NetworkNorwich90010yr
The Norfolk and Norwich Christian community website

NickBlanch750Whispers of God at Norwich Youth for Christ 

Nick Blanch, Director of Norwich Youth for Christ, had a moment recently when he realised that God was speaking. He shares how this is just one of many encouraging signs.

It was straight after Encounter, our youth worship service that we premiered on YouTube. The topic had been mental health and we hosted a Zoom call with a group of around ten young people. Amongst the usual fun conversations and laughs, one of our leaders posed the question: "What are you finding hard to handle?"

There was a pause before one young man started to open up about the anxiety he was experiencing and the impact it was having. In that moment, we were able to discuss it openly with the group and through discussion, guide them to the hope and peace that God can bring.

Throughout lockdown, we are still delivering some youthwork projects. We are not reaching the number of young people we were reaching before Covid-19 became part of the landscape. But we are noticing more moments like the one above. Small yet significant times where God is at work. 

It reminds me of 1 Kings 19 when God reveals himself to Elijah. There was a fire, an earthquake and a wind but God didn’t reveal himself in those things. Instead, there was just a still small voice and in that moment God spoke to Elijah. Let’s pray that amongst the big noisy things that are going on in the world right now, people will be open to hearing from God in the little moments.

Here are some other moments we have been experiencing:

Encounter Online has been making a positive impact with youth groups. Last week we had our highest attendance yet with Dr Kate Middleton speaking and a great post-event discussion. We have run four of these now and have had over 600 views. Read more here: norwichyfc.co.uk/encounter-goes-online/ 

Our gaming work has become a gaming community. By meeting online to play computer games, we’re seeing young people have fun and build new friendships whilst growing in confidence. This week a young person asked for prayer as they have to isolate due to a Covid-19 case in their class. We’re also meeting new young people and having opportunities to share faith. The gaming community has been such a growth area for us, that we are now advising other Youth for Christ centres how to use this. Read more here: norwichyfc.co.uk/game-on 

Boost is supporting two young people who are struggling with mainstream education. The Deputy Headteacher from one of the referring schools recently got in contact and told us that the student was "really enjoying and getting a lot from his sessions with you". 

Framingham Earl High School are continuing to allow us to visit the school during lockdown with a new lunch club just open to year 7’s. Only one young girl has been coming but uses all the time to ask faith questions. 

We did a count up. Since January, we've made over 100 videos on YouTube and have seen a 47% increase in subscribers in the past 8 months. Jenny, who volunteered with us last year, recently made a fantastic vlog about being a Christian and going to university. A young person we have recently met commented that the video was 'amazing' and that he was thinking about university himself. Read more about our channel’s growth here: norwichyfc.co.uk/youtube-explosion/

Life continues to be challenging for all of us, but one thing I know is that God is still at work in the moments of each of our lives. My prayer is that we can be more aware of these moments and encouraged to see what God is up to during these times.

Pictured above is Nick Blanch
 
 
 

Eldred Willey, 01/12/2020

Eldred Willey
7049 views
To submit a story or to publicise an event please email: web@networknorwich.co.uk