COVENANTS

Covenants are an important part of our Judeo/Christian tradition. Simply put, a covenant is a promise. God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17 promising that Abraham’s tribe would be numerous if Abraham would be faithful to God. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God promises care and protection if the people of Israel will be faithful. When two people enter a covenanted relationship or a marriage they are making that covenant with each other and with God. Ministers enter into covenant with their congregations and with God. Covenants differ from contracts in that God is explicitly included.

Many groups find that creating a covenant at the beginning of a camp or retreat or the beginning of a program year is a helpful way to keep everyone involved accountable. The basic covenant can be very simple, e.g. “We covenant with God and one another to strive to walk in the ways of Christ.” Or, “We covenant with God and one another to work together in Christian community.” The covenant is simple. What comes next is a list of ways to make that happen which can look like a list of rules. One of the most effective ways of delineating those “rules” is to brainstorm with the participants specific things individuals would need to do or not do in order for the covenant to be fulfilled.

Here’s a sample covenant that a group of Junior High Youth came up with for the group one year:

We covenant with God and each other to be a safe caring community. In order to do that we promise to:

· participate and cooperate

· respect people and their property

· refrain from the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other mood altering drugs

· refrain from sexual behavior that would make others uncomfortable, or that I wouldn’t do in front of my Grandmother

· respect the adult leaders and their authority (if I am a youth)

· respect the youth and their opinions (if I am an adult)

· respect everyone’s opinions

Signed: _______________________________________________

Another example of a covenant is this one which was developed by high school regional youth for a regional gathering:

I make this covenant (sacred agreement) with the Northern California Nevada Conference, with the community of persons attending this event, with God and with myself. With love and respect for each other, and a common respect for God, I will act to foster the ideas of the United Church of Christ. I will do this by:

· agreeing to participate in scheduled activities, sharing my gifts, my enthusiasm, and my concerns;

· agreeing to help create a community of love, acceptance, and caring for all persons regardless of gender, age, cultural background, sexual orientation, or physical ability;

· agreeing to care for and respect my body and my ability to relate to others by not using alcohol or other drugs and agreeing to not even bring those substances to this event;

· agreeing to not take part in inappropriate sexual behavior;

· agreeing to love and respect the world God created, caring for it and avoiding any activity that would hurt the environment;

· agreeing to respect the property of others;

· agreeing to observe the rules of this event including curfews and lights out times.

I agree to this covenant so that we can develop a strong community base for this event by being present with others and not engaging in activities which limit our involvement and relationships with others.

Signed:_____________________________________________

LEADER TRAINING

As I mentioned in the Youth Ministry Basics section, leader training is very important. Here are a few things to include in a training:

· An opportunity to do worship, Bible study, and community building within a youth leadership team

· Clear guidelines about appropriate boundaries between adults and youth

· Clear guidelines about discipline within the group

· Clear guidelines about how to handle a physical emergency

· Clear guidelines about time and task commitments

· Clear guidelines around reporting issues of pastoral concern about kids, e.g. suspected abuse, depression or suicidal talk, drug/alcohol abuse, rape, problems in a family, sexual acting out, etc.

· Rules around transportation, who can drive to and from events

· Budget and money issues

· Communication within the group and with the larger church (e.g getting the word out within the group through an inter-group newsletters and making sure the congregation knows what’s going on through bulletin announcements or congregational newsletter)

· Appropriate boundaries if the leader has a child in the group (our rule was always “Don’t deal with your own kid. If they are doing something that bugs you, mention it to another leader and let them either tell you that you’re overreacting, or that yes your kid is out of line and they will deal with it).

· Clear guidelines about necessary paper work (medical release forms, etc.)

· A clear understanding of the lines of authority both within the group, and the group’s accountability to larger congregational structures.

· All those small details that make working with other groups in a specific church run smoothly (communication, putting things away, getting events on the larger church calendar, keeping on the good side of the older women in the church who often hold the real power in any congregation).

MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE

· if you’re doing an overnight or a longer retreat or a camp, plan to hold worship after a dance – it helps transform some of the sexual energy and you won’t have as much trouble getting the group to go to bed (alone)

· don’t let fund-raising take over the life of a group – no trip is worth spending all your time fund-raising

· get good medical release forms (forms which give you authorization to treat a kid or take them to the hospital) and health history forms for trips, even for overnights – kids are taking an amazing amount of prescription drugs and it’s important you know what you’re dealing with if there is a medical problem

· get some sleep – be mean, make them go to bed when it’s time, especially on trips where you are doing volunteer work, or physical activities like skiing or hiking

· keep a youth group connected to the larger church

· remember, you’re an adult, a role model, a person who helps them feel safe with boundaries – you don’t need to be their best buddy and let them get away with stuff

· if you need a resource for a program, there’s a good chance someone in your congregation can help – ask

· if you are traveling with a group, don’t stop at gas stations if someone has to go to the bathroom. Find places where they have lots of stalls (like a rest stop) and they don’t sell supersize sodas or you’ll be stopping in another 15 minutes

· don’t forget to laugh

· don’t forget to breath

· don’t forget to pray

· don’t forget to have fun

· don’t forget that God is there to help you

Deepening Faith: Youth Ministry Resources and Some Miscellaneous Advice

Rev. Lizann Bassham, Front Porch Spirit Press