by Mighty C. Rasing

I got involved with the School for Christian Youth Development (SCYD) when I was still in high school. I would say that this school was very influential in developing my leadership in the church, in my school and in my personal development. I also developed a lot of friendships and important connections by participating in this school.

The School runs for three years. It’s like going to a Bible School for teenagers. You get to study about the Bible, how to lead bible studies, how to lead group dynamics, Preaching, the United Methodist Church polity and structure, Social Principles and Leadership among others! The teachers are usually the pastors, deaconesses and concerned lay persons in the conference or district.

Most of the time, SCYD is sponsored and organized by the Board of Discipleship of the Annual Conference. It usually runs between one to three weeks. During my time (which seems like ages ago!), it used to be three weeks. But due to time and financial constraints, the duration became two weeks and eventually to just one week.

The most memorable part of SCYD, at least for me, was the weekend appointment to local churches. We were sent to these churches as a team of young people. One of us became the preacher during the Sunday worship while others became children’s Sunday School teachers, ushers and liturgists among others. On the whole, it was pretty good training in church ministries for young people!

Read the full story from the Voices of Young People website.

image credit: Kayveeinc via Flickr

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