Glasgow: 24th April 2010, 11am-3pm

yfc one is the team brought together by Youth for Christ to transform the young people of Britain. Combining different gifts in one team enables yfc one to bring a diverse and united approach to mission and evangelism. Do you…have a heart for young people?…want to step out of your comfort zone?…want to see God stretch you?…love meeting people and being part of a team?

Not sure what to do, but know God wants you to do something? If your answer is “yes”, then yfc one Big Day is for you – set to be a fantastic day of fun, spiritual input and a great opportunity to explore what yfc one could mean for you.

On the day – drama companies, sports coaches, talks, and opportunities to chat with yfc one staff and volunteers.

West Midlands venue: Youth for Christ, Business Park East, Unit D2, Coombswood Way, Halesowen, West Midlands, B62 8BH

Contact: Pete Miller or Hannah Fisk  on 0121 502 9620

Glasgow venue: 110 St James Rd, Glasgow, G4 0PS.

Contact: Alan Gray or Linda Abbott on 0141 552 5111

Check out the Overseas opportunities here. 

yfcone is made up of a number of fantastic Christian gap year opportunities for young people between the ages of 17-25.

Our mission is to take the good news relevantly to every young person in Britain through mission and evangelism.  We’ve seen it work time and time again, someone who is willing to surrender to God and give a year or more to serve Him.  Not only do many young people hear the life transforming news about Jesus through people like you, but God does incredible things in your life along the way!  

There are 7.2 million teenagers in Britain.  Half of 16-19 year olds experiment with at least one illegal drug.  60% of teens consider taking their own life.  1000 young people abandon church every week.  The mission of Jesus is great.  That’s why we need YOU!

Do you have a heart to seek and serve lost and broken young people? Are you looking to take a year out? Are you ready for a challenge? Do you want God to use you in ways you never thought possible? do you have 3, 6 or 11 months to spare? if the answer is yes then look no further, check out our gap year opportunities and join this incredible mission.

Brodie Hewson - Crux Media - 21 years old

So, I’ve now been in Burton-on-Trent for 89 days.

That may not seem like a lot, but that’s getting on for 3 months now, which is almost a third of the total time that I will be doing this gap year!

And that, for me, is a big thing.

I’m doing a lot of schools work recently, which I am really starting to love. Before I started working in Burton this year, my expectation for this year was to be doing far more church orientated work with slightly older youth (ages 15+). However, I was told just before my arrival that I would be doing a lot of schools work. A large percentage of which would be with kid’s in primary education. This was something that I wasn’t exactly over-the-moon about. I was apprehensive, as I had never really done any work with this age group of children before. But I decided that there was no real need to panic, I decided that I should wait, and see how it went. And I am so glad that I did. I never really expected to be able to connect with anyone as young as the kids I’m working with, but I really feel like I have. I’ve really started to like the work I do in schools, and even miss it (sometimes) when I’m not there.

I do also do work outside of schools, with my church. For example, on Sunday evenings, I help my church run a Youth Alpha course in the church with about fifteen guys aged between 15 and 17. I really enjoy this, some of the kids are quite hard to interact with, and seem quite reluctant to listen to what we have to say. But others of them seem really interested and actually seem to be taking a lot of what we’re telling them on board.

In the CoPE lessons that we do on a Tuesday, we are currently producing an ‘alternative nativity’ in which Mary and Joseph have been replaced by David and Victoria Beckham. Which leads to some interesting outcomes, and some serious differences. But it’s all fun.

Recently, work has become different. It’s got less busy, but at the same time, it’s got slightly more hectic and less predictable. With the approach of Christmas, and the school holidays, clubs at school, and lessons have started to be less organised. Which makes things interesting. Clubs are cancelled, and extra things, like activity days, and Christmas party’s are added in, which somewhat adds to the stress.

But never mind. That’s what we’re here for.

Tom.

I made the choice to come on this year out with YFC quite early on last year. My A-level subjects were all very ’sciencey’ and the idea of sitting behind a microscope for the rest of my life didn’t really fill me with joy. the logical choice was - A GAP YEAR! It then came to the difficult choice of which gap year to choose. I was deliberating and praying, trying to find out what I should do and what God had in store for me at least the next year and possibly for the rest of my life. I think it was my youth worker from home who originally put forward the idea of YFC and I had it in consideration but it wasn’t high on my list. It was at Soul Survivor when the solution finally hit me. (Well, a yfcone beach ball hit me whilst I was praying - so I took it as a sign.) I went and talked to the guys on the YFC stand who gave me some information, and within a month I had applied to the course! I then attended the yfcone big day in Halesowen to see what sort of stuff YFC had been doing recently, to meet some of the staff / volunteers and to have my interview! To cut a long story short: I got a letter or phone call (I can’t remember which) telling me that I had a place on the yfcone team and that I was to be placed in Burton.

Time passed….Exams happened….Gap year started….

I arrived at training and had ana mazing two (and a little bit) weeks both in Halesowen at the YFC head office and in Nottingham University, where the majority of our training took place. I really got so much out of that time, both spiritually and socially. Some of the talks were amazing and I wrote almost six pages of notes on one of them. I also met some incredible people there, some of whom I hope will be friends for life.

I am now living just outside of Burton in a small village called Etwall which is lovely. I am based with a church called St. Mary’s church in another, slightly larger village called Stretton. It’s a C of E / Anglican church, very similar to my church from home, so I settled in well and the people there really welcomed me into the community. I stayed with one family for 2 weeks, then moved house to the place where I am at the moment. (The only reason I wasn’t here from the start is due to the fact the builders started late, and there was no room for me to stay in).
So, as for what I am doing… I have such a variety of things that I’m doing this year. I do work in scshools doing courses called CoPE (Certificate of Personal Education), JP2S (Junior Passport to Success). I also help teach RE (or RS, whichever you want to call it) to year 6’s and I tecah French to year 3-6’s. Outside of schools work I help out with and run a number of youth groups in association and with other churches. After half term I hope to be able to start helping with a Youth Alpha course which is due to be taking place in South Derbyshire pretty soon.
Alongside the YFC gap year I am also doing a course called Engage which will, once I’ve attended the rest of the course and completed the assessed part of the course, give me a "Youth Support Worker" qualification, which is a recognised qualification in youth work. I hope that in doing this I will be able to learn more about youth work and be able to impact the people I work with more in the future.
So, almost  a month in, things are going great, and I am having the time of my life, serving God and the people of  Burton to the best of my ability. I am really excited to see what I will achieve in this year, both for my personal, spiritual growth - but also for the benefit of the people who I’m working with.

I first heard of doing a gap year ith Youth For Christ wheh I was 10. The KICK team started coming to Seattle to do a 2 week mission with my church. they had such a huge impact on my life and helped me realize that there is so much more to being a Christian than just going to church ona Sunday. I hope that I can have the same impact on the youth I run across this year that all the KICk team in past years has had on me.

When I found out I was based up in Inverness, I have to admit I was a bit nervous. Inverness is quite far away from anywhere and most of the people I have contact with in the UK are down in England. Plus it’s quite cold up here I’ve been up here for over a month now and I’m really loving it! Elise and I are working in Inverness High School and the majority of our outreach is in the school and every day I get the opportunity to go help out in many different lessons. I have 2 RE lessons, 3 PE lessons and I’m doing the majority of my lessons in the Learning Support room. I get to work with kids who may just need a bit of extra help with their homework or need someone to play a game with them because they have so much going on in their lives, and juts need a non-stressful activity that is still helping them to learn. As a part of that i also get to go into different classrooms and help the young people with whatever they are working on. It’s great and I’m really getting to know a big chunk of the student population at the school. I am also helping out at a lunchtime drop-in centre called The Base, and Elise and I are going to start the girls football team after the October holidays.

So, life is busy, but I am enjoying every minute of it and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me this year and I can’t wait to see Him working in all these young peoples’ lives. Prayer for me and my team, here in Inverness would be really appreciated. Thank you all for your support of YFC!

God bless,
Caitlin Calhoun

Youth for Christ aims to:
Enable you to learn through experience about God, the global church and mission.
Give you a broader understanding of youth and mission in a cross-cultural context.
Encourage you to go with a serving attitude primarily to learn from our hosts rather than the attitude of primarily doing something fior them or giving something to them.
Help you make new friends, sharing in the lives of African people from different backgrounds and cultures
Eanble you to reflect on the experience so that you can apply what you have learnt to other mission situations.
Encourage you to share your experience and learning with your home church.
Encourage and challenge you to think about what it emans to develop a mission lifestyle, and consider longer-trem involvement in cross-cultural mission.

When is the visit?
It will be for 3 weeks between the dates of 17 July - 7 August 2009 approximately, subject to flight availability.

What will I do?
The focus will be on learning more about God, mission and the global church, mainly through meeting, sharing, and working alongside local Christians. You will take part in a range of interesting activities - including practical hands-on youth work, learning about the history and culture of South Africa and visiting different churches and communities in Capetown area. There is also time to try out your bartering skills in a market and see the breathtaking view from Table Mountain.
Rolf Weichardt, the National Director of South africa YFC says: ‘We are passionate about reconcilliation between cultures and ethnic groups through the message of Christ. International volunteers enrich our programme with their passion to serve the disadvantaged. Thanks for sending a wonderful team, all up-beat, friendly and grateful - what a pleasure to work with!’
Lizzie, a team member from the 08 trip, said ‘The trip was life-changing! I learnt so much about the South African culture, about God and about myself. I saw God work in so many ways and touch so many lives, as I moved out of my comfort zone. the experience will stay with me forever. I would recommend this trip to anyone that loves God, loves people and wants God to use them in amazing ways.’

Who will I go with?
You will be placed in a team of 6-8 who are Christians between the age of 18-30. In addition, the tema will have leaders who have experience of working in a mission context, usually within another culture overseas. You will join in with volunteers from Capetown YFC giving you the chance to work in a multi-national team, serving God together.

How much will I have to raise?
The cost is approximately £1650, and is subject to flight costs. This includes your flights, travel in location, accomodation, food, training and insurance. Your medical / vaccination costs and travel to the training weekend are not inlcuded. You will also be responsile for obtaining your own personal spending money. A deposit of £100 is due with your application form as soon as possible, and subsequent payment sare made in instalments, allowing you time to raise the neccesary funds. We will help you with fundraising advice if you need it.

Is there any help with preparation?
Before you depart overseas, you will recieve training. A preparation weekend will be held from 24 - 26 April 2009 in the Midlands area. You will also be provided with medical advice, kit and book lists and information specifically for your location.

What is the next step?
Contact Sharon Tromans or Chris Nightingale for an applicatiion form, which is to be returned to YFC. Please post your application form to: Youth for Christ, Coombswood Way, Halesowen, West Midlands, B62 8BH. Tel: 0121 502 9620. For further enquiries about the Capetown trip email sharon.tromans@yfc.co.uk or chris.nightingale@yfc.co.uk.