2008 Journal Cover Pages.pub - Wisconsin Conference United ...

2008 Wisconsin Conference JournalCo n f e r e n c e Co u n c i l o n Yo u t h MinistriesThe purpose of the Conference Council on Youth Ministries is: to Connect youth to Godand Jesus Christ, to equip, encourage, and resource local churches, and to say something &do something (be in mission and ministry).Conference Council on Youth Ministries spent most of 2007 completing their visioning andrestructuring process and began to live into that new structure. It took the time to examinewhy we do what we do and to evaluate what the best way to accomplish those goals wouldbe both in the activities that we plan and the ministries that we do.In the area of spiritual development (or connecting youth to God and Jesus), CCYM hasbegan to focus not only on the ways it can be doing more within its own council, but alsohow it can be helping local churches and conference youth events incorporate spiritualcomponents to its ministry.In the area of resourcing local churches, CCYM has begun to examine the ways it canoffer programs that not only resource local churches but also equips them and empowersthem to do ministry in their own local communities. Programs like the Student LeadershipTraining Days and the Youth Worker Movement have been helpful in that area.In the area of empowerment for mission and ministry, CCYM is taking their ministry astep further to encourage the whole church, both locally and conference wide, to see youthministry as more than ministry to youth, but ministry by youth. They are examining theways in which their voices are heard not just for the sake of having a youth voice, but for thesake of having a voice for a specific ministry or mission. Programs like the Hunger Plan,Youth Service Fund fundraiser, as well as being more mission focused in all conferenceyouth events has been a way to accomplish this task.For 2008, the goals of the Conference Council on Youth Ministries and the Youth and YoungAdult office are: To develop the Adult network and Adult training, to begin to develop theYoung Adult network and structure (fall 2008-spring 2009), to continue to live into thenew CCYM structure and to strengthen the changes made including: recruitment process,leadership and training process, and the incorporation of ethnic youth voices.One of the agency’s goals for 2009 are to continue to develop the Young Adult network—this includes working between the Board of Higher Education and Ministry, CampusMinister, and the youth and young adult office to determine what pieces of young adultministry each will be focused on. The young adult network will develop a team of youngadults who will be responsible for vision and structure of this network. The young adultnetwork will be focused on how to help young adults be in ministry in their local churches,communities, and on the conference level, for the benefit of the ministries of the wholechurch and not just to support young adult ministries. (Ministry BY and WITH youngadults rather than ministry TO young adults.) Another goal of the agency is to continueto strengthen both the new structure of CCYM and the Adult network through continuingadult leader of youth trainings and increasing the number of adult leader connections aswell as through continuing to develop healthy connections between CCYM and the othertwo developing networks.244 Reports of Boards and Agencies