10 years today!

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