Getting to grips with what it means to be a Christian can be a challenge for any young person and particularly those with no church background. Through your support, SU has collaborated with New Wine’s Luminosity youth team to create a new resource called So, What Next? to help young people after they’ve responded to Jesus.
We’ve introduced you to Faith Guide Joel Barwick in previous issues of Connecting You. Passionate about revealing Jesus to young people, Joel is the youth pastor at St Thomas’ in Newcastle. He’s also involved with New Wine’s annual Luminosity youth event (at which Scripture Union gives talks and runs workshops and activities as part of a wider partnership with New Wine).
Joel says, ‘Every year, hundreds of young people at Luminosity decide to follow Jesus, including some from the 95. Making that commitment is a huge moment in their lives! However, Luminosity only lasts a week. After that, these new Christians are back home and on their own. We don’t want young people’s faith to depend on festivals, but on Jesus and knowing him every day.
‘So, we wanted to give them something to take home which would help them navigate faith, but we couldn’t find anything suitable. Existing resources tend to presume a level of knowledge about faith that some of these young people don’t have. And that’s why we developed our own.’
A joint venture
So, What Next? was written by a Luminosity team of Joel, Lee Kirkby (Head of Luminosity), Brogan Hume (theological input) and Alicia Young (youth practitioner). All have extensive experience of working with young people including those not in church. Written in contemporary jargon-free language, the book consists of 15 Bible-based explorations on who God is, who the young person is and who they are becoming in following Jesus. It ends with an invitation to become part of a community of Christians to help them grow in their understanding of Jesus.
"We don’t want young people’s faith to depend on festivals, but on Jesus and knowing him every day."
SU published the book, jointly designing it with the Luminosity Team. Richard Shaw, SU’s Director of Mission Development, says, ‘So, What Next? was not created just for use at Luminosity; it can be used by Christians of any denomination who are helping young people with or without church connections to explore faith.
‘At some point in that relationship, some of these young people will start to demonstrate a deeper level of interest in knowing more. They may or may not have decided to follow Jesus but they’re asking more questions, showing more commitment, or perhaps they’ve started using the word “we” when talking about Christians or the church. When that time comes, So, What Next? is the ideal resource to give them.’
Joel agrees. ‘And I also think it will be useful to young people who have been Christians a while, to help them go back and revisit the basics.
‘As a teenager, I gave my life to Jesus at a big Christian festival – I had this amazing encounter with God. And then I got home, and thought, “What do I do now?” The Bible felt like this really big, scary, mysterious book and I didn’t know what to read or how to find my way around.
‘Faith can feel very confusing when you’re younger. It involves a different way of seeing the world. I hope that So, What Next? will help young people to better understand what life looks like when you follow Jesus and be more confident in taking that path.’
Get your copies
You can find out more and purchase copies of this great new resource online at su.org.uk/sowhatnext.
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