For The Leaders

Volunteer leaders don’t make the world go round, but they do make Youthworks Holiday Camps run! If you are a leader or you want to be a leader then this is the place for you!

Want to lead on a Youthworks Holiday Camp?

Youthworks has been a provider of holiday camps for over 50 years, giving many young people opportunities to develop in their faith in God while having lots of fun and making great relationships. Youthworks Holiday Camps provide a unique opportunity to guide young people on a path to godliness. Leading on a Youthworks Holiday Camp is an awesome opportunity to use the gifts God has given you to serve others. You will also get a chance to develop skills in leadership, patience, love, trust, submission, and forgiveness, that will be invaluable to you in life. Leading on a camp is also great fun and you will make life-long friendships.

If you’re keen to join one of our leadership teams you’ll need to meet a few simple requirements:

• Be at least 16 years old
• Have a strong Christian faith
• Be a current and regular member of a Bible-believing Christian church
• Have a passion for others to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour
• Accept the Anglican Youthworks Statement of Faith and all other policies relating to Youthworks Holiday Camps
• Be able to work in a team ministry and under another person’s directorship
• Be committed to personal growth and development of skills suitable for a ministry with young people
• Have been cleared by the government’s child protection ‘Working with Children Check’ under the Child Protection (Prohibited Employment) Act 1998. See here for more details.

If you can answer ‘yes’ to all these requirements then we’d love to hear from you. To apply now download the Leader Application Form here and return completed to the Youthworks Holiday Camps Coordinator at holidaycamps@youthworks.net or PO Box 705, Sutherland NSW 1499 or to your camp/conference director.

You will also need to have a reference form completed and returned. This is available here: Leader Reference Form.

What are the responsibilities of being a leader?

While on camp, leaders will be expected to attend all meals, session times and activities. You will also be in charge of a discussion group and you may be allocated other responsibilities such as running an activity, looking after orderlies, running the bookstall, organising the final night’s decorations, etc. There are lots of different roles on camp and the director will be able to supply you with any information about a specific role that you have been assigned to do.

You are also responsible for modeling Christ in everything you do and say on camp, to the campers, other leaders, camp director, and anyone else who may be involved with camp. You are encouraged to make the most of every opportunity to share your faith and your life with others on camp.

As a leader you also have a duty of care to ensure that reasonable care is taken for the campers. This involves putting safety first in all aspects of camp life, stepping in when there is a potentially dangerous situation, letting the director know about any problems as soon as possible after they occur, and immediately assisting an injured person.

The responsibility doesn’t end once camp is over. We see ongoing contact with campers as a really important part of camp life. Leaders are encouraged to continue praying for the campers after camp and to follow them up using the appropriate channels as set up by Youthworks. Camp reunions can also be a great way of continuing the camp community feeling after camp has officially finished. The camp director can give you more information on camper follow-up procedures.

Do I get any leader training?

Youthworks understands the importance of equipping our camp leaders to handle whatever situation they might come into on a Youthworks Holiday Camp. A Leaders Training Day is held once a year where sessions such as; Running a small discussion group, Organising a successful activity session, and How to share your faith with others, are held to help you better develop your camp leadership skills. There are also Senior First Aid, Bronze Medallion, and Safe Ministry Training courses held throughout the year. You or your director can contact the Youthworks Holiday Camps Coordinator to find out the dates of these courses for the coming year.

As a leader, do I pay to go on camp?

The short answer is yes. Although we understand that you are giving of your own time to volunteer in this amazing ministry, we do have costs that need to be covered. Camp fees vary depending on the length and location of camp but on the whole, the fee that we charge our leaders is just to cover their food for the time on camp. Details about the camp costs and methods of payment can be found on the Leaders Application Form and also on our on-line registration pages: click here.

Youthworks understands that many of our leaders are tertiary students and we don’t want anyone to miss out on the opportunity to lead because of the cost. We have a Leader Sponsorship fund that can provide financial assistance if needed. Please contact the Youthworks Holiday Camps Coordinator on (02) 8268 3346 for more information about this fund.

We are also extremely grateful to those leaders who opt to pay more than the requested. These extra payments are treated as donations to our Financial Assistance Fund for disadvantaged campers unless you direct us otherwise. These donations can be added to your payment on the Leaders Application Form or can be added to the payment via our on-line registration pages: click here.