thought I'd copy this post over from the Ship of Fools incase any of my fellow 'God botherers' (yes, thank you for that tag, whoever it was 
) have any ideas...
We've just re-started the youth work in our Anglican parish. Very middle of the road, white, middle class, deadly dull (I've actually stopped going to church because of other reasons, but the dullness and naff ness was putting me off).
Anyway, we previously had three age groups meeting at different times of the week. Now we all meet on a Friday, though at different times of the evening and with a joint 'communal' time where we dare to do things like Pray and Worship and Acknowledge God. All quite radical for this particular church.
The leaders are a mixed bunch. The (paid) youth work co-ordinator is new to the job, inexperienced, but doing an excellent job. Most of the other leaders are either parents or people who've been roped in to do it for a little while. I don't think anyone apart from me has any experience of doing youth work outside of this parish (though I may be wrong).
My real problem has been with the 14+ group. Two Dads have worked on this and have 'let things work out as they want to' which usually means that the Dads end up chatting/doing something else, and the 14+ do nothing all night. Last time we met (we meet fortnightly) i decided that this Was Not Good Enough and spent the evening with them (we're blessed with quite a few volunteer leaders, though of differing qualities!) and, whilst talking about God is mostly off the menu, I proposed (and they readily and enthusaistically agreed) to doing a project on being a teenager in [suburban town] and the Church today. I mentioned disposable cameras, a presentation to the PCC (!) and poster displays.
They seemed enthusiastic about this, and er, today it looks like I'm starting to do it for real (leaving the 11-14s behind). Which is a bit daunting as this was all just a vague thought inspired by their talking on the night, I've got little idea about where it might lead, and I want to get them engaged and talking about faith as well.
Any ideas about how I should take it (and even, other things we might be doing in the future?). There are between 4 and 8 14+, who will talk about faith when pushed, who are generally quite ambivalent and I think they're all, but one, female. On the in-between weeks, they're going to continue to meet social with the Dads supervising.
Prayer that Friday turns out right would be good too! (Oh yes, the interesting mix on this is that I've got about zero faith at the moment, yet it's me encouraging everyone that really, if they want to have a successful evening, they're going to have to pray about it. Sort of like an evangeical agnostic, which is not ideal but I feel that these teenagers need God in their lives, and no one else is going to do it...)
