At CYFC we are greatly encouraged by the prayer and support we receive from people such as yourself. On a daily basis we see the fruit of the prayer that is offered up and the change that takes place in the lives of the young people. We work with over 150 young people every week with a majority of these being unchurched young people we meet in schools - largely in All Saints Academy and Pittville, with additional work in Bournside and Pate’s. One of the young people we’ve worked with for the last four years is Lucie, and recently she wrote the following:
“Rock Solid and meeting Cheltenham Youth for Christ are one of the best things that has happened to me. The team are amazing, they are friendly, welcoming, supportive, the list goes on. People’s initial thoughts, when you say a club based around the teachings of God and Jesus, are ‘boring’ and ‘rubbish’. Rock Solid is the complete opposite: they create ways to teach through fun and games. Whether it’s an egg and spoon race or doing quizzes, there’s always that element of fun. Without CYFC I wouldn’t be where I am today, Rock Solid has taught me to be myself and do what I believe is right for me, even if people don’t agree with me or think that I’m stupid. Rock Solid has helped increase my confidence. Leading a session was an experience that helped me with my confidence.”
We have never had so much demand for our work which continues to expand. Through CYFC young people experience change in their lives as they encounter Jesus through what is often the only Christian presence in their lives.
Besides our schools work we are also developing Underground, a prayer network of young people praying for their friends to meet and be changed by Jesus. We have about 20 young people involved in this but are looking to have 500 young people praying within the next five years. If we get this many young people involved it will, according to sociologists, be enough people to change the culture amongst young people in our town. Since starting Underground last year the young people involved have told us about the changes they have seen in the lives of their friends, with many having conversations about faith, and some young people have even gone to church.
Please pray for these points:
- Finance - we face many challenges and need to see a large rise in income in order to maintain our staffing levels.
- We have a number of trust applications in at the moment, please pray for success.
- For continued success and favour in our work.
