JANUARY FEBRUARY 2014

n e wsle t te r
JANUARY FEBRUARY 2014
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the na tio ns, his marvellous deeds am ong all peoples. Psalm 96:1-3

P rayer D I ary
Wednesday 15th Jan Meeting with NatWest Bank regarding possible fundraising and support Wednesday 15th Jan 267 advocates meeting, 7pm at the 267 ofces Thursday 16th Jan 267 trustees meeting, 7.30pm at Christ Church Friday 17th Jan visiting Roundwood School CU Monday 20th Jan meeting my mentor/life coach Tuesday 21st Jan meeting Michael Hunter from YoungLife Hertford Wednesday 22nd Jan working with STEP and Nicholas B School Thursday 23rd Jan meeting with Mark H, minister at High St Methodist Church, Harpenden Friday 24th Jan visiting Roundwood School CU Sunday 26th Jan FUEL St Albans, 7pm-9pm at Christ Church St Albans Monday 27th Jan shortlisting with Christ Church St Albans Tuesday 28th Jan TTS, 7.45pm-9.30pm at Forest Town Church. This sessions theme: How girls and boys learn differently Sunday 2nd February speaking at St Lukes Bricket Wood Tuesday 4th April FUEL Team Training at Forest Town, 4.30pm-8.00pm Wednesday 5th Feb Lock-In meeting Thursday 6th February Youth leader breakfast at St Pauls Hateld Rd, 9.30am-11.00am Saturday 8th February Christ Church St Albans Children and Families Worker interview day Monday 10th February 267 trustees meeting, 7.30pm at Tracys Monday 24th February More? Caf Week 1. Theme: The things we think about! Tuesday 25th February youth leader retreat day Friday 28th February Sunday 2nd March 7-11s weekend away at Buckden Towers Monday 3rd March More? Caf Week 2. Theme: The things we think about! Monday 10th March More? Caf Week 3. Theme: The things we think about! Monday 17th March More? Caf Week 4. Theme: The things we think about! Monday 24th March More? Caf Week 5. Theme: The things we think about! Monday 31st March More? Caf Week 6. Theme: The things we think about!

Encouraging and equipping your youthwork

A New Song! I dont know whether you remember taking a photocopy of a copy and realising very quickly that the quality was not very good at all. Imagine copying the copy time and time again, I would guess it wouldnt be long before the original was almost unrecognisable. Here are two pictures of Jesus; one original and one after being copied 10 times from the previous copy... I have been really challenged this month about ensuring that we listen and hear to our young people as they speak about their journey of faith. At our New Years Houseparty I was utterly blown away by how articulate our young people were when they spoke about their experiences and understanding of Jesus. Not only were their words wise and exciting but they also gave me a whole new understanding of something I have known for years. The eyes that they experienced faith through were not mine and so therefore will see something completely different, something that will enable me to see a whole new view of God and Jesus. My worry within church is that we simply pass down to our children our own view of Jesus and ask them to just accept and believe what we tell them. What I have found embracing and powerful is hearing young people speak rsthand of their faith in Jesus, untainted by my input and view. Of course we pass on wisdom, teaching and lessons learnt. But let us also be open to God using the young people we know to sing a new song, to bring something fresh and powerful to our churches. If we do not I fear the copy will just get more and more feint and then be almost unrecognisable. My prayer is that God will continue to enable the267project to live out its mission statement of offering inspiring and creative ways for young people to engage with God, but then also for us to hear the outcomes, respond the them and be encouraged. The church can only be built up and encouraged by listening to its young people, they will bring a new energy, a new view and we pray, a new song.

G o D at wor K :
Our New Years Houseparty was absolutely amazing. It was one of the best residentials I have ever been involved with. We had such a good time, great food, spot on talks and a group of young people so willing to get involved with the trip and include everyone in the life and energy of all that was happening. Even though we had some guys who came on their own or in small groups, there was a real sense of unity between all those present and i know for a fact that some great friendships have been forged. 2013 ended for us with a great 'More?' series and we thank God for such a great number of young people coming consistently throughout the series. There continues to be a great sense of unity and camaraderie among youthworkers and we are hugely thankful for this. It mustn't be taken for granted that we have such a strong group who selessly want to support other ministries. I thank God for the monthly prayer breakfasts where we get to catch up and share about what is going on with one another. These times have been such a blessing to me and have encouraged many within our group. Our End of Year gathering at The Merchant was a great chance to share all that 2013 was for the267project. But also it gave us the chance to share with our supporters some of the plans we feel God is calling us into in 2014. Thanks to God for such an encouraging group of supporters who are so willing to offer wisdom and support as well as nance. Thanks for the a positive response to some of our 2014 plans, particularly our plans to seek out a venue for 267 to expand into. We had a great deal of interest in our vision for a 267 'Hub' as part of our calling to encourage, equip and resource youth and children's work. Our prayer is that this 'Hub' will become not only a place for 267 to call home and use for much of our work. But also somewhere that churches and youth groups can use n a whole variety of ways. I received such a huge amount of encouragement during my time at the Centre for Youth Ministry in Cambridge. To spend 2 days with a bunch of hugely gifted youth work students sharing about the work that I do was as much a blessing to me as I hope it was to them. I also thank God for the link that has been made and we hope to do more with CYM in 2014. Give thanks for Tracy, our project PA, who was unwell at the end of 2013, Tracy is back 100% and continues to bless our work and allow me to focus on the more frontline areas of ministry. FUEL United involved around 55 young people coming together from various youth groups from across the area. Twice a year we gather together both the Harpenden and St Albans FUEL groups and spend an evening together. It was great to see new groups joining us young people feeling very at home in each other's company. FUEL and FUEL Team continue to be such a blessing and we pray that God will guide and equip us in 2014 as we lay down some challenges to the young Christians within our FUEL groups and encourage them to live out their faith in a bigger and louder way.

O ur prayer re Q uests :
God, I pray for great wisdom as the project grows. Would we build your plans and not our own, would we hear your voice when making decisions and not our own, would you give us all we require to make your name know through this ministry There is a sense that God is doing much more than ever before with the267project. Please pray for the trustees during this time, for Mike the Director, Tracy our PA, the youth leaders we partner with, STEP and for all our amazing advocates. Pray for all those that came on the Houseparty and heard such great talks and made such good friends. Would God remain close as the term begins and some of lifes pressures begin to build. Pray for the preparations for Love St Albans our random acts of kindness event we have planned for the summer. This is to build on the work that the award winning Love Harpenden achieved. Save the date Saturday June 28th Pray for the nal planning for our 7-11s weekend away to Buckden Towers. Pray for the speaker (TBC), the cooks (TBC) and the lm we shall be using to teach Monsters Inc (C)! More? begins again on 24th Feb and our new series is looking at some of the big issues of life. Our theme is called the things we think about! We hope to look at some of the things that often dominate our thoughts: death, love, the internet, etc. We want to create a safe environment where young people can talk freely about whats on their mind. Please pray loads for this series. We have two new trustees; Alan and Penny. Pray for them as they get involved in 267 and for God to use their gifts to continue to bless and grow this ministry with wisdom and care. Please pray for Mike and the trustees as we think about sharing The Hub vision with local church leaders. Pray for well attended events, good conversations and a real sense of excitement about what The Hub might be encourage across our area. Pray for our youth leader retreat day on Tuesday 25th Feb. Pray for rest, sleep, good health, peace, strong support, wise council, space to reect and a continued awareness of Gods calling.
New Year Houseparty amazing!

If you would like to volunteer with the267project then drop us an email director@the267project.com or pa@the267project.com Thanks