FAREWELL & GOODBYEDirector leaves after 12 years!

Sadly Simon Halls, the Director of Swindon YFC, leaves SYFC at the end of July. Simon joined SYFC in 1998 as the Schools co-ordinator, taking on the role of Team Leader after Greg Thorne left developing to the role of Director a few years later.

Simon writes ‘A motto in a church I used to be part of was “constant change is here to stay!” and in many ways that statement has felt very true throughout my time with SYFC. There have been a huge amount of changes both internally within the organisation but also huge challenges as education and youth culture changes - let alone the financial pressures that a global recession has bought! At times we’ve almost begged for a season where things stayed static - at least for a little while! However at the same time it has been a thrill in following Jesus in his mission to young people in our town and nation.”

Simon is leaving to go and work for the Bristol Diocese to bring together a team of people to develop an expression of Church in Pinehurst with an emphasis on young people. “In 1991 I was part of a mission team living and working in Brussels, Belgium having previously spent 18 months working in Swindon with ‘The Gap’ in Swindon. However even in my time in Belgium I found God breaking my heart for some of

the young people I had encountered when working in Headlands School. Little did I know many years later that Gods heart and passion to see young people from that area and

school (now Swindon Academy) encounter Christ in a life changing way would continue to shape Gods calling on my life.

I have very fond memories of my time with SYFC and the decision to leave has not been an easy one as it has been a incredible privilege to serve in leading the organisation - an organisation that is so desperately needed and really good at what it does.

I have also had the privilege of working with some amazing people, many that have had some really tough times while they have been with SYFC, yet in it all they continue to pursue Jesus - really humbling and inspirational. I’m also grateful to all our friends and partners who continue to commit despite constant change, to God’s mission among young people in Swindon.”

Nick Lines, Chair of the Trustees, writes “At SYFC many of us are finding it hard to come to terms with the reality of Simon leaving, although it is something we all believe Simon has been called by God to do. So, it is something for us all to be excited about, and also an opportunity for us to grow in faith.

Over the years we have come to rely on Simon’s immense skill and knowledge base, and also his utter dedication to the primary purpose of SYFC — relevantly taking the good news of Jesus to every young person in Swindon. It has been a delight for all of us to work with him, we will miss him immensely, and we pray for God’s guidance and blessing as he seeks to obediently follow God’s calling upon his life. Please join with us in praying for Simon, thanking him, and also praying for the future of SYFC and for God to make clear his calling on a new Director for his work here.”

‘I have been thinking about God and stuff for about a month and

then you guys turned up...’

We have just come to the end of a very busy month having YFC national sports team- NOMAD with us for three weeks. NOMAD travel around the UK with a 3m high and 9m diameter cage where they deliver Panna-football (a dutch style of football) lessons and skills. The team worked in Nova Hreod, Churchfields, Swindon Academy, Ridgeway and Greendown schools delivering PE lessons, PSHE, RE lessons and assemblies during their time with SYFC. They also ran events each week encouraging young people from the relevant schools to come and hear more about the team’s faith and life.

We ran a special event at ‘The Platform’ which is the new flagship youth centre in town and met some girls from Commonweal who we hadn’t met before. When they found out we were Christians they began to ask about creation, dinosaurs, sex, alcohol and why we believe in God and how we know he is real. Luella was able to share her own testimony of how God had changed her life and why she is a Christian. It was then really exciting to see the girls turn up to the IMPACT event later that evening.

At one of the events we ran in Freshbrook, three of the team had the opportunity to share their testimonies with the 30 young people who attended. Following individual testimonies young people

approached some of the team with many questions about how do we know God is real? Why can’t we just see God? Will we go to heaven when we die? And many more...It was great to explore issues of faith with young people we work with on a regular basis where we may not have had the opportunity before.

continued over.....

SwindonRegistered Charity no. 274402

Swindon Youth for Christ, P. O. BOX 2352, SWINDON SN2 1WE (01793) 829795 office@syfc.org.uk www.syfc.org.uk

youthforchristnews

Summer 2010 Taking Good News to young people in Swindon for 60 years

1950 -2010

...from front page... The Nomad guys have told us of many other conversations they have had with young people during their three weeks with us- conversations about home life, struggles, questions about God, and why they do what they do. It has been an amazing catalyst for us to explore faith with young people and we are really excited about continuing these conversations through our

everyday work.

It was a great few weeks with lots of fruit and we have already been asked to go back into Ridgeway School which is really exciting as this is a school we have had little contact with. Our especially goes to those who gave so generously towards our financial appeal for NOMAD.

‘You engaged the toughest pupils in the year group- thank you!’

Teacher- Churchfields

‘Our son thought the lesson was just brilliant especially the testimony - very powerful and caused quite a buzz! Praise God for what you and these young men are doing to inspire our youth!’

MY GAP YEAR EXPERIENCE!At the end of July we say goodbye not only to Simon but also to Matt Lawes and Helen Ince who have been on a Gap year with us. Helen writes “Challenging. Diverse. Fulfilling. These are the three words I would use to describe my gap year with SYFC. Youth work isn’t always easy and requires enthusiasm at every corner. The challenges which I have faced throughout the year have presented me with unique opportunities to learn and grow at the same time that I am assisting young people to do the same. I am passionate about improving myself so I am grateful that this year has been challenging and has given me a great insight into the world of full time youth work.

The work I have been involved in has also been extremely diverse, providing me with a variety of opportunities to work with young people. I have particularly enjoyed the community work as you meet so many young people each with their own personalities adding up to a rich and varied experience!

Lastly I have found this gap year extremely fulfilling. It has gone above and beyond all my expectations for the year and has not left me disappointed. My love for youth work has increased and I could never turn my back on it now so I grateful that this year has given me a good grounding for any further projects I may be involved in.”

Its really exciting to hear that Helen is going on to study Youth Work at Chester

University next year.

Matt reflecting on his year writes “This year has been a huge learning experience. The reason I chose to work with YFC was for the hands on work in mission and I have learnt lots through the huge amount of face to face schools and church youth work. YFC is a fantastic organisation and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work alongside them and give a

year to volunteer at Swindon YFC!”

Matt leaves Swindon to work as an intern for a church in Mold, North Wales, for two years while studying a foundation degree in community evangelism with The Light Project in Chester.

Amy Cox has also been on a Gap year and it is really exciting that Amy won’t be leaving SYFC but will be doing a three year placement with us as she studies Youth and Community Work at the Centre for Youth Ministry at Bristol.

Amy comments “I have had an awesome time working with Swindon Youth for Christ over the past year, I have been built up spiritually and have learnt many things. It has been fantastic to work with the young people and I am very excited that I will continue to work with them for the next three years and will be able to build these relationships.”

We are so grateful to Matt, Helen and Amy for giving this year to serve Jesus through the work of SYFC. They have been a real blessing and worked so hard. Please pray for them as they move into their next phase.

SYFC 1950-2010Over 2010 we are celebrating our 60th anniversary. Some of you have kindly sent in memories of your experience of SYFC. David (formerly Derek) Austin sent us his memories of then Thamesdown YFC:

“I am so grateful for TYFC laying the foundations of faith for me. In the late 70’s/early 80’s I attended Churchfields School C.U. with teachers Andy Lund & Dot Stanway and David Howell came into lead assemblies and 6th form discussions. There were also the Skyline meetings in Plus one centre, excursions to Legge House and outreach trips to Bournemouth and Weymouth, the SOAP bus visits and street outreach with Open Air Campaigners.... I will be forever grateful for this lasting legacy of faith and inspiration without which I would not be currently studying for Anglican ordination at Durham University.”

Church Visits

This year as part of our 60th anniversary celebrations we have visited a higher number of churches than we would normally. This has been a tremendous opportunity to share about some of the work that we have been doing, Matt writes “Encouraging local churches by sharing news of what God is doing through SYFC is a fun and important part of what we do’. Being involved in taking difference church services has also been a real encouragement to the SYFC team. Helen writes “By taking part in a number of services ranging from morning to evening and traditional to contemporary, I have had the privilege to experience a wide range of church and fellowship which I have thoroughly enjoyed.” These services are also a great opportunity to thank our supporters as well as enjoy praising God with people across Swindon.

Fundraising Events

To mark our 60th year we have put on some extra events to help heighten the profile of SYFC to thank God for his provision and to raise further funds for the work. In January we hosted a quiz night at Upper Stratton Baptist Church ably led by our quizmaster John Willson we quizzed the teams on topics from children’s tv shows, a bits and pieces style music round and of course General Knowledge. In May we held a curry night where many enjoyed a relaxed evening with friends and a good curry courtesy of RAFU’s.

Partners Thank you Meal.

In June we held our annual Partners Thank you meal at Freshbrook Church. This year we wanted to celebrate in style and held a Formal Meal. Many of our partners made the effort to dress up in their best bib and tucker to make this a very special evening. We all enjoyed a marvellous meal, tested our knowledge of the 1950’s by trying to answer questions left on our tables, and heard from the SYFC volunteers how this year had impacted their lives whilst God has been using them to impact other lives. We heard from Simon about some of the ways in which our money is being used by SYFC to reach out to young people in this town and from a couple of young people themselves as to how the work of SYFC has impacted their own life and encouraged them to seek God’s will for their futures.

With the changes in personnel we have had to scale back some of the celebrations but watch this space as there are other events planned before the year is out!

The launch of the first bus!

The team all dressed up for the partners formal dinner!

‘I just want to say you are all awesome and I will see you in

heaven!!!’

Rosie aged 14 Ridgeway

An experience and a half! Over the weekend I worked with both the group at

Pinehurst and the group in West Swindon which added

up to one amazing (but tiring!) weekend. The Pinehurst group on Saturday were reluctant, shall we say, to wear the necessary heavy duty foot wear for the project but grumbles aside were pretty excited about what the day held in store for them. The project began with a large garden that needed clearing which the young people were happy to get stuck into. The day wore on with the sunshine occasionally breaking through the clouds and I was watching the pile of rubbish from the back garden steadily fill the front. The most exciting part of the day for me came when we were readying to leave the property. I hadn’t seen the back garden all day and to see it at the end was like watching an episode of Ground Force! The transformation was amazing and the owners were so grateful for all the young

people’s hard work.

We also gave those we had helped of a planter with some flowers in. One lady was so touched by this gift as this was only the second time in her life that she had been bought flowers - she

wasn’t even know how to look after them! Meanwhile the West Swindon team were having a similar

effect on three gardens in Freshbrook.

Monday brought a welcome patch of sun over Swindon and the young people again were overflowing with enthusiasm. One team set off to tidy up more gardens in Pinehurst and my team began the day by clearing the car park area behind the newly re-opened Freshbrook Community Centre making the area look much tidier and more presentable. We even had some local residents offer a hand. After a spot of lunch the team moved to another project at Millbrook Primary School. The school intended to turn a small wooded area in the corner of the playing field into an area for children to play safely in and for the younger children to go on welly walks, amongst other things!

Several hours later the job was done and the NOISE teams across Swindon headed for a BBQ. It was a great opportunity for the young people to meet all the others involved in the project and enjoy a burger and a game of football - the perfect way to end the day.

Overall the project was immensely fun and I know the young people would be very willing to take part again!

Helen YFCOne Volunteer.

Schools UpdateLunch clubs

Lunch clubs continue to reach a core number of young people each week and enable us to deepen our ongoing relationships. This term we have been using song lyrics as our themes covering topics such as ambitions, choices, celebrity culture, guidance, and justice.

The lunch clubs have been a fantastic way to continue building relationships with young people and giving them an opportunity to have someone to talk to as well as sharing something of what we believe.

Assemblies

Over the past couple of months we have delivered assemblies in Swindon Academy, Nova Hreod and Crowdy’s Hill covering a variety of topics such as Healthy lifestyles, Respecting all races, Prejudice and Families. They have all gone down really well with both the school and the young people and we already have assemblies lined up for the new academic year.

New opportunities

We have recently started a ‘Rock Solid’ after school club at Nova Hreod to build on our lunch club and detached work in the school. Rock Solid is full of messy games, challenges, prizes, discussions and Christian input. We have an average of about 20 young people who attend the after school club some from our lunch club and many with who we have never had contact before which is fantastic. Its the most popular after-hours club in the school!

Detached

Over the last few months we have been going at lunchtimes into a couple of schools each week and doing ‘detached’ work. Being able to go into school and ‘hang around’ in the playground or atrium is a real privilege and has proved to be a very effective way of building up a rapport with young

people. Detached work has been a real link to the other schools work that we do. Take Williams story for example, we first met William whilst doing detached work in his school one lunch time, the team got talking to him and after a few weeks of getting to know him, he came along to lunch club. William still comes regularly to the lunch club he also got involved in the Noise weekend and now regularly goes to a church based youth group at which one of team helps out. Through our detached work William has not only been introduced to activities to get involved in but whilst talking to him one day another young person came up to the team and started chatting, since then they have become ‘best’ friends.

We have just finished over 13 hours of Year 9 LUSH lessons that we have been running in Greendown School. We have been looking at healthy relationships in a modern day society and covering issues such as long term commitment and marriage. A major part of the final session has been enabling

the young people to ask questions relating to relationships, sex, and personal issues. This has been a great way of challenging some of the pressures that young people face and encouraging the students to think through healthier relationships. It has been a great way to encourage young people to think about the importance of marriage where they so often have such a negative view of it.

“I feel that lessons about the emotional side of relationships are very important. This is why it is such a unique and exciting programme to be involved in at Greendown School and the enthusiasm from the school is a further encouragement”. Helen

Please continue to pray for all our work in schools there are lots of exciting opportunities coming up and we need Gods help to know how and what to get involved in.

Display boards, colourful leaflets and friendly youth workers, teachers and governors abound! Greendown School’s canteen was a buzz of activity on the evening of the 29th April as Christians working in schools across Swindon came together to share the work they do. With interviews from teachers teaching in primary, secondary and Further Education settings sharing some of the issues and situations that face children and young people in our society today here in Swindon. Matt writes

“it was exciting to be in a school lunch hall which earlier in the day, had been crammed full of students and teachers now full of people praying. Praying in the heart of a school was a fantastic opportunity and brought the prayer

experience alive!” Amy writes “it was inspiring to see the amount of work that is already going on in schools”. The event was a great way to network with other Christians in schools and provided a perfect opportunity to support and pray for each other’s work. The evening also gave Christians not directly involved in schools a flavour of what is going on and a real insight into some of the struggles that young people and staff in schools are facing at this time. The evening equipped people to be able to pray more specifically and effectively for their local schools. Thanks to all those who came.

While the next pray for schools event probably will not be till 2011 if you would like to join with others to pray for our towns schools then get in touch with the office as they are other opportunities throughout the year to get involved.

The April IMPACT practically oozed with enthusiasm! The funfair theme gave a different atmosphere to the worship event and was received well by the young people. Giant straws and a pirate clown running around added a little zing to the event alongside all the

other funfair stalls. In addition Cindy-Leigh Boske led the worship giving a different dimension to the evening. Helen

writes “I personally was very nervous about the whole thing, because I was co-leading up front with Chris Priddy, however it went really well

and as always I had nothing to worry about!” Matt writes “Later we learnt about the priceless value of knowing Christ, it was fantastic to see one of the talks being delivered by one of the young people from my church!” The young people we spoke to were very positive about the whole evening and were

eagerly anticipating the next event!

Matt writes about July’s IMPACT “For the past month or two the world has been going football crazy as the Football World Cup has taken centre

stage in South Africa. So for July’s Impact we had a world cup footy special worship event. To add to the football frenzy YFC travelling team NOMAD joined us for the evening bringing their cage and setting it up in the middle of Citifaith church. It was a fantastic focus point for the young people as they arrived and proceeded to worship whilst inside it, the atmosphere was electrifying! Everyone was asked to think about all the countries involved in the World Cup, and beyond, and to pray for them. Towards the end of the evening the pastor of Citifaith church and his wife came to speak to the young people about South Africa. Native to the region they spoke in a truthful and poignant manner about the struggles the country is facing and the sights and situations they witnessed whilst residing there. The young people all seemed touched by what had been shared and as Barry Mason from NOMAD/National YFC spoke after everyone left with something to think about. The evening was a great chance to meet with God and celebrate the World unity that is presented by World Cup but also a chance to pray for the struggles which will still be there once the hype of the World Cup has gone.

The next date for IMPACT is Saturday 19th September 7-9.30pm @ Citifaith

CongratulationsThere are a number of current and ex-team members that have graduated recently. We want to say a big well done to Simon on passing his Masters degree in Mission & Evangelism from Cliff College; Nick Owen team member 2002-2004 who passed his degree in Theology, also through Cliff College and Sarah Percival, Gap team 2006-7 who graduates from Cambridge with a degree also in Theology.

Response formYes I would like to help impact the young people of Swindon by giving a monthly gift of: £6 £12 £20 Other amount £________ Please send me a standing order form and details of how I can claim my free gift.

Yes I would like to make a ‘one-off’ payment to help the work of SYFC. I enclose a cheque for £________ (please make all cheques payable to ‘Swindon Youth for Christ’)

GIFT AID DECLARATION Please treat this gift and all gifts I make/have made to Swindon Youth for Christ since 6th April 2000 as Gift aid donations.

Signature__________________________________________ Date_______________ (Please note you must have paid sufficient UK Income Tax of Capital Gains Tax for us to reclaim the tax on your gifts. If your tax situation should change, you must contact us accordingly).

Name:_____________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Postcode_______________________PLEASE SEND YOUR COMPLETED FORM TO: SYFC, FREEPOST SCE 15917, SWINDON SN2 1BR. THANKYOU.

The work of SYFC is only made possible by the amazing generosity of individuals and churches like yourselves. Could you consider investing in the future ministry of SYFC?

Perhaps you could consider sending a special one-off gift now, to help us develop the work over the coming months or possibly could you consider becoming a monthly financial partner with Swindon Youth for Christ, by giving £10, £20, £30 per month or even more?

All you need to do is complete the form below and return it to the freepost address below and if you are a tax payer we

can claim 20% of the sum donated back which further helps the work.

For anyone that becomes a ‘SYFC partner’ and commits to giving regularly at least £6 a month to the work or an existing partner that increases their current standing order we will send you a book of your choice as a free gift. Complete the form at the bottom (or included) to receive your free copy!

BECO

ME

A

PART

NER

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People could post their prayers for different countries through the cage

Thankyou!After over 15 years, serving initially as a office volunteer but for the last six years as Treasurer, Ken Moore hangs up the cheque book at the end of September to spend time with Heather, his long suffering wife!, as she retires from teaching next summer. A former bank manager, Ken’s involvement in the work has been highly valuable. His encouragement and enthusiasm have been a real blessing as well his ability to handle the growth of the finances of the organisation. Ken will be sorely missed not only for his financial skills but for his presence around the office and his constant encouragement and reassurance that God will provide!

Our prayers and thanks go with Ken and Heather as they enjoy their retirement!

Please continue to pray for the Executive Committee, while one of the existing members has stepped in to take on Ken’s role for the time being we are still on the look out for either someone to take on the full role of treasurer or someone that could do some of the book-keeping for us. If you are interested then please get in touch with Chris at the office. We still are looking for people who can join the Exec/Trustees. If you are passionate about seeing young people in Swindon come to encounter Christ and can give some time to help in the direction of the organisation then please do get in touch again with Chris in the office or Nick Lines, the Chair of the Exec. Many thanks.