New AIDS Guide Addresses Overdue Youth Response
A response from American youth ministries to the millions affected by HIV/AIDS is long overdue, according to major global and youth organizations. World Vision, Youth Specialties and Fuller's Center for Youth and Family Ministry just released a new curriculum to overturn the low response and catalyze students toward engagement.
Two years of research and collaboration with youth workers from around the country resulted in a highly-adaptable guide called "One Life." The 100-page free curriculum was born out of a need to do a "major overhaul" on the way ministries teach about world engagement.
"With the hope of stirring a revolution in the lives of students, this initiative has been building new passion and compassion for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS – a long-overdue response from the world of youth ministry," stated the researchers.
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The guide posed the question on how to motivate students in youth ministry to get engaged with the AIDS crisis in Africa and how to get them more aware of others' needs.
Some may have tried the strategy of "alarming statistics" such as the 40 million people who are infected with HIV worldwide and the five people in Africa who die of AIDS every 60 seconds. Another possible strategy used is one of drawing "pity" with true stories about the millions of children orphaned by AIDS. Youth pastors could have also tried the "guilt" strategy, comparing students and their blessings with the little that African children have.
After compiling insights from 60 youth workers, researchers of One Life concluded six points that would shape the curriculum:
1. Alarm, pity, and guilt won't create long-term change in students.
2. This curriculum alone won't be enough to sustain long-term change in students.
3. The difference between service and social justice is that students serve when they give water to someone in need; they engage in social justice when they figure out and address why that person needs water in the first place.
4. A good curriculum is easy to use, but it's also customizable.
5. The more students' senses are engaged in the AIDS pandemic, the better.
6. The kids who really "get" service and social justice usually have families who get it also.
A rough draft of the entire curriculum was sent to youth workers in six test sites around the country to find what worked and what didn't with their students.
The curriculum contains four modules, each with three steps: Now, New, and How. The modules, in order, are "The King And I," "The Un-Divided Kingdom," "Money - yours, mine, or ours?," and "When Faith Gets AIDS."
The "Now" helps leaders and students consider the realities around the world; the "New" provides a biblically based perspective that brings new insight and perspective to those realities; "How" invites leaders and students to commit to making a difference.
Overall, Scripture was at the backdrop in developing the guide.
"As we prayed and surveyed Scripture, we couldn't think of a better framework for considering the AIDS crisis than the kingdom of God," stated the guide, which particularly focuses on the Gospels and Jesus' model and teachings.
The One Life Curriculum can be found at www.cyfm.net.
