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Youthclub

As well as providing a safe, friendly and fun environment for young teens to spend a Friday evening, at Youth Club we share the valuable life lessons taught by The Bible.

Entry Fee: 50p

The evening begins at 7:30pm with a short lesson brought to the teens by an experienced member of the church leadership. There is time for open questions and discussion after each lesson.

From 8:00 - 9:00pm is games time when the teens are free to play board games, pool, table tennis, badminton, team games including volleyball, indoor hockey, handball and football. There is also a cooking lesson each week where the teens have opportunity to make treats for the rest of the Youth Club to enjoy later in the evening. During this hour we often small projects set involving craft and creativity for the teens to enjoy. Points are awarded for participation, completion and winning different activities. Prizes for the highest point scorers are awarded at the end of each term.

From 9:00 until we close at 10:00pm we all come together to watch a section of a movie which we cover over several weeks. Popcorn, soft drinks and the treats made by the teens are free to enjoy during the movie. After watching the section of movie, we have a quiz about the movie for which we also award points. These quiz times often turn into interesting discussions as we cover relevant issues brought up in the movie.

Award Points
Points are awarded for participation, contribution and excelling. Each member collects points throughout a term. At the end of each term we organise a trip or activity for the 4 members who've collected the most points. These trips have included an evening at a golf driving range, pizza & bowling, trips into London for shows or other attractions, and a trip to Thorpe Park to which we invited some older members that hadn't attended Youth Club for a while, in order to strengthen and continue friendships. Here's a memory of the Thorpe Park trip:

The Church [Acts 2 v42]

What was the first church like?

The first church was a group of over 3000 people. They met at homes and in the synagogue. It's important to realise that the church was a group of Jewish Christians from all over the known world that met in various places.

• They listened to the Apostles (the founders of the church) teaching about the Bible and who Jesus was and what He had done.
• They also devoted themselves to fellowship; friendship and looking after each other.
• They celebrated the death and ressurection of Jesus.
• They praised God in prayer and singing.
• They showed kindness and shared their posessions with any who had need.
• They enjoyed the reputation they were building with those around them.
• They witnessed to those around them, telling them about Jesus and te Bible.

Where has today's church gone wrong?

Today churhes can be places of tradition and empty ceremony or enjoyed as entertainment for the music and social occasion. Church leaders can often take up political roles. None of these things were mentioned in the first church. Many people today go to church because they believe it's earning them heaven, or to be christened, married or for funerals. As humans we have taken something good that God has given us and misused it.

What should our church be like now?

Our church should be as the first church was... a mixture of people from different ages, locations, race and even religious backgrounds. It should be centred around fellowship, friendship, scripture reading and teaching, praising God.

Youth Club is like the first church. We care for eachother and fellowship with eachother. We read and learn from the Bible. The main focus to bring each other the knowledge of the love of Jesus.

Youth Club is church!

Richard Nornoo [Testimony]

This Friday, we had the privilege of Richard's company throughout the evening and then to hear him tell the story of how God changed his life.

Richard's wife, Harriet, has brought their children to Little Fishes (our church's parent/toddler group) and I met Richard for the first time, 2 weeks ago, at the Little Fishes 10th Birthday party. After chatting to Richard for just a short time, I knew I had to invite him to youthclub so he could share his story with you.

If you weren't there or would like to see it again, just click the picture to watch the video.

Peter Preaches [Acts 2]

Have you ever had to give a presentation? It's not easy to speak to a crowd. Peter wasn't very well educated. He was just a fisherman who was unsure of himself enough to deny Jesus in front of people around him when put under pressure. Now here he is standing and speaking in front of thousands of people. What was the reason? God had given the Holy Spirit to his disciples and given them a new start.

What does he tell the people about Jesus now? He told of Jesus miracles and proof that Jesus was the Son of God, and reminded them that they had killed Him. Peter also proclaimed that God raised Him from the dead, proving He was the Son of God as promised by God in the early scriptures of the Bible. Jesus has carried out perfectly what God had sent Him to do and now He sits at Gods right hand in a position of power and authority. He sent the Holy Spirit to continue His work in our hearts.

This was Gods purpose and plan since he beginning. God is sovereign and in control, yet those evil men who killed Jesus were all part of what happened. How can this be? Did they take credit for being part of Gods plan? Of course not! They were cut to the heart with guilt. They realise they were being held responsible for putting the Son of God to death. They didn't argue or shift the blame, they knew they had killed Gods Son... The very Messiah they were looking for since the Bible began.

Do you ever feel guilty or do you shift the blame? The Holy Spirit is given to convince us of our sin so that we are cut to the heart with guilt. This is so that we turn to God and ask if there's a way to be forgiven. And there is! If we are sorry and turn from our sin, He is willing to forgive us, remove our guilt and change our hearts. The Holy Spirit can make us new people from the inside out.

Peter pleads with the people to do something about their situation. It was an urgent plea, that each person would make themselves right with God. At this time, 3000 of those who had wanted Jesus dead were saved and being baptised.

We didn't crucify Jesus, but if we reject or despise Him, it's just as bas as if we had.