Big success of youth group in a tiny village

Headley Heath is an unlikely setting for a growing club for young people, says Pastor Tom Skelton.

In a village with “four houses, three dogs and a cockerel that is considering a career move” there was no guarantee that the new youth group in Headley Heath would be successful.

But a year after Limitless helped pioneer the ministry at New Life Church Centre near Birmingham, pastor Tom Skelton says the church is celebrating a 45-strong group where relationships, trust and consistency are the focus.

Tom inherited the group in March when he moved from Aberdeen to pastor the Elim Network church. Limitless had partnered with them shortly before to build links with schools and pioneer a weekly youth group.

“The church is in a very rural area with no obvious residential estate nearby so it was a bit of an odd situation and they weren’t sure how it was going to go,” he says. “But because of relationships that had been built historically with the church and various youth things that had been done over the years they ended up with 25 kids on the first night, a record up to that point for Limitless.”

Since then, as Tom has got to know the group, he has focused on tailoring its programme to the growing number of eleven to 16s it attracts.

“The original format had some quite detailed Christian material which we felt was aimed at church kids, but very few of our kids come from church backgrounds. They don’t have that high level of Christian literacy, so we’ve scaled it back to make it more accessible for them.”

One boy comes from a care context and has a history of violence and school exclusions, though his behaviour has been good at the youth group.

Other children attend consistently each week, but Tom is aware some may be experiencing problems at home.

“Our parish has three or four golf courses, lots of professionals who commute into Birmingham and families are generally well off. Yet we know domestic abuse, substance abuse and addiction are still present, according to local police.”

With this in mind, Tom is keen to build an atmosphere where trust can flourish and kids from challenging backgrounds can find consistency, stability and welcome.

“There’s the old adage that people need to know you care before they care what you know, so our first aim is to build relationships and win trust. Then we can introduce God and help them have a meaningful encounter with Jesus.

The team tries to introduce God into the group’s situations, talking about their fears or uncertainties about starting a new school, for example.

“Or maybe home isn’t very stable, so we teach them that God sees them and cares about them while they experience that instability and is available to them in that place too,” Tom adds.

“We teach them that God sees them when they’re alone and scared and that they can ask him to help them wherever they are.”

Tom is aware of the strength of peer pressure or how short-lived a momentary flash of faith-based enthusiasm can be, so is trying to encourage long-term friendships with young Christians in the team.

“Social pressures are very influential. We’re trying to establish positive, helpful, supportive relationships which lead to a sustainable relationship with church.”

This youth work isn’t just taking place in church, however. Limitless had also paved connections with a local school, where volunteers were helping deliver an alternative curriculum to kids struggling with standard classes. “Jamie Price of Limitless was using material that promoted self-confidence, health and wellbeing so that door swung open really easily for me,” says Tom.

“I met the headmaster when I started, and he invited me to join the board of governors.

“Relationships like this, along with things like our café for retired people, our mums and tots group and our Messy Church, help us contribute a consistent presence in the community.”

Tom’s word of encouragement

Tom’s youth group is flourishing, but this wasn’t always his experience, and he wants his story to encourage others.

“I remember the late Elim minister Des Cartwright telling me it’s quite common that you can go to one place and nothing happens, then you go somewhere else, and it clicks.

“That’s certainly been my experience. We tried these sorts of ideas in our previous church, and it just didn’t happen. Yet here the doors have swung open, and things have come together really easily.

“There may be people reading this who need to hear it’s OK to know when something won’t work, and it might be something else that provides a fruitful and flourishing addition to church life instead.

“Sometimes it’s simply not the right time, activity or place.”

Practical support to families in need

New Life Church Centre is developing a partnership with family support charity Safe Families. It’s a golden opportunity, says Tom, for people, including those who are retired, to provide positive practical support to families in need.

“Safe Families help people who are struggling – maybe single mums, people with addiction issues or instability.

“A third of our church is retired, and they have time, experience and grace to offer. Volunteers can do shopping, help out with housework or do other practical, kind things. Doing this helps families, and it also encourages the volunteers.

“It helps people to realise that while they might not feel able to preach the gospel or lead 20 people to Jesus, they can show kindness and help someone with hoovering, have a cuppa with a mum and through that offer hope and build bridges.”

This article first appeared in the December 2022 edition of Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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