PYC National Office

LIFE AND WORK OF THE YOUTH DEPARTMENT OF THE PCC

Preamble

We would like to begin this right-up by the definition of the Church as well as her mission. According to Article six of the 1198 edition of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, the church is defined as:

The community of the people of God, who through the work of the Holy Spirit, come together in the name of Jesus Christ. She is the pilgrim people of God's salvation, through word and deed, as she journeys towards God's coming Kingdom.
The church is the Institution that witnesses to right, justice, truth and peace in the social, economic and political life of the country in which she lives. This is done on the basis of love and forgiveness, in obedience to to the word of God, as recorded in the Holy Bible.
On the other hand, Arcticle seven of the same constitution of the PCC States that the mission of the church is to proclaim the Good News of God through Jesus Christ, in word and action. The proclamation of this Good News includes preaching the word, teaching, healing...

In order to accomplish her mission, the church has several service arms and departments. One of such departments is the Youth Department. The life and work of this department was begun as far back as 1886. This is when the Evangelical Missionary Society of Basel (Basel Mission) in Switzerland arrived Cameroon. The Basel Mission (BM) felt that in order to engender the community of her work, children of the new convents (adults) should be adequately nurtured in Christian principles. This will enable them (these children) to effectively take over the work of the church from the old. Therefore, in every established adult congregation, there was the children's service commonly called the Sunday School.

The Birth Of The Youth Department

In brief, after Several Years of the work of the Basel Mission in Cameroon, she saw the need of constituting the youth of the Church into a veritable crop for Christian witness. Thus in 1957, a Bible Study or Bible Reading Fellowship group (BRF) was introduced in Beach in Victoria. It constituted youths of 18 to abouth 40 years old. Later in 1958, the group was named fellowship of Youths (FOY). In 1959, and with the birth of other FOY youth groups in Ombe, Sasse College, Tiko and CDC Bota, the Youth Movement of the Church was born and it was called the Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF).

The Rev. A.C. Maiz of Swiss nationality was appointed the Youth Secretary. This means he was given charge over youth activities of the entire Presbyterian Church in Cameroon or (West Cameroon as was the case then).

The Work Of The Department

The Youth Department of the PC has six units or branches. These are the units under which the department presently functions.

  1. THE CHRISTIAN YOUTH FELLOWSHIP (CYF)

    This is the spring of the Youth Department. By this we mean that this is the major arm of the department. It is constituted of youths of both sexes between 18-25 years old. The aim of the CYF is To bring youths who want to serve Jesus Christ together. The movement wants to develop among its members a sense of responsibility towards the Church and her
    mission to the world

    Membership is open to any one who has been baptized with water in the name of the triune God and to who ever is willing to be led to Christ. Nobody is denied membership because of nationality social status or political convention.

    The pledge of the CYF: Upon admission into full membership of the CYF the members promise "To seek under the leadership of the Church and in fellowship with one another, the will of God for self, the Church and the world and to do it".
      Activities of the CYF among others include:
    • Bible Studies
    • Evangelization
    • Singing
    • Sports/Games
    • Excursions, Camps
    • Capacity building
    • Self Reliant income generating activities
    • HIV/AIDS education
    • Fight against environmental degradation eg. tree planting etc.


    Groups are also encouraged to carry out activities of social concern in their local communities. In sum, the CYF Movement prepares youth for active participation in the social, economic, political and religious life of the Church and society. It seeks to raise mature and responsible men/women for the Church and society. There are 918 CYF groups all over Cameroon, with a membership of 16, 935.


  2. THE YOUNG PRESBYTERIANS

    The YP started in 1963 in Mamfe, South West Province of Cameroon. The YP is made of boys and girls between 10-15 years old

  3. Aim of the work of YP

    • To enable Young people become dedicated to Christ
    • To develop the character of young people so that one day they may grow to full matured men and women.
    • To develop a sense of fellowship among youth through enabling them play together.
    • To develop in youth a sense of responsibility towrads meeting the social needs of their families, neighbours and citizens.
    • To develop their conscience and personal commitment to the Christian faith, in Church and the Youth Movement.

    Motto of The YP

    Everything with Christ (Colosians 3:17).

    The Promise of the YP

    Since I have been a YP, I know that Jesus Christ is my only Lord, I promise that I will do everything with Him in my work, in my words and in my thoughts. I shall always allow him to lead me.

      Some of the Activities of the YP
    • Bible Studies
    • Sports/Games
    • Tracking/Tracing
    • Excursions
    • Camps
    • Crafts work
    • Singing
    • Personal Hygiene etc

    Note should be taken of the fact that the YP members are at a period of their life where they face puberty. Thus, the boys and girls at this stage are helped to know how to face amd manage this stage of their life visa-a-vis the biological changes that take place in their bodies. The Youp Presbyterians is what is called boys scout in some Churches. There are 788 YP groups in the country with a membership of over 15,296 boys and girls.

  4. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

    This was begun in 1886, with the establishment of of adult congregations by the Basel Mission. The Sunday School is the Church at work. Click this link to get detail information on Sunday School.

  5. THE PRESBYTERIAN YOUTH CENTRES
  6. The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon afirms that Youths are leaders of tomorrow. Thus the Church is interested in their moral, spiritual, and social well-being.

    Raison D'etre

    The raison d'etre establishing Youth Centres is to take youths off the streets and out of old cars into a centre where they can find vocational training, creative leisure and spiritual nurture. The first Youth Centre was built in 1967 in Victoria.

      Our Objectives in the Youth Centres
    • To provide a place for recreatin and education
    • To empower youth for self reliant development through education and available trades.
    • To train youth for the Church and nation building
    • To inculcate in the youths the respect for human rights and the search for peace among people.

    To achieve the above objectives, the Church runs five Youth Centres in the countryand in which she runs a number of vocational activities.These include: Computer Training, Tailoring, Traditional dress making, Crafts, catering etc. We also prepare youths for public examinations such as the General Certificate of Education Examination in the Ordinary level. The Centres also have social clubs such as Drama, Music, HIV/AIDS and sports.

    These activities are aimed at helping the underprivileged youths to cope with the exigencies of life.