Den Fest!

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This coming Sunday 14th to Tuesday 16th February we are holding a fantastic event for the young people that come to our Redefine Sunday evening Bible Study. It’s called ‘Den Fest’ and is going to be a lot of fun.

The premise is that the young people build a ‘den’ somewhere in their houses and then from said den they take part in different socially distanced online activities. We’re going to be watching a movie together, having an epic quiz about hedgehogs, learning  how to make a gorgeous oatmeal together, and having a storytelling session with special guest ‘Gandalf’ of the Lord of the Rings fame. It is going to be a blast.

Please do pray for us at this time, that the young people will have a great time together via the wonders of technology. That all of the tech aspects that are needed for this to work, would indeed work, and pray that through all the fun and laughter and fellowship the young people would meet with Jesus and experience the more abundant life that He promised to bring us.

Also be praying for the young people at this time when normally they’d be on half-term and spending quality time with friends and family, but due to the lock-down they are unable to do so. Pray that God would continue to encourage, strengthen and uphold them through this time and that they’d come out of it stronger and more in love with Jesus.

Thank you for all your continued support for the work that we are doing to share the good news of Jesus with young people in Llandudno and beyond. We really appreciate it.

Have a great week-end and be blessed!

Hope that does not disappoint

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“Here’s what I’ve learned through it all:
Don’t give up; don’t be impatient;
be entwined as one with the Lord.
Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope.
Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!” – Psalm 27:14

As the latest lockdown drags on, it would be easy to lose hope and feel like it’s never going to end. But we need to have the same mindset as the Psalmist who calls us to never lose hope. Never lose hope, because we trust in a God who is entirely faithful and will never disappoint us.

Having and keeping our hope in God has been the theme that we are looking at currently with the young people that come to our Sunday evening Bible study: Redefine. Just as before Christmas we were looking at light; that Jesus is the Light of the world, and the we too as followers of Christ are also the light of the world; so now during the early months of 2021 we are looking at the theme of Hope.

We are wanting to build the young people up in their faith, showing them just how faithful a God we serve and worship. A God in whom we can put our trust, in whom we can hope, for He will never disappoint us.

It’s really great still being able to meet with the young people through Zoom and the wonders of modern technology. To impart hope to them. Encouraging them to draw close to God in this time of momentous uncertainty and upheaval, for He is the solid rock on which we can base our lives. He is the God of all Hope.

Please do continue to pray for the young people that attend the different projects that we run, that they would be grounded in faith, hope & love. That they would draw closer to the God who fills them with all hope, and that they would spread hope wherever they go.

Have a great week and be blessed!

Good Job!

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“Whatever work you do, do it with all your heart. Do it for the Lord and not for men.Remember that you will get your reward from the Lord. He will give you what you should receive. You are working for the Lord Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24

As we come to the end of another week in lockdown, I can’t help but think of all the amazing people on the frontlines of this Covid-19 Pandemic, those who daily risk their lives to serve and save others. People like our doctors and nurses. Thinking about it reminded me of the above  verse from scripture and also a similar verse from the gospel of Matthew, with it’s well known “Well done good and faithful servant”.

I’m also thankful for all of our amazing staff and volunteers at Llandudno Youth for Christ, and indeed Youth for Christ as a global Christian Youth work charity. We’re still out there working with young people to share the gospel relevantly and see young lives changed by Jesus.

Here at Llandudno Youth for Christ we are still running our Redefine Sunday evening Bible Study, currently online due to lockdown restrictions, but we are still sharing the hope that can only be found in Jesus with many young people. We’ve also started two new projects; “Show Up and Write”, an online writers workshop that encourages young people to be creative; and “More” a more in-depth Bible study group that looks at theology and philosophy on a deeper level. We’re also still running our boardgames night Shuffle & Shake. So despite everything we’re still reaching out to young people and giving them healthy avenues to explore matters of faith and spirituality, specifically found in Jesus.

So a big thank you goes out to all of our amazing volunteers who help out at the above events. Also another big thank you goes out to our amazing and faithful supporters who uphold us in prayer and support us with much needed finances. Thank you.

And remember, during this time where so many people around us are having their lives rocked by the pandemic and its repercussions, “… in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,…” We have a hope in Jesus that makes our lives secure and on a firm footing. Let’s be examples of life, light, love and hope. Let’s give our communities and especially our young people hope.

Have a great week and thank you for doing a good job.

Be blessed!

Unveiled Hope!

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“There is a divine mystery—a secret surprise that has been concealed from the world for generations, but now it’s being revealed, unfolded and manifested for every holy believer to experience.Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it!” – Col 1:26-27

As we look forward to all that 2021 has in store for us, both the highs and lows, the expectations that will be met and those that will turn to disappointment, it is imperative that we do not lose sight of the amazing truth that as believers, Christ is in us and He’s not going anywhere, He’ll be with us in our everyday life and every part of 2021. He is the hope of glory within us, leading us to life and more life.

At Llandudno Youth for Christ despite the current restrictions due to another Covid induced lockdown, we are expectant that Jesus will be moving in and through the lives of the young people that we are going to meet with this year.

Last year was a year full of innovation as we met online via Zoom, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We taught, we encouraged, we gave hope, we had fun together. It was despite everything a brilliant year and we saw many young people positively impacted by the good news of Jesus.

Please be praying with us during 2021 that God would again breath His Spirit over everything that we do and that we can also find even more creative ways to engage with the young people in Llandudno and beyond, that they would too be able to say that their hope rests in Christ Jesus alone.

May 2021 be a year of the unveiling of hope in many young people’s hearts and lives.

Be blessed!

Behold I make all things new!

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“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” – Revelation 21:4-6

As we say goodbye to 2020, with all its ups & downs, we can look with confidence to 2021, for we worship and serve a God who makes all things new. Amen.

We’ve had to learn new ways of meeting with young people during 2020, all due to the lockdown enforced by the global Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve had quizzes, Bible Studies and movie nights all online via a computer or smartphone. We’ve held a ‘Camp-not-Camp’ where both the leaders and young people engaged with this event from their own respective gardens and back yards, having fun remotely.

We’ve created a new YouTube channel called RE:TV and filled it with fun thought provoking content. We’ve continued our brilliant board games cafe; ‘Shuffle & Shake‘, but all online. We’ve started up two new projects this year also, a study group for getting deeper into the Bible called ‘More‘ and a creative writing workshopping event called ‘Show up & write‘.

So despite everything we have had a great 2020, filled with lots of opportunities to share the Good news relevantly to the young people of Llandudno and beyond. In fact we’ve spoken to over 5000 young people this year.

Knowing all that God has done in and through the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ despite the restrictions caused by Covid-19, we are looking forward to a 2021 where we will see more of God’s wonders and especially see His redeeming hand making all things new.

So let’s look forward to 2021 with faith in a faithful God, hope that He will come through for us and love, knowing that we are loved and treasured.

Have a great end to 2020 and lets see what 2021 brings.

Be blessed!

Treasuring all the good things of God!

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“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” – Luke 2:15-20

We held the last of our Redefine Sunday evening Bible study groups last night. It was so much fun. Everyone had been given a fancy dress challenge for the night: they had to come dressed up as a Christmas ‘thing’ and not a Christmas character. Not an easy challenge but the young people rose to the occasion. We had two Christmas trees, one of which had dyed her hair green and put baubles and fairy lights in her hair for effect; a Christmas Pudding; A Christmas Garland; A Christmas present; and Advent Calendar; A Blanket of snow; the Star of Bethlehem; A Yorkshire Santa and a Christmas carrot! As you can tell at Llandudno Youth for Christ we don’t do things by half measures, we fully commit to all our endeavours.

We had a very festive evening.

We played a game using remote controlled cars, where 1 car was the police car and it had to chase down 4 other car with criminals in it and whoever had the fastest time in catching all of the run away thieves won. This was really great fun, with many times the cars narrowly missing each other or getting stuck on the course and thereby eliminating themselves.

We gave out Christmas cards and gifts to all of the young people and we also had a sparsely decorated Christmas Tree upon which various prizes were festooned and everyone had an opportunity to select a prize ranging from a Christmas Gherkin Bauble to a Festival Mug.

We finished the night with a short talk about Jesus being the light of the world. This has been our theme during the lead up to Christmas, focussing on how Jesus is the light of the world for us and how we as God’s image bearers and followers of Jesus are also called to be light in the darkness of the world.

I wrote the title to this blog post for my prayer is that nights such as last Sunday will be things that the young people will treasure up in their hearts and will remember all the fun and friendship that they had, and also the truths that they have been told, namely how great Jesus is and that by following Him in their lives they will not walk in darkness but have the light of life.

Please do be praying for the young people over the Christmas period. Pray that they would be able to celebrate Christmas with thankful hearts knowing all that God has accomplished for them by sending His Son into the world to be our Saviour.

Thank you for your support and have a blessed Christmas yourselves remembering all the good times of 2020 and looking forward to a better 2021!

Glory to God in the highest!

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“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” – Luke 2:8-15

This coming Sunday will be Llandudno Youth for Christ’s last Redefine Bible Study group meeting of 2020. It is going to be a Christmas themed meeting, with a fancy dress. Everyone is to dress up as a Christmas thing, not a Christmas character; so no Santas or shepherd, no angels or Marys, but rather Christmas Trees & Presents and things like A snowman or a Christmas pudding. I wonder how inventive and creative everyone will be with their costumes.

It is sure to be a fun evening.

Please do be praying for us that not only will we have a lot of fun, but that the message of good news that the angels brought to the shepherds many Christmases ago will impact the hearts of the young people today. That they would head towards the Christmas celebrations with expectant hearts, exited by the truth of Jesus’ coming into the world to save and redeem.

Have a blessed and prosperous Christmas from all of us here at Llandudno Youth for Christ.

Be blessed!

Light of the world

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“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”– John 8:12

Last Sunday night at Redefine we had a great evening with a paper aeroplane obstacle course and lots of other fun activities. We also continued looking at our theme leading up to Christmas that Jesus is the Light of the world.

We looked at the verse above taken from St John’s Gospel. The talk was centred around the idea that we do not stand stationary in our walk with Jesus. We follow Him as He is the light of the world, just like the Israelites during their days in the desert followed the pillar of fire (representing God’s presence) at night and the pillar of cloud by day, all in order to enter the promised land.

God was leading them someplace good and although the discipline needed to follow was not always easy it was worth it. The same goes for us in our following of Jesus as His disciples. Sometimes we want to stay put because it seems easier than trusting Jesus and following Him into the unknown, but following is always worth it for He is always leading us to better pastures. “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” – Psalm 23:1-3

Thank you to all our faithful prayer supporters, please do keep on with the good work of upholding us in prayer.

Finally at this time of the year when it is getting darker, remember that Jesus, the Light of the world has come and He lights up our lives and the path ahead of us. Keep on following and you’ll be amazed at where the Good Shepherd leads you.

Be blessed!

Show up & write!

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Last Thursday 26th of November at 7pm Llandudno Youth for Christ held its first ‘Show up & write’ evening. This is a new project that is being run by our centre director, Tim Gough’s wife Kate Gough.

On Sunday evening we caught up with Kate at our Redefine Bible Study group and asked her about this new project.

So Kate, what’s your vision for the Llandudno Youth for Christ “Show up and write” writing group?

We want to give a safe space to people who are interested in writing. Give them some structured time for writing in a community of togetherness. There are some exercises involved, but it’s all to encourage them.

How was the first session with the group?

It was really good. We got some good feedback on it. The girls who were there enjoyed it a lot and we did some good introductory things and also discussed how to get down to it and write. They wrote pretty much throughout. I even got some writing done which was kinda cool.

How can our supporters support you?

Definitely pray and if they know of any amazing writing exercises they could send them into Llandudno Youth for Christ via our email – llandudnoyfc@gmail.com.

Here at Llandudno Youth for Christ we are so very excited about this new group that we are running. We are all about seeing young people’s lives changed by Jesus, and by doing creative exercises we are demonstrating that we belong to a Creator (Jesus). As it says in John 1:3 “God created everything through him (Jesus), and nothing was created except through him.”

Please do be praying for this brilliant new endeavour. Pray that the young people will grow in their creativity and be encouraged. Pray that more young people will be added to the group, and pray that this work will go from strength to strength.

Have a great week and be blessed!

Redefining Youth Work!

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With all the changes that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to our lives, here at Llandudno Youth for Christ we’ve had to adapt and learn new ways of reaching out to the young people in our area with the message of Jesus.

One of the ways in which we adapted was moving our Redefine, Sunday evening Bible Study discipleship group online. Via the wonders of technology and throughout lockdown we were able to regularly meet with the young people of Llandudno and beyond and share with them the good news of Jesus.

It’s been a different and interesting time getting used to the new format, but it has worked really well for us.

Now that lockdown is over we have returned to our face to face meetings at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, albeit with social distancing rules abided by and followed.

The young people enjoyed their time online, but they were definitely pleased to be meeting together finally after so many months apart.

Last Sunday was our second week back together and everyone had a great time.

Thank you for continuing to support us as we went through lockdown and please do continue to support us in prayer, with finances and with volunteers. We really couldn’t do this without your help.

Have a great week and we’re looking forward to another great Redefine this coming Sunday.