Have you heard of The Big House Ireland? How do you respond when a young person brings a difficulty to you and is looking for support? Read on as we explain briefly what The Big House can offer leaders and young people in churches throughout Ireland. Their Mission statement is –
‘The Big House exists to help young people know God’s love as they encounter Jesus and are cared for by the church, especially when life is difficult.’
They aim to fulfill their mission statement through the following 4 areas.
- Camps
- Training
- Counselling
- Workshops
The Big House offers support to both leaders and young people.
‘We can help some young people directly, through programmes that are effective, aren’t available in most churches or youth groups, and can be delivered by a small team. These include our camps, counselling and workshops for young people.’
Other times the help and support is offered by equipping the church. ‘We can help many more young people through local churches and youth groups who are already caring for them. We provide training for leaders, encourage youth leaders to attend camps with young people and facilitate workshops. We also offer support for individual leaders’
The next Training Conference being organised by The Big House is on Saturday 18th November 2017 at Belfast Bible College.
This will offer very beneficial training for youth workers and volunteers. Teachers, parents and church leaders have also found the training sessions helpful. Each training session includes: Professional expertise – a professional sharing the background to the session, eg. what is depression? Personal experience – someone sharing their story – what it’s like to live with and overcome particular difficulties, including what they found to be helpful/unhelpful. Biblical reflection – exploring how God speaks into the issue and how following Jesus shapes our response. Practical advice – take home advice and resources for you and your group/church that are achievable and effective.
You can book your place on the training by clicking here.
What is The Big House Ireland? Hopefully by now we’ve given you a good summary to that question.
Check out their new website here for a much more in-depth look at what they can offer your church or youth group. If you’re on social media you can find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
As should be the case for any church or organisation, it’s important to get your message to as many people as possible. An effective website and good use of social media help with this, but it’s important to use all means available. A team from The Big House are looking forward to attending a Media Essentials training day soon at Ballymena Media Centre, MCC Computers, Galgorm, Ballymena.
Looking forward to the day Mark from The Big House Ireland commented,
“We have enjoyed working with Philip and the team. The Big House staff are looking forward to their training as we know this will help us and in turn help support young people who face difficulty.”
Philip who will facilitate the training is also looking forward to the day.
“Having worked alongside and forged a friendship with the folk from The Big House Ireland, I am looking forward to the Media Essentials training day, when we will learn how to bring together the many essential elements of media in today’s culture, to best represent and share the story of The Big House and the hope that it brings to many young people.” Dr Philip McCartney PhD, Ballymena Media Centre, MCC Computers Ballymena.
If you feel your church or organisation could benefit not only from youth leader training but also training on how you could improve your reach both online and off, then get in touch with Philip on 028 2563 8888 who will be glad to help.