Youth Ministry Uncovered – Willowfield
This week we meet Robbie Jennings who has been the Youth Worker in Willowfield Church since mid–September, 2022. Read on to find out what’s going on for youth in this busy East Belfast parish.
What initiatives have you started since coming into the role?
Since starting in the role I’ve launched Youth Circuits where young people can come and use the gym equipment in a safe and supervised place. It gives them a chance to improve their physical health and have a bit of craic at the same time.
At the start of January, we began Youth Alpha which has drawn some of the young people from the church who were on the fringes back into the mix.
Active Youth is a Friday night youth club which hasn’t run since before Covid. It’s attracting around 20–30 young people, primarily from the community, who come to hang out with their friends and leaders and take part in various activities.
What are you running on Sunday evenings and during week for young people?
As well as the activities above, we have Small Groups on a Wednesday night. These are a chance for the young people to come along and take part in a bible study, looking at different books in the bible or else taking the time to study a certain topic or theme.
We also run Youth Church during both of our morning services. We play a few games or do an icebreaker before looking at a specific theme or topic from the bible. At the minute we’re looking at worship, so the leaders are sharing their favourite worship songs and the meaning behind them.
How can we in the diocese pray for you and your work?
Pray that relationships between myself and the young people would continue to build and that the programmes we run will be the right ones for our young people.
Find out more about Willowfield Youth on Instagram HERE.