Robot Wars!

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We had a brilliant night at ‘God, Games and Goats’ yesterday by running our own ‘Robot Wars’ event. Four teams, lots of cardboard, a make shift arena and copious amounts of carnage!

This is one of the amazing things about our new venue; the ability to take on bigger, and more space-demanding projects – and this one was a belter. Everyone who came got stuck in and thoroughly enjoyed themselves – especially Tim. Check out the video!

It really struck us again, though, that this sort of thing only works with a small group because we are so short of team members right now. We are looking forward to bringing fantastic events like these into our Thursday afternoon group – but at the moment, we just don’t have the numbers on team.

Unfortunately, we’ve just lost a couple of solid regular team members for September because of genuine health and travel reasons – they will be massively missed. Finding volunteers is always a struggle, but right now we’re teetering on the edge of not being able to open after the summer.

That said, we believe that God wants our Thursday group to open! He has provided all kinds of things for it, including the funds for our new team logo and t-shirts. So we believe that God is going to provide us some team! Are you part of that answered prayer?

We’re looking for several more people to join our team this September for Thursday afternoons at Reverb in term time. This is a once, twice or three times a month, 3.45-6.15pm commitment, including setup and packaway, depending on your availability. All we ask is for you to love Jesus and love young people – we will train, support and equip you to do the rest.

There is a volunteer process, including a ‘try it out’ session, a form to help us get to know you, a simple chat with Tim, a DBS (police check) and a provisional few months to find your feet. This is always organic and very simple to complete – and you’ll get a free t-shirt!

If you’re interested – or would just like to find our more, then contact the office on llandudnoyfc@gmail.com, or you can send us a message on our facebook page. If you want to get straight into the process, you can download the volunteer form here.

Think and pray – we’d love to have you!

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Rest and be thankful.

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1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.’

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46

On the trip around the coast road of the Great Orme, you will find a small cafe called the ‘Rest and be Thankful‘. With the August bank holiday week-end soon upon us, and a time where often people get very busy trying to relax, I thought it would be good to reflect upon the above Psalm that encourages us to ‘rest’ and ‘be thankful’.

So this coming ‘Bank Holiday‘ week-end, I encourage you to take some time to ‘be still and know’ that He is God.

 Relieve yourself of all of your stresses and pressures and….

‘Rest and be thankful.’

This is definitely a great piece of advice for all of the amazing and fantastic volunteers that help out in all of the different projects that Llandudno Youth for Christ run.

They have all had a very busy year, and indeed a busy summer and they themselves need to set aside some time to ‘rest’ and ‘be thankful’.

In-fact, with the new academic season upon us in September, following the bank holiday week-end, we will be in need of more volunteers to fill gaps, as some of our volunteers are soon to be moving on to different endeavours, and some need a well earned rest.

If you have a passion for seeing young people impacted by our amazing God, and feel that you could spare one evening a week, then please contact us on 07517 429 763 or llandudnoyfc@gmail.com

We would greatly appreciate your help.

Direct Appeal: Help Keep Our Equipment Safe!

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Can you help us at Llandudno Youth for Christ?

Here at Llandudno Youth for Christ, we have been looking for more storage for our equipment. Due to changes in the place where we have kept our equipment in the past year we have had to find alternative storage. We have found this, at ‘Bathers Self Storage‘ on builder’s street in Llandudno.

We are now using a brand new 10ft outdoor storage container: Clean & dry – for £110 p/m (their most inexpensive option).

Could you help us make this currently ‘temporary’ storage solution, a permanent storage solution?

It will cost us £1,320 per year and £110 per month.

Would you be willing to sponsor us? – For either the whole year, or a month at a time?

The storage is so close to Ty Llywelyn Community Centre where we hold most of the different projects we do, and also to Ysgol John Bright, where we hold regular lunch-time meetings, making it easier for us to pick up the necessary pieces of equipment for different events.

It will also help prevent any equipment becoming damaged or waterlogged etc. especially as we have things such as sound equipment, brand new tents (wonderfully sponsored by some amazingly generous individuals), costumes for dramas, sports equipment, etc stored there.

If you feel like you would like to partner with us in this, please don’t hesitate to email the office on llandudnoyfc@gmail.com or phone us on 07517 429 763 (you can leave a message if no-one is in the office when you call)

All Wright now….

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The Wright Brother flew right through the smokescreen of impossibility. – Charles Kettering.

The above is a quote about Orville Wright and his brother Wilbur, pioneers of aviation, who are generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world’s first successful airplane; the flight taking place in December 1903.

Orville was born on 19th August 1871. The son of a bishop in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ; Orville grew up in Richmond, Indiana & Dayton, Ohio.

After one of their father’s many trips speaking at churches around the USA, he brought back a toy helicopter for them to play with, and both Orville & his brother Wilbur recognised and acknowledged that playing with this toy influenced their work in aviation.

Their father’s small act of love for his sons had a great impact upon the whole world. When Orville Wright passed away in 1948 the turbojet engine for airplanes had been invented.

The Wrights opened up the skies to the whole human race.

Today missionary organisations make much use of airplanes to impact the world with the good news of Jesus. Organisations such as ‘Missionary Aviation Fellowship‘ or MAF for short, IAMA or the International Association of Missionary Aviation, and ‘Wings of Faith‘, to name a few.

It makes me think of how the rise of the Greek & Roman empires paved the way for the ease of the spread of the gospel. At the time of the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ most of the then known world communicated in Greek (as the main language of trade) and travelled along Roman built roads.

 God truly is wise and sovereign, and His great heart of love desires for “all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30b-31. For “from one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:26-28.

It is amazing how God can take such small things, like the gift giving by the Wright brothers’ father, and change the world. After all He did feed over 5,000 people from just five loaves of barley bread and two fish.

What small act of kindness and love do you have in your hand that God can use to change the world?

Wet wipes anyone?…..

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This coming Wednesday 17th August, Llandudno Youth for Christ are holding our annual ‘Refresh’ conference.  This is a 1 day fun-filled event that we hold at St David’s College in Llandudno.

Like its name, the day is aimed at giving the young people a time and place to let off some steam with fun activities, such as Ultimate Frisbee, a Wide Game, Acoustic Music around a Campfire, 9 Square and some Storytelling. A time for them to relax and refresh themselves before the new academic term starts in September.

We have held this conference at St David’s for the past several years. St Davids is a school that was founded with the aim of offering an education system that impacts upon the whole-person, not just stimulating the intellect. The school was founded by John Mayor in 1965 on Christian principles and outdoor education.

We love having this conference in such a fabulous setting and are extremely grateful for all of the staff at St David’s for all of the help they give us.
The conference will run from 12 – 4pm this coming Wednesday.

I posted the above picture for the conference, not because we have a ‘colour run’ as part of the conference, but just for the play on words of a wet wipe being refreshing upon your face, and that the people in the picture look like they could do with a wet wipe to clean their faces with.

In the Bible, I found some references to ‘refresh’; “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jeremiah 31:25. “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23:2 “By all this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encourageent, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.” 2 Corinthians 7:13

We see from these verses that God refreshes us, and that also in the context of Christian community we can refresh each other and encourage each other in our walk with God.

We hope and pray that the young people that do attend will indeed be ‘Refreshed’.

Will you pray for the day, that God would bless everything with His presence and that many young lives would be impacted by the love of God.

If you are a young person who would like to come, or you know a young person who would like to come, please download the permission slip and bring it along to the event completed.

Thank you.

Refresh-Form-2016

 

It only takes a ‘Spark’ to get a fire going.

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Spark North Wales LogoThe above title is taken from the lyrics to a 1969 worship song by Kurt Kaiser called ‘Pass it on‘.

It only takes a spark to get a fire going
And soon all those around can warm up to its glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You spread your love to everyone
You want to pass it on

At the end of August, Saturday 27th of August, we will be holding our 4th ‘Spark’ event, back in the venue it all started in, Ty Llywelyn Community Centre. This will be our 3rd event here, with our first ever ‘Spark’ event taking place 12 months ago.

Boy has time flown.

Since then we have had a ‘Spark’ Christmas special and taken our ‘Spark’ event on tour to Holyhead.

Now we have come full circle and are going to be holding our Summer ‘Spark’ event once more at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre in Llandudno.

It’s going to be held on Saturday 27th August, 6-8pm.

The theme this year is ‘Is it possible to be a Christian and not be a jerk‘ – looking at how we treat those around us.  Do we demonstrate and walk in the love of God, or do we bash people with our religious views and act like jerks?

As with all ‘Spark’ events, the aim and motivation of the event is for young people who are followers of Jesus to be encouraged and strengthened in their faith, for them to ‘fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you‘ (2 Timothy 1:6).

To ‘Spark’ the tinder and set a fire of faith and passion for God in their hearts.

At each event we have held, many young people from churches in North Wales, from Holyhead to Prestatyn have come together and had great times of fun, food and fellowship. Times of worshipping together and getting to grips with God’s word in a real and relevant way.

We’ve seen God move in so many lives and bring so much, hope, strength and encouragement; and we look forward to seeing Him do it again at the end of the month.

If you are a young Christian in North Wales, we would love for you to come along to ‘Spark’ and have a great time being encouraged and supported in your faith.

If you are a youth worker, parent or pastor of young Christians in North Wales, we would love for this event to be a great resource for you in encouraging the young people in your church, chapel, community.

You can find out more on our Facebook page.FB-FindUsonFacebook-online-1024

And finally, here are two music videos about being on fire for God and shining brightly.

SHINE!

 

Freedom!!!!

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On the 8th of August in 1991, John McCarthy, Britain’s longest-held hostage in Lebanon, was freed after more than five years in captivity. He had been held hostage since April 17, 1986 – a total of 1,943 days.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

This scripture is a great call out to us to stand firm in the freedom that Jesus won for us on the cross.

In looking at images to go along with this post I can across an image which is taken from the ‘Freedom Wall’ on the west side of the National World War II Memorial in Washington DC. On the wall itself the following words are inscribed ‘Freedom is not free’. The freedom we have from the tyranny that the Nazi party was trying to impose upon the world, cost a great many lives. We enjoy the peace and freedom that was bought with the shed blood of so many war veterans.

As Christians, the freedom we experience in Jesus comes to us as a free gift, but it cost Jesus everything. It is his shed blood that paid the price for our freedom. Freedom from sin and our past, but more importantly, in the context of Galatians; freedom from the law. Freedom from having to make ourselves right with God by our own efforts; a task that is impossible, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. So “no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” Romans 3:20. The list of dos and don’ts of God’s law just show us how utterly flawed and sinful we are and how we are in desperate need of a Saviour, even “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” Isaiah 64:6.

Paul is exhorting and encouraging the Christians in Galatia to not return to the performance model of trying to make themselves right with God by their own morality, but to continue to trust Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

As well as being set free from things by Jesus, we are set free ‘for’ things, namely ‘freedom’. The freedom here is the greek word eleutheria – ἐλευθερίᾳ. This word is used in 2 Corinthians 3:17 by Paul; “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom“, to convey the work and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Our freedom in Christ is one where we are no-longer slaves to sin, or slaves to legalism, or addiction, or fear, or our past.

We are free.

We are now adopted sons and daughters of the King.

Living a free life ‘FOR’ our King.  A life of freedom that demonstrates Jesus and the power of the cross for those around us.

In ‘Delirious?’s song ‘Jesus’ Blood‘ Martin Smith sings

There’s a secret I must tell
Of all the love I’ve found
And it’s hidden in my heart
The day you tore my world apart
Hallelujah, King forever, friend and Saviour
Jesus’ blood never fails me,
Jesus’ blood never fails me,
Jesus’ blood, Jesus’ blood
And this secret, it will run
To the corners of the earth
Where every woman, every son
Will carry high their chains undone
 Let us carry high our undone chains proudly and in gratitude to our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who has won the victory and bought for us our freedom at such a great cost.

Taste the rainbow of fruit flavours!

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From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. – Acts 17:26-27

Soul Survivor 2016 photo 40On our last night at Soul Survivor we all dressed up in different coloured tops due to the fact that the last night was, as always, fancy dress night, and this year the theme was ‘Noah’s Ark’. So with that in mind, one of the young people on the trip had suggested we go as the ‘Rainbow’ that is mentioned in the history of Noah’s Ark.

We had gone through other ideas such as dressing up as big game hunters who would chase the people dressed as various animals, but the rainbow seemed great and it stuck.

So we gathered together for a group photo in our variously hued attire.

As I looked back at the photos from our recent trip to ‘Soul Survivor’ this one really stood out to me and I thought about the phrase from the ‘Skittles’ advert ‘taste the rainbow of fruit flavours’. It made me think of the above verse.

God has made everyone on planet earth so unique, and different and amazing. We are all like a rainbow, each reflecting a different aspect of God’s nature. Demonstrating to the world around us our great Creator’s divine fingerprints upon our lives. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

Also, a rainbow is “a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky.“ 

So too we can reflect and disperse God’s light to those around us. He has made us all to demonstrate His glory and Jesus said that, as believers and followers of His, we are to let our light shine. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.

So let’s give people the opportunity to ‘taste & see’ the Lord’s goodness in and through our lives. Let’s let our light shine and not try to be anyone but the person that He created us to be.

Shine!

PS: For those of you who have never been to Soul Survivor, here’s a little taster of what it’s like – Soul Survivor Week A Highlights