For individuals

Why should I get involved?

Firstly, because ICONZ cannot operate without adult leaders!!!

Secondly, the need for programmes such as ICONZ is becoming more clear as our community becomes more deprived of MALE Role-models.

Thirdly, because Jesus said (in Matt 19:14)… “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” There are a host of opportunities to reach out to children in our nation, and ICONZ gives you access to an untapped, yet absolutely “rearing-to-burst-through-your-doors”, mission field in your community!

The feedback we receive from parents highlights the needs kids have for getting out and having “ICONZ-style” activities. There are, unfortunately, increasing numbers of families bringing up their kids without a father present, and the shrinking number of male teachers in education (approximately one-fifth of teachers in NZ are male) means it is even more important that boys are involved in ICONZ. While we see the need for women to be included in leadership, our research indicates the acute need for an increase in male leaders involved in children’s and youth ministry.

While ICONZ is about kids, the business of starting ICONZ Units is about adults. We are looking for one key person who will drive the process into making the dream a reality for your church. Could this person be you???

Resources that work

We provide a full three-year programme which will make the job of leading a bunch of full-on active children far easier than ever before. A lot of emphasis is placed on developing your own creativity with our programme and YOU feeding your fantastic ideas to US, so we can further enhance what is already an awesome resource!

We also have other resources to help you get going in promoting and running the programme. These include: brochures, DVDs, merchandise, uniforms and awards.

What does the programme look like? Is it easy to run?

Our three one-year curriculum books, Koru, Mere & Waka, outline the programme. They assist leaders in planning the weekly sessions around the SPACI awards scheme. The curriculum books eliminate the difficult job of brainstorming for ideas of what to do with the kids every term.

In addition, we have developed our own “Team Teaching” approach. This is the best way to spread roles & responsibilities evenly around all leaders. It gives inexperienced leaders a chance to gain confidence & build on their leadership responsibilities. Team Teaching allows each leader to work to their strengths so that all leaders are used to their full potential. The system also enables leaders to feel wanted, used & fulfilled in their role.

It is easy to run

Simple planning is the key to any great kids programme. If you follow our curriculum, planning is simple & it doesn’t take much time to prepare at all. At the “pre-term planning meeting”, the team looks at the curriculum in conjunction with their programme planning guide & decides who will lead, coordinate or demonstrate each part of the weekly programme throughout the term. For example: who will run the games? take devotions? demonstrate the main activity or feature of the evening? and decide who will be the “Up Front” leader for the week/term (it need not be always the same person).

A sample of a typical week’s programme is available on request. This will help you check out one or two of the activities involved each week.

What about leaders?

Leaders are the most important part of the ICONZ equation - without them we cannot run an ICONZ programme. They are volunteers & often parents, who commit their time outside working hours. They plan the programme & assemble all the materials used in the programme. If you are a parent, please volunteer your time, skills & money as often as you can to make their job easier.

A ratio of 1 leader per 8 children is what we aim for in the programme. For away or outdoor trips we aim for ratios of 1:5 adults to children. Parents generally make up the numbers if leaders are short.

How many people will it take to lead the new Unit?

To get other people interested in joining up, with your enthusiasm for the ministry is always the greatest challenge. However if there are even 1 or 2 others, then that is enough to get ICONZ started.

Once you have a small team you simply match people’s skills, passions and talents with the different tasks required to make it all happen. Even if there is not one person willing to commit to taking on the responsibility of ‘senior leader’ it’s still not difficult to start up a Unit.

We will of course do all that we can to give you the skills, encouragement and resources to make it all happen. Our staff are available to help you and more than that, they know a thing or two about working with young people and in churches - so if you EVER need help or ideas or advice, look us up!

Is leadership difficult?

Often parents & potential leaders are nervous about getting involved because their time is valuable and they are already committed to responsibilities such as family, work and other church or community activities. Generally however, the job is far easier than most people expect.

How much time will it take up in my week?

Leaders will generally be looking at 2-3 hours in total per week (some people spend that much time watching TV on one night). Weekly session attendance will involve 1.5 hours with the kids along with 10-15 minutes either side, for set-up & pack-down. On top of the event time, there is often preparation time that can take up to an hour per week.

What about term planning?

Once the Unit is up & running, team planning meetings occur prior to the beginning of each term (usually on the same night as the regular programme but during the holidays, without kids). One person takes responsibility to invite VIP speakers, bookings for visits & other planning before the term starts.

This planning meeting can be attached to a social event such as a visit to the local shooting range, café or going fishing as a team of leaders. It takes in total around 1.5 - 3 hours depending on the social activity chosen...

Leadership Training

Our training programmes are top-notch and we have access to a number of passionate, experienced and talented communicators and trainers.

• Intro to ICONZ.

• A short 2-hour seminar on the history and how-to’s of ICONZ. This is the minimum requirement for leadership registration. We will look at all the roles needed to make it all happen, the challenges and basic crowd control.

• Training Roadshows:

• Our next level of training is our yearly regional training updates. We come to a centre near you and take you through a few modules from our awesome training series “Christian Leadership”.

• We are constantly developing new sessions and have the flexibility in our programme to provide region-specific training. For instance, in 2008 we covered Health and Safety Management, Event Management, Pastoral Care and “Keeping yourself Passionate”.

• Ongoing Consultancy:

• Our staff are also here to help you in your role with ICONZ. We have a team of people experienced in Youth, Children’s and Pastoral ministry across a broad range of church traditions and denominations. We love the challenge of finding unique solutions to the issues that arise in the ICONZ family and we look forward to walking the ICONZ journey with you!