Where is Y.E.S. right now? What's happening? What have we done? What are we doing? What are our plans?
The concept for Y.E.S. programs first crystallized in the Fall of 1975. Since that time, some churches have developed excellent local programs. During the last three years, many valuable insights have been obtained from those programs which were begun.
What Is Y.E.S. Doing Today?
In the Fall of 1978, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong approved the youth educational service of the Church after an analysis of the underlying principles and other relevant materials that were presented to him. After receiving such approval, a full-time individual working exclusively with Y.E.S. has been added to the Y.O.U. staff. Since the Y.E.S. program has gotten underway starting in January of this year, much progress has been made.
In order to develop the best materials for Y.E.S. programs we first sent a Y.E.S. questionnaire to all Church Pastors.
Y.E.S. Master File
Since Y.E.S. began about three years ago, a lot of materials have reached our office. We have just completed a systematic master file of all Y.E.S. materials. The master file contains two basic divisions, one of which deals strictly with curriculum related materials. In this division we have developed a subject file based on the order of topics and events in both the Old and New Testaments. This means that any Y.E.S. materials received from the field can now be systematically classified immediately and will be at our fingertips when our writers need material on a subject in the future. For example, if we were to receive an interesting and well-planned lesson on Moses, that material will go into a special section on 'Moses.' In it we would already typically have several lessons and contributions relating to Moses. (Some subject areas are more complete than others.)
The other division deals with Y.E.S. administration and organization. Some of the sections in this division include: curriculum design, lesson planning information, resources and aids, local Y.E.S. organization, Church format, program evaluation, teacher training and parental involvement. Again, these topical files will prove invaluable as we write articles for Y.E.S. teachers and staff in the future.
Y.E.S. Programs Manual
One of our immediate goals for Y.E.S. is to write a manual which will give all Church areas some guidelines in the organization of their Y.E.S. program. There has been a request for such a manual ever since the concept of Y.E.S. was first introduced. Another purpose for such a manual will be to promote greater overall unity and consistency in the structure and organization of Y.E.S. programs. Such a manual will also allow necessary flexibility for each program. We have now already produced a preliminary draft copy of the manual.
At present the manual is being evaluated by several individuals, including a number of local Y.E.S. teachers and sabbatical ministers. We have a class at College which is directly related to Y.O.U. and therefore also includes discussion on Y.E.S. As a result of this input, the manual will be revised and there will be some additional improvements incorporated into it. This second revision will be presented to P.A.D. for editing.
As soon as we are able, we then want to present the final form of the Y.E.S. programs manual to Mr. Armstrong, for his evaluation and approval. Once approved, the manual will then be made available on request for every Church area worldwide.
Our main goal, once the Y.E.S. manual is completed (by the way, included in the manual will be an approved curriculum), will be the production of a Y.E.S. Quarterly booklet. The booklet will include information in three areas;
(1) For Teachers — Each booklet will be filled with various lesson plan ideas and suggestions, including relevant seasonal material.
(2) For Children — The quarterly will include direct learning activities for children, which teachers will be able to mimeograph and use in their classes.
(3) For Parents — Each issue will contain many ideas for parental involvement with children in Y.E.S. related activities and learning during the week.
Other Goals
Additional goals include a teacher training program and occasional Y.E.S. related articles in the Worldwide News to keep readers more abreast of what Y.E.S. is doing. Other possibilities include books and cassette stories for children.