When is the start of the new year; January, the

financial year or the academic year? It always

seems like we are starting a “new year” but for us

September is our biggest time of change and when

things restart.

September is the time when all our schools work

restarts with opportunities to connect with new

Year 7 students as well as continuing our work with

the existing students. In addition, the team is

swelled by a new intake of YFC One gap year

volunteers. This year we are joined by Michael,

Emmy and Miriam whose join us in our work whilst

also supporting a local church in their youth work.

We wanted to give them all an opportunity to

introduce themselves and share a little of what they

hope God will do in their lives through it.

Our first volunteer is Michael, who came with us on

the mission to Annecy in 2011. Michael is based

with Tewkesbury Baptist Church and is also

working alongside the Tewkesbury Schools team

as well as working in Cheltenham schools.

“Hello! My name is

Michael and I am

currently 19 years old

and I am from a small

town in the Midlands

called Burton Upon

Trent, famous for

being the home of both

Marmite and beer.

This is my second gap year with YFC - I have

worked with them before on a team called Nomad,

which tours around a lot of the UK taking cage

football and sharing the good news of Jesus

through sports ministry. For someone like me, who

describes himself as “an introvert with extroverted

tendencies”, it wasn't the easiest year, but it was

the best year for me.

Nomad is high-energy and the touring lifestyle

means you spend a lot of time around people.

Going into the year, I was very worried about

whether or not I would be able to be myself as an

introvert or a geek. However, as it happens, the

variety of schools we visited in many different

places meant that my introverted nature allowed me

Welcome to the new team

Update Autumn 2014

Every month the youth

workers in the area gather for

prayer and encouragement.

This normally happens in a

weekday morning but this

makes it difficult for

volunteers. As a result an

evening meeting is being

introduced four times a year

so that volunteer leaders who

cannot meet in the day can

attend. The first evening will

be at St. Matthews in

Cheltenham on Monday 17th

November at 8pm. All those

involved in youth work are

welcome to come along and

join together for prayer. We

would love to see a large

group of volunteers who play

such a key role in the youth

work across the area.

Youth workers prayer

Our new volunteers from left to right, Miriam, Michael and Emmy

Paul’s thoughts One of the joys of being the

Director of CYFC is travelling

around churches and groups to

share about our work and to say

thank you for their support. On

these occasions it is always good

to hear the stories of how CYFC

has impacted the lives of people

over the years. I often hear stories

from the 1950s and 60s about the

rallies that took place in

Cheltenham. It is always good to

hear the stories from the past but I

also get to hear from young

people and their parents about the

impact the work is making now.

This impact is only possible

because of the wider CYFC team.

Besides the immediate face to

face youth work team we are

backed up by a team of

volunteers, trustees & supporters,

without whom nothing could be

achieved. This wider team are the

unsung heroes of our work, never

seen but playing a vital role. The

change we see in the lives of

young people is a result of the part

you all play. One of these unsung

heroes is our Chair of trustees,

Sarah Stone. Sarah has been a

faithful trustee for six years and

during that time has gone above

and beyond in her contribution to

our work. For this reason we

nominated her as an “Unsung

hero of the year” in the Christian

Youth Work Awards 2014. We

were very pleased to hear that

Sarah has been shortlisted. I am

sure that Sarah is up against

some very worth nominees but our

hope is that on the night of our

auction we will be able to

congratulate Sarah on not only

being a nominee but a winner.

Welcome to the new team

to interact with the young people

on the fringes of activities, whilst

my more extroverted side would

give me the opportunities to lead a

session at lunchtime and interact

with a large group of people who

wanted to play a game of football.

So, what am I hoping for this

year? That I may serve the county

of Gloucestershire with everything

I've got, to bring the good news of

Jesus to its young people in

relevant ways that excite and

engage them. And to remain true

to who God made me to be; the

geeky, nerdy, Jesus-lover that I

discovered last year. “

Next up is Emmy, who is doing the

worship track of the YFC volunteer

scheme. This means she will also

be looking to use and develop her

worship leading skills throughout

the year. She is based at Holy

Apostles Church where she will be

using both her worship and youth

work skills.

“Hello my name is Emmy and I’m

from a small place in

Cambridgeshire. I’m 18 years old

and have just finished studying

Health and Social Care at College.

All my life I have gone to a local

Baptist church near home which is

a lovely welcoming family church.

My home church is massively

active in the community and has

been involved with many events.

Some of the things I have been

involved in is the Food Bank that

my church run which a young

person set up nearly four years

ago, I also help with many

children’s clubs, youth clubs and

football project which we

encourage any person who enjoys

football to come along and have

fun. I’m outgoing, bubbly and

sometimes shy but am so excited

for the year ahead with YFC. I

enjoy music, especially singing,

going out with friends, reading a

good book, worshiping and

changing young people’s minds

about Christianity! In the future I

am hoping to study Youth and

Children’s work at university, but

am waiting for clarification from

God! I can’t wait to see what God

has mapped out for me this year.

I’m ready to jump head first into

the deep and unknown!!”

Finally we have Miriam who is

based at Cheltenham Network

Church (previously Glenfall).

Miriam is on the drama track of the

YFC One programme and will be

looking for ways to use her acting

skills throughout the year.

“Hello, my name is Miriam and I’m

from a little town called Ochsenfurt

in Germany. I’ve just completed

my Abitur, which is the German

equivalent to A-Levels, and am

now doing a Gap year with CYFC.

Back in Germany I went to a local

Baptist church and was involved in

the Youth work there, such as

helping in our Youth Group and

leading a small girls group. I’m a

really open person who loves to

get to know people and build

relationships, especially with

young people! I also really enjoy

being creative, that’s why I love to

draw and do crafts with young

people, as well as doing drama.

I’m looking forward to using these

gifts in the Youth work we’ll be

doing in Cheltenham this year and

hoping that God’s going to bless

young people through the work we

are doing and that many young

peoples lives are going to be

renewed completely and they will

be filled with God’s amazing love

for them. I pray that we can be

good witnesses out there and that

the people we meet will be open

for Jesus to come into their lives.

During this year I also want to find

out what God’s plan is for my

future. Thank you very much for

the support and prayers, I really

appreciate this!”

Please pray for them this year as

they seek to serve God and make

a difference in the lives of the

young people. Pray also for God

to do a mighty work in their own

lives.

Praise for

Our growing CU and Explore

groups

Our new gap year volunteers

The opportunity to work in

Balcarras School

New openings in Tewkesbury

Sarah being shortlisted in the

Youth work awards

Prayer for

Our Explore groups, that God

would move in our discussions

and reveal Himself to young

people

Our CU's, that the young

people that attend would

understand the depth of God's

love for them and feel equipped

to take the Gospel to their

friends

Energy for the team, that we

would find our rest in God and

His promises

Our young people who are

struggling with various issues,

that we would be equipped to

help them, and that God would

move in their lives

A successful and enjoyable

auction

People often ask us if we are a

para-church organisation, which

church we are part of or whether

we are part of a

particular

denomination. Our

answer is that we

are part of God’s

wider church in the

area, members of

many churches but

seeking to support

the Church in its

mission to young people. It is

therefore a real privilege to be able

to practically get alongside a church

as they engage with local young

people.

One such opportunity took place at

the start of this term with St.

Barnabas Church as they ran

Experience Harvest with students

from Hester’s Way Primary School.

Miriam and Paul went along to

support the church as they shared

with the students about Harvest

and a God who provides. During

the session young

people took part in

activities and were

able to ask questions,

some related to

Harvest and some

about church. One

young person wanted

to know what the

cross was for and

another asked if you needed to pay

to go to church. In an age where

many young people have no

contact with church and little

understanding of the basic tenants

of Christianity these are not

surprising. It is therefore a great

opportunity to support a local

church in their mission within the

local community.

Latest News: Come to the auction on 9th November for a great night of fun. Free entry.

Every week on a Thursday morning

we have a time of staff prayer to

which anyone is welcome. This

always happens at the office. If you

are free we would love to have your

support but we understand that for

most people this will not be

possible. From November we will

be holding a termly prayer meeting

at the CYFC office to pray for our

work. The first meeting will be

Monday 10th November from 8-

9pm. Please join us to pray for our

work and to ask God to move in the

lives of the young people in the

area.

For a number of years we went to

the Gorsley Festival where we were

involved in the youth work. Two

years ago the festival stopped and

in its place Gorsley Chapel are

running their own church

conference.

In September Michael, Emmy and

Paul went to run the youth work for

them. Along with the rest of the

church the young people were

looking at vital signs of a healthy

church. Throughout the weekend

we explored with the young people

what it meant to be a worshipping,

witnessing and community focused

church. Supporting young people

to be an active part of what God is

doing in their local church is an

important aspect of our work.

Emmy and Michael were able to

explain how their decision to step

out and serve God both in their gap

year and growing up in church

resonated with the young people.

Next June we will be leading the

youth work at Holy Trinity

Tewkesbury weekend away.

If you ask any group of youth

leaders what they would like to

know about you can guarantee

most will ask for ideas for

resources. All of the YFC

resources can be purchased

through an online subscription at

www.yfcresources.co.uk this

includes Rock Solid, Lumen and

Mettle. These resources provide a

curriculum for your youth work

saving time and energy in working

out a curriculum and making

planning easier so you can spend

more time with your young people.

Another

really

useful

resource

is Table

Talk

which is

great at generating discussion

about faith. For more information

visit www.table-talk.org

Experience Harvest

Gorsley Church weekend

Thank you to those people and

churches who donated to our

computer appeal. We have now

been able to purchase two new

laptops to help our work. We are

eagerly awaiting them as they are

on their way as we type.

Prayer time

Help I need some ideas

After half term we will be starting

a Christian Union after school

on Wednesdays at Balcarras

School in conjunction with Holy

Apostles Church. This will

mean that we will be working in

seven schools every week.

Please pray for this group as it

starts that God will do great

things through it.

Balcarras

The Flat, The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham. GL51 6PN office@cheltenhamyfc.co.uk 01242 524408 Charity Number 1059805

Ways to give

To make a one-off or regular donation to our ministry you can give via our Virgin Money Giving page. You

can also set up a fundraising page if you wish to do a sponsored event. Visit www.tinyurl.com/give2cyfc

cheltenhamyfc.blogspot.com facebook.com/cheltenhamyfc @cheltenhamyfc

Throughout the last academic year, lots of young people in

our Rock Solid groups were asking us questions about life

issues, God and morality. To provide a place for young

people to ask these questions and discuss them with us and

other young people, we have now launched Explore clubs at

All Saint's Academy and Pittville.

In the first week, after getting to know each other, we asked

the young people "If God is real, what question would you

ask him?" The questions the young people asked ranged

from "How can I please God?" to "Why have you never

helped me when I asked you?" to questions about suffering

and sexuality. We have used these responses to create a

Explore

Upcoming Events

Weekly

9am Thursday Mornings

CYFC prayer meeting all are

welcome to join the team to pray

for our work.

November

10th CYFC prayer meeting

16th Paul preaching at

Cheltenham Network

Church

17th 8pm Youth leaders

prayer at St. Matthews

22nd CYFC Auction

December

2nd Paul speaking at YFC

national office staff

prayers

January

5-9th Annual YFC staff

conference

18th Paul speaking at

Refresh youth service

Hucclecote

20th Paul speaking at

Cambray Ladies

Fellowship

program in which young people can explore their thoughts

about these big questions. We include lots of games and

snacks during discussion, which makes the heavy subject

matter more manageable!

In the first few weeks we have seen young people think

critically about their opinions as they debate with each

other. Our session on suffering also helped one young

person to talk to us about their struggles. Please pray for

us as we delve into these difficult topics with our explore

groups, and pray for the young people that they will come

to identify with a God who is bigger than their questions,

and experience His love.

When we first started the auction five

years ago we thought we would have a go

and see what happened. Five years later

it has grown and grown and become our

key fundraising event of the year. It has

become such a feature for some people

that Paul was even given a hammer and

gavel for his birthday! It has been

described by someone as “the best night

of their year” due to the fun nature of the

evening. The auction features items for

people on any budget. Already we have a

range of items including bowling tickets,

perfume, luggage, panto tickets, hair cuts,

designer sunglasses, make up and

vouchers for clothes, opticians and a

whole host more. Why join the rush at the

shops to do your Christmas shopping

when you can come for an evening of fun

whilst helping us raise money for our work

with young people. If that is not enough

the event has no entry fee and will feature

a very reasonably priced bar. Come on

your own or bring your friend, or make it a

small group social. We will be putting all

the items on Facebook and Twitter so you

can see the items as they come in. Please join us and help us make it a special evening as we raise funds to make a

difference in the lives of young people.

Francis moves on

In our last newsletter we said

goodbye to all of our gap year

volunteers with the exception of

Francis. As the newsletter

went out he was exploring

possibilities for the future. He

is now studying with the Centre

of Youth Ministry in Nottingham

where he is a student Youth

Worker for a group of churches.

Francis will be remembered as

the man who had his head

shaved in aid of our work! We

wish Francis well in his new

role as he continues his

development.

Auction 2014