Time to reflect?

Youth work is always complex, and has always had to evolve and adapt. But over the course of the last year, we have had to evolve and adapt like never before. There’s no roadmap for how to do this well. There is no manual for doing good youth work in normal time let alone in the midst of a pandemic. Instead, we have to improvise, in ways that are faithful to our calling as youth workers.

Theological reflection is a process that can help us do this. It helps us to consider where God might be at work, and helps us in the hard work of adapting and transforming our thinking and practice to the ever-shifting landscape of a young person’s life. Defined simply, theological reflection is any process or activity that seeks to connect faith and life.

For some, this can involve any reflective activity, like pondering the reality of the universe on the bus or talking with fellow youth workers about their ministry.

For others, it’s a more structured and intentional process, one that draws out specific implications for our youth work and theology and changes the way that we think and act.

We wanted to know whether or not youth workers theologically reflect on their practice, and if they do, what their theological reflection looks like. We wanted to know what helps youth workers in theological reflection, and what hinders them.

This PDF download gives you access to the full research report. If you want to read more about the report, you can read more from Dr Phoebe Hill on it here.