Major development in churches’ training for youth work

Photo above – Streetreach with Connor youth workers and Christ in Youth.

The Church of Ireland’s National Youth Officer, Simon Henry, has commended Youth Link and Moorlands College on their new initiative – Moorlands NI @ Youth Link – to enhance training for youth work across the island of Ireland.

“As the recently appointed new Chairman of Youthlink, I am very pleased to be part of this exciting development and to promote its significance,” Simon remarked. “Youth Link is a large provider of accredited training in youth work in Northern Ireland and is a unique model of faith–based collaborative youth work. This new collaboration will be an attractive choice to students across the island – Moorlands College is long established and respected for its rich theological teaching and practical training in youth work and ministry.”

From September 2020, Moorlands will offer a BA Hons course in Applied Theology (Youth and Community Work) recognised by the JNC – the professional body that sets the national framework for youth work jobs – and subject to approval by the University of Gloucestershire, which accredits Moorlands’ current degree programmes, and by relevant professional bodies. This will be the only Christian youth work degree with JNC professional recognition on the island.

Young people at this year’s CIYD National Youth Forum.

The course will be delivered through study blocks held at the Youth Link premises in Belfast, and through placements arranged with local churches and other community networks. Students will also attend two study block weeks per year at Moorlands’ Christchurch campus in Dorset, where they will join with other students from that campus as well as those from Moorlands’ centres for the Midlands and South West England.

Youth Link’s Director, Patrick White, said: “Youth Link exists to build excellence in youth work and ministry and to enable young people and youth practitioners to be agents of transformation and hope. Since 2011, almost 140 students have graduated from the existing degree course delivered at Youth Link in Belfast, with a very high proportion going on to secure employment in local churches and communities where they are helping to transform the lives of children, young people and families. The new course looks to the future needs of the Church and society and will equip students graduating in 2023 and beyond with the skills they need to best serve our churches and communities.”

The graduation from the SERVE young leaders’ course in Down and Dromore.

Moorlands College’s Principal, the Revd Dr David Hilborn, added: “We’re delighted that Youth Link will be working with us, and that their vision, mission and ethos is so compatible with ours. Moorlands has been equipping Christians for gospel ministry among young people, children and others for many decades, and the prospect of extending that work into Northern Ireland with Youth Link is very exciting. Youth Link’s grass–roots knowledge of the Christian context in Northern Ireland and its wider reach and infrastructure mean that students pursuing this new Moorlands BA programme will be excellently equipped for a range of ministries among young people and communities within and beyond the Church.”

For more information about the course, please visit http://bit.ly/2oS7ZFn or contact Sharon Raine on 028/048 9032 3217 or at sharon@youthlink.org.uk