Search the siteAn Heroic MinistryIntroducing Pastor Steven from Rwanda:
Pastor Steven Turikunkiko has set up a community in Rwanda for victims of the genocide. 160 widows & teenagers & 80 younger children live with him; farming, sharing their lives and caring for those dying from AIDS. The community subsists on less than $1 per person per day. At enormous personal sacrifice, Pastor Steven and his wife have also adopted 20 orphans - who live with them and their 2 other children. For more information on Steven and this incredible community of hope, click here
Online BibleVerse of the dayYWI - working with...YWI is pleased to work in association with
CCP, UK
Fuller Youth Institute, US
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ParaLideres.org
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Generosity
 Before you startMEETING AIM: In this instant, self gratification culture have we lost the art of being generous? Has the spirit of true generosity become a thing of the past? This meeting guide will not only introduce the concept of generosity to the young people, but also challenge their own ideas, expectations and views on being generous. BACKGROUND PREPARATION: Read through 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; are there any bits that particularly stand out to you? In which ways are you generous? Being generous is not just about always doing the right thing - sometimes in the reality of a situation we can fail to be generous. At the beginning of the passage we are reminded ‘Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously’ (2 Corinthians 9:6) this should be our constant challenge. Gimme gimme (15 mins) Sit the group in a circle. Place six to ten large plain brown envelopes containing ‘mystery’ prizes in the middle. Deal out a pack of playing cards to the group. Take a second pack of playing cards and work your way through them, calling out the cards as you turn them. The person with that card hands in the card and chooses one envelope. Once all of the envelops have gone from the middle, they then have to be taken from whoever has one until all cards have been called, and those that still have envelopes at the end get to keep them. They can then be opened to reveal the prizes to the group. Reflective reading (10 mins) Get the group to find a space, make themselves comfortable and close their eyes. Ask them to think about the prizes they have received – are they pleased? Did they wish they’d won another prize? Did someone take a prize away them? Which prize did they want? As they reflect on these things read out the passage (2 Corinthians 9:6-15) ideally from The Message. When you’ve finished reading, allow a few minutes silence before bringing the group back together. How did they find this experience? Could they rectify the juxtaposition between their wanting; and the passage’s encouragement to give? How did it make them feel? Uncomfortable giving? (20 mins) Ask each young person to recount a memorable time when they have ‘been generous’ to another person. Draw on some of these – are some things easier to ‘be generous’ with than others? Can we sometimes be too comfortable with our giving? Encourage them to go beyond their comfort zones. Split into smaller groups; ask each group to come up with one practical way they can give generously to a specific group in their local community (e.g. a meal to a homeless person, an English lesson to an asylum seeker etc). Feedback ideas and as a whole group decide on one that can be actively pursued. KEY POINT: Giving generously is not always a comfortable experience, giving can be sacrificial of money, time, and energy. This activity will challenge the young people to push the boundaries of their generosity into new areas of ‘uncomfortable’ giving, in a positive and practical way. What’s your motivation? (15 mins) This activity can be done in one of two ways; either with the use of a digital camera, computer, and printer, or using magazines, drawings etc. Ask the young people to create a photo or picture story based on the scenario below including a suitable ending. The scenario can be adapted to make it more relevant to the group of young people you are working with e.g. buying a games consol instead of going to a festival. There do not have to be only two endings to the story, but encourage the young people to think about what they would really do. ‘You have recently inherited some money. You could pay for your friend to go on the school trip with you and your friends, she really wants to go but her parents can’t afford it. However, you also want to buy a ticket for you and your boyfriend/girlfriend to go to a big music festival where your favourite band (ever)! is playing. You can’t do both, what do you do with the money?’ KEY POINT: It says in vs. 7 ‘Each man (or woman)! Should give what s/he has decided in his/her heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver’. Challenge the young people on how they conclude the story – is it truthful for them? What would be their motivation? What does it mean to be a ‘cheerful giver’? How to be generous (15 mins) Set up four stations in your space representing: Money, Time, Skills, and Energy.
Notes for adapting For younger groups… Give each young person £1 get them to plan in small groups what they can do during the week to ‘be generous’ with their money. Feedback to the group then have a follow up in your next session. For older groups… Add an extra station to the final activity. How do they react to other’s generosity towards them? Hand out thank you cards. Can they think of one way they can say ‘thank you’ to someone who has been generous towards them. Write these in the cards. For unchurched young people… At the end give those who have won prizes a choice. They can either: 1. keep the prize for themselves, 2. share their prize, or 3. give their prize away. What is their decision? Why? For churched young people… How can they be more like Jesus through their generosity? Split into pairs and make a ‘generosity pledge’ for which they will be accountable to the other person.
Lori Passmore is a freelance writer and co-leader of BoB, a young person’s house group. |
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