Rest is possible because our Father is always working.
Jesus and the Father are at work 24/7 so that we don’t have to be.
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” John 5:17
Top tip:
• Make sure to take a complete break over Christmas so that you can rest. God is still at work in the lives of teens when we’re not there.
To rest is to trust God that he is still at work. Enjoy these Holy Days as we remember God’s indescribable gift!
For 28 years the BlueHouses has been immersed in the heart of the Silverstream Estate. Each year continues to be a year of learning of the needs of the people of the community and how to best support and love them. Over the past few years God has highlighted a number of things to us. One is the depth and breadth of issues facing our young people and that of their parents also. We are witnessing a lot of generational dysfunction and this is where it has become clear we need to work more closely with the whole family and not just the young person.
There is a recognition from the staff that it requires a certain skill level to deal with the complexity of the issues. As a result of all this we have now the amazing Sarahanne in the role of “Counsellor and Family Support Worker”, a very bespoke and in fact pioneering role. Underpinning the unique nature of this role were conversations with both parents and young people who recognised that they both needed and would benefit from counselling but would only do this in a place that they would feel safe and someone they would feel comfortable with.
Sarahanne’s counselling experience includes working with children, young people and adults covering many issues such as stress and anxiety, abuse, depression, trauma, bereavement, unresolved emotional issues and addiction. This experience has already proved vital over the first few months in the role.
From joining the BlueHouses crew Sarahanne has already made incredible connections with many of the women in the community. No better way of doing this is by having some exercise followed by delicious food and plenty of chat! The heart behind this idea was simply to build and form relationships with the mums, grannies etc with the hope of connection and ultimately bridging the gap between youth outreach and adult outreach.
For 5 weeks in the summer a diverse group of ladies came along ranging from 19 years of age to 50 years old, a mix of parents of BlueHouses young people or former BlueHouses young people from years ago! We had plenty of laughs as we attempted Boxercise and some Core workouts! Over refreshments women shared, opened up and this time together each week became so precious. It was also great to celebrate this venture with a pamper night! The lights were dimmed, spa music played in the background, shloer was bubbling away in their wine glasses and the ladies got to relax, unwind and experience a lovely facial.
On reflection, this venture into the unknown proved to us the need for a safe space for the women in the community to belong, a space that is for them away from the stresses at home. Some were hesitant, some unsure they would ‘fit in’ and they openly shared around the table these exact fears and how, for each of them, they were so glad they took that step to come along. For some it was about engaging with people they knew of but didn’t know, for others, it was a time to breathe and get some headspace, for others it was a space to grow in confidence and feel accepted.
It was clear from the feedback that groups like this were an absolute must…
“I can’t articulate how much it has meant to me at a really challenging time, thank you so much”
“I absolutely loved every minute and I hope we can continue it”
Fitness is happening every Thursday evening, Powerwalks Tuesday morning and Mums and Tots on Friday. Ownership, belonging and connection.
just because there’s less of them…or fewer of them – excuse the grammar 😀
Many churches have found that they’ve fewer teens attending youth group and church since the Covid disruption. Each one of those teens is hugely valuable and important regardless of how many are in the group. We know this but sometimes we just need to regain focus.
Top tips:
• Focus on who you have rather than on who you don’t have.
• Thank God for those you have rather than wishing you had more.
• Take good care of those God has brought along, working hard to build a solid foundation.
Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.” (Luke 16:10)
Get in touch if you’d like help or support in your ministry to young people.
Our vlogs are updates on our ministry for our supporters. This vlog is all about our recent Holy Spirit retreat day with a local school in Mullingar.
A Christmas poem released as part of our Post Primary Assembly series. But to help spread Christmas cheer, feel free to share in Church services, Christmas parties, SU groups, Youth groups, RE lessons and/or wherever would be helpful.
All of us involved in any way with IBI have one thing in common: we are passionate about Christians being empowered and equipped to have an impact on the church in Ireland. That is why Tom and Grace Campbell’s story is very exciting.
In September Tom and Grace moved from Bandon to Durrus to work alongside Rob and Amy Attridge in Amazing Grace Community Church in Skibbereen (Rob is also an IBI graduate). The church was officially formed in January 2021. Tom had been working as assistant pastor in Westside Baptist Church, Bandon during his BA studies. He is now the associate pastor with Amazing Grace Community Church and Tom and Grace are national members of European Christian Mission. Grace continues to be our Online Learning Coordinator as well as being a teacher on some of our BA modules. She has just finished her MA with us.
Tom and Grace’s studies at IBI have enabled them for their current ministries…
“My years of studying at IBI have been very formative. Studying on the Masters programme has equipped me for church ministry, particularly in engaging with the Bible and communicating the Bible to others. It has also enriched my work at IBI, developing and teaching short courses online. Foundational to all of that, studying Applied Theology has increased my love for God and his Word. It’s a privilege to continue to serve him in this world of biblical studies! ” Grace
Studying at IBI provided me with theological and practical training for serving in the local church. Studying part-time and working with my church part-time provided an opportunity to study and apply learning at the same time. IBI provided me with tools to help with regular Bible teaching, as well as other aspects of church ministry, such as youth work and pastoral care.” Tom
“Where’s Your Head At?” Is our new video series that has been distributed to schools province wide. This content is designed to create a space where young people can talk about their mental health with their teachers & creates a bridge for young people into the pastoral care system within the school when necessary.
This is a three part series that focuses on the following key themes:
Lesson 1: Stress – Awareness of the potential causes & strategies to help manage stress in our daily lives.
Lesson 2: Anxiety – What anxiety is is and how it affects our overall health and wellbeing, combined with techniques to help manage anxiety.
Lesson 3: Self Esteem – Building self worth & a positive outlook.
Our current work will see us deliver around 500 face to face workshops province wide, engaging with over 22,000 young people face to face this year.
This “Where’s Your Head At?” series will equip many more schools across the province, with an anticipated 30,000 + young people being reached via through the video series.
Why is this needed ?
We would love the wider GoSow family to pray for us as we look to meet the current need amongst the young people here in Northern Ireland & that each and every young person we encounter would see & experience the love of Jesus through us.
Check out our series trailer below:
Continuing on in our theme of Bible reading and prayer we are delighted to welcome Damian Wharton onto the podcast.
At SUNI we want to encourage people of all ages, just like you, to meet God daily through the Bible and prayer and we hope the new format of our podcast helps us with this aim. So please Enjoy & pass it on.
Click the link to listen!🙌
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/scripture-union-northern-ireland/id1439062189?i=1000543290458
The name GoSOW comes from two passages from the bible. The first is the Great Commission in Matthew 28 to “Go” and make disciples of the nations. The second is from the parable of the sower in Mark 4, as in we make disciples of the nations by “SOWing” the good seed of the Kingdom of God.
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