects them personally. The same point is relevant for people of all generations.
Take advantage of existing opportunities. Planning for generations to serve side-by-side does not necessarily mean introducing new programs. It can start by simply examining the current activities of your congregation to determine whether and how they can be made more appropriate for multiple generations. Integrate young people into existing service activities that have been primarily the domain of adults. Engage more adults in existing youth service efforts—not just as drivers or chaperones, but as co-workers. For those serving in Relational Ministries, encourage mentors and the individuals and families they serve to participate together in a serving or giving project.
Be intentional about reflection. Providing opportunities for participants to reflect on and learn from their service experience is perhaps the most important—and most neglected—aspect of effective intergenerational serving. People of all ages benefit from connecting their serving with their faith. Reflection can take place many ways. Anchor the serving in a time of shared prayer. At the completion of the project, gather adults and youth in small groups and invite them to discuss, “What did we learn about ourselves in this project? What did we learn about our neighbor in this project? What did we learn about God in this project?”
Linking with Other Asset Builders in Your Community
As your congregation moves deeper into a more comprehensive community mission, it’s helpful to ask, “How do our ministries with children, youth, and families link with similar efforts in our community? How should it?” As you explore the responses to these questions, you’ll likely consider how your congregation could work to build capacity to increase asset-building efforts and how asset-building efforts in your congregation might link with other organizations in your community.
Just as asset building on a personal level is primarily relational, community connections can’t happen unless leaders develop relationships with one another. A starting point is to learn about how others in your area are engaged in intentional asset-building efforts. You can find out existing asset-building initiatives by checking with schools and youth-focused organizations such as the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, and 4H. A listing of community asset-building initiatives—often called Healthy Communities Healthy Youth initiatives—can be found on the web site of Search Institute, www.search-institute.org. Plan informal one-on-one meetings with leaders of these organizations to hear what these groups are doing with the 40 Developmental Assets. These conversations may give you ideas for your congregation and also open the door to cooperation. You’ll find more information and ideas on Handout 18: Making Community Connections for Asset Building.
Why Join with Others in Your Community? Your congregation may be the most logical group to convene church leaders and leaders of other community groups to discuss community collaboration on behalf of children, youth, and families. However, linking with other sectors in the community and with community-wide initiatives takes time and effort, and leaders in your church may already have plenty to do. So, why add something else? Here are some benefits for building community relationships in order to promote asset building with children, youth, and families.
What your congregation may gain from deeper community involvement:
- Commitment to service—All major faith traditions and most community organizations include a commitment to serve others. Congregational ministries and youth initiatives may be enhanced by the participation of more churches and volunteers.
- Connection—Connecting with teachers, youth workers, city leaders, social service agencies, and other residents can help you identify resources for the young people and families served through congregations. These connections also provide opportunities for the support and growth of congregational leaders of many ages.
- Coordination—A common complaint is that the various groups in a community don’t know what others are doing, so conflicts in schedules and priorities inevitably emerge. Congregations can work with others in the community to ease some of these problems.
- Community climate—As more groups in a community adopt the asset-building vision, the entire community is strengthened, creating a better place for all youth and families.
- Clout—Joining with other asset builders can heighten the visibility of your congregation’s influence on the policies and activities in the community.
- Credibility—In many communities, churches maintain an important leadership role. A commitment to intentional asset building by congregations can be important in gaining community-wide support for the effort.
What your congregation may gain from connections with other asset-building congregations and organizations:
- Compassion—asset-building congregations and organizations are filled with many willing and motivated individuals who want to make a difference. A core group of these people can be mobilized effectively to meet the needs of children, youth, and families, especially those who are most vulnerable.
- Community—asset-building congregations are intergenerational communities in action. Their activities provide children and youth with opportunities to learn from adults’ wisdom and values.
- Contact—More parents and other adults are involved in congregations than in any other institution in a community. As congregations spread the word of the 40 Developmental Assets, they add many adults to the community’s asset-building team. Adults in churches who become dedicated to building assets will become catalysts in their workplaces and other areas of the community.
Dream of ways you might cooperate in these asset-building strategies:
- Engage adults from all walks of life to develop sustained, strength-building relationships with children and adolescents, both within families and in neighborhoods.
- Mobilize young people to use their power as asset builders and change agents.
- Activate all sectors of the community—such as schools, congregations, youth, businesses, human services, and health-care organizations—to create an asset-building culture and to contribute fully to young people’s healthy development.
- Invigorate, expand, and enhance existing programs to become more asset rich and to be available to all children and youth.
- Influence decision makers and opinion leaders to leverage financial, media, and policy resources in support of positive asset building in your community.
Host a Link-n-Learn Meeting. If you discover a number of groups and organizations engaged in intentional asset building in your community, your congregation may enhance the community work by hosting a “Link-n-Learn” meeting. A Link-n-Learn meeting provides a forum for those involved in asset building to network and share learning. A Link-n-Learn meeting typically lasts 3-4 hours and may include lunch. It’s important to emphasize that participants are both learners and teachers at a Link-n-Learn meeting. The hope is that all participants have every opportunity to ask questions, get answers, and share ideas. (Another related Search Institute resource is a planning guide entitled How to Hold a Youth Summit.)
Some goals for Link-n-Learn participants are:
- Learn more about positive youth development and the asset framework;
- Learn new ideas about applying the asset framework to their work and their everyday lives;
- Share what they have learned about asset building;
- Energize their community’s efforts to promote positive youth development;
- Reinforce their personal commitment to asset building; and
- Develop and strengthen the network of support within the community.
Link-n-Learn meetings are specifically structured for mutual learning and sharing. One portion of the Link-n-Learn meeting should inform participants about the asset framework. While many participants will know and understand the concept of asset building, others will be somewhat new to it. Plan for someone to lead part of the presentation, present from some of the toolkit handouts, or offer an update on research on the asset framework. Devote most of the agenda to small group sharing around topics of mutual interest, such as:
- Best ways to help others learn about the 40 Developmental Assets;
- Mobilizing existing groups for asset-building;
- Public awareness: community strategies for spreading the word;
- Sharing the asset-building message with diverse audiences;
- Youth involvement: ways to encourage youth to participate in asset building; and
- Ideas for parent education and parent support.
