Welcome to the Devotion Youth Project!

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 Devotion wants to present a positive and relevant face for Christianity and the Church to young people in Marlborough.

We aim to do this by:

1. Presenting a culturally relevant Christianity which compares favourably with that which is found in the media; and
2. Preparing young people for, and supporting them in, having a faith that will survive in and positively affect the real world.

Aim 1 outlines the OUTREACH part of our project. We want to awaken people to see the possibility of God in their lives, working with the knowledge that most people no longer have a basic understanding of the Christian message or our worship practices and yet they have the capacity to connect with God in the context of real relationships. We want to show those we come in contact with that real people can have real faith that has a real impact in their lives and the lives of those around them. Here we work with people’s attitudes to God, religion and the Church, instead of in terms of the Christian faith. We encourage people to think of the non-material aspects of life in response to secularisation, and do not assume that because they are not Christians, they do not have the capacity to experience God. We can help them recognize his hand in their lives.

Aim 2 sums up the rationale behind our DISCIPLESHIP. We want to model communities with stable relationships and to create a safe space for young people to work through their faith. We understand that teenagers tend to be at a the stage of questioning the faith that they have grown up with/been told and we believe that this is a healthy process where an individual can explore their relationship with God and what this is going to mean to them in their lives, coming out of the other side of this stage with a stronger, more active faith.

We do not aim to proselytise, and we want to address the social, emotional, physical and spiritual concerns of young people in Marlborough whatever their religious experiences and beliefs. Everything we do will be underpinned by the desire to show God’s love (in its most accepting and gracious form) to all young people we come into contact with.

Implications

These are ambitious aims for our project, and in order to work towards them there are certain things that we need to take into account. We believe that, in order to convey the best picture of Christians as a loving community we need to increase the ecumenical nature of the project. We will work to widen where we deliver things, and also work on increasing the profile of the project in our community and its involvement in the town. We aim to work closely with St John’s school, recognising the importance of considering a holistic view of young people’s development.

We also want to develop links between the young people we have contact with in our churches and those belonging to other generations. We will look to develop prayer partnering and mentoring schemes, recognising the benefit that the parent and grandparent generation can bring to those beginning to make their way in the world.

With these exciting new aims and ideas we are looking to recruit and train more volunteers. Youthwork is a whole-church missional activity, and individuals can help by praying for a young person, helping with catering for events, spending time in activities building relationships with young people, providing transport, etc. etc. We hope that by re-educating the churches and the community to the nature and scope of the project we will enthuse and encourage more people to get involved in this fantastic work of reaching and readying the next generation to serve Christ in their lives.

Contact Peta here or on 07584498664

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