I visited a couple of youth groups and had some brilliant discussions about what’s important to them. Below are some of the responses which give lots of food for thought. There was also some brilliant artwork sent in, a video from a young person, and some written answers which I have included below.
Here are some pieces of artwork from children at Backwell Junior School that give a glimpse into what’s important to them.
Flynn shares why music matters to him.
”I think what matters to me is music especially the way God works through it. When leading worship at the front of church, it fills you with confidence and makes you realise that what you’re doing is helping people get closer to God and that’s a really special thing.
Psalms 100:2 says: Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. This shows us that worshipping the Lord is often the easiest and most intimate way of meeting with him and tells us that no matter what we do, we should be doing it for the glory of God.
I think that worship plays a vital part in Christians’ lives and helps us grow a deeper understanding of what God wants us to do in our lives but also what God wants to do in other people’s lives.
In the summer my youth group went to Satellites (a youth festival held in Shepton Mallet) and just seeing the vast amount of young people my age worshipping and praising God without a care about what anyone else thinks was one of the most encouraging things I have been blessed to have a part of.”
Flynn, age 15
Take a look at this interview with a young person from a youth group in the diocese.
One youth group that we visited brainstormed lots of ideas that matter to young people at the moment.
We received feedback from other churches, schools and youth groups and collated them into a word cloud to help us see what themes really stand out.
It’s wonderful to see that young people are passionate about sharing God with others and living a life for him. Take a look at these responses.
“I would say as a young person what’s really important to me is people knowing I’m a Christian without having to tell them. So that’s living a life which reflects Christ. The way I live this kind of life is by just letting my actions speak for me and standing out and walking my day to day with God.”
Adam, age 14
”Imagine God’s love is like a bag of wheat. God has a bag of wheat, and he gives some wheat to everybody. Some people think ‘why would I want wheat, what am I going to do with wheat, I’m not a baker, I don’t need it.’ So, they throw it in the bin, they don’t want it, it’s gone. Then other people think ‘this is wheat from God, this is amazing, I want to keep it close to my heart’. When we accept the wheat and open up our hands, God makes the wheat turn into a biscuit and it’s our job to break up the biscuit and give it to the ones who threw away their wheat.”
Emily, age 14
Who to contact
emily.jeffery@bathwells.anglican.org Emily Jeffery
Youth Voice and Young Leaders Development Adviser