Posts from The Youth Blog

Parents Update July

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:40:49 GMT

Greetings parents!

End of year event

This year our end of year event will be a carnival! It takes place on Friday 23 July at the centre between 7.30-10pm. Tickets cost £3 on the door. The evening will be a lot of fun and our last official event of the year, please encourage your son/daughter to attend, they will enjoy it!

Year 6 Parents

If your son/daughter is moving up into Root61 in September (i.e. they are moving into year 7) then we would love you to join us as we host an “Introducing Root61” evening for parents on Thursday 22nd July at 7.30pm. The evening will be an opportunity for us to share our hearts, the vision and one or two practical details, and for you to ask any questions and to find out what we are all about.

To confirm your attendance and for more details please contact me.

Newday

If your child is attending Newday then you should have received a letter with final details and any outstanding balance. Thank you to those of you who have completed the forms and settled your balances. If you have not yet done so then please may I ask you to do so as soon as possible. If your child is not yet booked into Newday and they would like to go then there is still time, please contact me in the office if they would like to go.

Keep in touch

For more information and regular updates follow us at twitter.com/root61, check us out on the Church website at newcommunitychurch.org.uk or read our blog at newcommunitychurch.org.uk/blog/the-youth-blog/.

You can of course also contact me in the office at any time on 02083000333 or via email; jamess@newcommunitychurch.org.uk

Cheers!

James

Momentum: Bermondsey

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:36:05 GMT

How quickly does the year go? There are a number of events in the Root61 calendar that act as markers for where we are in the year: Vision Night means the year is starting, the weekend away marks the midway point and the third instalment of Momentum means that we are approaching the end.

Last Friday the Momentum roadshow arrived at Bermondsey and off we trooped up town to have some fun, hear some truth and worship an awesome God. Momentum at Bermondsey is always a giggle, the train and tube journey alone are always good value (being told off over the tannoy by the tube driver for all piling in through one door was pretty funny!).

Despite being essentially the same in the planning stage – some fun, worship, talk and opportunity for response/ministry – each Momentum has a different flavour and feel, reflecting the diversity within the Momentum team, the different churches involved and more gloriously within God himself. And I love it.

The evening started well for New Community, with a reputation to uphold from being last year’s reigning game winners (ask Ben Jones for more details), we once again emerged victorious from the gutter eating task – congratulations Bowo, Maddie and Ben (again).

As fun as that all was, we soon got to the good stuff; worshipping the King of Kings, the one who rules and reigns over all things. No matter what the style (the last Momentum at our place had an indie-rock feel, this time a much more African flavour), the sound of Momentum is one of young people raising a shout in worship, praising God and actively seeking Him. Honestly, there is no better sound or sight than seeing young people really going for it in worship. Brilliant.

My good friend Nicholas Ferguson, who heads up the youth at Kings Catford, then brought an outstanding message giving us plenty to think about. Using humorous and practical illustrations, Nicholas spoke about the broken world we live in and how we can only find light and direction in Jesus. Good stuff.

Finishing off with an extended worship and ministry time really helped people to meet with and do ‘business’ with God and a number of young people brought contributions, responded to words and received prayer. Momentum is a really special event, I’m so glad we do it and I’m thrilled with the response from our young people towards what we are trying to do. It’s a privilege to be involved.

Roll on next term.

James

PS:- Quick update for this Friday: 11-14s at Waring Park 7-9pm, meet us there and bring a drink and a completed loco-parentis form. 15-18s at The Centre, ice cream and film. Text your vote on what you want to watch to James before Friday! (Option A = 2012, Option B = Sherlock Holmes, Option C = Invictus, Option D = X-Men: Wolverine)

Parents Update

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:19:36 GMT

Hi there, welcome to the first of what will become a regular parents’ update via the Youth Blog.

Programme June to August 2010

You should have received a Root61 programme in the post which includes all of the dates for this term. Please note that everything will take place as advertised unless you hear otherwise: this is especially true for life groups!

If you need a replacement programme then please give me a shout in the office.

Exams

We recognise that exams are important and that the exam season can be stressful for young people and parents! It is always our intention to support you as parents in any way we can and we will be encouraging all of the youth to work hard in this busy period. However, we also firmly believe that young people need a break from study and that’s why we aim to make the summer term as fun and as chilled out as possible. I think it’s healthy for young people to have a break so please encourage them to come along on Friday nights and to midweek life group if it’s appropriate.

Newday

If your child is going to Newday you will be receiving a letter with more details and your outstanding balance. If your child is not yet booked into Newday and they would like to go then there is still time. Please contact me in the office if they would like to go.

Keep in touch

You can of course also contact me in the office at any time on 02083000333 or via email: jamess@newcommunitychurch.org.uk

Cheers!

James

Fame Forever

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:45:36 GMT

The World Cup is here, a whole month of football – most likely less than a month if you are an England fan – and the world’s greatest superstar footballers on display. Lionel Messi, Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney et al all vying for ‘immortality’, to be remembered as a true great, to go down as a footballing legend, to have fame forever.

It’s an interesting thing fame. It seems that the majority of young people today want to be famous. The Independent newspaper recently reported that in a survey of over 1000 16 year olds, 54% responded to the question “what would you like to be when you are older” with the answer “famous”. The survey also asked respondents to name their role models. For girls, the top answer was model Kate Moss and for the boys, England footballer Wayne Rooney. Other names to make the top ten were Celebrity Big Brother winner Alex Raid, American celebrity Paris Hilton and topless model Nicola T.

As shocking as the results are they are not really surprising. There is a God-given desire within each of us to want to make a difference with our lives. I don’t think I have ever met anyone who says “I really hope my life turns out to be a meaningless and that I don’t achieve anything at all”.

If we are honest we all want to be remembered for something but, in my experience, people are looking in the wrong place and don’t really know how to go about it at all. 68% of the 16 year olds in the survey said that they didn’t know how to become famous.

Well, I would like to make a bold statement here: I do. You want fame? Take this advice:

“Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.” (1 John 2:16-17, The Message).

This is describing a very different kind of fame – the kind that actually will last forever because it’s attached to something that lasts forever. Even the most famous person to walk this planet, even the hero of the 2010 World Cup, will eventually fade away and be forgotten.

It’s a tragedy that so many people believe the lie that fame equals happiness. It’s a tragedy that so many people take their God-given desire to leave a mark on the world and use it for themselves.

1 John 2:16-17 gives us a formula for “fame”. It’s simple really and it’s got nothing to do with your talents, your looks, your ability to kick a football. It’s all about taking fame off your own agenda and instead living to make Jesus Christ famous. When you do this you attach yourself to something that will never fade away. That’s fame forever. Interested?

“Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last. And when I’m dying, how happy I’ll be, if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.” (Author unknown)

James

P.S. By the way, if God blesses you with gifts and talents that bring you to the world’s attention for the right reason, then don’t shun them but use the applause of the crowd to give God the glory.

Cynical much?

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 02:38:05 GMT

My blog post ‘Exam Season’ provoked a response both on and off-line (I’m just glad someone reads them): my favourite comment from a friend of mine was “you’re brave sticking your neck out and having a pop at parents!”

This, whilst not my intention – re-read what I said – has pleased me somewhat! Not least because it has made me think about the role of parents in not only bringing up children but also in the impact that they have on their children’s faith.

I have long recognised that I am not the most powerful influence on a teenager’s life and for about as long as I have known this I have been a very strong believer that my role as a youth leader is not as a faith service provider to young people. I am not a quasi-parent and nor would I ever try to give parenting “how to…” advice to parents of teenagers (at least not until I have my own and then I might).

The most powerful force in a young person’s life is their family and particularly their parents.

Parents have a serious influence on the way a young person lives their life, from their moral compass to their political ideologies, to their personal faith in God.

I know this to be true but it’s always good to have some evidence to back it up so a quick Google search later and I find a study from Abilene University in the States which found that young people who reported having positive family communication were twice as likely to perceive God as important in their lives than those who reported negative family communication.

As I was musing over these findings and beginning to see afresh the huge responsibility that parents carry (a responsibility that slightly scares me as and when God willing I become a father at some point in the future – I love spending time with young people but I quite like saying goodbye to them at 10.30pm on a Friday night) I was pointed in the direction of an excellent article by Rob Parsons in the latest edition of Christianity Magazine.

In “Cynicism corrupts”, Parsons, who in researching a book that is about to be released called “Getting your kids through Church without them ending up hating God”, looks at the importance of being positive. He writes “the problem with children is sometimes not that they don’t listen to us, but that they hear every word” and the messages that they hear will have a profound influence on them and the way they think.

For example if children only ever hear cynical or negative comments from their parents about Church life – the leaders don’t know what they’re doing, the worship time drives me crazy, why do they let that person contribute, that sermon was a waste of time listening to – it should not be a surprise when they turn round aged 15 and declare that they don’t want to go anymore. In researching his book Parsons spoke to many young people about what makes it harder for them to develop a faith of their own and he found that the biggest weapon the enemy uses is cynicism. Parsons notes “cynicism is deadly because it slowly chokes the ability to believe, to see God at work and experience the reality of his love and presence. And, sadly, many of those I met had caught that cynicism from older Christians – even parents”.

Obviously, there are some young people who turn their back on God who have the most wonderful and amazing parents. The reality is every child grows up into an adult and must ultimately make up their own mind and build their own relationship with God, but this did get me thinking about my responsibility as an older Christian and at some point in the future as a parent. Am I always positive in what I say about Church life or do I sometimes come across as cynical in public?

Parsons ends the article with a quote from a parent who wants his children to be exposed to positive comments about the church; he says “I want my kids to see church through eyes that look for God at work”. Amen to that:

We should run from cynicism and seek at all times to be positive in front of our young people especially.

James Silley

Golden Bulbs 2010

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 05:08:54 GMT

Last Friday we hosted our second annual Golden Bulbs film awards ceremony and what a night it was!

For weeks the youth have been filming short videos to enter into the competition and we show them all on the evening before allowing the young people to vote for who they want to win in a variety of categories. We have some talented and very funny young people in our ranks and the night was filled with laughter throughout. I promised that I would post the winners so here they are in full:

Best Actor in a leading role – Josh Robertson in ‘My Gym Class’

Best Actress in a leading role – Maddie Stone in ‘Aqua’

Best Actor in a supporting role – Nick January in ‘Election Debate’

Best Actress in a supporting role – Steph Ferrie in ‘TV Talent’

Best Director – Jacob Brown for ‘Break In’

Best Advert – ‘My Gym Class’

Best TV Show – ‘Aqua’

Best Comedy Performance – Tom Jones in ‘Election Debate’

Best Film – ‘Election Debate’

You can see the best film winner here.

I will post more of the films in the coming days.

Exam Season

Thu, 13 May 2010 03:35:00 GMT

Big news in our household recently…24 is soon to be no more. Iconic insomniac Jack Bauer, star of the hugely popular and successful 24 TV show, is set to be retired after American network Fox cancelled the show after eight seasons.

This is truly upsetting news, over the past few years Jack has provided Hannah and I with many hours of nail-biting fun (not sure that’s the right word to be honest), we would even occasionally catch an episode on DVD before heading off to Church – gasp!

As a youth leader, 24 has given me countless opportunities for discussion points, preaching examples and more. We have used everything from “what would you do if you really believed in something? How far would you be prepared to go?” right through to discussions about resurrection – Jack has “died” more than once! It’s a sad day but at least he may be able to catch up on some sleep now…

Speaking of sleep, I read this week that researchers from Columbia University Medical Centre in New York have linked lack of sleep to depression in teenagers. Apparently, going to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression and suicidal thoughts. The report found that of 15,500 12-18 year olds studied, those who went to bed after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went before ten o’clock. And those who slept fewer than five hours a night had a 71% higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours.

And this got me thinking. Why is it that young people today suffer depression at all? The answer, I believe, has something to do with the intense pressure we put them under. Young people lead incredibly hectic lives and, despite what many think, are actually under a great deal of pressure to perform. As we enter into exam season this pressure to perform, to get the grades, to make sure that potential is fulfilled, is greater than ever.

Why? Why do thousands of young people feel under pressure to achieve? I think it’s to do with where we put our hope and what we put our trust in. It’s to do with what our priorities are, what we consider to be the most important things in life.

When our security is placed in getting the grades, getting the university place, the first class honours degree, the amazing job or high-flying career, then the pressure to get it right at GCSE and A-level is great (and for good reason). A world that places its hope in our own achievement that places its trust in education is also, sadly, a world where depression amongst teenagers is rife. Young people come under a lot of pressure during the exam season, particularly from parents, who, wanting the best for their child often fail to see the bigger picture.

Sadly, Christians are not immune to this either. In fact, in my experience, Christian parents are just as bad (if not worse). And how tragic is that? After all, are we not called to be different, in the world but not of the world? Putting our hope and trust in exam results, university places, degrees that open doors and pathways for future careers is, I believe, damaging to our young people. Education is not the answer to a fulfilled life.

Yes it is important and yes I tell the young people in Root61 to work hard and do their best with the talents and gifts that God has given them but, at the end of the day, is getting straight A’s at the expense of health (physical and spiritual), happiness, real friendships and enjoying your teenage years, really worth it? Does putting all of your hope in education leave your life fulfilled? And so the question that I ask our young people at this time is “what is your priority in life? Where are your foundations? What is your chief end?”

The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarises it nicely in its very first question and answer: “What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."

Please don’t hear what I’m not saying! Exam results are important, making the most of your academic ability is important, working head and achieving the best you can do is important but it should not be the most important thing in your life. Loving God and pursuing his justice, mercy and faithfulness, this is to be our chief end.

The challenge to young people is what is your chief end? What are you putting your hope in? Pursue God, glorify him, trust him but don’t make that an excuse for being lazy and not working hard!

The challenge for parents is that you have to do more than agree to this, you have to live it. You have to do more than tell it to your children, you have to be an example of it to them.

The challenge to youth leaders, like myself, is that I have to strike the balance, recognizing that in order to make the most of God given ability, time revising is important! And so Church life should not become all-consuming during exam season.

Psalm 147:10-11 tells us, “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man, the Lord delights in those who fear him and put their hope in his unfailing love." It is not that legs/brains/musical/sporting ability/insert as appropriate are unimportant. It does delight God for us to use the gifts he has given. But what truly delights him is those whose hope is not in their brain power, speed, beauty, strength or wisdom, but in his unfailing love.

This exam season, let’s turn to him, the author and perfector of our faith more than ever before. And get some sleep!

Momentum 2010

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:00:00 GMT

I frequently tell my team that they have the hardest job in church life. Being involved in youth work is tough, it’s a lot of hard work; late nights, difficult pastoral situations, setbacks and disappointments litter the life of a youth leader. And yet serving in youth ministry is brilliant and I love it! Why? Well the highs seriously out weigh the lows and last Friday was one such amazing high.

I have the great privilege of being part of the Momentum team and as a result get to be involved in the planning and running of the Momentum events; some of the highlights of my year. For the past three years we have been running Momentum, gathering hundreds of young people from across South East London once a term for nights of passionate live worship, a whole bunch of fun and the proclamation of the gospel.

Here at New Community we get to host Momentum once a year and (if I can be really honest without sounding big headed) I think we do a good job! Last Friday was, in a word, amazing. I’ve said it before, but I am more than delighted to say it again, seeing young people engaging with God, giving it their all in worship and enjoying themselves in the process is a serious high point in youth ministry.

The band sounded great (cheers guys) and it wasn’t long before we were dancing (well jumping) with enthusiasm but it wasn’t just enthusiasm driving us, a passion for Christ and a celebration of the freedom found in him was more than apparent, the words of the Simon Brading song were being sung (more like shouted) loud;

“What can the world offer now?

This is life, this is hope, I am free”

the anthem of the evening.

With only a few days before he leaves the country to plant a Church in The Hague, we were very fortunate to have Chris Taylor speaking and he did a great job. I don’t think I’ve seen such an attentive audience before, Chris had us captivated with the good news of Jesus and spoke with clarity and good humour. And then came the amazing part.

Every youth leader prays for salvation, every youth leader knows that God is mighty to save and faithful to His word and every youth leader desperately wants to see their young people come to know the Lord and yet when it happens it can still be a shock! Every time I see young people respond to the gospel I get excited, emotional and shocked at the miracle of salvation; God at work in people’s lives is amazing!

At the time of writing this I still don’t know the final numbers of those who responded (there were at least six) but this I know, when God moves He changes people’s lives in a miraculous way. There were some young people who came in through the door “knowing with certainty” that there is no God and yet the very same people went out through the door knowing with certainty that there is a God and that they just met Him. That’s amazing, shocking, hugely exciting and the reason we all serve on the youth team.

Unbelievable night,

amazing night. Unbelievable God,

amazing God.

James

Root61 Weekend Away

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Last week we had what is now becoming our annual February weekend away. Picture the scene, a gaggle of teenagers highly excited at the prospect of being away from the normal rules of home life, a bunch of leaders tired at the end of a hectic half term, a farm called Coldblow (if there was ever a more fitting name), snow, and to top it all off, being away over Valentines weekend.

Why? I asked myself this more than once in the week building up to it. Enough to make anyone feel enervated (look it up if you are unsure).

And yet, as with previous years, the weekend itself was simply brilliant. Why? Many reasons really, it was more a case of pick your favourite moment. Friday night saw us finding out some of the leaders slightly weirder personal details – Rich voted most likely to be a hippy at school?! – creating and performing ‘dorm songs’ (recorded for future use on ‘Before there were famous’ of course), and the obligatory late night chats, well, more accurately, shouts, screams and giggles from the girls. A bleary eyed Saturday comes around and we launched into more candidates for moment of the weekend; the team building exercises that saw creativity beyond your dreams, and of course the now infamous big adventure in the afternoon. Seven teams, seven leaders, seven maps, seven lots of questions. After nearly three hours, only three teams had reappeared from the freezing fog, covered in mud and looking forward to a hot shower. The remaining four lost somewhere miles away, the person responsible shall not be named here(!) Finally they reappeared in good spirits – a point that surely marks these young people out as actually really quite special – and we head out for bowling and burgers. A classic youth group night out and lots of fun. More late night giggles turned into more fun on Sunday too.

So take your pick for highlight of the weekend. But for me, the fun stuff aside,

I enjoyed being away with a brilliant group of young people and spending time in God’s presence, getting into His word and challenging our youth with the theme of the weekend ‘Don’t waste your life’.

Through a series of talks, discussion groups and times of worship we investigated what it is to not waste your life, what the Bible says about teenagers (it doesn’t say anything by the way) and how we can live a life that has meaning, purpose and makes the most of every minute of every day for the glory of God. The weekend away reflected what Root61 is all about; a passion for the glory of God, a passion for adventure and a passion for life.

After all, life is meant for living, live is meant for Jesus.

Brilliant.

Root61 Update

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Hey there, so much going on, so much to report, so much to share, so much to shout about, it's all kicking off!

Only one week (and a bit) to go until the weekend away and we're getting very excited about the prospect of spending a whole weekend away together in the great British outdoors (ok, some of it will be in the warmth inside, well a lot of it but hey!) It's going to be brilliant, lots of laughs, time spent studying the word of God and a whole load of challenges. It's not to be missed, we can't wait!

Last week we continued with the Minor Prophets, Major Messages series at our Authentic worship nights. Ethan Martin did a wonderful job sharing some of the major messages from the book of Joel and challenging us to rend our hearts to the Lord, what a response! Yet again we had new people with us, we love meeting new people so you are so welcome.

This week sees the re-launch of midweek life groups so if you have never been before get involved, they are a great opportunity to get together in smaller groups to encourage one another in our walk with God and to pray together. We also have the latest instalment of The Project (7-9pm for 11-14s) and The Lounge (8-10.30pm for 15-18s) so see you there!

For more info on any of the things going on, just get in touch!

We're up and running!

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Last week we kicked off Root61 with Authentic. I love Authentic, I love seeing lots of young people encountering God, crying out to him and praying for one another.

They are always the highlight of my month and this one, despite being very different from our usual nights, was no exception. We had a great time together considering what having a passion for life actually means. Jesus said that he came so that we "may have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10) and that is what we are all about. As usual, you guys were brilliant and just listening to the maturity of your contributions blew me away.

It is my prayer that this is a year living life to the full in every sense of the word.

Speaking of life, this Friday we restart 'The Project' for 11-14s (7-9pm at the Centre) and 'The Lounge' for 15-18s (8-10.30pm at the Centre). As a team we are really looking forward to this term and can't wait to get stuck into some of the stuff we have planned. So don't miss out!

See you Friday.

Root61 is Back!

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:00:00 GMT

Root61 is back this week. After a splendid Christmas break we re-launch this Friday (15 January) with our first Authentic of the year. I love Authentic. Root61 is all about reaching, growing and serving and at Authentic we have an awesome opportunity to come into the presence of God and grow in our relationship with Jesus.

We want 2010 to be a year of seeing God move in power. We have a passion for the glory of God, a passion for life and a passion for adventure. So what a privilege it is to start the year calling on God, asking him for his Holy Spirit to turn up and move. Getting excited yet?

A Friday night spent eating cake, worshipping Jesus, exploring God’s word and crying out in prayer to the one who created all things, it doesn’t get much better than that does it?! So, whatever you do, don’t miss it!

James

Reflecting on 2009 Pt 2

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:00:00 GMT

But I think my highlight this year has been our Authentic worship and prayer nights.

There is nothing more thrilling for a youth leader than seeing young people step up and step out in new things of the Holy Spirit, taking risks with contributions in a worship setting and developing spiritual gifts.

It’s totally awesome and makes all the late nights, all the painful pastoral moments and all the stress(!) totally worthwhile. I have also been blown away with the maturity of the older youth who spoke at these meetings, the clarity and depth with which they preached was amazing. All credit to you guys!

2009 rocked, here’s to 2010. Bigger and better please!

James

Reflecting on 2009 Pt 1

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:00:00 GMT

Where did it all go?! We’ve done so much stuff this year that to be honest with you, I don’t know where to begin. Literally we’ve had everything this year, well ok, literally may be a slight exaggeration, but it’s been totally hectic and totally awesome!

God is good, that’s been a major theme of 2009. He has helped us out of some tight spots (predominately health and safety things that we kind of missed…I’m just joking, this is the most well planned and risk assessed youth group in the history of youth groups!)

Anyway, from the coldest weekend away on record, to Momentum, to the first annual Golden Bulbs film festival, to the mammoth inflatable’s night, to Newday 09, to the up all night extravaganza; we’ve done a lot of stuff and had a lot of fun.

Cont. in Pt Two