Organising Your Team At Newday

Team format

Organising people and the roles they’ll carry out can help to make your week run smoothly. We recommend considering each of the key roles below and thinking about who on your team would be best to carry them out. Look at your team’s individual strengths and contexts; what are their gifts and skills? How much experience do they have? How old are they? What are their hobbies and interests? It may be that you decide to ask additional people to join your team in support roles.

Key roles:

These may each be assigned to different people, or in many cases one person may need to take on more than one role.

• Group Coordinator: Taking the lead on bookings, admin, safety, and liaising with the Newday team and external companies (e.g. marquee rental providers), responding to issues on site and looking after your team of adults. Ideally this person would not also be a lead youth leader but we totally understand that if your group is smaller, it may be easier/necessary to carry out both roles.
  

  
  

• Lead Youth Leaders: Keeping your group safe on site and planning the week. Attending meetings and seminars with young people. Liaising with parents, organising your youth group, making sure people are fed and watered, and communicating the plan for travel, the week, and returning home. Checking in with other youth leaders to see how they/your group are doing.
  

  
  

• Youth leaders: Supporting your youth group, and one another, in having a fantastic week! Youth leaders play a key role in supporting the growth and development of their groups, keeping them safe on site, encouraging positive relationships between churches and helping young people to engage with the programme of activities. Youth leaders can set up activities back at their camping site and a safe space to chat and enjoy a break, for youth who may prefer quiet time.
  

  
  

• Catering: Feeding your group! Organising the kitchen equipment, shopping, prepping food, and deciding what will be cooked at home vs on site. Making sure allergens and intolerances are recorded and safely provided for. 
  

  
  

• Ministry: Making sure your group has both male and female leaders who are spiritually mature and equipped to chat and pray with your youth group. Attending meetings and seminars, and talking through / providing additional content on topics discussed in meetings and seminars. For support with prayer and any safeguarding issues, use the QR codes on your wristbands. You can also receive support from our 'Red Caps' (ministry team) who will be in main meetings and some seminars. 
  

  
  

• Camp hospitality: Setting up camp and maintaining provision and safety! Topping up the water, putting up or supporting youth to put up tents, organising the washing up, emptying bins, and making a great base for your church.
  

  
  

• Night Duty: We strongly advise that a designated responsible adult should be on night duty for each youth group. This person should be contactable by their young people and the Newday operational team throughout the night.

Additional roles:

• Newday Next servers (18-21s): Coming to Newday as a newly graduated youth leader can be strange. It can sometimes be difficult to make a clear transition from being part of the youth group to being a leader on site who needs to encourage and enforce safety regulations and behaviour policies. It may be that new youth leaders feel more comfortable taking on specific roles like organising group activities (see role description below), leading concourse trips, cooking, or chores organisation. It’s important that all youth leaders know how to signpost to medical, prayer, and safeguarding support if needed.
  

  
  

• Activities lead: Youth leaders who are able to provide the fun! Organising activities for times back at your site, joining in with sports, accompanying youth to the activities on the concourse, and supporting/encouraging those who need some quiet time. Many youth groups will have lunch or dinner time activities like quizzes, games, and prayer opportunities.
  

  
  

• Young family support: If some of your key team members have small children, it may be worth thinking about whether you could bring an additional team member to support with young children on site, taking them to groups, and supporting the parents.