We sat down with PYNSW General Manager, Dave Phillips, after he and PYNSW Network Coordinator, Juli Secker, attended the first three weekends of KYCK 2024 to meet with Presbyterian youth groups in attendance.
They visited pressie groups from 26 different churches and a school group across NSW. Check out the map!
Dave, what do you love about coming to KYCK?
Meeting youth groups and youth group leaders from around the state and particularly seeing how everyone approaches KYCK a little differently. It’s great to learn from people with different approaches to…
- Make kids feel welcomed on arrival. For example, organising for the KYCK song playlist to be played on the way to Katoomba, or clearly communicating where amenities and facilities are on the KCC site.
- Plans during the weekend to help the kids process what they’re learning. For example, intentional time in small groups, or prayer triplets across ages.
- What activities will be run in free time. For example, a photo scavenger hunt, sightseeing, or board games.
- How to identify your group in a bigger group. For example, lots of youth groups who have their own merch, or are all wearing the same colour hats, some even have a big flag that they fly to help their group see them in the crowd!
What are some things you have noticed over the past few years of visiting youth groups at KYCK?
Leaders are doing an amazing job at taking the opportunities to deepen relationships with the young people in their youth groups. We’re seeing some churches even team up with other churches in their area to bring people to KYCK together. This is a really great opportunity for smaller groups to capitalise on.
What benefit do you think there is for youth groups to go to KYCK?
Being able to join a really large group of young people who are all learning from the Bible together, who are worshipping God together, and having a great time can be a peak experience for a lot of youth. Additionally, knowing that your youth will be challenged to reflect on the gospel and asked if they want to follow Jesus is a great thing to build into your regular youth program.
By going away for the weekend together, there are many opportunities for conversations among youth, and between youth and their leaders. By being away together with others from church, the sense of connectedness is increased between the young people and their sending church, which greatly helps in building connectedness long term.
While you’re at KYCK, have a think about how you can capture the experience so you can report back to your church and they can be better informed in their prayers for youth ministry.
If you’re going to send a group to KYCK, please get in touch – we’d love to come and say hi. We love being able to meet youth groups to equip and encourage you as you seek to disciple youth.
