Merry Christmas! Wait… That’s not right.

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All youth workers have a quirk, something that they’re known for everywhere they go. For me it’s ‘Summer Christmas Karaoke’. Throughout most of my years as a youth worker, I have run a Christmas party at the end of the summer holidays.

This party includes all of the trimmings; tree, tinsel, mince pies, fairy lights, and Christmas songs. It’s fun, it’s festive, and it’s wonderfully ironic with the sun beating down hard outside.

So I imagine the question you’re all asking is ‘why?’ (Or perhaps more honestly you’re asking ‘what’s wrong with you, Tim?’) The answer of course, is ‘why not?’

At Christmas we focus on certain aspects of who Jesus is more than any other time of year. We think about Him being Emmanuel – God with us. We talk about his humility, His ultimate innocence, and the fact that He was born to save us. At Christmas we also celebrate community, drawing together around meals, fireplaces, and highly competitive games of Monopoly.

Tell me that Christmas doesn’t represent what we should be celebrating every single day? That’s a community of people gathered closely together around the person of Jesus.

Those two pillars might represent better than anything else what we build our work on at Llandudno Youth for Christ. That’s a genuine community, and a focus on Jesus. After all, we’re about seeing young people changed by Jesus!

Last night we had to cancel our Redefine online gathering because the technology failed us. The program Zoom had gone down pretty much worldwide, partially because of the amount of churches who all tried to meet at the same time. It’s good to think that church broke the Internet!

For us though it was gutting.

Whether it’s online or in person the Youth for Christ community love to gather together. The team and the young people have formed a genuine community that serve and support each other – and every time we gather we point to Jesus.

Over the last two years we’ve had some visits from national teams, speakers, and youth workers. Every single one of them have told us the same thing – they are blown away by how much everyone in our groups genuinely want to be there. That’s the gravity of our projects, a community of people who genuinely want to connect. I strongly believe that the glue for this is Jesus – God with us.

It’s interesting that some people think that you can’t teach young people about Jesus in youth groups, or that you’ve got to keep the ‘God slot’ really short and simple and just talk about teenage experiences with a bit of a God-bent on them. That’s just not been our experience. For us if you take the focus on Jesus away then the community doesn’t work anymore. Jesus is the heartbeat of the Youth for Christ community and we genuinely believe that He is the reason why what we do works.

So please keep standing with us, keep praying for us, keep supporting us financially so the focus can be where it needs to be, and do consider prayerfully whether God is calling you to be part of this community. If you love young people, love Jesus, and can leave your ego at the door to help everyone in the room connect, then maybe this is for you. Fill in the form below and let us know.

 

Just one more is always worth it

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Hi folks – Tim here again. So yesterday I ended up in hospital for what turned out to be a badly sprained ankle. How did I do this? By trying to catch myself on camera ‘kickflipping’ a skateboard for our new YouTube channel. It didn’t work. (You can watch the video here).

This made me think of all the times throughout my youth work career where I have hurt or injured myself doing ridiculous things. I was slapped hard in the face once by a very drunk mum who tried to force herself into a youth club claiming we were selling drugs. Another time I was cream pied in the face at the end of a holiday club. That doesn’t sound too bad, however the teenagers on the team couldn’t quite decide who should do it… so logically they all did – hard – and I woke up in my office half an hour later.

I think the worst time was getting a concussion while raft building in a swimming pool. I was at camp, sitting precariously on a large barrel in the pool, when another leader jumped on top of me. The two of us – and the barrel – went right under the water, and the barrel shot back up catching me hard on the chin. There was quite a spectacular amount of blood! It wasn’t until after giving that night’s talk and driving myself to hospital that I found out that I was actually badly concussed. Who knows what I said during that message!

Why am I telling you all this? Well, as much as I genuinely enjoy sympathy, I do have a point. There is a cost to building healthy youth ministry.

As fun and silly as our projects sometimes look from the outside, youth workers do it all so young people can meet with God. Living your life trying to tell young people about Jesus – trying to point them towards Him in all that you do – is hard. Sometimes it looks like they’re getting it, and at other times it feels like they’re nowhere. You can spend hours pouring into a young person’s life – years even – only to have them walk away without a word.

Most Christian youth workers don’t last more than one contract period (2-3 years) and its easy to see why. One of the hardest things I experience as someone who’s been doing it quite a lot longer, is remembering all the young people who came and then went. I can still remember the faces, the names, and the conversations that I had with so many young people who I don’t know now. And sometimes that is a lot to bear.

Youth work comes with a cost, and that cost is putting in the hours, the sweat, the tears – and sometimes the injuries – for the strained hope that some of them will get it… however, many of them don’t. So is it worth it?

Last year one such young person who I had lost touch with sent me a message out of the blue from their final year of university. They told me that they had met with Jesus. They said that it was their time with us at Youth for Christ that put the pieces in order, so when the opportunity came, they were ready to connect with God. It was worth it for him.

Right now, a young woman who was one of our young people is in Israel on a gap year, making a significant difference in the lives of many families and children. She left school with amazing grades, but chose to do this rather than going straight to university. Her ministry is inspiring – and is inspired by her obvious love for Jesus. It was worth it for her.

A young person that I worked with years ago in London met with Jesus as a teenager, and went on to lead large justice missions in several third world countries in Jesus’ name. He tragically died just last month in a terrible car accident. I was heartbroken, but he went straight to be with Jesus, and he inspired hundreds of people to give it all for Him. It was worth it for him.

When I was at i61 Church a couple of years ago, the Pastor, Steve, had a saying: “just one more”. And he was right. All the effort is worth it for just one more young person to hear the gospel, and to know the God who loves them through Jesus who saves them. Just one more is always worth it.

I like to end these blogs with a ‘call to action’ and today that’s simple. Please pray.

Pray.

Pray.

Pray.

Pray for the work that we do. Pray for our incredible volunteers. Pray for our efforts. Pray for our protection.

More than anything though, pray for God to move in power and in permanence in the lives of these young people.

Please stand with us to pray.

Thank you.

Youth for Christ have gone online!

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What are we doing?

If there’s one thing Youth for Christ are known for all over the world, it’s innovation. With the lockdown in full effect over the past month, Youth for Christ in Llandudno didn’t put on the breaks, instead we just changed lanes. We moved all of our physical projects into a digital space. So what does this look like?

Reverb Live

Every Thursday evening at 7pm, Tim livestreams a video to two different platforms (Facebook and Instagram). In the video Tim gives a fun illustration, maybe a game or a challenge, and ends with a short gospel message. Young people (mostly from Reverb and Recess) can comment and interact in real time with the message. After the live show, the video goes into an Instagram ‘Story’ for 24 hours, so those who missed it can still catch up, and the video is then saved to YouTube and Facebook.

Shuffle and Shake Live

On Friday evening Korey takes over. For a while he did the same thing above, so live-streamed a video onto Instagram featuring how to make a game at home, followed by a reflection. He then found a better way! Korey now plays a digital game with a group on Friday evenings for 45 minutes. He has more time to build those relationships and still ends with a good gospel thought. Fab!

Redefine Meetup

Every Sunday evening we gather team and young people on a digital conferencing platform called Zoom. We all have chance to share our news, play some online games, have Bible studies in small groups (breakout rooms), hear a short talk, and end with a time of prayer and worship. We meet together, sing together, talk together, and pray together – it’s the next best thing to actually meeting. This has been going really well! Last night twenty-three of us had a ‘Star Wars night’ – with costumes, and galactic-themed backgrounds at the ready – looking at who the Holy Spirit is.

YouTube Channel

To keep the fun going and message front and centre, we launched a new YouTube channel called RE:TV. This allows us a way of connecting with young people on the biggest internet platform that they engage with. So far we’ve posted a ‘vlog’ every week – sharing a fun challenge, a silly hook, and a gospel thought. Check out the latest one below! We’ve also put up some thoughts, and we live streamed a full-on ‘grill a Christian’ too. It’s been great!

 

Q&A with Tim

How did we do this so quickly?

We’ve actually been wanting to setup a proper ‘online wing’ for our projects for a while now. It’s been bubbling away in our planning meetings for a few years to be honest. This gave us the perfect chance to make it work. We had already been connecting very basically with these online platforms, so we just turned up the volume.

Isn’t there some safeguarding issues?

Absolutely! So the first thing we did was took professional advice and worked out a standard of rules and set of expectations. We’re able to kick people off who don’t meet these expectations, not let anyone in who looks like a risk, and limit exactly what can be done in those spaces. Because we started this with that step, we’ve had no issues like this at all, and everything is running smoothly.

Did this cost money?

Alas, yes. The online world is so over-saturated with content that we wanted to make sure we stood out, but also make sure that we had none of the common issues with picture and sound. We invested in some lights, a good microphone, some online games, and a pro Zoom account. If we’re honest, we’re still not there yet. We really need a much better camera and some serious computer storage. I’m sure you’ll agree though, the money has been well spent as we are still connecting with young people several times a week!

How much effort does this take?

In lots of ways it takes the same amount of effort as our usual projects. We still have to set things up, write messages, and plan activities. In other ways there is a little more. We’re still learning the technology and we’re making things to be saved on video. This comes with a little more pressure. It’s well worth it though, and gets a little easier each time.

Will you keep doing this after lockdown?

I imagine we’ll keep doing some of this. We might meet on Zoom less frequently, and not live stream as often, however the YouTube channel and live games give us opportunities that we don’t get anywhere else. We’ll try and keep at least some of that going. The YouTube channel will also be much better when we’ve got a few leaders in one room at one time.

How can we help?

Please pray! Pray for energy, for good content, for safety, and for good interactions. Also, please consider giving to specifically support this work. We’re purchasing a new tripod and very large hard drive this week, but still really need to think about replacing our camera.

Thanks so much for connecting with us on here. Stay safe everyone and see you soon!

 

Photo by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash

What is the true meeting of Easter… again?

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It feels strange to have gone through Easter this year without singing and celebrating together the way we usually would. Human presence and community are such essential parts of our experience as Christians.

Lockdown aside, we really wanted our young people to hear about the true meaning of Easter from real people who know and love Jesus. A week before Easter then, Tim took to messenger and found over a dozen people to share what they believe is the true meaning of Easter. He put it all into this video, and shared it with the young people of Llandudno. Watch the video for yourself and let us know what you think!

If you’d like to support us during this time to make great online content for young people, please consider giving here: https://www.give.net/20105661

 

Pressing on towards the goal!

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“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14

Here at Llandudno Youth for Christ, we are not resting on our laurels. We are imitating the apostle Paul. We are pressing on, even during this time of social isolation where we cannot physically meet with the young people as we normally would. We are still holding meetings online.

We are reaching out to young people with the good news of Jesus Christ in new and innovative ways, whether it be via ‘Zoom’, or Facebook, Instagram or our very own YouTube channel. We are continuing to share the love of God with young people in North Wales and beyond.

We couldn’t do this work without our faithful supporters who aid us in prayer, with their time and with their finances.

We want to say thank you. You are making a difference in the lives of young people. Even at this time of ‘lockdown’. so please don’t stop, but continue to pray for the young people that we are reaching out to. Continue to support us financially. And for our amazing volunteers, continue to support us with your precious time.

We also want to encourage everyone reading this blog to continue to press on and in to God. To seek His kingdom first in this time when everything is being shaken. For our God is a solid rock, a firm foundation and when we put our trust in Him we are rooting our lives on the unshakeable.

Have a great week and be blessed!

Resurrection power!

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He has risen indeed!

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” – 1 Corinthians 15:20-22.

I love this time of the year when the global church is celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It’s good to be reminded of the amazing truth that Jesus is alive, and because He is alive, we too have the promise of resurrection. As the apostle Paul tells the church in Corinth, if Christ is not raised then our faith is futile and in vain; but he emphatically states that Jesus was indeed raised from the dead. So, our faith is not in vain, but is alive because He is alive. Hallelujah!

And it is because of this good news, this gospel – “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.” – 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 – that we are so excited every week to be sharing the truth of Jesus with young people in Llandudno and beyond.

The world might be in lockdown due to Covid-19, but the gospel of Jesus certainly isn’t in lockdown.

So, last night we had another brilliant Redefine session online, meeting with young people via the wonders of modern technology. We continued to look at the gospel of Mark, specifically Mark 1:16-20. We looked at Jesus calling His first disciples; Peter, Andrew, James & John. As we studied this passage we asked ourselves the following questions – Who does this passage reveal Jesus to be? What did Jesus come to do? and What about Jesus, made these 4 young men leave everything immediately? (Read the passage yourself and answer the questions)

We also had a time for worship and prayer. It was great.

This isn’t the only event we are hosting for young people during the lockdown. We also have a Thursday night and Friday night Instagram event for young people, and our very own Vlog callled RE:TV.

So just as we serve a living Saviour, the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ is very much alive and kicking. If you want to and are able to support us in this vital outreach, we would be so grateful. One-off gifts are wonderful but monthly commitments help even more. Could you prayerfully consider partnering with us at this time. We are not being held back during this crisis and we’d love to move forward with you! Please go to https://www.give.net/20105661

You can also support us by praying for the young people that come to our events, that they would realise how much they are loved by God, and how much blessing they have in Jesus, our risen Saviour.

Be blessed!

Christian Barbecue Anyone?

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Last Easter Saturday we held a live event via our YouTube channel ‘RE:TV’. It was a Q & A session that we titled ‘Grill a Christian’.

Please see the whole event below:-

We hope you enjoyed this video. Please check out our YouTube channel for more content here.

Be blessed!

The true meaning of Easter?

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Happy Easter everyone!

I pray that despite the social distancing due to Covid-19 that you had a blessed Easter.

Here at Llandudno Youth for Christ we have, despite the restrictions in place, had a great Easter connecting with young people in Llandudno and beyond. One of the new and innovative ways we are connecting with young people is via our brand new YouTube channel ‘RE:TV’.

This is a great new resource and over Easter, our centre director, Mr Tim Gough asked other youth workers to send him their thoughts on what Easter meant to them. He compiled their responses into a great video that you can watch below:-

You can watch more of our ‘RE:TV’ content here.

Please do continue to support us in prayer and financially during this time in our nation, help us reach out to more and more young people with the life changing message of Jesus.

Hope you enjoyed the video and be blessed!

τελέω (teleō) – It is accomplished!

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Today is Good Friday. It is the time of the year when Christians around the world remember the death of Jesus for the sins of the world. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.” – 1 Peters 2:23-24

It is both a sad and a joyful time. We grieve over the thought of what Jesus endured on the cross as He took upon himself the sins of the entire cosmos, but we also rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus won the victory on the cross and brought righteousness and reconciliation for all of us. “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” – Colossians 2:13-15

Also, Jesus didn’t stay dead. Three days later he rose again, conquering death. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” – Hebrews 2:14-15

Jesus did it all for us. On the cross his last words were ‘it is finished’. He had done it. He took the sins of the world upon himself and triumphed over, sin, death and the devil. That is why Easter is such a great time of celebration. A time where righteousness defeated sin, where life conquered death and where our freedom and reconciliation was bought with the precious blood of Jesus. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Have a great Easter and please be praying for the young people in you area, that they will have a deeper and richer understanding of all that Jesus did for them on the cross.

Be blessed!

Hosanna!

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“The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

‘Hosanna!’

‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’

‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’

Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written:

‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.’

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realise that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.” – John 12:12:16

The above Bible excerpt described Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on the week leading up to the Passover and His impending crucifixion. Nowadays we remember and celebrate this event as Palm Sunday. It’s where we remember the truth that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords.

I wonder how you celebrated Palm Sunday during this time of social distancing and self isolation. I’m pretty sure that a lot of people celebrated via the internet, with online church services and social media gatherings.

We held another great online ‘Redefine‘ Sunday evening Bible Study group. We are currently working our way through the gospel of Mark and we looked together at Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and the beginning of His public ministry. It was a really great evening as we discussed what the short passage we looked at revealed to us about Jesus. There was a lot of good discussion and revelation.

We are so grateful that we can still meet up with the young people in some shape or form during this time. We are also holding live instagram meetings for the young people on Thursday and Friday evenings at 7pm.

Going back to the Palm Sunday passage, something really stood out to me. It says that Jesus’ disciples didn’t fully understand what was going on during the Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. It was unclear to them at the time everything that was going on. It was going to be even more devastating and confusing for them in a couple of days as Jesus was betrayed, put on trial and then crucified.

For us and the young people going through this global pandemic, it can feel at times confusing and anxious. We don’t know what is going on, but we need to trust in God through it all and believe that He was be bringing life and redemption in a world where there seems to be so much fear and death.

Perhaps like the disciples we will see, when this current global situation is resolved, the God’s hand at work in love bringing life and redemption to the world, just like Good Friday wasn’t the end of the story, but as we will be celebrating next Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead, defeating sin and death and bringing life, love and liberty.

Please do continue to pray for young people at this time of uncertainty. Pray that they would come to know Jesus and trust in Him.

Have a great holy week.

Be blessed!