As we took a break last week for the half-term, I have put a brief update together to help keep everyone in the loop on how things have been going since our return in September. Thank you for your prayers for the youth group.
Story Series
In September, we began sharing stories from the Gospels which explore the idea of ‘following’. This is a particularly relevant angle to be taking with this age group. They are starting to identify people and things which they have affinity with. They are surrounded by increasing pressures from peers and media to follow things that take them away from God. By pointing them to The Saviour we encourage these human tendencies in the right direction. Dave, Matt, Steve & myself have all been involved in the series.
Old and New Faces
We have been pleased to see a couple of old faces come back in September. Two are from polish families and they were struggling to memorise Psalm 1 which we have been attempting to learn as a group. We talked this over with them a few weeks ago and they seemed really pleased when we offered them the opportunity to learn/repeat it in Polish. Could be a few chuckles here and there as we try to work out whether they are repeating polish small talk or Psalm 1 – but with the aid of a Polish bible we should do just fine :-).
Last evening, after the half-term break, one of the two arrived with a version of Psalm 1 which she had translated herself, complete with pictures! It was lovely to hear her express scripture in her first language.
There are a number of new joiners this term and we have been encouraged to share the gospel with them for the first time. We are now listed on the county’s InfoLink directory so pray that new comers to the area might look us up.
Activities
We engage the group through a range of activities aimed to challenge them and make sure they have a fun time. These have all been loosely tied to the theme of ‘following’ or to Psalm 1, reinforcing the things we are teaching. Some activities lead to accumulating rewards and before half-term we had a handful of folks who had reached the bronze. We handed out bars of Dairy Milk and the like on our return last night.
Last evening we had a quiz evening and hot food. It was a really encouraging turnout. We run the story at the end so that they leave with it fresh in their minds. We pray that the balance of things will allow our provision to provide a safe place for fun whilst above all being something where God can work in these young lives.
That’s all for now. Thank you for your prayers.
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