Directed v Undirected Initiatives For Christians
Directed initiatives; activities where the facilitator pre-determines the lesson outcomes and directs the debriefing discussion toward those ends.
When time is limited this approach can offer an effective way to help people gain a certain level of understanding of a topic or concept. For this approach I would recommend using your own experience working with initiatives rather than looking for a book. For each initiative ask yourself what themes tend to consistently present themselves and ask yourself where and what the bible has to say about those issues. Brainstorm themes and outcomes with other staff/facilitators to create your own personalized activity resource with your own debrief outlines. I did this every summer with my Challenge Course staff. It is a great way to access everyone’s talent and experience and it encourages increased staff buy in. (I have a creative process activity outline in my book Experiential Youth Ministry Handbook that I use).
Directed Initiatives offer a limited depth and the lesson remains the facilitator's and may not deal with the issues and topics the group was experiencing. If you encourage the facilitator to step back and allow the group’s lessons to reveal themselves through the experience and through a less directed debrief the power and depth of the learning increases tremendously. This requires a bit more training and maturity for the facilitator but the payoff is tremendous. My facilitator training programs lead facilitators to this understanding and approach to the process. I try to offer a broad perspective in facilitation that includes full spectrum of facilitation that includes directed and undirected approaches to leading activities.
I have some resources on my website (praxistraining.com) and, if you are interested in purchasing my book, you should go through Youth Specialties or Amazon. They can get you a better price than I can.
Let me know what you think.
When time is limited this approach can offer an effective way to help people gain a certain level of understanding of a topic or concept. For this approach I would recommend using your own experience working with initiatives rather than looking for a book. For each initiative ask yourself what themes tend to consistently present themselves and ask yourself where and what the bible has to say about those issues. Brainstorm themes and outcomes with other staff/facilitators to create your own personalized activity resource with your own debrief outlines. I did this every summer with my Challenge Course staff. It is a great way to access everyone’s talent and experience and it encourages increased staff buy in. (I have a creative process activity outline in my book Experiential Youth Ministry Handbook that I use).
Directed Initiatives offer a limited depth and the lesson remains the facilitator's and may not deal with the issues and topics the group was experiencing. If you encourage the facilitator to step back and allow the group’s lessons to reveal themselves through the experience and through a less directed debrief the power and depth of the learning increases tremendously. This requires a bit more training and maturity for the facilitator but the payoff is tremendous. My facilitator training programs lead facilitators to this understanding and approach to the process. I try to offer a broad perspective in facilitation that includes full spectrum of facilitation that includes directed and undirected approaches to leading activities.
I have some resources on my website (praxistraining.com) and, if you are interested in purchasing my book, you should go through Youth Specialties or Amazon. They can get you a better price than I can.
Let me know what you think.
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