Ever get bored of the same old things day in day out? Ever thought that someone might actually love you more than you could even know, just because you're you?
Maybe you already knew that and are looking at how to find a group of similar young people who are looking to share their thoughts, feelings and beliefs; and therefore move your journey with Christ on to another level.
At St Alphege we throw open discussions into our youth groups, many of which are youth team-led, and therefore let you lead the way forward on your path with Jesus.
On a Sunday morning, during the 10:45am family service, there are groups for young people provided. The Church family begins the service together and then, at an appropriate time, the young people leave to participate in their relevant groups - these run during term time and are split into the following ages:
An adult-led group for discussions on anything which might be bothering you or that you may wish to share with your friends in the group and on current world issues; why you think God lets certain things happen in our World today and the positives that can come out of these situations. We start looking more at the Youth Bible and the Street Bible for a more down to earth way of reading God's word and making it relevant to our lives.
An open discussion group that studies the Bible and looks at how it can be applied to our everyday life. Overseen by adult members of our church family we look at passages from the Youth Bible, the Street Bible and The Message to make it easier for us to understand God's word, and have our own input into the issues that we would like to cover. Some of these issues include general teenage life, such as, sex before marriage, drugs and alcohol, criminal offences and many others. We have also recently studied the 10 commandments and a modern version of them that apply to 21st century life.
No week is ever the same and we have occasional visits from friends associated with our church community such as an aid worker from Vietnam who inspired us by sharing her experiences of work with children on the streets in Vietnam. This visit prompted us, as a group, to sponsor a child in her orphanege for a year, which provides her with an education, an improved standard of living and basic medical care. In addition to this we receive a quaterly update on her progress and she is regularly in our thoughts and prayers.
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We then have various other activities happening throughout the rest of the week to keep you stimulated and to put you in touch with people just like you. These include:
Our open Youth group for those of secondary school age, meets Thursdays
at 
the Christian Centre on
Faversham
Road from 19:45.
A typical evening starts with an organised game or two such as volleyball, bucket ball, or dodgeball. Then out come the pool table, table tennis table, other small games and the games console. The introduction of a Tuck Shop has been a great success. Something special is thrown into the programme every two or three weeks - sometimes cooking, a quiz or a visit to the cinema or bowling.
The group also spends time making banners for the church and preparing shoe boxes for the Christmas appeal.
This is a lively
community for teenagers which meets on a Sunday evening from 6.30pm -
8.00pm at St Andrews Church, Grimshill Road. Y has live music, a talk
and plenty of opportunity for interaction, discussion, having fun and
making new friends. About 30 young people regularly attend Y and it is
a very welcoming environment to new people - Why not give it a try?
Click on the link and discover the church for young people led by young people
Youth Alpha is a 12 week course
designed to help young people explore the meaning of life and the
basics of the Christian faith in a lively, non-intimidating
environment. These are popular groups that we try to run several times
during the course of the year. They meet in someone's lounge for one
evening a week, and on one Saturday. For more information about the
next Youth Alpha Course contact Paul Franklin at paulfranklin@fish.co.uk
Meeting in someone's house, a cell group is basically a
close group of people (in this case teenagers) who want to spend time
together connecting with God, the Bible and each other through
readings, activities and prayer. These groups are run by the young
people themselves. If you would like to be put in touch with such a
group then contact Paul at
paulfranklin@fish.co.uk
For a fun,
totally unprofessional kick-around (although very competitive!) a large
group of people regularly meet up from October to Easter on a Saturday
at 2pm, at Church Street playing field. Bring your own drinks and
refreshments and wear suitable clothing. Don't turn out if it's raining
hard as it will be cancelled.
We organise a range of other youth events such as camps, all-night events and day-trips. Please get in touch with Paul (paulfranklin@fish.co.uk) and leave your e-mail address if you're interested in being notified of the next activity.
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