The Year Out (TYO) Volunteers are young adults whose lives have been impacted by Jesus, are passionate about young people and are now giving a year of their life to serve youth ministry in Cambridge. Does your church have existing youth work that could grow, if only someone had more time and passion to commit to it? Enthusiastic, high energy and ready to serve, a Year Out volunteer could be an ideal fit to help develop your church’s ministry to young people.
Cambridge and District Youth for Christ have hosted, supported and trained TYO volunteers for over a decade. Volunteers receive training weekly as part of the Cambridge Youth for Christ team alongside periodic training, retreats and conference. TYO volunteers are continually developing in both character and competency throughout the year!
What can they do?
TYO volunteers are well placed to serve and develop existing youth groups, working with other team members to increase capacity and enable growth. But there’s no need to stop there: they can also develop or start new initiatives if there’s support from the church! Each TYO volunteer comes with different heart, skills and calling, and they are encouraged to see how these can serve the church and youth ministry they are placed with. No dream is too big to consider!
How much time do we have them?
The TYO programme runs September – July, and the volunteer would have 15-20 hours per week serving your church. The rest of their time would be spent with the Cambridge Youth for Christ team, learning from other youth workers and gaining experience in various areas of youth ministry.
How much do they cost?
Having a TYO volunteer costs a church £3500 for the year.
How do I find out more information?
If you’d like to find out more about how a TYO Volunteer could serve your church we would love to chat to you. For more information, get in touch with Mark.
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Does your church have existing youth work that could grow, if only someone had more time and passion to commit to developing it? A Youth Work Student could be an ideal fit to help develop your church’s ministry to young people.
Youth Work Students are young adults whose lives have been impacted by Jesus, and who are now pursuing a call to youth work by studying for a Degree in Youth Work. We partner with a degree provider called Reign Ministries, providing their students with placement churches where they can serve as part of their studies.
What can they do?
Student Youth Workers are absolutely able to serve and develop existing youth groups, working with team members to increase capacity and enable growth. But there’s no need to stop there: our heart is that your youth ministry should grow in depth and breadth, and Student Youth Workers are ideally placed to facilitate this growth. This might look like starting new mission initiatives to local young people, growing and developing a team of volunteers, or pushing into deeper discipleship with young people you already know.
How much time do we have them?
The Youth Work Degree is a 3 year course, and the goal is to place each student with one church for the whole 3 year period. This enables them to oversee real development in the youth ministry of their church, and to journey with young people for a significant period of time. The degree course content is delivered through 6 week-long residentials a year, some online teaching and weekly cluster groups, all of which the church must release a student to attend. A youth work student has 12 hours a week to give to their church placement.
How much do they cost?
The cost to a church of hosting a Student Youth Worker is £4500 per year. Churches may also need to contribute to the student’s living costs, which vary from student to student. However, many students have their living costs covered by a student loan.
How do I find out more information?
If you’d like to find out more about how a Student Youth Worker could serve your church we would love to chat to you. For more information, get in touch with Mark at mwatson@cambridgeyfc.uk.
Does your church have a heart to serve young people inside and outside your church family, but you’re not sure where to start? Is your church keen to make the most of opportunities to reach young people, but not sure how to overcome the challenges you’re facing? Employing a Youth Worker through Youth for Christ could be the next step in developing your church’s mission to young people.
What do Youth for Christ contribute?
Youth Work is a challenging call and, alone, it can be hard to keep up the vision, passion and faithful plodding on that is necessary to see lasting change. We want to see church Youth Workers equipped and supported and flourishing in their roles – for the sake of the Youth Workers, the church and the young people!
Employing a Youth Worker through Youth for Christ ensures that they belong to a community who are all pursuing the same goal, encouraging and challenging one another. They will receive ongoing management and support from a senior Youth Worker, and easy access to training and resources to develop both their team and their ministry.
How much time do we have them?
The size, scope and salary of any Youth Work role is led by the church, and the details are worked out in conversation with Youth for Christ. We recognise that many churches aren’t in a position to employ a full-time youth worker, but this is no barrier to God! No role is too small to consider – whatever you’re thinking, we’d love to discuss it and help you work out what the best way forward is for your church.
How much does this cost?
As above, the salary of the Youth Worker is agreed by the church and Youth for Christ. There is then a subsequent fee paid to Youth for Christ to cover our employment and management costs, which will vary according to the the size and scope of the role.
How do I find out more information?
If you’d like to find out more about how we could help you employ and manage a Youth Worker to serve your church, we would love to chat to you. For more information, get in touch with Jim on joverton@cambridgeyfc.uk.
