The Slam

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A week today, on Thursday 18th May at our ‘Reverb Youth Space‘ after-school drop-in club, we will be having a combo-event; with ‘Karaoke‘ and a ‘Poetry-Slam‘.

Now, I’m sure most people know what ‘Karaoke‘ is. It is a form of entertainment/hobby that comes from Japan. The name Karaoke カラオケ, is a clipped compound of the Japanese kara 空 “empty” and ōkesutora オーケストラ “orchestra”, and is now popular around the world. They even as of 2003 have a ‘Karaoke World Championship‘

Now, what exactly is a ‘poetry slam‘? Is it where people get together to critique poets and poetry? Do they ‘slam’ poetry?!

No.

A ‘poetry slam‘ is a competition at which performance artists read or recite original works of poetry. The first poetry slam took place in Chicago in 1984. American poet Marc Smith designed the first competition to help popularise poetry recitals, and move them from the dusty halls of academia to a more popular setting; such as cafe’s and bars. So it, like Karaoke, is a way in which people can have fun and express themselves in music and rhyme. Being creative and enjoying some time with friends.

When I came up with the title of this post, I couldn’t help but think of Toby Mac’s song ‘The Slam‘; where he calls Jesus Christ ‘The Slam’. This is not a negative connotation, despite the fact that to slam can mean to hit hard. However, in this context, the Slam is from urban slang meaning ‘something awesome’ and ‘something that should catch our attention’. So he is saying that Jesus is awesome and He should catch our attention. You can read the lyrics here. I love the way that Toby Mac is so creative with his lyrics, and that within everything that he does as a songwriter and a performer, he is always pointing back to God.

Jesus is his focus.

Just like the apostle Paul – “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” – Colossians 1:15-18

Back to next Thursday. Come along on Thursday 18th of May @ 3:15pm & have some fun. Sing a song or two. We have over 80 songs to choose from on our Karaoke playlist. Write a poem and share it; or share a poem that has impacted you.

It should be a lot of fun.

 

NERF WAR!!!!

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This Thursday 6th April we held our last ‘Reverb Youth Space‘ night before the Easter holidays!

To blast this night off and get the Easter break started with a bang, we had one of our epic ‘Nerf Wars‘

It was a battle royal between the Disney Princesses and the Pixar Sidekicks; with only one side emerging triumphant!!!!

We had a great response to this event; with 15 new faces turning up at Ty Llywelyn to take part in the last Reverb before Easter.

A lot of this interest from the young people was as a direct result of all of the assemblies that our director Mr Tim Gough had held at Ysgol John Bright in the last week of the Spring term. A big thank you to all of the teachers and staff at Ysgol John Bright for letting us hold assemblies in this past week. We really appreciate the work we are able to do with our local schools.

The teams, once they had gathered in the armoury (where all the ‘Nerf Guns’ were laid out; and in reality the 50s style diner at Ty Llywelyn) were given their rules for the night’s Nerf Battles by Tim Gough and then assigned into their respective teams; with two of our volunteers leading each team.

Then it was whistles blown and the battle commenced with the Disney Princesses; all eager to shoot their enemy with itching trigger fingers and pastel coloured pompoms at the ready. They were faced against the hordes of team Pixar Sidekick waiting to ambush them in the main hall.

Nerf foam darts were flying everywhere (in fact the cleaning team have still been finding the odd one or two around the building, despite our thorough clean-up with the young people at the end of the event); and our two judges were walking around, making sure that no-one was cheating or breaking any of the rules.

4 rounds of games were held in all; including a last man standing round; where it ended up with 3 players still being alive at the end of play. This lead to a Mexican stand-off tie breaker which revealed to us our ultimate winner who survived to be the ‘last man standing!’

I almost forgot to say; the overall winners of the night were…..(drumroll please)…..’The Disney Princesses’ (I’m slightly biased as this was the team that I was leading)

Everyone involved had a blast; literally. Everyone played well and safely, and lots of happy young people went home at the end a little more tired out than at the start, but a lot more joy filled than they arrived.

This was our last ‘Reverb‘ before the Easter Break; and when we get back after Easter we will be having a ‘Movie Night‘, complete with popcorn and snacks!!! It will be a blast; starting at 3:15pm in Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, Llandudno, LL30 1LA; on Thursday 27th April.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we engage with the young people in our area and share the good news of Jesus with them relevantly through word and deed.

Also, if you know of any young person that might benefit from one of the events that we hold; then please do let them know about ‘Reverb‘.

Be blessed!

 

Reverb Movie Night and other Springtime fun!

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Eek! Yay! Whoop, whoop!

This Thursday the 23rd of March, we will be having our first ‘Movie Night‘ at Reverb Youth Space. We are soo excited about this. We even had a poll amongst all of the young people that come to our Thursday evening after-school drop-in youth club, to see what film they would like to see. The choice was between ‘Zootropolis‘, ‘Kung Fu Panda 3‘ & ‘The Angry Birds Movie‘. To find out which film won the poll, I guess you’ll just have to come down to Ty Llywelyn this Thursday and see for yourself (only under 18s allowed); 3:15pm to 5:15pm.

We are really looking forward to this Special event, we also have another couple of events coming up as we head into Easter. On Thursday 30th of March we will be holding a ‘4Square‘ Tournament. If you are not sure what that is, check out this. We regularly hold games of ‘4Square‘ as part of our after-school drop-in, but this will be on an epic scale!!!!!!

Then just before the Easter holidays, on Thursday the 6th April, we will be holding one of our infamous ‘Nerf Wars‘. Last Christmas we held a Nerf War between Santa and his elf helpers. It was a monumental amount of fun. This Spring we will be holding a Nerf War between the Disney Princesses and the Pixar Sidekicks, to see who will have a happily ever after! So be prepared for a lot of flying foam darts and fun.

All of these events are being held for high school age pupils; 11 to 18 years old at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, Ffordd Yr Orsedd, Llandudno, LL30 1LA. So, if you are aged between 11 and 18, then why not come down to the ‘Reverb Youth Space‘ at 3:15pm in Ty Llywelyn on Thursdays during term time. Or if you know someone aged between 11 and 18 who you think might be interested, then please let them know.

Reverb redefineD

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This Thursday 16th of March we will be launching a new start time for our popular after-school’s drop-in youth club. Instead of starting at 4pm as we have been since the beginning of September, we will now be starting at 3:15pm and running till 5:15pm.

This change has come about after consultation with the young people that already attend the event. We asked them what we could do to help encourage more young people to attend the Reverb Youth Space; especially their friends. We had a lot of feedback from this, and something that did crop up was the fact that our nearest secondary school to the club, Ysgol John Bright, finishes for the day at 3:10pm and so many pupils head home before coming to Reverb, with some of them opting to stay at home instead of coming back out again.

With the change of time to 3:15pm we hope to be able to make it easier for more young people, especially pupils at Ysgol John Bright, to come to Reverb.

We also had a request from some of the young people at our events, including our Sunday evening Bible Study, for a more in-depth Bible Study, without any games, snacks, music etc. Just a 1 hours slot of time dedicated to getting to grips with God’s word.

This will be taking place as a follow on from Reverb from 5:15-6:15pm for those who are interested in this.

This is all very encouraging for us.

It is great to hear back from the young people and get their input into what we are doing. Equally, it is great to hear that so many of them are wanting to dig even deeper into God’s word and grow in their relationship with Him.

As we hold our first Reverb at the new time of 3:15pm and also hold our first post-Reverb Bible Study, please will you partner with us in praying that God will move in and through everything to touch hearts and change lives.

Also, on a side note, as I am talking about praying with us, don’t forget that our next joint prayer meeting for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ will be on Sunday 26th March at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre. So please save the date and we hope to see you there.

Be blessed!

16% and counting!

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Yay! A massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored our centre director Tim Gough thus far on his journey to doing an insanely high bungee jump to raise funds for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ!

We have raised as of 12pm on Monday 27th of February a total of £824.40!!!!! Wow!

That is all on the short space of 3 weeks since Tim set-up our give.net webpage that people can make donations for the jump to.

3 weeks along and we already have reached 16% of our target amount!

Give yourselves a well earned pat on the back.

Thank you!

We have 5 months to go before Tim launches himself into the air, connected by a bungee cord to a platform. He will travel 400ft in just over 5 seconds and reach the staggering speed of 90 miles per hour!

Yes, on Friday 28th of July Tim will be taking the plunge!

So we have 150 days left to raise the remaining 84%….

Let’s get our friends and family involved in supporting this crazy, but worthwhile fundraising endeavour!

Interestingly when I was researching a little bit about the number 16, it turns out that in the ‘Periodic Table’ in group 16 are the ‘Chalcogen’ group of elements, also known as the ‘Oxygen family‘. In this group are polonium, tellurium, selenium, sulfur & oxygen. As we all know, Oxygen is essential for life, with human tissue containing 16% oxygen.

This amazing fundraising is an important part of the work we do at LLYFC, and just as we are grateful everyday for God’s gift of oxygen in our lungs, we are grateful to all of our amazing supporters who uphold us in prayer, with their time and with much needed finance; such as the £824.40 raised thus far for Tim’s Big Jump!

Small beginnings are not to be despised; and we will be in awe of what God does through Tim’s act of daring. Indeed, let’s aim high and believe God for an abundant above and beyond result to this sponsorship event!

“After that, the Word of God came to me: “Zerubbabel started rebuilding this Temple and he will complete it. That will be your confirmation that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me to you. Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They’ll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!” – Zechariah 4:8-10

“ I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God Himself. God is able to do much more than we ask or think through His power working in us. May we see His shining-greatness in the church. May all people in all time honour Christ Jesus. Let it be so.” – Ephesians 3:19-21

Be blessed!

Bungeeeeeeeeeeee!

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“Dear world. Have just booked the UK’s largest bungee jump (400ft) to raise money for I am also scared of heights. Details soon!” – Tim Gough

This was the Twitter post that Llandudno Youth for Christ’s centre director, Mr Tim Gough posted on 1st Feb 2017. He is going to be doing an ‘extreme’ feat, as mentioned in our previous blog post, to raise money for the work we do here at LLYFC.

This got me thinking about the whole aspect of taking a leap of faith, because that is what Tim will be doing on the….(details coming soon on the date and venue of Tim’s jump..we will keep you posted)…

When Tim does his bungee jump he will be ‘literally’ taking a leap of faith.

He will be trusting the bungee cord and harness that are attached to him; trusting that they have been properly put on and are in good working condition. Trusting that they will not break and fail and send him plummeting to the ground below. There is a lot of trust going on in Tim’s heart.

He will be demonstrating his faith when he takes the leap. As we posted on our twitter feed on Jan 16th, “We don’t believe something by merely saying we believe it… We believe something when we act as if it were true.” – Dallas Willard.

This is the crux of having faith in God. It’s not our words, but our actions that demonstrate to everyone around us where our faith lies. When we live out of a faith relationship with God, this will be visible to everyone around us.

We take steps of faith everyday. When we drive a car, or switch on a light, or sit in a chair; we are trusting the object we are using to work and do what we are expecting. Sometimes this is easy to do, because any negative consequences are small. However, if we are taking a flight in an aeroplane, or like Tim, doing a bungee jump, we need the object of our faith to not fail us.

Sometimes, though, we put more faith in something unreliable, rather than a faithful and reliable God. Alistair Begg says “How many times must we relearn the lesson that God is the only unfailing One.” I think we must relearn it because of our brokenness and the brokenness of the world around us.

Sometimes our hearts have been so hurt in the past, it takes time and an ongoing relationship with our Creator, for us to grow in faith and relearn that God is the only unfailing one.

This growth in faith comes as we spend time with God in prayer, in His word, and with the community of others who are growing in their relationship with Him.

The more we come to rely and trust in God, the more those around us will see that demonstrated in the way we live.

Just like Tim, we will be willing to take leaps of faith in response to our relationship and trust in God, and those acts of faith will have a much bigger impact on the world around us.

When Tim does take the plunge, will you be willing to take a leap of faith with us?

Will you be willing to sponsor Tim’s jump and support the work that LLYFC does in reaching young people with the good news of Jesus?

We pray that you will.

 

“To boldly go where no-man has gone before…”

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The above quote comes from the opening lines of the original TV series ‘Star Trek’. I chose this title, as on this day in history in 1909, Sir Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, planted the British flag 112 miles from the South Pole, the furthest anyone had ever reached at that time. He boldly went where no-man had gone before.

At the Youth For Christ National Conference we were challenged to be very courageous with our faith in God; being ready to trust Him as He calls us to step out into new endeavours; for us to boldly go , just like where we haven’t gone before. Daring to believe God for even greater things in 2017.

Trusting Him for provision for the vision that He gives us. Trusting Him for new creative ideas and ways to relevantly reach young people with the good news of Jesus.

To be like the Apostle Peter, stepping out of the boat to walk on the water with Jesus (see Matthew 14:22-33); not playing it safe by sticking in the boat; staying with what we know, what we have always done; but being open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to lead us into new ways of reaching out with God’s love. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15.

The other encouraging challenge from the conference was for us to get back to the basics of our walk with Jesus. To keep the main thing the main thing.

What has He called all Christians everywhere to do?

What has He commissioned all those who follow Him to do?

“ Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20

We are called to share Jesus with those around us, and make disciples; not converts, but people who make a life-long commitment to follow after Jesus. Everything that we do in life and as local expressions of church in our communities should be focussed and clarified by this ‘Great Commission’ and also by Jesus’ ‘Great Commandment’ – “This is my command: love each other.” – John 15:17.

At Llandudno Youth for Christ we are taking this onboard and seeking more than ever before to be open to hearing God’s promptings and looking out for the opportunities to serve our heavenly Father in our communities. Sharing His love and making disciples.

As part of this; at our Sunday evening Bible Study for young people – ‘Redefine‘ (Every Sunday during term time 6-8pm at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre in Llandudno) we have started a 9 week teaching series entitled ‘God is…’ looking at some aspects of the nature and character of God; and how that informs and inspires us as Christians in the way we live and follow Him.

We will also be restarting our school lunch club ‘Recess‘ (in Ysgol John Bright) and our after school drop-in club ‘Reverb‘ (4-6pm every Thursday during term time, again at Ty Llywelyn) this week, after the school Christmas break; both on Thursday 12th January.

Please continue to pray for the work we are doing in Llandudno and beyond in 2017.

Happy New Year!

“Ad novum alumni, ambulare cum Deo et frui in via.”

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The title of this post is in Latin and says ‘To new students, walk with God and enjoy the journey’. As you read on, you will understand why I chose this title.

“Sollicite cura te ipsum probabilem exhibere Deo operarium inconfusibilem recte tractantem verbum veritatis.” – II Timotheum II:XV. (Vulgate)

“Bydd ddyfal i’th osod dy hun yn brofedig gan Dduw, yn weithiwr di-fefl, yn iawn gyfrannu gair y gwirionedd.” – 2 Timotheus 2:15 (Beibl William Morgan)

“Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15 (Amplified Bible)

Last night at the final ‘God, Games & Goats” night of the summer we had a party themed night, with silly games such as ‘pass the parcel’ & musical chairs. There were party snacks and cakes and everyone had a great time.

It was though, sadly, the last night for some of the young people and volunteer leaders, who in the next 2 weeks will be heading off to Universities and Bible Colleges around the globe. Some will be as close as Bangor University, and others as far afield as Austria.

We prayed for those who are leaving to start a new adventure with God in new surroundings.

It is often hard to do this.  Hard to go somewhere new, and leave what is familiar behind; but we can take great courage from the Bible as it reminds us that the God who created the Universe, who holds everything together by the power of His word. Our God has promised that He will be with us even when we walk into new and unfamiliar territory.  He will never leave us or forsake us and in Jesus, He has revealed Himself as ‘Emmanuel’, the God who is with us.

So as our young people go to University and set foot for the first time in their new accommodation, our God is there with them.

As they walk down the halls of their new campuses, Jesus is right there alongside them; like the lion Aslan in the book ‘The horse and his boy‘ (read the excerpt here). “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20b

This time at University is a great opportunity for them to grow in knowlege and understanding. An opportunity for them to grow in their faith and relationship with God. An opportunity to make new friends and broaden their horizons.

Let us pray for them.

Pray God’s protection and strengthening of them in this time.

Pray they will find a church family near University that will support them in this part of their journey as much as their church family that is sending them will.

A great resource for our amazing soon-to-be students is UCCF (the University and College Christian Fellowship), they have a fantastic website crammed full of more information and resources, well worth a visit. They also have created some short but insightful videos about life as a Christian on campus, such as the one below.

uccf2And they can help our students find Christian Unions at their University which will in turn help them find great churches in their area.

So once again, please pray for our young people who are heading to University.

Also, as we are equally, losing some of our amazing volunteers who are heading to University and Bible College respectively, we are looking for people to fill their shoes and help us with the work we do, so if you have a passion for Jesus, and want to help us impact the lives of young people in our area with the good news about Him, then please do not hesitate to contact us (scroll to the bottom of the page)

 

Kicking-Off Soon!

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Next week Llandudno Youth for Christ have the launch, or ‘kick-off‘ of the events we will be holding in the 2016-2017 academic year.

Reverb. youth space banner

On Thursday 15th September our ‘Reverb. Youth Space‘ will start. We are really looking forward to this.

Our first ‘Recess‘: school lunch-time meeting at Ysgol John Bright will also be held on Thursday 15th of September.

Then on Sunday the 18th of September; ‘Redefine‘, our Sunday evening Bible study group for young people will be the first of what is going to be a great autumn term.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Genesis 1:1-2.

I love that, ‘in the beginning God‘. Right at the beginning of everything was and is and always will be God. Or as it is put in the letter to the church in Colossae “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 4:15-17. Jesus holds it all together and he is ‘before all things’.

As we start this new season and this new time of reaching out to many young people in Llandudno and beyond, will you join with us in praying that God would be with us, blessing us right at the ‘beginning‘ of all that we are wanting to do. Praying with us and for us that as we take the gospel relevantly to these young people, Jesus would hold everything and everyone together.

That Jesus would be right at the centre of all that we do, and that we would always begin everything we do with God.

Also, don’t forget that we will be holding our next group prayer meeting for the work of Llandudno Youth for Christ at the end of the month: Sunday 25th of September at 7pm in Ty Llywelyn Community Centre.

We hope you can join us, but even if you can’t we really appreciate your prayers.

Thank you & keep on praying.

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)