In a world that increasingly excludes God, by the time Christian youth leave school they need to have:
* a well grounded faith, and
* a Christlike influence, both personally and publicly.
This maturity requires a personal relationship with Christ, an intentional pathway of teaching & tools, and practices with local support.
Boost works with local churches and schools to offer these.
Boost is:
* a well grounded faith, and
* a Christlike influence, both personally and publicly.
This maturity requires a personal relationship with Christ, an intentional pathway of teaching & tools, and practices with local support.
Boost works with local churches and schools to offer these.
Boost is:
- A one-day intensive per term over 2 years. Lively input and workshops, to help students better grasp their: foundations, growth-pathway, comparative worldviews, outreach, and leadership.
- A pathway from believer to disciple to discipler to leader of a new plant. Boost can be used as a framework for youth-groups, or a boost within their existing frameworks.
- Basic training and tools for practical growth along the pathway, to practice between intensives within their own local contexts (church/school/group)
- A community of prayer, learning, and peers who may become supportive friends. One teen said, "it's real people wrestling with real issues who need real answers for the real world."
- Pitched for senior youth (school years 9-11>), yet is also for their youth leaders, parents, etc. Anyone can attend.
- Pitched for Christians, yet also others (eg in a school) will find it beneficial for a proper understanding of Christians.
- To be used in step with the Spirit. It isn't just some man-powered 'system,' it just offers select tools which Geoff has tried and refined (as a youth pastor, camp speaker, and in community at Cheers) to equip young people at various stages of their development to maturity. But it is the Spirit who brings the growth in relationship and wisdom.
- Adaptable for schools and churches
- Core Stuff (or similar) is the pre-requisite for Boost. In third term we offer a Core Stuff intensive.
Outline
Prerequisite: Core Stuff (or the like, at a camp or series previously)
First Year
#1 Commit: Keep Moving Forward
Apologetics & foundations. Sharing your faith. Pathway of discipleship. Lead a small group. Plan practice.
#2 Grow: Build on the Cornerstone
Grow your prayer life. Clarify your cornerstone worldview, critical thinking, & common ground. Plan practice.
#3 Masterclass (CPX-Bible Society)
[Core Stuff intensive: God. Bible. Problem. Christmas, teachings, cross, risen, Spirit. Follow.]
#4 Train to be sent: Share Life and Faith
Relational skills for sharing life and faith. Stranger conversations. Plan your summer influence.
Influence in summer camps (or other)
Second Year
Prerequisite: First Year BOOST
#5 Lead: Lead Others Forward
Review & Q&A, resources, scenarios. Leading others on their Pathway. Team leadership. Plan practice.
#6 Lead: Lead Others Well
Safer leaders (vs pecking order); Ground rules; Leading meetings; Thinking grids; Logistics. Plan practice.
#7 Masterclass (CPX-Bible Society)
[Ways of Knowing intensive: Mind, Heart, Soul, Strength - a repackaging of the Core Stuff.]
#8 Go: Ready Set Go
Coaching tool. On-ramps to further study. Bonus tools to suit needs. Plan for summer leadership.
Leadership in summer camps (or other)
Prerequisite: Core Stuff (or the like, at a camp or series previously)
First Year
#1 Commit: Keep Moving Forward
Apologetics & foundations. Sharing your faith. Pathway of discipleship. Lead a small group. Plan practice.
#2 Grow: Build on the Cornerstone
Grow your prayer life. Clarify your cornerstone worldview, critical thinking, & common ground. Plan practice.
#3 Masterclass (CPX-Bible Society)
[Core Stuff intensive: God. Bible. Problem. Christmas, teachings, cross, risen, Spirit. Follow.]
#4 Train to be sent: Share Life and Faith
Relational skills for sharing life and faith. Stranger conversations. Plan your summer influence.
Influence in summer camps (or other)
Second Year
Prerequisite: First Year BOOST
#5 Lead: Lead Others Forward
Review & Q&A, resources, scenarios. Leading others on their Pathway. Team leadership. Plan practice.
#6 Lead: Lead Others Well
Safer leaders (vs pecking order); Ground rules; Leading meetings; Thinking grids; Logistics. Plan practice.
#7 Masterclass (CPX-Bible Society)
[Ways of Knowing intensive: Mind, Heart, Soul, Strength - a repackaging of the Core Stuff.]
#8 Go: Ready Set Go
Coaching tool. On-ramps to further study. Bonus tools to suit needs. Plan for summer leadership.
Leadership in summer camps (or other)
Authored by Geoff Westlake of OAC Ministries WA under the auspices of Scripture Union WA.
For more detail about the content of BOOST, download our draft syllabus (low res, 3MB)
For more detail about the content of BOOST, download our draft syllabus (low res, 3MB)
| boost_syllabus.sm.pdf |
Sources include elements from, and provide on-ramps to, OAC Ministries’ Core Stuff and Life-Sharing, Scripture Union's camping and other resources, Power-to-Change’s Shiftm2M & Discovery Bible Study, AFCI’s Evangelism Shift, Living Waters, Al Hirsch's APEST, and Andrew Olsen’s Leadership By Design, and of course the Centre For Public Christianity (CPX) Masterclass.
Your own apprentice presenters can film the input so they can prepare and present those sessions themselves in the future.
(Ideally we would like to have 6 presenters so that eventually we can run all intensives concurrently. These presenters will need to be practitioners - we are seeking those now. Let us know if you're interested.)
(Ideally we would like to have 6 presenters so that eventually we can run all intensives concurrently. These presenters will need to be practitioners - we are seeking those now. Let us know if you're interested.)
Considering BOOST for your Church / School / Region
- Dates when you/leaders/students could do the Core Stuff (or equivalent) apologetics. (eg. camp/intensive/series)
- Dates when the BOOST Intensives could be run. (eg. one Saturday per term)
- How will pracs/accountability groups happen between intensives? (eg small groups)
- What settings might participants be able to use for summer pracs? (eg camp/festival/outreach)
- Who would be an apprentice presenter? (to present BOOST or Core Stuff material at your setting in future)
- Budget. Costs are a work in progress. We want BOOST to be mutually viable (for OACM, SU, and you.)
There are about 30 hours of sessions (plus 6 for Core Stuff) and we estimate reasonable amounts for: churches $100/hr; schools $200/hr; and regional sessions about $6/hr per person. Minimum numbers required to run. - Contact Geoff for more info / to arrange diary dates for your context
An Introduction to Boost can be arranged for key youth / staff / parents, so they can plan their diaries to incorporate Boost.