Who is teaching who?

A few weeks ago now I went with a group of young people on the eq:mission. Since returning I've had a bit more time to reflect on the things that happened and ways we sought to work with the churches and Burton YfC to serve the community there.

So often images portrayed of young people are negative - they are the ones that drop litter or are disrespectful. The young people that came on the 30 hr mission challenged this stereotype in Burton. They collected litter, all with giggles and smiles, and they gave away drinks and held doors open. Generosity was shown in face painting and in sellotaping a bit of loose change up for those who might need it at the bus stop or the pay and display machine. The light of God working in and through them was evident and no less bright when the face paint had been taken off. We went to Burton to serve and learnt so much ourselves - coming back to Nottingham challenged to live out the small actions that we did in Burton in our home city.

My lasting memory of the weekend will be looking for a young person who had disappeared - I eventually found her in the kitchen washing up!

The young people that I spent the weekend, and the many others that I see and work with in Nottingham humble me in so many ways and is a reminder to me of how I often feel like they teach more more than I ever will do them.

Sara Reynolds

Our God is a big God


I was sat amongst some friends this week and we listened to song called 'You are' by Bradford Church . We spent a few minutes thinking about the song and we were asked what the one thing was that stuck out to us . When listening to this song the words that stuck out to me was ‘You are’. In the song it talks about all the things that God is...

“You are the strength for the those in need , You are the defender of the weak Your everything we need, You are our God”

It can be so easy in our everyday lives to forget how big God is ! , We can forget that God is interested in the small things in our lives as well as the big. God is all the things above and so much more . I was challenged to try to include God in all parts of my life not just the big things.

Do we truly understand where God is or do we put Him in a box and see Him where we want Him to be. It is easy to see that God is there when we worship or when we sometimes pray, but do we see God when people are hurting or struggling? Let us show others that actually we see God in the smallest things like a baby smile or a hug to someone in need. Where will you acknowledge God this week and where are you going to take Him over the next few days?

Emily Swinburne / Richard Dawson

Changing endings

One of the things that marks the start of the Christmas season for me is the vast array of high quality and big production adverts that are released by large companies, all trying to compete for the biggest chunk of the 16 billion pounds people in the UK will spend on Christmas presents this year. The Coca Cola advert is probably the most famous, and this year the John Lewis advert has impacted lots of people with a great message of how giving is better than receiving.

I know there are many more adverts to come, but there is one that has struck such a chord with me and has reminded me why I do what I do, and why the work of Youth for Christ in the city of Nottingham and beyond is so important. It is an advert for Barnardos:

In youth work, you hear lots of stories. Some stories are funny, inspiring and happy and others are just heartbreaking. The young people that we work with are all on a journey and they all have a different story. Some of the beginnings to their stories have not been good ones. Some people in the lives of those young people think they know what the ending to their story will be. Some people in the lives of those young people have even told them what their ending will be. Some of those endings are not good.

For us at Nottingham Youth for Christ, we believe in a God who specializes in changing the endings to people’s stories. Jesus set people free, healed and restored, turned the world upside down and changed the lives of thousands even millions of people and he is still doing it today.

By listening, loving, caring, creating, laughing, hoping and praying with young people we are here to empower them to change the ending to the story they are living. Sometimes this takes years, sometimes we may never know the ending would have been different without our involvement and sometimes it doesn’t work and the ending is just as heartbreaking as the beginning. But we know we make a difference, we know God is at work in the lives of young people in our city and we are privileged to be a part of it.

Jo Dolby

Warning: The Gospel changes lives

Since becoming a Christian I have been engaged with a transforming God and constantly developing myself. This has taken shape in many ways from dramatic changes like stopping self-harming to subtle ones like being patient. I have now finished the 2nd year of a 3 year degree studying for youth ministry I have loved the process. I was totally unprepared for the radical transformation I was setting myself up for. Before starting many people prophesied that peter pan must grow up. I knew exactly what this meant and so signed up for the course. I joined the course knowing that I have to open myself up totally to the transformation of the gospel and the learning I was about to endure.
Reflecting on my change I know that if it wasn’t for the course I would not have opened myself up so fully to the experience. What does this show me about how open I am to God and how much I expect the young people to open up to the transformation of the gospel?

A few months back I would have secretly been ok with people half-heartedly opening up to go, in part holding something back till “the time is right”. Even though God’s timing for enabling me to deal with something is perfect, it does not stop my openness toward God regarding what needs changing so I can share the gospel more fully.

“1 Corinthians 10:13
New International Version (NIV)
13 No temptation[a] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[c] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

I have found that God has given me the greatest recourse ever (well 2 resources including the Holy Spirit), people. If I am tuly honest and actively make myself vulnerable to people I see that lots of people have been transformed in a similar way or experienced similar things.
Trust God to transform you to be more like Jesus Christ because there is no other that understands better, God never gives us too much to deal with and has given us great recourses to be able to make our way through.

Ant Stevens

Thoughts of a work experience student (2)

Reality Check

I came to do my year 10 work experience at Nottingham YfC because I wanted something different from the norm. I wanted to get something else out of my week, asides from an extended knowledge of how to make coffee and use a photocopier…
And do you know what? I totally got it.
I’ve done almost three days now and I think the thing that has struck me the most is how so many churches and believers can work together, despite their different ways of doing things. I mean, we’re all a family, right? God’s family. And if that means meeting up in a café to talk about our lives, or making breakfast at a community centre, or playing table tennis with a group of teenagers, it’s all for God and through God and with God.
A couple of years ago my parents felt called to move to a new church and we visited a number of churches in Nottingham when making the decision. Recently I have also started going to a youth group at different church from my own. Through this, I have seen how easy it is to get caught up on all those little differences or ‘alternative interpretations’, which churches and youth groups have. I know I can definitely get absorbed in comparing and over-analysing. I spend time wondering where I really belong and which way is the ‘correct’ way of doing things, but this week has been such a reality check for me. It’s not about what youth group I go to or how we do worship at church or what refreshments are served after the service! The fact is: as long as we’ve got the foundations sorted, the little things are simply what make us who we are.
I have loved seeing how different people can just work together because they have one common interest, God. All of us can draw from each other and bless each other, whilst we worship and show his love in tons of different ways, that are as diverse as we all are from eachother. And I shouldn’t be wondering where I belong, because I am one of God’s children and that makes me a member of his family. That is where I belong, in the unity that is God’s family, full of wonderful people who love him just as much as I do!

Ephesians 4:4-6
You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all.

Ephesians 4:15
We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other.

Helena Gloeckner

Sold out for the Gospel or Selling it?

When you become a Christian, you’ve been forgiven for all the things you’ve done wrong, you enter into a relationship with the living God, you’re loved and accepted, you’re destined for heaven. Amazing isn’t it? And I love sharing these truths with young people. I love giving them these gems of hope – telling them they’re loved when they feel like no-one cares about them. Telling them they’re accepted when they feel like they don’t fit in anywhere. Telling them they’re forgiven when they’re possessed by shame for the mistakes they’ve made. But that’s like showing someone half a photograph.

Do we tell them that when you become a Christian, you’re called to take up your cross and follow Jesus? To die to yourself. You’re called to serve others instead of yourself. You’re called to love the people who hate you. To forgive people who hurt you. My fear is we don’t. In making Christianity relevant to consumer culture, have we turned passion, love and community it into a cheap product?

And I find myself the head of this marketing committee. When asked how I changed when I met Jesus, my initial response was to say I became much more confident and happy in myself. I was no longer brought down by what girls said to me at school because I’d found love and acceptance in Jesus. But then I thought, when I met Jesus, I learnt to love the girls that bullied me at school, to try to think of others before myself, to be thankful for the good things in life – why weren’t these my first thoughts?

I fear that we’ve commercialised the gospel. That we’ve taken the radical out of history’s biggest movement. That we’ve religified an event that cut history in two. That instead of being sold out for the gospel, we’re trying to sell the gospel.

So what does it look like for you and me to take up our cross?

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
Matthew 16: 24-25

Becci Raine

Curry - A rite of passage?

So what events and what things that have happened create the person that you have become? Being a dad i am often considering the things my kids do and places they go to in terms of what type of person i want them to become. That might be experiences that i had and enjoyed or things that i think will be good for them.
At the start of the month it was my birthday (not a significant one, i can wait for another one of them) and Laura had been asking for a while what i would like to do for it. Last year we had friends round for a murder mystery, which are always funny especially with the dodgy accents. This year though i thought, as i had a choice of anything i wanted to do, how many times do us men get a window of time to do that, i thought we would go and give our kids their first experience of a curry house. They did ok, had a little bit of the meat and bit of balti and a bit of korma and lots of nan bread. What they did love though was the experience, they keep talking about it and how they would like to go again. For me it was good that they enjoyed their experience, as it means we can go again, and as their dad that really please me, as curry is important to me.
Isn't that what a rite of passage is as a Christian? being part of something that please God and moves you on in your journey?
As well as curry another passion of mine is mission. Engaging people, especially young people in being part of God's mission here on earth. What upsets me is the lack of passion and drive in a number of Churches in being part of His mission. As a youth Alpha advisor i will also get a number of course leaders saying to me "we didn't have enough time to run all the session so we missed out the 'why and how should i share my faith?" It just isn't seen as an integral part of discipleship. If you keep an eye out on what is happening in the world of Nottingham YfC you will know about our 30 hour missions (eq:missuion) in which we take a group of young people to a random part of the UK and be part of the mission of a YfC centre and local Church. Doing both word and deed in a community neediing to see and hear the love of Jesus. Each one of the last group that came on it really engaged and found it an experience that will shape their life and as a leader they will remember it as mission being part of being a Christian. God loves mission and it also develops our faith. Ok so curry might be a rite of passage as a child of mine but mission is and should be a rite of passage as a child of God.

Richard

eq:mission March 2011

Our eq:missions continue to impact communities across the UK as well as young people from Nottingham in their faith. Our latest adventure took a team of young people to Orford in Warrington. Working with Warrington YfC and Bethel Free Church in Orford the team stepped out of their comfort zones throughout the weekend.

Once again the young people turned up at the NYfC office not knowing where they were going to end up. This time it was slightly longer mission as we started on the Friday night rather than the Saturday morning. The reason for that? the team were involved in speaking at UNITE Warrington YfC's youth worship event. This was a great time of worship and then the young people all shared what it meant to them to 'step out of the boat.' We then went to our accommodation where we were going to spend the weekend. Bethel Church were especially generous with the overnight heating. For the Saturday we were joined by a team from Sheffield as we went out door knocking asking people to help with a questionnaire that was put together by Bethel Church and inviting them to the fun day in the afternoon.

The fun day consisted of a football cage, face painting, free bbq, table tennis, volleyball and karaoke. Over 150 people turned up for the fun day where the young people helped lead the various activities. The Church were really please as there were 4 or 5 new families that they hadn't come into contact with before. We had some really good conversations, with one woman saying she had used to go to church but had only gone 2 or 3 times but after this day she was going to start going again.

The team then went and had a good feed at Pizza Hut before planning for the next mornings service. The young people led worship, ran a drama, shared what they had done the day before and what it meant to them to be ambassadors in their schools and colleges. Each of the young people saw God use them in an amazing way throughout the weekend from: 'I was really worried about whether people would like me, but God has shown me that i am to be more confident.' to 'it was really good to see that God used us to make a difference in peoples lives and make them feel good about the Church.'

The fact that the Church wouldn't have done the whole event if we hadn't turned up meant that we really had made a difference in that community. Keep checking out facebook and twitter for information of our November eq:mission later in the year.

How easy is it to listen?

I don't know if you think your life is full or not? I have come to realise that i like noise, and i like to have stuff happening. I wouldn't say I don't like silence, but i find it hard. Whether i am in the car and have to have the radio on, or in the house and there has to be music or the TV on. Maybe even in the office where i have to have the Internet on or on the phone. What do we put in our lives that helps us avoid silence?

I think silence is very powerful. Whether it is the end of the last Dr who episode where there is just silence, or whether it is the disciples in the boat and He calms the storm, which would have totally freaked me out, the impact of silence is deafening.

I have just been to a convent down in Gloucstershire for a retreat and although it wasn't a silent retreat, it was difficult to get into. No internet access, one small square inch of mobile phone coverage and all of a sudden you feel like there is nowhere to turn, but once I got through the first hour or so you realised how powerful and impacting the silence could be. By cutting out all the noise you start to realise that God doesn't just want to hear from you but He wants to talk to you. I know a lot of people, Christians and not who would say well you can't hear God, or He doesn't speak to me. I think i have realised that actually God does want to and does actually speak to me, the question i have to ask myself though is ' is there too much noise in my life to hear God's still small voice?'

Does anything get in the way of you hearing from Him?