Please allow me to start by introducing myself; my name is Richard Dodd and I have the privilege of pioneering a new Primary School project which has been set up by Wirral YFC in partnership with Scripture Union. I wonder if I might take a few moments of your time to share the background of this exciting new venture and to encourage you with something of the heart and vision of our newest department.

The Background: In recent years the profile of Wirral YFC has grown considerably and this has lead to a huge increase in the number of enquiries from Primary schools. In lots of cases we have been able to put schools in touch with local churches who are passionate about their local school and have the capacity and resources to deliver some great school based work. However, in some areas there just aren’t the resources or people power available.

It’s not only primary schools who have been in touch; there have been calls from parents of Primary age children whose older siblings have been positively affected by YFC’s presence in Secondary schools and encouragement from many of our supporters who would like to see us make an impact at younger ages. Martin has also had a number of conversations with the leaders of various statutory organisations who would like to see us deliver our services at a Primary level.

After much thought and prayerful testing Martin and the Wirral YFC Trustees came to the conclusion that God was calling Wirral YFC to get involved in Primary Schools and that He was opening the doors to make this possible. They also felt that God was not calling Wirral YFC to be solely concerned with delivering Primary School work and that instead we should look to partner with others to train, resource, equip and encourage local Christians to invest in their local primary school. It was for this reason that we approached Scripture Union and asked if they would become our lead partner on this new venture. We would like to partner with you too! There are very nearly 100 Primary Schools in Wirral and so if we are genuine about making an impact then partnership with local churches is vital.

The Vision:  Our vision is to see highly motivated and well resourced local Christians investing relevantly and effectively in every Primary school in Wirral. In many schools this is already happening very well but it’s not the case everywhere. As such, we are looking to work with others to empower local Christians with everything they need to delivery high quality faith based lessons, assemblies and Extra-curricular activities within the schools in their area.

What Is Happening Right Now? We have no desire whatsoever to muscle in to schools where there is already a Christian presence and take over, indeed that would be a real faux pas strategically. As such our first move is to explore what is already happening and to learn from it and my aim over the next few months is to identify and meet with local Christians who are, or have been, involved in their local school in any capacity. If I should be chatting to you or somebody you know then please do get in touch with me.

Finally may I take this opportunity to thank you for your prayers and support; please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

Rich

From Youth Sunday on the 11th September 2011 to Sunday 18th September 2011 churches from across the Mersey Region will be praying specifically for young people.

As well as large prayer events happening all over the region, smaller groups and individuals will all be spending time interceding on behalf of young people, their youth leaders, their teachers and those who make the key decisions that effect them.

Nearer the time we will make a number of resources available to you so you can be part of this very special week and we will be publicising information about the various events in the weeks and months to come.

So what will you and your Church be doing for the Mersey Region Week of Prayer For Young People, 11th-17th September 2011? And for Youth Sunday – 11th September 2011? We would love to hear your plans.

For more information please visit http://prayforyoungpeople.info/

The report, published by online charity YouthNet, also found that four out of five young people used the web to look for advice.

About one third added that they felt no need to talk to a person face to face about their problems because of the resources available online.

The North Wirral Project was pioneered by Beth Duncan, Mim Baker and Jon Pettman (not to be confused with John Putman) and up until recently was being run with massive success by Lee Jennings. Now, Zoe Povall has taken over and is working in North Wirral delivering lessons and assemblies in secondary schools in this area. There are PULSE groups being ran in Wallasey and Weatherhead which are having significant impact on the young people who attend as they explore the meaning of life, faith and spirituality.

A drop in centre is ran in St Chad’s Church Leasowe for the young people of Wallasey school, 2 lunchtimes a week. A grant of £10,000 has enabled us to provide a youth friendly place (with a Wii, X Box, Playstation, Pool tabes etc) and an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus to those who come along.

3 Area Projects

We have 3 area projects with a full-time member of staff overseeing each: Zoe Povall in North Wirral, Sarah Hockley in West Wirral and Rob Pitts in East Wirral. Our areas projects :

• Deliver high quality lessons, assemblies and conferences in schools.
• Support young people in schools with outreach activities, lunchtime and after school Pulse (Formerly CU) groups and extra-curricular sessions.
• Work alongside the local church to mentor, nurture and disciple young people.
• Play a key strategic role in the co-ordination of youth work provision in their areas.

2 SDA’s

Specialist Discipleship Academies or SDA’s for short are Wirral YFC’s response to our desire to work alongside the local church in the nurturing and disciplining of young people.

Local churches do an amazing job at nurturing and discipling young people and Wirral YFC have some skills, experience and training in particular areas which we can throw in to the mix. We currently have two flagship SDA’s, our Romance Academy and our Worship Academy. Please click on the links for more information on those.

Pulse

Wirral YFC are involved in around 15 Christian Unions across the Wirral and the main aim is to support Christian young people in schools and provide non-Christians with an opportunity to explore the Christian faith.

We have found in recent years that the term CU or Christian Union has become outdated and gives the false impression that these sessions are exclusive to a ‘union’ of Christians. With this in mind we have put a strategy together which we believe will have a very positive effect on schools through supporting young Christians as they put their faith into action whilst still providing a place for others to find out more if they wish. The name for this new strategy is Pulse.

If you would like to get involved in a Pulse group or to find out more information please contact us.

Catalyst

In some ways Catalyst is a series of events aimed at gathering young people from Wirral and further afield in one place to worship and pray together… But that is only the start. Catalyst the event is just one part of a strategic response to a burning desire to see young men and women of God rise up and transform what it means to live in the Wirral.

Catalyst was born out of a longing to see God do something awesome (in its true sense) among the young people in Wirral. Our vision is to inspire and encourage young Christians to seek after Gods heart and His purpose for their lives and we wish to work alongside local churches as we together seek to raise up a generation of passionate worshippers who stand firm on God’s Word and value the power of prayer. Our hope is that Catalyst will also support and enhance the great things that are already happening throughout the Wirral and provide an opportunity for youth leader networking.

For more info and for dates please visit www.catalyst4wirral.com

Training & Resources

For more information on the resources and training we offer please visit http://www.wirralyfc.org.uk/resources/

Please see our resources page for more info.

For online resources Wirral Youth for Christ want to do all we can to support great Christian youth work in the Wirral. One of the ways we do this is by supplying many churches with youth and schools work resources.  We are also starting to train a number of churches in youth work and evangelism; helping them define their vision and then working towards strategies to see this vision realised.

If you would like to chat to us about our resources please do contact us.

Click on the links below to visit our national site where learn more about the  most popular resources we have on offer. If you are working or living in Wirral please make sure you come back to Wirral YFC to buy our resources. They are available from 3rd Parties and from British Youth for Christ but you will not get the same level of support or the best deals on price.

If you are:

• Looking for an annual program for a fun club with a deeper meaning or wish to reach out to 11-14s in your community then you need Rock Solid.
• Engaging with 11-14s in your church then you need RS2.
• Working hard to build courage, spirit and character in 14-18s then Mettle is for you.
• Training your young people in evangelism then you may want to consider using the Art of Connecting course which you can run yourselves or invite Wirral YFC to run on your behalf.
• Hoping to share the gospel with a new group of young people then Youth Alpha could be the way forward.
• Taking young people away then try Fort Rocky or YFC’s Impact Holidays.
• Passionate about engaging with your local school then try Explo:re and Crux – Extended Schools.