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connecting you in prayer and action with Scripture Union

December 2014 – February 2015

dition:

Inside this e

Party time! We drop in on Chip Kendall’s Light Party

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10:2 Raising a new generation of leaders

Polar Explorers featuring CBeebies’ Gemma Hunt

06/11/2014 09:39

Contents 3

Welcome from National Director Tim Hastie-Smith

Lighting Up The Town What happened when Chip Kendall brought his Light Party to Hitchin

Comic Timing Thanks to you, our amazing Christmas Bible Comic is reaching more children than ever this year

S-You Sixteen-year-old Hayley shares how SU’s Step Out holiday changed her life

Cabin Fever Cbeebies’ Gemma Hunt introduces our brand new holiday club resource and we meet one holiday club celebrating its 25th year

Noticeboard News and ideas for how you can get involved in our mission to reach more children and young people with the good news

Growing and Going Two graduates of SU’s leadership training programme 10:2 explain what makes it so good Christmas Gift Guide A fantastic pull-out packed with great gift ideas for your whole family

Christmas Gifts HURCH FOR YOU AND YOUR C

New material and Scripture Union favourites

with exciting new ideas, Combining years of Scripture Union experience you need to get the most out this book will give you almost everything of Christmas.

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Connecting You is the supporter and prayer magazine of Scripture Union England and Wales produced four times a year, bringing together news, features and comments from key volunteers and staﬀ. We aim to keep you in touch with what God is doing through the work you support.

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Connecting You magazine is also available online at: www.scriptureunion.org.uk/ connectingyou. If you have a story for Connecting You, or a suggestion on how we could improve our service to you, please contact the editor at the address to the right.

Published by Scripture Union 207–209 Queensway, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 2EB.

connecting you in prayer and action with Scripture Union

December 2014 - February 2015

Design and print by Yeomans yeomansmarketing.co.uk For general enquiries Tel: 01908 856000 Fax: 01908 856111 info@scriptureunion.org.uk www.scriptureunion.org.uk © Scripture Union 2014 Registered Charity 213422 Limited Company 39828 Registered in England and Wales

Inside this editio

Party time! We drop in on Chip Kendall’s Light Party

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10:2 Raising a new generation of leaders

Polar Explorers featuring CBeebies’ Gemma Hunt

30/10/2014 13:36

21554 Connecting you Dec-Feb 2014 AW.indd 2

06/11/2014 09:40

Good news to the poor Welcome to your copy of Connecting You At Christmas, we remember that although the angels’ message of ‘peace on earth’ was for everyone, it came first to a group of humble shepherds. Though they were poor and on the margins of society, this was the group that God chose to hear the good news first. Three very different recent encounters have reminded me that the gospel really is ‘good news to the poor’ (Luke 4:18) and, thanks to the faithful prayers and generous gifts of supporters like you, is reaching some of the most unreached people in the world through Scripture Union’s work. The first took place in a remote corner of Nepal where I was visiting a remarkable project working to reach the ‘Cave People’. These are the very poorest and most unreached people group in Nepal – illiterate, innumerate, mostly surviving simply by foraging in the jungle. But there, high up in the mountains, I visited an SU Nepal Bible camp attended by over two hundred 8- to 18-year-olds, most of whom had travelled five or six hours on foot to be there. I heard joyful songs and watched moving re-enactments of Bible stories and testimonies to the power of God to change lives. This is not an easy people group to reach but as Dhruba, SU Nepal’s national director told me, the gospel compels them to go.

The second was a conversation I had in Bradford with Matt Barlow from the brilliant Christians Against Poverty. CAP’s mission to reach people for Jesus by serving them with debt counselling is utterly inspiring. They are seeing God do some extraordinary things, including whole families coming to faith in Christ as they experience the compassion of his people. Matt reminded me that we have a challenge to create resources and shape ministry which reaches the very poorest in our own country – including those without the levels of literacy many of us in the educated majority so easily take for granted. So, finally, I was overjoyed to hear from our team here at SU’s National Office that two networks of local food banks will be inserting copies of our Christmas Bible Comic in their food hampers this Christmas. This will more than double the reach of our Christmas Bible Comic this year and, crucially, put it into the hands of some of the very poorest children in our nation. Because of your generous gifts, this wonderful little comic means that tens of thousands of families will have the chance to discover the good news about Jesus for the very first time (see pages 6 and 7 for more). Please stand with us in prayer this Christmas that they do. Thank you for all your support. Tim Hastie-Smith National Director

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Light! Camera! A In the last issue of Connecting You, we introduced you to our exciting new alternative to Halloween celebrations for children and young people – Light Parties. We also asked you to pray that many churches would take up the oﬀer of our free Light Party resource pack. We’re delighted to say that they did – with over 7,000 packs dispatched in the run-up to October 31! We sent our intrepid photographer to Letchworth and to Hitchin to capture the action from two of the hundreds of light parties marking this day of light. Both were visited by a very special guest, our Light Party ambassador, singer and presenter Chip Kendall, who popped into Letchworth on the way to performing at our Light Party competition winners in Hitchin.

‘I’d much rather be at a Light party than celebrating Halloween!’ – Georgina 4

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! Action! ‘I would rather celebrate Jesus than evil because Jesus is the light of the world and we love him!’ Shannon

‘We loved tonight’s Light party! It was just a chance to go and have fun and let loose in a positive way’ Lianne

Thank you!

Light Parties are one more innovative way Scripture Union is working to share the good news of Jesus with every child and young person in England and Wales, in partnership with churches. If you used our Light Party pack to provide a positive alternative to Halloween this year, thank you! Please write and let us know how you got on, especially if your Light Party led to new opportunities to share the gospel in your community. We’d love to see your pictures and hear your stories and you can email them to us at connectingyou@scriptureunion.org.uk or share them with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram – add the hashtag #7DaysOfLight so that we can easily ﬁnd them.

Inside this LIGHT Party Pack is all you need to help you celebrate light this Hallow een:

A ready-to-go LIGHT party kit with crafts, games, top tips, Bible links and all linked with a biblical discussion ideas, theme of LIGHT All-age service suggest ions on the themes of ‘ LIGHT of the World’ and a ‘All Saints’ How to explain and respond IN ll to children’s questions W da about Halloween Ideas on how to be LIGHT to n n Ke in your community and io ip Y! reach more children in area with the good news your tit Ch RT of Jesus. e A p m om P co fr HT 17 ‘For you are all children of ur nce IG ge , children of the day.’ 1 Thessalonians 5:5 r o a r L pa te rm ou ee En erfo at y S p

LIGHT

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Reaching into homes and h …thanks to your support of the Christmas Bible Comic Last year, thanks to you, we reached over 30,000 primary school children with the good news of Jesus at Christmas. Your amazingly generous gifts meant that we could give away free copies of our Christmas Bible Comic to children attending Christmas presentations across England and Wales, where the true story of Christmas was presented in colourful and compelling ways. The response was fantastic, with a huge demand for us to do it again – so we are! With hundreds of Christmas presentations planned by our local ministry partners for November and December and other opportunities with SU schools and community workers, we’ve decided to order 40,000 copies of the comic to be printed, in faith that every single copy will be read and appreciated in the run-up to December 25. It may be our biggest Christmas outreach to children ever.

An amazing new opportunity – reaching out to thousands of disadvantaged children through Christmas hampers

But that’s not all. Scripture Union’s mission is to reach the unreached children and young people with the good news of Jesus. And God has opened a door for us this Christmas that will enable us to do this on an exciting new level. We’ve been talking with two major food bank networks who provide food parcels throughout the year to the very neediest families in our nation. Hard-pressed by unemployment, illness or debt problems, these families are very often ‘invisible’ to the people who could help them. Children in the very poorest homes are more likely to miss school and miss the opportunity to attend Christmas presentations. Local food banks see the scale of the need close-up, and are right now preparing for their busiest time of the year. Over the coming weeks, they’ll be providing tens of thousands of Christmas hampers to families aﬀected by poverty in England and Wales. We hope to supply 55,000 copies of the Christmas Bible Comic to insert into their Christmas hampers, to help explain the real meaning of Christmas and bring a little joy to children.

Together we can reach 95,000 children

40,000 children can be reached with a Christmas Bible comic 40,000 children can be reached through ourBible network with a Christmas Comic of schools/ through our outreach community outreach and Local Ministry Partners 6 21554 Connecting you Dec-Feb 2014 AW.indd 6

A wonderful opportunity exists to reach around 55,000 children through networks of foodbanks by including a comic in their Christmas hamper 06/11/2014 09:40

d hearts this Christmas

Real lives, real hope

We’ll be reaching tens of thousands of children like Sarah and Tom, who live with their mum who is working hard to provide for them, but ﬁnds that some months the money doesn’t go quite as far as she needs. Christmas can be especially hard, as her heating bills rise and she tries to make the holiday special for her children. Sarah and Tom may not get as many presents as their friends but they know their mum loves them. Thanks to The Need Project, who provide food and other essentials to families referred by social work agencies, they will however have enough provisions to make this Christmas special. And, thanks to your generous gift, Sarah and Tom could receive an SU Christmas Bible Comic as well, a gift that could ignite their love for Jesus.

Hundreds of Christmas presentations planned

It’s not too late to make sure we can reach as many children as possible. To give a child the gift of the true meaning of Christmas, complete the enclosed donation form or go online to www.scriptureunion.org.uk/christmas

Week beginning November 30 Sunday 30 Thank God for the amazing opportunity to distribute copies of the Christmas Bible Comic further than ever before through Christmas presentations and food banks. Monday 1 Please pray for those families receiving the gifts of Christmas hampers containing Christmas Bible Comics – that they will know the joy of Christmas and seek to know the Giver. Tuesday 2 Pray for Christmas presentations being run by our Local Ministry Partners and regional teams – that once again this will be a powerful opportunity to share the good news of Jesus.

Wednesday 3 As churches open their doors to host Christmas presentations, pray that strong bonds are forged between churches and schools. Thursday 4 Ask God for his joy to be upon the hundreds of Christmas presentations taking place across England and Wales in the run-up to Christmas. Friday 5 Pray that the witness of the food banks and the Christmas Bible Comic will result in many families attending church services together over the Christmas period. Saturday 6 Ask God to speak through the Christmas Bible Comic and that he will cause hearts to respond to his great love. 7

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Prayers – week beginning December 7 Sunday 7 Today, Hannah Legge, SU’s Schools Worker for the Midlands, will be taking part in the ﬁnal day of Shine, a weekend for girls in secondary school run by Urban Saints. Shine is aimed at giving every girl the opportunity to see herself through Christ’s eyes, to understand her immense value and become all she was created to be. Pray that as the girls go home they may do so with a renewed sense of how much they mean to God.

Monday 8 SU’s National Director, Tim-Hastie Smith, and Sue Winning (SU’s Company Secretary) travel to Kiev today to train national leaders of FSR movements. Thank God for these movements, the way they have developed and the work they are doing. Pray that this training will lead to greater eﬃciency and eﬀectiveness.

Tuesday 9 We have provided copies of the Christmas Bible Comic to some food bank charities so that they can include them in their Christmas hampers this year (ﬁnd out more on pages 6 and 7). This is a great opportunity for many children and adults to engage with the Christmas story. Pray that these will be well received and read and that they will bring a new understanding of Christmas to many children. Give thanks for the translation of the comic into Welsh and pray that it will touch many lives.

Thursday 11 The 2015 Scripture Union Conference, A Community in Mission, takes place next March and promises to be a key time for those who work with Scripture Union in any capacity. Pray for the planning team – Sarah Smart, Eddie Nock, Alan Charter, Mandy Hagon, Lee Searle, Simon Barker and Steve Hutchinson – as they meet today, asking that God will guide them to a programme that will inspire and inform.

Friday 12 Scripture Union in Peninsula Malaysia are in the process of renovating their campsite. They are making good progress, but have not been able to complete as soon as they had hoped. Please pray for the remainder of the work and that this site will be greatly used by God to reach many young people.

Saturday 13 Full Throttle became an SU Local Ministry Partner earlier this year. The trust has one worker, Dan Harris, and is creating new ways of connecting churches with young motorcycle riders in the South East including a seven-week course designed to help young people explore the Christian faith while learning riding and driving skills. Other activities include educational projects, outdoor education and citizenship schemes, all providing opportunities to build relationships and share the good news of Jesus.

Wednesday 10 Pray for the many Christmas events in schools. Today and tomorrow Steve Hutchinson will be leading Christmas Specials for toddlers in Gloucester. Christmas Wrapped Up events are taking place across Wales all this month. Impact, our Local Ministry Partner in Bedford, ran The Christmas Journey, reﬂective prayer stations on the story of Christmas in one school on Monday and are repeating it in another next Monday. 8

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Prayers – week beginning December 14 Sunday 14 Sarah Smart will be working with churches from across Kent to deliver Why Christmas? presentations to hundreds of year 6 pupils. This is an opportunity to help children experience the real meaning of Christmas. Pray that as each child goes home with a copy of the Christmas Bible Comic it will help them to understand the story of God’s love in Jesus.

Monday 15 Give thanks to God for all those who so faithfully support the work of Scripture Union, and pray for the ﬁnal plans for the appeal which will go out in January, asking that all the copy and design will come together, and the right message will be shared with our supporters.

Tuesday 16 Please pray for Festive, one of our ministry partners, who work nationally to support and strengthen Christians in further education colleges and sixth forms, developing an interactive network of students, staﬀ, chaplains, local churches and agencies, producing resources and encouraging local initiatives. With two full-time workers, Claire Povey and Claire Brown, and two part-time workers, Martin Povey and Joseph George, it ﬁrst became an associate trust in 2007.

Wednesday 17 Internationally, Scripture Union is giving thought to how it can best deliver the ministry to which God has called it. What might the best structure be? How can new movements best be helped to grow? How can we steward our resources most eﬀectively? Tim Hastie-Smith is heavily involved in this process and asks us to pray for wisdom.

Thursday 18 Pray for the development of Scripture Union work in Timor-Leste. Hans Wuysang, the East and West Asia Bible Ministry Coordinator, has made a number of ministry trips to establish contacts with local churches and leaders. Please pray for the appointment of the ﬁrst staﬀ and for the setting up of a local committee. Jason Fong, Regional Ministry Director, and Hans Wuysang plan to run a youth camp in early 2015.

Friday 19 Today Steve Hutchinson will be leading the Hillview School christingle – a highlight for the children in this school for several years. Pray for safety and that the message of Christmas will come across clearly as well. Sandra Morris, SU Aﬃliate and Council Member, will be leading two whole-school Christmas services in Haydock High School. Pray that all the students and staﬀ will hear the gospel message through these services and respond.

Saturday 20 The North East and Yorkshire team have been developing a number of ‘Community Missions’ over the past few years. These are a partnership between SU and local churches to facilitate locally-appropriate weeks of mission to children, young people and families. They ran four of these last summer. Pray that ways may be found to run more of these community missions and for more volunteers to catch the vision and get involved. 9

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Prayers – week beginning December 21 Sunday 21 Scripture Union in South Sudan praise the Lord for making it possible for them to revive Scripture Union work in the country. Thank God for doors that are opening for ministry in schools and for the way in which students are responding to the values education programme. Pray that there may be many more transformed lives.

Thursday 25 As today we celebrate the wonder of God’s love shown to us in the birth of Christ, we pray for all those who work with SU that they may appreciate again the truth of the gospel and may be refreshed and renewed as they spend time with friends and family.

Monday 22 Emily Finch has spent the last three years on placement with SU in the North East and Yorkshire. SU is continuing to support her as she seeks to develop youth work in partnership with a number of churches in and around York. Please pray that many churches will catch the vision of a youth bus and will use it to reach young people in their areas. It is hoped that this will be on the road in January.

Tuesday 23 Linking up with churches through networking with youth and children’s leaders and ministers is a vital aspect of the role of SU’s Development Workers. Please pray for good relationships, for the ability to help churches identify their needs, for the wisdom to know how to respond to these needs and for patience in building strong partnerships between churches, SU and others.

Friday 26 Give thanks for the ways in which we are able to use new technology to help people in their Christian lives and for the skills of those who develop applications. Pray that the recently launched WordLive app will enable many more to be touched by the Word of God and transformed by it.

Saturday 27 Wednesday 24 The team in Wales thank God for their ﬁrst LAMP (Local Area Mission Partnership) group in Carmarthenshire under the leadership of Nigel Davies. Pray that all administrative work would go smoothly and that the group will be able to reach out into their community with the good news that Jesus came into the world to bring hope and life.

Please pray for our Local Ministry Partner, Cottingham Schools Trust, who associated with Scripture Union in 2008. They have one part-time worker, Andrea Simpson, who works as a School Support Worker alongside the school’s pastoral team. They help Cottingham High School to extend its support for the more vulnerable pupils, and also support the churches of the village in their work with young people.

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Prayers – week beginning December 28 Sunday 28 Over the years Scripture Union in Fiji’s annual camp has been signiﬁcant in inﬂuencing many young people who have gone on to leadership in SU, the churches and the wider community. Please pray that once again this camp will be an important week in the lives of both the young people and leaders, and that they will grow in faith.

Monday 29 Lifepath Jervaulx is the longest running Lifepath event, and has helped children in schools in North Yorkshire to explore their own life paths through learning about the lives and motivation of Christian monks hundreds of years ago. Unfortunately, it did not take place in summer 2014. Please pray for wisdom for the next step for the event and for a fresh injection of energy and vision to take it forward in the future.

Wednesday 31 Karen Quinney, East Regional Development Worker is currently on maternity leave. This is Karen’s ﬁrst child; please pray for her as she adjusts to life with a diﬀerent sort of timetable at home, and for others who have to cover additional responsibilities to ensure that the work moves forward.

Thursday 1 Scripture Union Development Workers have a vital role to play in supporting local networks of youth and children’s leaders like the ones in Leeds, Middlesbrough, Tyneside and Durham which Neil Jackson (pictured) and Geoﬀ Brown support. Pray for good listening skills, wisdom, vision, patience and the ability to nurture fruitful partnerships between the leaders themselves, with SU and with other agencies.

Friday 2 A new year brings new challenges, exams, new timetables and room changes to name but a few. Restarting the CU and coming up with a great programme is crucial in these weeks. Festive, an SU ministry partner, would value prayer as they promote regular termly resources and encourage students to make the most of Valentine’s Day and Pancake Day, ideal opportunities for arranging some form of Christian activity in schools and colleges.

Tuesday 30 Please pray for Change Youth, an SU Local Ministry Partner based in Kent and new to the SU family having associated in April. They work through football, music and alongside schools to help young people to achieve their full potential in Christ. They also have a band that play at various events and every term they run a big celebration called UNITED, drawing together many young people.

Saturday 3 In 2017 Scripture Union will be 150 years old. Please pray that we may ﬁnd the best way to celebrate this in a manner which will bring honour to God. It is intended that the theme will be Jubilee, enabling us to focus on the announcement of good news and its implications for our world. Pray that the details around this will come together. 11

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10:2 – Much more than a Year Raising up young leaders has always been a part of Scripture Union’s DNA – from Junior Team on holidays and missions, to helpers on holiday Bible clubs and weekly children’s work. By working alongside more experienced leaders, enthusiastic young people often catch a vision for ministry that lasts a lifetime. Today, more than ever, there is a pressing need to intentionally train and develop young leaders for God’s mission, rooting them in the Bible and making space for them to exercise their leadership gifts. As Jesus said, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest,

therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’ (Luke 10:2). Inspired by this very verse, our 10:2 Leadership Programme is doing just that. We offer trainees a year serving alongside our dynamic teams to explore their calling and grow in their gifts – and it’s thanks to your generous support that our regional teams have the time and resources to invest into this life-changing training. We met up with two recent 10:2 graduates to find out how God has used the course to prepare them for what’s next… of 12 months I watched him grow, mature and become totally passionate about God and youth work. I was inspired so I applied, got a place on the course, and – guess what? – it happened to me, too! The training we received was excellent – we had lots of biblical input and learned how to communicate the gospel and interact confidently with young people. I had the chance to lead worship at youth events and Christian Unions, serve at holiday clubs and after-school clubs, give talks during Bible weeks in schools and take LOTS of assemblies! Our SU mentors challenged us but we felt supported every step of the way. What surprised me was how much my passion for youth work grew – the passion of the SU team is infectious! I also grew much more compassionate because I got to meet different people – it bursts you out of your Christian bubble.

Iman Spearman, 23 I ﬁrst heard about the course from a guy at my church. He was, how shall I say it, ‘laid back’ to say the least when he started! But over the space

I’m now trying to make it as a professional musician and songwriter and I feel the course has helped me in so many ways. It aﬃrmed me in my gifts, and encouraged me that I really can do what God has called me to do, and can serve God wherever he sends me next.

Best advice if you’re considering 10:2? You’ve got to have an attitude of wanting to grow as a person, to step out of your comfort zone and be challenged. It’s not a year out to be taken lightly – if you want to do it, you’ve got to be ‘all in’. 12

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ear Out! Sam Fowler, 23 I completed 10:2 two years ago. I look back on it now and realise it was a really pivotal point in my life. It accelerated my growth in character and gifting in such a way that it’s no exaggeration to say that I went in as a boy and came out as a man! I was the classic Christian teenager who said they believed in God but it didn’t have an impact on my life. 10:2 changed all that. As well as all kinds of schools work and youth work, I got the opportunity to do placements where I could use my skills as a free-runner. I set up a free-running club in a local school for school years 7–11 and that’s had a real impact in the school. Teachers have told me that many kids’ behaviour changed dramatically since they started attending the club. I got to build relationships with many of these kids where I could share my testimony and speak to them about Jesus.

Throughout the programme, I was guided by Richard Shaw (SE Regional Team Leader) who mentored me like a father or an older brother. Richard was the one who sought me out and said he saw potential in me. He always encouraged me and challenged me to raise my game. That affirmation made all the difference and I think is one reason 10:2 is so powerful at raising up young leaders. My time on 10:2 inspired me to look into doing pioneer ministry and so, encouraged by the SU team, I enrolled onto a university course, and for the last two years I’ve been training to work to reach the unreached with the gospel. In many ways 10:2 helped me grow in confidence and to see that my life can make a difference, not because I’m anybody but because God is good and God is with me.

What should you expect if you get on 10:2? Expect to grow in God. My time on 10:2 gave me a real passion for holiness, to work on my character and to read the Bible. You ﬁnd you’re naturally spending more time with God when you’re fully relying on him every day!

Find out more Find out more about the 10:2 Leadership Programme on our website, www.scriptureunion.org.uk or email 102@scriptureunion.org.uk 13

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Prayers – week beginning January 4

Partnering with Liverpool Youth for Christ, SU will be helping to lead several interactive RE sessions using multi-media on the GSUS LIVE bus. Over a six-week period, starting tomorrow, six high schools in Liverpool will have the bus parked outside the school for a week and have the opportunity to engage with the volunteers and learn about the life of Jesus. Pray that this will have a lasting impact on their lives.

Monday 5 Today the SU and SWYM (South West Youth Ministries) children’s and family trainees meet as part of the SWYM training conference. Please pray for Trevor Ranger of Local Ministry Partner, Synergy, as he leads sessions on ‘Explaining the Cross to Children’ and ‘Leading a Child to Christ’.

Tuesday 6 Over the next three days SU’s Simon Barker will be attending Christian Camping International’s national conference for all those involved in residential ministry. This provides an opportunity to exchange ideas and to think about new strategies. Pray that God will give them renewed vision as they look to develop this key area of ministry.

Thursday 8 Local trust workers, key volunteers and staﬀ members in the North East and Yorkshire Region will be gathering together today to share resources and ideas, pray together and encourage each other. Pray that they will leave feeling equipped and enthused as a result of their meeting. Pray, too, for the South East team as they also meet today.

Friday 9

Scripture Union in the Republic of Ireland have a major training event for SU team members and camp and club leaders at Ovoca Manor today and tomorrow. Pray that through this those who attend will be better equipped for mission to All-age Advent, Christmas Day and nat a mes and raps ram gs, rhy children and young people in Ireland. S on

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There are X:site events today in Sheffield, Sunderland, Teesside and Wyre. Pray especially for Liz Harding and Karen James, the new leaders of X:site Sheffield, as they seek to grow the event, reaching out to 8- to 11-year-olds from across Sheffield. Pray that tonight’s event will be effective in helping children to connect with God, and that the children will have such a great time that they will be inspired to invite their friends to future events.

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Wednesday 7 Over the next few weeks Local Ministry Partner, GenR8, will be visiting schools in Cambridgeshire with the Cool Choices programme. This is an interactive lesson aimed at year 5 and 6 students to help them make positive life choices in a world of confusing inﬂuences, using a variety of ideas, fun and interaction. On 23 January, in partnership with Harston Baptist Church, they will be running an Inspire Prayer Spaces event for the local primary school. 14

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Christmas Gifts FOR YOU AND YOUR CHURCH

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Scripture Union experience with exciting new ideas, ou almost everything you need to get the most out

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Bible Reading with Scripture Union ‘The Bible is the portrait of Jesus Christ.’ John Stott

Understanding the Bible

How do we know what God wants for us if we’re not listening? Daily Bible engagement is a great way of building our understanding of God, his plans for us, and how we become more like Christ. Continue your regular Bible reading by taking out an annual subscription to either of our bestselling daily study guides Daily Bread or Encounter with God.

Order from your local Christian bookshop or call Scripture Union on 01908 856006 d

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S-You: Hayley Sixteen-year-old Hayley was just one of thousands of children and young people who had a lifechanging experience on our holidays and missions this summer. We asked her to tell her story.

Hi, my name’s Hayley. I’m 16 and I’m from a small town in North Wales. This year I went along to the Scripture Union Step Out holiday in the Lake District. I went along with my friend from youth group. It was a little bit nerve-wracking at ﬁrst but it wasn’t long before we felt at home. Everyone was so supportive and enjoyable to be around, especially the leaders. I felt like people really understood me. As the week went on, I really began to feel that God had led me to take part in Step Out. I believed in God before but I’m not sure I knew what it meant to be a Christian. But the leaders encouraged us to open our hearts to God more, and I did. It was amazing and I never imagined anything like it. I never felt so free to be myself and give myself to God.

‘I really feel Step Out changed the course of my life’ We read the Bible together in small groups. It was the first time I read the Bible properly and it really opened my heart to what was going on in my life. One leader in particular, Tosin, helped me understand more about prayer and to really pray for the first time. During the week we got to thinking about other people in the world who are less fortunate than us, and learning to be more content with what we have. We prayed for people caught up in human trafficking and those in wars and conflict around the world. I found that very moving.

The worship at Step Out was just the best. I definitely felt the presence of God and I found it was a lot easier for young people to connect with than in school or church. One night we also had a time of worship with Chip Kendall who was so inspiring and great to be around. I remember one special moment when we all went on a walk to the top of a hill and on the way up we found a pile of rocks on the path. We were told that it represented prayers – one person started it off when he prayed and now it’s so big you can see it on Google Earth! I really feel Step Out changed the course of my life. Since the holiday I have felt more inspired to pray and read the Bible at home. I feel like God is there, watching me and supporting me. I’ve also learned that you can help others to understand about God’s love. My friend and I are talking about going back next year as junior leaders. I felt so comfortable from the first day to the last – it’s like a new community of people who really understand you. I would love to do that for other young people.

Have you got a great SU story to tell?

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Prayers – week beginning January 11 Sunday 11 In Peru, Scripture Union has recently appointed Juan Alvear as their new National Director. He has already served SU ministry in a number of diﬀerent capacities; with the Boys’ Homes in Iquitos, in the Amazon jungle, and as a biochemist, implementing a bottled water plant in Iquitos. Please pray for him as he takes on his new responsibilities in this large SU movement.

Monday 12 Today the leadership team will be meeting. They have the oversight of the movement’s mission, priorities, people and processes. Pray especially that Keren Mallinson, who joined us last October as Head of Mission Enabling, will bring a fresh perspective to thinking on the team.

Thursday 15 Local Mission Partners, Staﬀ Team and 10:2 young leaders in the South East Region will be meeting today. Amy Stock, of Schoolswork. co.uk will be speaking on ‘Re-envisioning and reinvigorating your ministry for the future’. Pray that there will be a real sense of God’s presence and that all will leave with clarity about where God is leading them.

Friday 16 The Wales regional team are holding a retreat this weekend. They see this as a time for planning and prayer and seeking God’s guidance and wisdom as they pursue the vision he has given them for the work in Wales. Ask God to lead their thinking, renew their vision and above all to develop their relationship with him.

Tuesday 13 Pray for the regional team leaders as they meet today, that they will know God’s leading and inspiring at the start of a new term and calendar year, and as they plan and prepare for events later in the year including Easter, Polar Explorers holiday clubs and training events.

Wednesday 14 Today sees the ﬁrst meeting this year of the core team for Lifepath Brinkburn. Please pray for wisdom regarding the content of the programme, how best to recruit and retain volunteers and ways of developing the already excellent links they have with local schools.

Saturday 17 The Children’s Ministry Course at Redcliﬀe college starts today and runs over four Saturdays (the others are 7, 28 February and 21 March). Steve Hutchinson who teaches on the course writes, ‘It was a great encouragement that this course was fully booked last year, and a thrill to work with so many from college and local churches who wanted to learn how to improve their work with children.’ Pray that there will be a good response again this year and that many will be more eﬀective in their work as a result.

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Prayers – week beginning January 18 Sunday 18 The main Scripture Union activities in Lithuania are the summer camps. Please pray that as they begin to think about the programme for 2015 all the team would be truly united in one purpose. Pray for those young people who came for the ﬁrst time last year, many from non-Christian homes, that they would continue to reﬂect on what they learnt and will return to the camp this year.

Thursday 22 Next Wednesday there will be an in-depth review of priorities and progress involving some members of the leadership team and several trustees and looking especially at regional, residential and international activities. The board will also meet with a focus on the ‘big picture’ – movement direction, vision and strategy. Pray that these meetings will establish clear priorities and purpose.

Monday 19 Over the past few years, Neil Jackson, Development Worker for Church and Community in the North East and Yorkshire Region has helped his own church to grow its community outreach. This has led to an outreach to families which seeks to engage all ages, and male and female alike. Pray for continued wisdom and vision in this and for Neil to apply what he is learning to other churches throughout the region.

Friday 23 Tuesday 20 Pray for Geoﬀ Brown, Development Worker in the North East and Yorkshire Region as he coordinates the Schools Workers Network on Tyneside. Today they meet together for training, resource sharing and prayer for those involved in local schools. Ask God to make this a proﬁtable day which will result in new initiatives.

Wednesday 21 Local Ministry Partner, Lighthouse, based in Crawley, Sussex have started working in a college for special needs. They see the ability to be an expression of Jesus in the college as a wonderful opportunity and will be taking part in assemblies with Christian teaching. The second of these takes place next Wednesday; pray that the children will grasp something of God’s special love for them.

Impact are our Local Ministry Partner in Bedford. Established in 1991, they have two full-time workers, Jo-Ann Gaunt and Joshua Noblett and one part-time worker, Helen Burgess. They go into 18 lower, 6 middle and 5 upper schools on a regular basis, reaching around 5,000 children. Activities include taking assemblies and lessons, providing prayer spaces and supporting Christian unions. Impact also run Chatterbox, an opportunity for lower-school mums and carers to have coﬀee and a chat after they have dropped their children at school.

Saturday 24 Give thanks that X:site Saﬀron Walden which takes place today is growing. Next Saturday X:sites are happening in Gloucester, Tyneside, Carlisle, Harpenden and Kettering. The last two are new and they ask us to pray that numbers will grow. Gloucester ask us to pray that as the Lagger camps are launched at the event there will be a good response. 17

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A quarter-century and countin St Matthew and St James Church in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, have been running a children’s holiday club – always using Scripture Union material – for an amazing 25 years.

to be a blessing in disguise for the holiday club – when we moved out of our small hall into the church, we realised we had room to grow. Numbers went up!’

‘It all started when a group of mums with young children got together,’ remembers Maggie Swinson, who has helped to lead the holiday club every year starting with Scarecrows in August 1990 (see pictures below). ‘At that time there wasn’t very much to reach children in our local area, so we started the summer holiday club to help meet that need.’

Today the holiday club, which last year ran using SU’s Rocky’s Plaice material, attracts 150 diﬀerent children through the week, served by 70 enthusiastic volunteers (see pictures right). Crucially, says Maggie, these are from a wide range of ages, and are not just children’s workers: ‘We have volunteers ranging from those just starting secondary school right up to people in their 80s, and that’s a very good thing. The holiday club is a vehicle for adults to help out and feel they are contributing to something to the children and young people, creating a connection across the generations. It really is a whole church activity.’

The annual event grew steadily until 1994 when a ﬁre forced them to change venues: ‘It turned out

In 25 years, some things have changed in the way the team delivers the holiday club, but the essential elements are always the same: ‘It never ceases to amaze me how much enjoyment children get from being attacked by a water pistol! Messy games are always a favourite part of our afternoons. And I’m always caught oﬀ guard by the power of 1990 the children to surprise you with the depth of their thinking. At least once in the week I’ll get asked a deep and unanswerable question. You can’t underestimate children.’ Maggie has fond memories of past SU holiday clubs – Going Bananas, Scarecrows, Secret Agents and others – but she appreciates the fact that the packs are always fresh and contemporary to respond to today’s generation. In recent years her team has been delighted by the DVDs featuring TV personalities including Dan Walker (On Your Marks) and Gemma Hunt (Polar Explorers, Mega Makers, Space Academy): ‘I think it’s very powerful to see someone they watch on the telly talking about their personal faith,’ reﬂects Maggie. 18

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nting…

21 4 2011418 11 13 15 3 22 7 8 2 16 2312 12 61710

251924 24 9 Week beginning November 30

Please pray for Holiday Clubs

Sunday 25 Please pray more churches will have faith to run and plan holiday clubs this year, inspired by the potential impact on their local communities.

2014

Monday 26 Pray especially for smaller churches and those who have never tried a holiday club before to seek out other local partners. Tuesday 27 Ask God to help churches running annual holiday clubs to ﬁnd eﬀective ways of continuing relationships with children they meet through the year.

The legacy of a quarter-century investing in the holiday club is, says Maggie, clear to see: ‘Obviously the main impact is on the children, and we now have people in our church whose ﬁrst contact with us was through the holiday club – that’s a great thing. Many of our volunteers took part in the holiday club as children and come back each year to help out. One young man who started volunteering with us discovered he loved working with children so much he wanted to make a career of it! ‘But I think the holiday club has made the whole church more mission-minded. It’s helped us to see the building as a tool for mission, not just a place for Sunday worship. And it’s been really helpful to our adult volunteers who have learned to articulate their faith in ways that really make sense to children.’ This year, to help St Matthews and St James and many other churches run another great holiday club this year, we’ve got our brand new holiday club, Polar Explorers. See overleaf for more details.

Wednesday 28 Pray that God will powerfully use SU’s brand new holiday club material, Polar Explorers – that it will really catch children’s imagination this year. Thursday 29 Ask God that there will be many thousands of responses to the gospel as a result of holiday clubs, and that new regular outreach will be started oﬀ the back of them. Friday 30 Pray for the development team behind our holiday club resources – for inspiration to keep making materials which are both accessible and eﬀective. Saturday 31 Please pray for many new outreach opportunities for our team of regional development workers who train and inspire local groups to run holiday clubs. 19

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Gemma Hunt introduces Polar Explorers Scripture Union’s brand new Polar Explorers continues a long and proud tradition of high quality, Bible-based holiday club resources. Turn back a page to read the story of one church who has used SU materials every year for 25 years! This year, CBeebies and CBBC presenter Gemma Hunt is on-board, helping to bring the stories of New Testament characters to life, along with furry sidekick Blizz. We met up with Gemma to talk about her story and holiday clubs… Hi Gemma! Can you say a little about your personal faith story? Gemma: My mum was a Christian and took me along to church with her. One year the church suggested I went to a youth camp. I loved being around so many other young people on fire for God and I wanted to know what they were so excited about. At the camp, next year I gave my life to the Lord and a few years later, I got baptised. God is my best friend and having Jesus in my life makes such a difference. Did you ever experience the fun of a holiday club for yourself? Gemma: Not as a child, but as a teenager I regularly helped to lead one with some friends and I absolutely loved it. I would go and stay with them for a couple of weeks – we’d spend the first week planning and the second week running it. We made all the dramas, talks and crafts up from scratch which was an awful lot of work. One of the best things about Polar Explorers is that with the pack and DVD you get everything you need so you can put all your focus into delivering it and having fun with it.

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Polar Explorers

What is it that you think kids will respond to about Polar Explorers? Gemma: It’s a lovely concept and really well thought-through. As far as the DVD goes, I think children will respond to the simplicity – it’s very entertaining, but this year there are no fancy locations and gimmicks getting in the way of the clear message of Jesus. Children will see themselves in the way I interact with Blizz [Gemma’s puppet co-star] and connect with the way we bring in stories just like Jesus did. es 11- o u rc aL e m aT e r i ye ar-o lds

With the help of Sir Random Finds and Bare Feet, your children are invited to become explorers on a daily expedition to discover a New Testament character. Through their stories, they learn about God’s ‘big expedition’ – to be a friend of Jesus and to help other people become friends of Jesus, too.

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Two specially designed activity books including all the Bible text you’ll need for PoLar ExPLorers together with puzzles, activities and opportunities to respond to a the stories. Use in the club and as souvenir to take home.

Use with the PoLar ExPLorers DVD presented by CBeebies presenter Gemma Hunt

Join the community

children PoLar ExPLorers is suitable for church, with little or no experience of part as well as those who are already of a church community. A flexible programme, it provides everything craft, you need to run a holiday club: games, Bible discovery, small-group more! discussion, creative prayer and

ayclubs Go to www.scriptureunion.org.uk/holid logos and to find downloads and extra material, the bulletin boards artwork. Join the discussions on more children! and get ideas of how to reach even that eye level is the Scripture Union initiative with children and challenges churches to catch up sight of Jesus young people who have not yet caught on their level. and responded to him, meeting him networks. eye level provides resources, training and

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Join Sir Random Finds and Bare Feet on an expedition into the polar wilderness, and follow in the footsteps of some amazing New Testament characters. Learn that no one is too anything to be part of God’s big expedition – that is, to be a friend of Jesus and go out and help other people be friends of Jesus too.

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Describe your relationship in the DVD with Blizz. Gemma: I’m a bit like a babysitter really! Blizz is a baby husky and he’s the youngest on the sled team so he keeps making mistakes. I’m trying to be like Jesus to him – saying it’s OK to make mistakes, teaching him about forgiveness, reminding him that he is always loved. Maybe the biggest thing is that watching Blizz encourages children to ask all the amazing questions they have. When Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me’, I’m sure they didn’t come quietly! They came with lots of questions and it was an honour to try to answer some of them.

Polar Explorers Resource Book £12.99

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Join CBeebies presenter, Gemma Hunt, and husky dog, Blizz, as they discover that we are never too anything to be part of God’s big expedition.

A Serious Media production for Scripture Union info@seriousmedia.com www.seriousmedia.com

Songs

Follow in the footsteps of five New Testament characters – Peter, Stephen, Philip, Paul and Timothy – as their stories are brought to life by the beautiful illustrations of children’s artist Ruth Hearson. This PoLar ExPLorers DVD contains: episodes

The PoLar ExPLorers theme song, by ‘Searching for your truth’, is written and Pete Sheath and produced by Andy

Wendy Green of Cornerhouse Productions. The Learn and remember verse song, Cheung ‘Speedy shoes’, is written by Jenny Green and produced by Andy and Wendy of Cornerhouse Productions. Both songs © Scripture Union 2014

Cover

• five storytelling Bible with children • training feature on using the backing tracks • PoLar ExPLorers songs and • administration forms you run your club. • additional resources to help

Design: kwgraphicdesign Illustration: Sean Parkes rights of © Scripture Union 2014 Warning: All the recorded the producer and of the owner of public work reserved. Unauthorised copying, of a Polar performance (except in the context or rental of Explorers event), broadcasting, hiring the recording prohibited.

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ISBN 978 184427 841 1

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£19.99

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It sounds like you had great fun making the DVD! Gemma: We did! Our director, Gill, is just brilliant at knowing what children will relate to. Piers, who plays the cuddly puppet character, Blizz, had to get into so many awkward positions to puppeteer – including being smothered under a pile of blankets! It was lovely to ﬁlm in the peace and quiet of Wensleydale, Yorkshire too. But don’t tell anyone, we didn’t really ﬁlm in the winter!

Polar Explorers DVD £19.99

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Polar Explorers Expedition Log (for 8 to 11s) and Travel Log (for 5 to 8s) £2.50 (£10 ten-pack)

Follow in the footsteps of five amazing people from the New Testament who were friends of Jesus, and find out how you can be part of God’s big expedition.

PoLar Keep this book safe and after all ExPLorers you’ll be able to remember you the people you met and everything club. found out about God during the

Activity books including all the Bible texts, plus puzzles, activities and opportunities to respond to the stories. Ideal for use in the club and as a souvenir to take home.

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25/06/2014 22:59

It’s great that children are sure to recognise you from the TV! Gemma: Yes, it’s a blessing to have a more secular proﬁle and also to be able to appear in resources like Polar Explorers that help children get to know Jesus. That’s always been my heart.

A ﬁve – seven-day children’s holiday club, including an opening Sunday service, up to ﬁve daily sessions and a closing Sunday service. Also available as a PDF download.

This special bundle gives you a copy of the Resource Book, the DVD and ten copies each of the Travel Log and Expedition Log.

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For the full range of Polar Explorers resources and to order, visit your local Christian bookseller or shop online at www.scriptureunion.org.uk 21

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Prayers – week beginning February 1 Sunday 1 Sticky Faith events will be taking place across Wales this month. Thank God for the way in which these events have been used elsewhere and pray that those in Wales will also help churches, parents and schools’ workers to nurture young people so that they develop a ‘sticky faith’ of their own.

Monday 2 Today (Plymouth) and tomorrow (Exeter)Tim Hastie-Smith will be in the South West with Paul Friend of South West Youth Ministries and Matt Summerﬁeld of Urban Saints to promote the new partnership in the region. Please pray that good numbers will attend and that churches will be encouraged and enthused by seeing agencies working together.

Tuesday 3 The East Midlands Hub brings together SU staﬀ, Local Ministry Partners, Aﬃliates, X:site leaders, Urban Saints representatives and all those working with and for SU in the East of the region. Pray that as they meet today in Nottingham they will be able to encourage one another in the work to which God has called them.

Thursday 5 Scripture Union Bangladesh praise God for the increase in numbers in the Teens’ Club. Please pray for the city of Dhaka and its congested population of 15 million which is causing immense diﬃculty for normal life. Pray, too, for those working among tribal people.

Friday 6 Today sees the start of the weekend Hand in Hand Children’s Ministry Conference in Eastbourne. Scripture Union will be in the exhibition area proﬁling new Scripture Union resources and ministries, and will also be running a Top Tips seminar stream. Pray for useful contacts and a good uptake of resources.

Saturday 7 Cynllun Efe trust has been working in Caernarfon since 2008 and became an SU Local Ministry Partner in 2012. There is one worker, Andrew Settatree, who goes into eight primary schools and one secondary school working with teachers in the provision of spiritual and moral guidance to the pupils, through assemblies and lessons. He also supports and advises local churches in their youth work by establishing and running Christian youth clubs, contemporary church services and other activities.

Wednesday 4 Without an army of volunteers SU’s work could not happen. During February the team in Wales will be running events across the country to thank volunteers for the work they do in ‘reaching the unreached’ and to support them in their ministry with SU. Give thanks for the volunteers and pray that they may be aﬃrmed and encouraged by these events. 22

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Prayers – week beginning February 8 Sunday 8 At this time of year Steve Hutchinson visits Bible clubs and schools to invite children to the Lagger Camps in the summer. He is often amazed at the way children want to come to Lagger as the ﬁrst time they stay away from home without their family. The camps provide a wonderful opportunity to share much more about Jesus with these children, many of whom have little or no connection with church. Pray that many will respond to the invitation.

Thursday 12 Missional Generation, an SU Local Ministry Partner, work in Leeds and Bradford. Their worker, Ben Jones, aims to help young people develop skills in mission and put them into practice. This involves training, producing resources, networking with youth leaders, working in schools and creating opportunities for young people to share their faith with their peers. The trust associated with SU in September last year.

Monday 9 This week Ben Poch, Development Worker in the South East Region will be running a Community Mission in Francis Bardsley, a girls’ comprehensive school. He has been invited to lead a whole week on ‘Christianity Unlocked’. Pray that students and staﬀ may see something of what it means to have a relationship with God through acts of kindness, worship, testimonies, RE lessons, ‘grill a Christian’ and much more.

Friday 13 Tuesday 10 The leadership team will be spending today oﬀ site to pray together and to consider the ‘big picture’ of SU’s ministry. These days have always provided an excellent opportunity to hear from God and catch a new vision. Pray that this will be true again today.

Wednesday 11 Scripture Union in Nigeria give thanks for those who have enabled the activities of the Fellowship of Christian Students to continue in diﬃcult times. Pray especially for a volunteer who is attempting to revive the work in a particularly dangerous part of Northern Nigeria where opposition is strong.

There’s only a month to go until the Scripture Union conference, A Community in Mission. Pray for those who are dealing with the logistics and for speakers and workshop leaders as they prepare for their sessions. Pray that this conference will be truly inspirational and will mark a signiﬁcant move forward in the ministry of Scripture Union.

Saturday 14 PSALMS, our Local Ministry Partner in Painswick and Stroud, has seen signiﬁcant change in personnel and areas of working over the last few months. Please pray for the team Anton, Fiona, Andy and the three new interns Ben, Steph and Jonathan that God will use them in amazing ways and guide them as they work out priorities. 23

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Prayers – week beginning February 15 Sunday 15 Scripture Union in Norway have prepared Growing Together resources (videos, a leaders’ guide and a book) for family groups and parents. Pray that many churches will use this material to help parents live as Christians in their everyday life in their community – so that families can grow together in faith and Christian maturity and ‘become both committed church members and servants of a world in need’.

Monday 16 David Johnson is working with Scripture Union in the North East and Yorkshire Region this year, based in Byker in Newcastle. He has a long history with SU, attending holidays and then volunteering on team. On the second Sunday of each month there is a small-scale, seeker-friendly service for young people in the area who have been involved in local youth clubs. Thank God for those who come and pray that there will be more. Pray, too, for wisdom in balancing grace and discipline.

Tuesday 17 Please continue to pray for the ongoing work on the new approaches to Bible engagement for children and young people. Both are now at crucial stages of their development with great possibilities for helping a new generation engage with the Bible in creative ways. Work is still needed to ensure that we get it right. Please pray for wisdom for all those concerned.

Wednesday 18 Kids’ Camp is a new holiday Scripture Union and South West Youth Ministries are running jointly; an action-packed 48 hours for 8- to11-year-olds at Weycroft Hall, Axminster. It starts today and runs until Friday. Pray for Margaret Lilley and the team as they build relationships with the children on this short holiday and help them to understand more about Jesus.

Thursday 19 Reading Schools’ Christian Work Trust known as Learn4Life began work in 1999 and is a Scripture Union Local Ministry Partner. There is one full-time worker, Joanna Turnbull, and the emphasis is on assemblies, Christian Unions and lessons in secondary schools with 14 schools being visited. SU’s It’s Your Move resource is used to help year 6 pupils prepare for the move to secondary school.

Friday 20 Check It Out! is a brand new Scripture Union weekend away for local 11- to 14-year-olds from Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead schools run by our Local Ministry Partner, Christian Connections in Schools. It runs this weekend at Langley Grammar School in Slough. Please pray for the band Taste who will be assisting with the event and for local young people and adult leaders who will be serving on team.

Saturday 21 X:site Cheltenham holds its third event today – it has been wonderful to see how this event has come about, starting with the children who went to X:site Gloucester but wanted an X:site in their own town. They badgered their parents, who talked to their ministers, who asked Scripture Union and here it is! Pray that now it exists they will be able to bring non-Christian friends along to hear about Jesus.

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Prayers – week beginning February 22 Sunday 22 In Croatia laws are constantly changing and the new laws give less freedom, so please pray that the Scripture Union team may be guided to the best way of working in the present situation. Pray for camps to be ﬁlled with young people who will be open to God’s Word and for people who will have the heart to sponsor children who are unable to pay for a camp.

Wednesday 25 Please pray for the administration of the publishing team as it goes through structural changes involving some new reporting lines. Pray especially for wisdom, for the new team to gel quickly and for the changes to mean improved ways of working and greater eﬃciency, meaning deadlines are met and the work is done eﬀectively.

Thursday 26 Monday 23 Lisa Jones and Sarah Smart, Development Workers in the South East Region, will be meeting today with other members of the Kent Ecumenical Youth and Children’s Group to continue the planning for the TOOLBOX 2015 conference for volunteer children’s and youth leaders. Please pray for wisdom, inspiration and unity as they plan, and that they will provide a programme which will inspire, refresh and equip.

Tuesday 24 Local Ministry Partner GenR8 was established in 2001 as a team of ﬁve volunteers and has now expanded to ﬁve teams of thirty volunteers, presenting Christian values to children in about 150 primary schools around Cambridgeshire through termly acts of collective worship using a variety of media. GenR8 has also run other events for children in partnership with local churches and organisations, and runs the XcellR8 residential weekend. There is one full-time worker, Steve Whyatt, two part-time workers, Vanessa Dolphin and Elizabeth Currie, and a part-time administrator, Linda King.

Pray for the South East Region team as they meet today to encourage one another with news of what God is doing, to hear from him and to plan for the future. Ask God to help them hear what he is saying and to make clear strategic plans under his guidance.

Friday 27 At the end of June the South West Region will be taking a team to South Africa to help deliver training and to help run a holiday for township children in Cape Town. Pray for Team Leader, Margaret Lilley (pictured) and administrator, Chris Sparkes, as they plan the trip and recruit team, that the details will fall into place and that the right people may be found.

Saturday 28 Scripture Union are looking to publish a new resource called It’s Your Church aimed at Key Stage 2 children visiting their local church as part of their RE curriculum. Most will have little or no understanding of church. Please pray for those involved in the writing, editing and promotion of this 16-page booklet that they may get the content right and ensure that churches know about it. 25 15

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Noticeboard Fascinating Firebugs!

Friends who have been reading Connecting You over the last couple of years may be familiar with Project CUBE, our codename for a massive new ‘virtual world’ Bible engagement project for children, due to launch in June 2015. We’ll be saying much more about this over the coming months, but to whet your appetite, we’d love to introduce you to a free iPad app called Firebugs of Ancora.

Firebugs is a simple and compelling arcade game for the iPad. Using a variety of quirky ‘bugs’ with different abilities, you catapult across different landscapes to light up beacons. Once all the beacons have been lit, you’ve completed that level and are ready to begin the next level! Each level gets progressively more difficult, but you get new bugs with new abilities to complete it. Firebugs isn’t directly about Bible or God. But it’s all about the theme of turning darkness into light and more importantly, it’s a little taster of what’s to come. It’s designed to introduce the Firebugs and fascinate children with the idea of the interactive virtual world of ‘Ancora’. Firebugs is free to download, install and play, and is available in the iTunes store now. Versions of the Firebugs app for iPhone and other platforms will be released during 2015.

Coffee mornings for Comics –

and more great fundraising ideas Broad Street Methodist Church in Spalding, Lincolnshire raised money for Christmas Bible Comics at a community coﬀee morning in November – just one way Scripture Union supporters across the country are getting involved in fundraising for our work with children and young people. Why not get your church, small group or club involved? We’ll feature the best ideas in a future edition of Connecting You. 26

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Having a Ball! Did you see our Scripture Union beach balls popping up on social media in the summer? We asked all our holidays and missions to capture the action with our inﬂatable beach ball in the shot and many did! You can still see the photos by searching for #SUHavingABall on Twitter. It won’t be long before bookings for Summer 2015 open – and you can get your brochure now to see what’s on oﬀer. For your copy, ring 01908 856177 or email holidays@scriptureunion.org.uk. Bookings open online in January at www.scriptureunion.org.uk/holidays

Save the Date: Scripture Union Conference 2015 We’re getting very excited about our 2015 conference taking place March 13–14 at the Kingsgate Centre in Peterborough. For the first time, we’re combining our Event Leaders’ and National Conferences under the banner of ‘A Community In Mission’ and we hope that hundreds of volunteers, local ministry partners, trustees, affiliates and staff will join us for two full days of worship, prayer, thanksgiving and equipping for the journey ahead. Special guests already confirmed include speakers Rachel Gardner and Rico Tice, worship leader Lou Fellingham, and SU President, Bishop of Durham Paul Butler. ‘It’s going to have the feeling of a real family gathering,’ comments national director Tim Hastie-Smith, who will also address the event. ‘We’d love to see as many members of the SU family as possible there so we’re not charging a fixed fee for the event but instead asking people to simply give as they are able.’ For those who simply can’t make it, we’ll be live blogging the event as it happens. More details will appear in the next edition of Connecting You.

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COMING SOON A free immersive digital environment for children: God-centred, instinctively compelling and faith-nurturing

Guardians of Ancora â€“ Stories of the Bible for 21st century children 21554 Connecting you Dec-Feb 2014 AW.indd 28

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