“PREP helps to refocus before the year starts.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

With the school year started, churches are launching their youth ministry year. For youth leaders, it is a crucial time to have an established plan, but that process can be daunting. To help, the Canadian Youth Network (CYN) hosted their second annual PREP event at Camp Cherith.

“PREP stands for Praying, Relating, Equipping, Planning,” explains Joey Molloy, CYN’s Pastoral Network Director. Chatting with a ministry associate several years ago, Molloy says they realized new and younger youth leaders needed help preparing for the ministry year ahead.

“When you’re not prepared you start doing things on the fly and it’s not as effective. Part of what CYN is, is to train up and help youth workers. When I started at CYN we were thinking about what this could look like. What would it look like if we just provided space for them to prepare for the year, with us available to help them out?”

Last year and this year, they brought together youth pastors and their volunteers from seven churches for a weekend retreat at Camp Cherith, where Molloy also serves as ministry director. This year’s retreat, which ran from August 23 to 25, they added an optional one-day intensive course from CYN’s Implementa program.

“PREP is a retreat-kind-of-atmosphere, where they are basically forced to go sit and enjoy God’s presence and figure out what God really wants for them this year.”

“The idea is that they come, learn, and grow together. We have worship and some teaching. Then we give them space around the campground and there is time where they can go and plan. Some people come with nothing and they plan all weekend. Some come with a full plan and they use the weekend to communicate it to their leaders.”

This was Matt McKendry’s second year attending. He serves as pastor of student ministries at Cedarview Alliance Church, and brought six of his volunteers.

“Involving them in the planning stages [last year] meant they were more invested in the events and programs. PREP helps to refocus before the year starts, to challenge our leaders, as well as create a closer bond with each other.”

McKendry adds that he really appreciates the opportunity to sit and get guidance from veteran youth leaders brought by CYN.

Beyond the planning support, Molloy says PREP has a couple other benefits. For one, it pulls youth leaders out of the busyness of ministry, into a quiet atmosphere of prayer.

Photo courtesy of Camp Cherith.

“Whether you are a volunteer who runs a smaller youth group or if you are on staff and you run a larger youth group, you just don’t have the time to give it the proper prayer and thought to plan out the youth ministry year.

“PREP is a retreat-kind-of-atmosphere, where they are basically forced to go sit and enjoy God’s presence and figure out what God really wants for them this year.”

The other added bonus Molloy highlights is that PREP helps connect local youth ministry leaders more, develop relationships, and get them praying together.

“Last year we had two guys who came and got to know each other. Out of that, they planned a retreat together, booked our camp, and brought up 60 kids in May. Kids got saved and it was an awesome time, but the relationship started by just getting to know each other at PREP last year.”