What do you do with girls
who are getting too old for YoungLives, or who are ready for the “next
step” in their discipleship?
Below is a list of ideas that YoungLives areas have used to
help older girls to find their place as leaders and role models, and also to facilitate
healthy closure for older moms – creating space for mentors to move on to
younger moms.
Campaigners - After girls officially graduate from YoungLives, they don’t come to Club any more - but they can still be invited to come to Campaigners for a year or so. Another option is to start a separate Campaigners group for the older girls, either with mentors who want to stay with their older girls or mentors who are ready to be involved in something different.
Church - Emphasize how important it is for girls for to be connected in a church, and help them to find a church home where they feel comfortable and welcomed. Look for churches that have good childcare, small groups, culturally relevant services, access to bus lines, Saturday night or late Sunday morning services, etc. Find a small group that is willing to “adopt” a couple of older girls, and help them to get plugged in. Encourage girls to get involved in church activities besides just Sunday morning. Once one or two teen moms find a church where they feel at home, this can help to create a culture of church attendance in your YoungLives group – where teen moms start inviting their friends to church. This is even more effective than mentors inviting girls to church!
Graduation - Create a graduation plan with specific steps - goal-setting, junior leader training, and life skills classes. Encourage attendance, good behavior and meeting with their mentors through incentives like gift cards, camp scholarships and levels of achievement at graduation.
Campaigners - After girls officially graduate from YoungLives, they don’t come to Club any more - but they can still be invited to come to Campaigners for a year or so. Another option is to start a separate Campaigners group for the older girls, either with mentors who want to stay with their older girls or mentors who are ready to be involved in something different.
Church - Emphasize how important it is for girls for to be connected in a church, and help them to find a church home where they feel comfortable and welcomed. Look for churches that have good childcare, small groups, culturally relevant services, access to bus lines, Saturday night or late Sunday morning services, etc. Find a small group that is willing to “adopt” a couple of older girls, and help them to get plugged in. Encourage girls to get involved in church activities besides just Sunday morning. Once one or two teen moms find a church where they feel at home, this can help to create a culture of church attendance in your YoungLives group – where teen moms start inviting their friends to church. This is even more effective than mentors inviting girls to church!
Graduation - Create a graduation plan with specific steps - goal-setting, junior leader training, and life skills classes. Encourage attendance, good behavior and meeting with their mentors through incentives like gift cards, camp scholarships and levels of achievement at graduation.
Here are a couple of examples:
Then hold a graduation celebration as a part of club at
the end of each semester or school year to honor those young moms who have
reached a certain age or milestone. Girls should be told about the graduation
plan when they enter YoungLives. Their graduation date should also be a
regular conversation with their mentor. Mentors can stay involved with
graduated girls, but they are no longer officially their mentors.
Junior Mentors - Create a
model for girls to become junior mentors. Train them to take on more
responsibility once they graduate. For instance, they can be responsible for
finding their own childcare and/or transportation, partner with their mentor to
mentor a new girl together, take on responsibilities as club helpers (program,
sound, setup/teardown), help with transportation, lead Campaigners lessons, do
contact work with you, etc.
Senior Group - Create a small group just for your senior/alumni girls, or suggest that one of your graduated girls organize and lead it. They can have their own Campaigners, go to church together, plan play dates together, watch one another’s children, and so on.
Support Network - Look for classes/groups for single parents, programs for mothers, Bible studies, and support groups at churches and pregnancy centers that the girls can join after they graduate. Or if they are married, help them to find a married couple’s Bible study to join with their husband.
Senior Group - Create a small group just for your senior/alumni girls, or suggest that one of your graduated girls organize and lead it. They can have their own Campaigners, go to church together, plan play dates together, watch one another’s children, and so on.
Support Network - Look for classes/groups for single parents, programs for mothers, Bible studies, and support groups at churches and pregnancy centers that the girls can join after they graduate. Or if they are married, help them to find a married couple’s Bible study to join with their husband.
Work Crew - Taking
a few girls to a weekend camp to do work crew is a fantastic way for them to
learn how to give back and for you to be able to pour into
them for a few days straight - with no kids, friends, or family around to
distract them!
A few things to expect:
- Lots and lots of
laughter and bonding.
- Watching them
work really hard!
- Having cabin
time and debriefing about the experience.
- Getting to share
with them in the joy of service.
- Lots of great
side conversations throughout the weekend.
- Listening to
them snore for the entire ride home.
To volunteer for a work crew weekend, contact your Regional
Director or your YoungLives Divisional Coordinator about
opportunities near you.
You can also listen to an explanation of these methods in this 15-minute podcast
Got another suggestion or idea? Comment below!
Happy transitioning...
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