Youth and Young Adults

YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS

Staff Team
Contact: Rev Chris Spark

YOUTH GROUPS

Never been to Youth Group before, not sure what to expect? Hey, we don't always know what to expect either! We reckon the best way to find out what's happening is to come along and get to know us.

We have a number of groups going on for youth:

FRIDAY YOUTH GROUPS

Angels (Years 7-9):

Where- Church hall unless told otherwise

When - Fridays 7.00pm-8.45pm

B.A.I.T. (Years 10-13):

Where - Gather in the Church hall (unless told otherwise)

When - Fridays 8.15pm-10.00pm

What - Both youth groups are a place for getting to know Jesus and each other better, for fun, friends, love and truth. .
Our youth groups are centred on Jesus and are serious about him, and we are open to any and all to come and join us, and our youth groups are a place where any and every question is always welcome. You don't have to know or follow anything about the Bible or Christianity to come.

We hang out, play games, read and talk about the Bible, pray and try to look after each other. Our two groups share supper from 8:15-8:45.

We have regular socials, camps and holiday “get togethers”. If you have any ideas (for socials etc) or questions please let us know.

SUNDAYS @ 10:30

During our church's 'lifestreams'10 service at 10:30, this happens:

Bible Bashers (School Years 8-13)
A discussion group for High School students exploring what the Bible teaches and how it can be applied today.

All children & young people begin in 'lifestreams', and then leave to join their group. Each group returns towards the end of the service to receive Holy Communion.

YOUNG ADULTS

ANTIOCH

On Sunday nights at 7pm in the church hall we meet together to sing God's praises, hear from Scripture and grow in Jesus, pray together and have time together over supper. This is Antioch, a contemporary Anglican service which is aimed at young adults, but open to anyone. Come with your questions, come with your burdens, come with your expectations (whether low or high), come as you are, but come expecting to engage with God and his people as we meet together and encourage one another.

We are about to sink our teeth into the call to Stand United from the Letter to the Philippians. to see the beauty and reality of the way the Apostle Paul writes to a church he loves deeply about the Lord he cares for above all..
Our Midnight Christmas Service will be on December 24th in our usual space, and it will be a beautiful time of a contemporary but classic celebration of the gift of life to the world in the coming of it's God - as a baby.

Antioch- Sundays 7pm, St Barnabas Church Hall

TUESDAY SPACE

Sometimes we just want to dig deeper, don't we? That's something we encourage at St Barnabas and that is why Tuesday Space is the place for you...come along to explore the Bible and what it means for us to follow Jesus today.

Our Tuesday Space program is linked in with the wider Christchurch Anglican Young Adults movement, the Society of Salt and Light. This means once a month, on the first Tuesday, we get together with young adults from Anglican churches around Christchurch at the Addington Coffee Co-op to hear from Scripture and engage it in different ways.

7pm, 2nd-5th Tuesdays of the month (during term time) in Youth Room at St Barnabas Church Hall

A Note from Chris

It is my pleasure to give you an update on the state of play with our Youth and Young Adults ministry.

Youth: Our two youth groups are ‘Angels’ (years 7-9) and B.A.I.T. (years 10-13), as well as ‘Biblebashers’ on Sunday mornings as part of lifestreams. Our Friday meetings this year have focused on God’s story in Exodus and Luke’s Gospel. We currently see around 8-10 at Angels and around 15-20 at BAIT, by God’s grace. Also, vitally, we have a solidifying leadership team to care for and teach our young people. The teenage years are an important formational time and can be a hard time for Christians. Young people also ask a lot of questions, so as we explore Jesus through Scripture we are keen to encourage questioning exploration.

Young Adults: The Antioch service is a real highlight of my week. People are keen and committed, love caring for each other, singing God’s praises and engaging with the truth of Jesus in Scripture. Between 25 and 30 gather for worship on Sunday nights. Our engagement with Luke’s Gospel and the world as it is presented to us in Genesis so far, has been very stimulating, and we are tackling a number of relevant life-issues this term including doubt, alcohol, sexuality and pain. We are engaging with some of these issues also in the Society of Salt and Light - a diocesan Young Adults network that is currently expanding very quickly and of which we are a part.

Prayer: Antioch recently had an encouraging visit from the Tanzanian Bishop of Western Tanganyika - Bishop Sadock Makaya. He emphasised the place of the Scriptures and prayer for a growing church. A number of us had felt for a while the need to pray more and this ‘tipped us over the edge.’ As a result we have started an Antioch prayer meeting at 7am on Friday mornings. I pray we can stay awake! It is a privilege to be a part of God’s work in these ministries. Your prayers for them and all involved in them are deeply appreciated!

Yours in Christ, Chris Spark