Stump

Edify's Short term urban mission project

The Salvation Army's School for Youth Leadership (SFYL) runs a 9-month intensive program for young adults aged 18-28 seeking experience in hands on social work. The school, situated in a rural area of Sydney's Central Coast provides a residence and learning environment where students live as a family, training to minister to the poor and marginalized.
Near the end of their course Salvation Army's Edify program brought the students to Sydney for a week of hands on social work and ministering.

Labeled Stump, the Short Term Urban Ministering Program takes the students away from the classroom and into the city. Coordinator Nathan Moulds says the program was established after they identified the passion for issues of injustice that young people have but their lives have little or nothing to do with the poor, and the passion they have for social issues is left unrealized as the poor were 'just a concept, the disadvantaged were just an idea or an image on the television screen." The Stump program becomes the vehicle to transport the youth onto the coalface and teaches them to connect with the poor and marginalized.

Stump relies heavily on proven methods of ministering, relayed by Robbin Moulds through the 'build a bridge' technique; in order for you to gain the trust of another there has to be a bridge of communication, which goes both ways.

Running the course 4-7 times a year during the school holidays they take applications from around Australia, meaning the youth don't know each other upon arriving in Sydney for the program.
The SFYL group were 5 youth who have lived, studied and grown with each other, their relationships were already formed, and the usual get to know you period wouldn't be as apparent as usual. Edify coordinator Nathan Moulds said "We're just going to throw them straight into it."