University student Josh Aka first encountered SU when he did Amplify Young Evangelists Academy*, which helps young people to share their faith with their peers. Now he’s co-presenting our latest Shine Films series, another means by which young Christians can Reveal Jesus to their friends.
When you grow up in a Christian home as I did, sometimes you feel you don’t have much of a testimony to share.
The Bible Society’s 2025 ‘Quiet Revival’ research notes that 21% of young men aged 18–25 say they go to church, up from just 4% in 2018. Josh is one of them. Like many young Christians today, he’s eager to share what he believes with other young people, who are far more open to hearing about faith than in years gone by.
SU helps create the space and opportunity for those conversations to happen through initiatives such as Amplify Young Evangelists Academy4 and Shine Films**, co-produced with other Christian organisations.
A lone voice
Josh, from Swansea, is from a Christian family. In 2019, his church youth leader signed him up to do Amplify, a six-month course including residentials and regular mentoring and masterclasses in sharing faith. ‘Growing up, there weren’t many Christians in our area,’
Josh recalls. ‘I felt like I was the only one! Amplify really helped – it was so encouraging to be with other young people on fire for Jesus. I learned about things like apologetics in the workshops, little nuggets of wisdom that help you grow in faith and share it with others. It gave me much more confidence.
‘When you grow up in a Christian home as I did, sometimes you feel you don’t have much of a testimony to share. But through Amplify, God showed me that I do have something to say about how God is at work in my life!’
Josh has completed Amplify training several times and now helps to lead it. That in turn has opened up a new opportunity to share his faith – potentially with thousands! ‘SU asked if I’d like to co-present the new Shine Films series, “Hope”, which will be launched this autumn. I’d seen the films from the previous series; they are slick, quick and easy to watch, and not too heavy or pushy but really get you thinking.’
Shining brighter
SU’s Geoff Brown has helped to develop Shine Films alongside his work as a Mission Enabler. ‘Shine’s been around a few years, but we wanted to revamp and simplify it so it can be used in a wider range of situations. The previous version was mainly used by school groups and church youth groups – the young people would invite their friends to a screening and have a discussion afterwards. But the new release of Shine Films is much easier for individual young people to share with friends, either in person on their phone or tablet, or via social media.
‘There are two standalone videos on how and why to share your faith, then four series of three episodes each, on different topics – and those the new release of Shine Films is much easier for individual young people to share with friends are the ones that young people can share with their networks.
‘We’ve also introduced some presenters who are a similar age to the viewers. That’s why we involved Josh – he’s the right age, he’s enthusiastic about sharing Jesus, and he’s great in how he does that!’
Josh has led services at his church, but presenting on a video using a script is taking him into new territory. He doesn’t seem fazed, though. ‘God’s leading me into new ways! It’s all helping me to get better and bolder about sharing Jesus with my peers.’
Find out more about Shine Films
Shine Films exists to equip Christian young people to live for God at school and provides opportunities for others to explore the Christian faith for themselves.
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