Chattanooga
Nicknamed the "Scenic City," Chattanooga offers a combination of gorgeous natural beauty and warm southern hospitality. Located at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and with the Tenneessee River running through it, Chattanooga has beautiful scenery and lots of opportunities for exploration and adventure. This small city has been influenced and shaped by the culture and history of Native Americans and the Appalachians.Chattanooga has received national praise for its riverfront redevelopment and its affordable housing program. At the same time, poverty is still a reality in the community, and there are many needs among Chattanooga's people and its natural environment. There are also many active social service organizations within the community.
Community Experience
The partnerships in Chattanooga offer YouthWorks two fairly unique opportunities for service. The first is our partnership with four local recreation centers where we facilitate Kids Club programming each week. These centers become a "home away from home" for Chattanooga's children during the summer, and we are so glad to bring some extra fun and love into their days. The second is our partnership with a few land preservation organizations that help to keep the Chattanooga area beautiful. This is a wonderful opportunity to get your hands dirty caring for God's creation. One such site, Audubon Acres, is listed as a "National Trail of Tears Site," so its preservation is important to United States history. You will also have the opportunity to spend time with the elderly. In the evenings, your group will explore the well-known Lookout Mountain, enjoy swimming and playing at Chester Frost Park, attend a worship service at our housing site and host church, and spend time with new and old friends at a community cookout. You will meet some memorable people in Chattanooga – people who love the city and love sharing it with YouthWorks groups.
Service On Site
During half the week, your students will lead Bible lessons, games, reading time or crafts with community children. During the other half of the week you will partner with local organizations which meet different needs within the community; you may serve all or part of the week at a food shelf, clothing distribution center, soup kitchen, children’s ministry, or elderly care facilities.
YouthWorks Relationship
YouthWorks has been serving in Chattanooga since 2000. While we have had several different housing partners over the years, we're thankful to have had some very longstanding relationships with a number of our service partners.
What if I don't know how many people to plan for?
We can help you through this process. Adding spaces can happen at any time as long as we have availability. There are some deadlines for when decreasing spaces, please check out theRegistration Process for more specifics.
How much does a YouthWorks trip cost?
YouthWorks trips are affordable. The Chattanooga Trip will cost us $260.00 per person. Cost per participant includes:
· 14 meals
· Project Materials and resources
· Program Resources
· Evening Activities
· Lodging
· Staffing – Recruitment & Training
Who can come?
Registrations for a YouthWorks mission trip must be made through a church or organization. Because of YouthWorks’ program and policies, agreements with ministry partners and to be respectful of other groups, we do not allow individuals who are not in the appropriate grades to attend the mission trip. Minimum group size is five.
· Each YouthWorks trip is categorized as a junior high school, mixed, high school, Church-Wide, or Family.
· 2015 Middle School trips are open to those students who have completed 6th grade in spring 2015 through students who completed 8th grade in spring 2015.
· 2015 High School trips are open to those students who have completed 8th grade in spring 2015 through seniors who have graduated in the spring of 2015.
· 2015 Mixed trips are open to those students who have completed 6th grade in spring 2015 through seniors who have graduated in the spring of 2015.
Can our adults go?
Yes! In fact, adult leaders play a key leadership role on your youth trips. A leader needs to be at least 20 years of age and be in a role of leadership with your teenagers.
What is the adult to youth ratio requirements on youth trips?
· 1 adult leader for every 7 students (High School trips)
· 1 adult leader for every 5 students (Middle School trips)
· 1 adult leader for every 5 students (Mixed trips)
Do you require background checks on your leaders? What about students?
Yes. Each church group will need to conduct a national (multi-site) criminal background check and sex offender registry check on any participant (adults or students) that is 18 years and older. Church groups will then provide YouthWorks with written confirmation that every participant 18 and older has been approved to work with youth and children.
Are the sites safe?
Safety is of the utmost importance to our organization! We want participants to feel safe throughout the entire week, and we want parents and church leadership to know that we take every precaution in order to ensure their safety. With that said, we do rely on Adult Leaders and youth to help the YouthWorks staff in maintaining the safety policies and procedures for their mission week.
Will we be working with other groups?
Yes. It’s a great opportunity to make new friends from new places. The only way this would not happen is if your group were to register for the whole week (all of the spaces on site).
Will our group be serving together or will we be split up?
If your group is larger than seven people and has more than two adult leaders, you will most likely be split into different ministry/work crews for the week. Each crew will have anywhere from 7 – 15 people with 1 – 3 adult leaders depending on the needs of our service partners, the size of the group on site, and the number and size of vehicles available. Ideally, each crew will be comprised of youth from different churches along with an adult leader from each church.
Where do we stay?
Groups are housed in a local church, school or community building. Participants need to bring their own sleeping bags, pillows and sleeping pads or air mattresses that are twin-size or smaller (Puerto Rico has a slightly different requirement). All females and males sleep in separate rooms, including married adult leaders. Showers are available either on site or at a nearby location.
What is Kids Club?
Kids Club is an energetic, engaging ministry for our community kids. The purpose of Kids Club is to demonstrate the love of Jesus to the children in YouthWorks’ communities while giving your youth an opportunity to serve in a meaningful way.
What will we do at Kids Club?
Kids Club is geared to kids ages 5-10 and runs Monday through Thursday every week once school is out of session. The community kids will be taught about the love of Jesus through a summer-long curriculum authored by YouthWorks. In addition to the learning Biblical truths through story, the kids will play games, make crafts, spend time reading and sing energetic songs.
What is the role of our youth at Kids Club?
Your youth will hold the primary responsibility to lead the programmatic details of Kids Club. They will lead the games, songs, crafts and the presentations of Biblical truths. Our staff will equip and empower them to do so by providing the necessary materials, guides and direction.
What is the role of adult leaders at Kids Club?
The role of adult leaders is multi-faceted. One responsibility at many of our sites will be to transport community kids to and from the Kids Club site. Adult leaders will assist the Kids Club staff in providing direction for the youth as they plan and implement the afternoon’s activities. Another way to support the ministry of Kids Club is to help with crowd control and discipline of the community kids.
Will we be able to give a Gospel presentation?
The message of God’s loveis an integral part of our summer-long curriculum. Though we do not give a formal gospel presentation, community kids are given the chance to interact daily with the story of God’s love for them.The YouthWorks’ staff working with Kids Club throughout the summer will be able to give you a clear picture of how the weekly stories tie together to present a consistent message. What you do while on site will play a crucial role in teaching the kids about Jesus’ love for them and His desire to be loved by them in return. We will work together to go beyond simply telling them of this love – we’ll show them His love as well.
Who comes to Kids Club?
The kids that come to YouthWorks Kids Clubs are from a variety of backgrounds, and Kids Clubs vary in size depending on the community. These kids have not necessarily grown up in a church, and many come from tough family situations. As a result, Kids Club may feel a little chaotic compared to children’s programming at your own church. Our staff will help you understand the particular needs of the kids at your Kids Club and the best way to show them love and care.
Where is Kids Club held?
Our first choice is to host Kids Club at a local church, which allows for a powerful partnership with the community. Other possibilities include community centers, parks or even our housing site. Transportation to Kids Club can be a challenge if kids do not live within a safe walking distance of the Kids Club location. In those cases, your adult leaders will most likely be asked to transport kids in your vehicles between Kids Club and the homes of the children.
How can / should we prepare for Kids Club?
The best way to prepare is to come with an open heart and mind so you can be a part of the ministry to community kids that happens all summer long. An overview of the Kids Club curriculum will be available in April to give you an idea of what Kids Club will look like and the weekly themes and scriptures that community kids will interact with throughout the summer. During your Pre-Trip Call with your Site Director, you will find out more specifics about what Kids Club will look like during your mission week. This call also gives you an opportunity to ask if there are any additional craft supplies or other materials that you can bring and donate to the ministry for summer use. Once on site, your Kids Club staff person will lead you through the planning and preparation process for your week.
Where will we be serving?
It is our privilege to partner with organizations already at work serving the needs of people within the community. We want to help these organizations do what they do every day of the year by providing them with volunteers. Our partnerships include working with the elderly, children, individuals with special needs, people who are homeless or in transition, or serving through hands-on labor with food banks, community gardens or neighborhood revitalization projects. While we place a priority on relational service ministry opportunities, we are also pleased to serve behind the scenes through manual labor; many YouthWorks participants will experience a little of both.
Do we work with only Christian organizations?
We love to partner with organizations that have a faith-based focus, but we also value what other non-profit organizations are doing in our communities. Our hope is to provide volunteer support to local organizations (service partners) that share our desire to love and serve the people of the community. We are blessed when we can be part of the story of what God is doing in a community whether His work is being done through a secular or faith-based organization. Of course, YouthWorks does not endorse its partners beyond providing volunteer support, so participants will not be asked to distribute fliers or solicit gifts or donations for any of our local partners.
Will we be able to evangelize or share the Gospel with people?
We certainly want to be able to share God’s truth and love with the people in our communities; however, some of them have seen a great deal of aggressive Christian evangelism, and we also understand that many of our ministry partners rely on government funding that limits traditional evangelism. It is because of this that while we encourage participants to be open about their reasons for serving, as well as in sharing their faith, we believe that this sharing is most meaningful when it is done primarily through our actions and within the context of relationships that have been built during the week. We serve as the hands and feet of Christ and in turn He uses us to impact others for the Kingdom.
Who determines where we will be serving?
Full-time Regional and Area Directors along with summer staff will be responsible for choosing appropriate service opportunities for your week of ministry. The trip leader of each group will be asked to place each person from their group on a ministry, or work crew, with the input and help of site staff leaders.
When will we find out what we will be doing specifically?
You will not know specifically where you will be serving until after the Adult Leader’s meeting on Sunday night.
Will we have to drive to our service locations?
Yes, you are responsible for your transportation to the service location each day. You may be at one place all day or serve at one place in the morning and at a different place in the afternoon. You will be given maps and thorough driving directions to and from each location, back to the housing site, and to emergency facilities. In some cases, YouthWorks staff may be available to escort you to your service location.