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Today we have a ‘full-circle story’ from Sophie Spree. As with all of our full-circle stories, it follows a journey of a young person we have worked with – who grew up! We miss Sophie to bits here in Llandudno but are blown away by what God’s been doing with her. Read it in her own words…

My name is Sophie, I started being part of Llandudno Youth for Christ when I was about eleven years old, and somehow that is already ten years ago!

These days I live and work in the West Midlands. I have two part time jobs, both of which are semi-technical, so I’ll try and explain them simply. Three days a week I work for my church as a communications and logistics worker which includes ensuring necessary communications happen, assisting in the running of the building, and overseeing our digital media volunteers from Youth for Christ. On my other two days a week I am a videographer at Youth for Christ’s national office in Halesowen and this means contributing to their media output which supports all areas of the mission. I’m working within the communications department but serving all the team at Youth for Christ across the departments.

The story of how these came about is quite amazing, and that’s what I’d like to tell you about now.

As a teenager I developed an interest in film and that area of media but I didn’t really want to study it full time like most people in that industry do. However, I did do a part time Essential Technical Film Skills course at college. Not long after I had finished the course I remember Tim having a chat with me at youth one night and asking if I’d considered doing any Christian gap years in media as he knew of two that existed. At this point I went away and did some research into them both. Once I had started this process I got quite excited about the idea of leaving my job in retail and going elsewhere to learn more about working with cameras and filming in Christian environments, and so I also started thinking about people I knew at different charities where I might be able to volunteer on a short term basis if neither of the gap years worked out.

Turns out you don’t need to start making plans B and C when God has a plan A! I had an interview for each gap year and afterwards I remember telling God He needed to make it really clear to me what He wanted me to do next because I had no idea which gap year I preferred over the other. And make it clear He certainly did, as one offered me a place and the other said they didn’t think I was right for their programme that year.

At this point I might as well drop the name in in case you hadn’t already guessed. I started a gap year in media and youthwork with Youth for Christ in September 2019. Due to covid gaining speed across the world our placements came to an end in March 2020 and we were all sent back to our original homes. This was hard to deal with at the time. In hindsight if that hadn’t happened then I would be very unlikely to have applied to do a second year. The story continues that that is what happened and in July 2021 I finished my second year in digital media with Youth for Christ and my church.

During this time I started to wonder what would be next, it felt like whatever it was would have to be in the Llandudno/North Wales area or around the West Midlands as I didn’t feel ready to start over again somewhere new.

To tell it briefly, I applied for a job that I didn’t get due to not being passionate enough for it, and then I got offered two other jobs instead; one from my church and one from Youth for Christ. This was amazing because both of these places have sown a lot into me during my two gap years.

I can fairly confidently say that none of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for the time I spent as a young person at Llandudno Youth for Christ and for the investment I received from the team there. I am a different person to who I was ten years ago when I first got involved, I am even different to who I was starting out on The Year Out two years ago. I am so grateful for everything I have gained from my time at Youth for Christ, both in Llandudno and at National.

If you want to keep up with some of what I’m doing you can sign up to my email newsletters here https://www.yfc.co.uk/sophiespree

 

It was ten years ago today, on the 2^nd May 2011, that I first started working for Llandudno Youth for Christ.

I remember arriving with my wife, Katie, a few days earlier and being met by quite a few people at the doors to our new flat – just a stone’s throw from the old Reverb café – to help us move in. Many boxes (and three flights of stairs) later, and we were settled.

I think if I was really honest with myself, I didn’t think at the time that we would stay long term. We’d had quite a stressful time working in London and were looking forward to a slower pace for a couple of years. I think we always thought that we would move back to London. Little did I know that God had other plans.

In the last ten years we’ve moved house seven times. We’ve lived in Craig Y Don, the middle of town, up on the Orme, West Shore, and on the outskirts in Llanrhos (where we are now). We’ve made friends, started hobbies, and crashed cars. We’ve found favourite coffee shops, secret walks, and we’ve lamented the closure of Superbowl and HMV.

This might be the longest time Katie and I have lived anywhere – before or after we were married – but I think it’s fair to say that we’ve settled now.

Most importantly we’ve worked with many, many young people. With a fantastic – always evolving – team; and with committed supporters, prayer warriors, and trustees, we have shared the gospel with literally thousands of young people.

We’ve run RE conferences, camps, trips, and events; we’ve developed long term projects like Reverb, Recess, and Redefine, and short term groups like reXamin, and Revive. We’ve partnered with churches, we’ve done things with the council, and we’ve built deep relationships with local schools.

One of the joys of being here a decade is seeing the young people we met at school around town, grown up with kids of their own, who still remember the time they spent in these groups. I love bumping into old faces in the street, chatting with them, going to their weddings, hearing about their lives, and seeing the spark of Jesus still in them.

Two years ago, I had one such experience when a young lad who used to come to Reverb sent me a message from University to tell me he had just accepted Jesus and was so grateful for us sewing those seeds when he was back in Secondary School.

Then there’s sadness too. There are young people who left, and we never saw again. This is always hard, and can be especially heavy on the heart after you spent a few years trying your best to support them.

I’m so grateful for all the time we have spent here. We’ve been made to feel at home, we’ve been accepted as part of the community, and we’ve been resourced and supported to reach young people.

I just wanted to drop a note to say thank you. Thank you for the last ten years!

We’d love to keep going and keep growing, so if you’d like to support us – please do get in touch.

All the best!

 

Tim

Centre Director

Llandudno Youth for Christ

It’s North Shore beach in Llandudno. I took this photo on a 35mm point-and-shoot camera in the mid 1990s. It was Easter People, and this was the week that I gave my life to Jesus.

I was sat on the floor of St. David’s Methodist Church in Craig y Don, which was used as the youth venue. During the evening someone read a verse from Jeremiah that really spoke to me, and I got up the courage to speak to one of the team, and became a Christian there and then. That was the most important day of my life. I can remember exactly the way I felt.

Did you know that the vast majority of Christians accept Jesus before they’re 14 years old? That means that most Christians became so as a young person, and it means that the very best time to share the gospel with someone is when they still are a young person.

There’s never been a more important time to be good at what we do. Youth for Christ in Llandudno are doing all that we can to help young people have that same experience as I did nearly twenty years ago. At the moment that means YouTube content, Instagram Live videos, Zoom meetings, one-to-ones over the phone, and support for parents. The mission hasn’t stopped, it’s just changed shape.

Please keep standing with us. Please consider supporting the work that we do. Please pray for every young person in this town to say ‘yes’ to Jesus.

Thanks!

Tim

The last couple of blog posts have been focussed around the themes of prayer and connecting with God in heaven. This post is going to follow on with that theme.

This coming Sunday at Redefine we are going to be continuing our study of the Lord’s Prayer, looking at “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” – Matt 6:10.

Last Sunday’s study of the first part of the Lord’s Prayer went really well and the young people really engaged with the Bible and the whole aspect of God being Our Father. It was so great to hear them talking animatedly about the themes of prayer and God’s Fatherhood. We are looking forward to more of the same as we look at God’s Kingdom and Will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

This is an important aspect of prayer, how as we engage with the things of heaven, heaven and earth meet and there is transformation, both of us as the prayer, but also the world around us as prayer changes things.

Just like in our previous blog post about Jacob and the stairway to heaven, there was change from having a vision of heaven. Jacob’s life was transformed as he encountered God in a dream. As we encounter God in prayer, our lives are transformed.

In this part of the Lord’s prayer we are calling for the earth to be transformed, for God’s will to be enacted and His kingdom reign to be established in the earth.

Please be praying for the young people, that they would be transformed by engaging with heaven and seeking God, for His Kingdom to be established in their lives and the lives of those around them.

Be blessed!