At YFC September is the start of a new year.

Schools return for the start of the academic year

and our works kicks off again. This often coincides

with new members joining the team. This

September has been a bumper month for new

members on the team as we have jumped from five

to eight members. One month in we wanted to

introduce them and welcome them.

In our Summer newsletter we said goodbye to Trev

following the completion of his degree in Youth

Work. This left the existing members of the team,

Paul (Director), Flik (2nd year youth work student),

Joe (3rd year youth work student) and Jon (Part

time youth worker). Following

Jon’s successful completion of

his youth work degree he is

working for us and Holy Apostles

church with his time split equally

between the two roles.

We have been joined by four new

team members Rukaya, Megan

and James (all doing a YFC gap

year) and Francis who is on a

one year placement from

Moorlands Bible College.

With so many new faces we had a week of

induction, training and team building at the start of

September. This included Geocaching up

Leckhampton Hill, tent building whilst blindfolded,

child protection training and much more.

With so many extra people in the office it can get a

little cramped but most of the time people are out

and about in schools. With extra people we have

been able to run more work. In All Saints we are

now running three rather than one after school

groups. Rock Solid continues and is joined by a

games club and Jam, a music club where students

will write and record their own Christmas song. We

hope to release it on iTunes the same day as the X

Factor release their bid for the Christmas number

one!

We have also been able to increase

our work in Pittville with two after

school clubs and two lunchtime

sessions. We continue to run

Christian Unions in Bournside and

Pittville School. The team will also

be involved in student mentoring in

schools along with assemblies, tutor

times and lessons. We are looking

forward to an exciting year ahead

Photo top of page: The team up

Leckhampton Hill. Back row left to right:

James, Jon, Joe, Paul, Megan, Francis. Front row: Flik,

Anna (Office support) and Rukaya.

New Faces

Update October 2013

Joe gets to grips with the tent building whilst blindfolded.

The team discover Cheltenham.

It seems so easy without a blindfold! Flik explains to

Megan what she needs to do.

Paul’s thoughts Life with Cheltenham YFC is rarely

static; the arrival of four new team

members is no exception and has

allowed us to expand our work still

further. Besides extra schools

work we are also getting ready to

launch an exciting new venture

with the National Star College,

running a group with the students

in conjunction with the Chaplaincy

team.

The summer also brought with it

some sad news as after a long

struggle the trustees of Gloucester

YFC decided to close their centre.

We have supported GYFC over

the years and are sorry to see

them close. Over the years we

have talked about merging the two

centres but it was not right at that

time. We do now feel that it is

important to keep a presence in

Gloucester as the potential for the

work is great. We also recognise

that in recent years our work has

expanded beyond Cheltenham as

we resource churches across the

county as well as being involved in

an ever increasing work in

Tewkesbury. For this reason we

are looking to expand our work

into Gloucestershire and in time

will need to reflect that by

changing our name. This will not

have a detrimental effect on our

work in Cheltenham but will help

us to strengthen it even further.

Expansion will be steady and

gradual in order that we do not

overstretch ourselves or leave

ourselves in a financially

vulnerable position. We will keep

you informed about our plans as

they develop but in the mean time

if you would like to discuss this

please get in touch.

Meet the team

September saw one of the largest

changes in the team for many

years. The team grew from four to

eight overnight as we were joined

by three people doing a YFC One

gap year and a long term student

placement. Besides working with

us the three YFC One volunteers

are based with a local church

where they are also involved in

youth work. With so many new

faces we asked them all to say a

little about themselves.

Rukaya is from

Ammanford,

South Wales

and has been

placed with

Elim

Cheltenham.

“I came on this

gap year to reach out to young

people, who have no hope or just

haven’t heard about Jesus and

what he did for us. I have a

passion for young people and

Jesus, so I thought this would be

an amazing opportunity. Where I

live, I have friends who turned to

drugs because they had no hope

or motivation and no one took the

time to listen or care for them. I

just wanted to tell them about the

hope we have in Jesus; I wanted

to be that person who will listen to

them and be there for them. There

are so many young people who

have lost hope and don’t realise

that there is a purpose to their lives

and I want to make an impact in

young people’s lives and build

relationships with them so they

know that there is a God who loves

and cares for them and that’s all

they need! God has done so much

in my life, he has always been

faithful and good, He’s provided

my every need and has always

been my strength, and I want to

share with young people what he’s

done in my life for them to know

they can have that in their own

lives. When I came back to God, I

promised him I was going to live

for him and I basically gave up my

life so he can use me in whatever

way He chooses, which is what

brought me to YFC. I felt God

calling me to do this gap year, not

just to tell people about Him but

also to grow and stretch me, to

grow deeper in the things of God

and fall more in love with him. I

am really excited for the year

ahead; to build relationships with

young people and be the person

they can look up to and who is

here for them. I am also excited to

see what God does in and through

me in the next year and to find out

what my next step is.”

James is

from

Nottingham

and placed

with God

First.

“I am really excited about the year

ahead. This is my second gap

year; last year I had the privilege of

travelling around the UK as part of

Nomad, YFC’s touring cage

football team. This was an

incredible year in which I learnt so

much about myself, others and

ultimately my place in God’s plan.

The beauty of Nomad is the

number of people you get to meet

and build relationship with, the

drawback is that because you are

travelling around all the time you

aren’t able to sustain the

relationships you build. I felt God

was leading me to do a second

gap year with YFC but in a set

location, crucially where I could

build relationships with the young

people and then sustain those

relationships throughout the whole

year. So I arrive in Cheltenham

ready for a new year and ready to

see how God will use me this year!

I love youth work, I am passionate

about getting alongside young

people and meeting them where

they are. Even though each young

person is different, in so many

ways they are all in need of the

same thing. They all need Jesus

and they all need Jesus to be

revealed to them. I hope this year

God can use me in the schools,

youth clubs and churches to show

and share his love in a relevant

way so the young people of

Cheltenham realise there Is

something so much more worth

living for. “

Francis is originally from

Cheltenham but is spending the

year with us

as part of

his degree

at

Moorlands

Bible

College.

“It’s great to be back in my home

town and my home church of St.

Mark C of E. During this year I’m

really excited to be sharing the

Gospel of Christ with young

people, especially in All Saints

Praise

For the new team members and

they way they have quickly

settled into the team.

For the many conversations we

have with young people about

faith.

For the many new opportunities

we have.

For the growth we see in young

people’s lives.

Prayer

For the young people we work

with who are facing great

struggles in their lives.

For the Get your kids through

church evening in November.

For a successful auction.

An increase in income as we

look to extend the work further.

For wisdom as we expand the

work in Gloucestershire.

For the young people that we

work with that God will reveal

himself to them.

For strength for the team.

Academy as I used to be a student

of Christ College, where my faith in

Jesus Christ was fed continually

through the ministry of the

chaplaincy, so I am really looking

forward to returning the favour and

working with the students in a new

song writing club called JAM.

During my first year at Moorlands I

worked in one of Dorset County

Council’s youth groups. This

group was totally out of my comfort

zone as the young people had a

range of physical or learning

difficulties. Despite my initial fears

they were the most wonderful and

vibrant group of young people I

have ever had the pleasure to

work with. Richard, who came

along to the group went to a local

school for young disabled people,

he had autism and found it very

hard to communicate with people

and if you spoke to him he’d

usually just tell you to shut up. One

night I let him beat me (that’s what

I keep telling myself anyway) on

the Nintendo Wii at Mario Kart this

was the first time after about 3

months that Richard and I were

able to share a “High 5”. Since

then I have been really passionate

about working with people with

disabilities and am really looking

forward to working in the National

Star College.

Megan comes all the way from

Denver, USA. She has been

placed with St.

Matthew’s

Church.

“I’ve had a

passion to be in

England ever

since I can

remember, and

as I was growing in my relationship

with Jesus, He provided an

opportunity for me to be a part of

Youth With A Mission, based in

Crawley for six months in 2013

and I also spent three week in

Cheltenham. It was very scary but

exciting to leave home for the first

time to be a part of something that

I am passionate about, I was

definitely out of my comfort zone,

but knowing that God was with me

the whole time gave me

confidence. I learnt how to be

comfortable outside of my comfort

zone, about my past and how I had

been letting it define me. I also

learnt about God’s character and

what living a life for Him looks like.

Coming back with so many stories

of things that God had done both

Latest News: Come to the auction on 9th November for a great night of fun. Free entry.

in my life and in people’s lives

around me gave me motivation to

keep being a part of ministry after

YWAM. After praying and asking

God to give me opportunities, I

finally came across YFC and took

the initiative to apply for another

gap year. I spent the summer at

home in Denver where God

continued to do some pretty

amazing things, my favourite being

that He brought one of my best

friends that I had met while doing

club evangelism in Cheltenham all

the way from England to America

to learn about and experience

Christianity, and he ultimately

made the decision to accept

Christ. Upon getting my visa more

quickly than we were predicted

and changing my plane ticket to

leave much sooner than everyone

expected, I ended up having

limited time to say very short

goodbyes. As if that wasn’t

enough, I lost my passport 15

minutes before our plane left so we

couldn’t get on the plane, whilst my

luggage travelled across the world

without me. I finally found my

passport after frantically searching

the airport and rescheduled our

flight for the next day. When I

arrived at Birmingham Airport,

sleep deprived from the journey

my luggage was lost. BUT, I am

here now, all settled into my

placement, and ready to start

serving the Lord however He

wants me to. I’m looking forward

to seeing all of the other stories I

am going to take away from this

next year!

Cheltenham and beyond

Following the closure of

Gloucester YFC our work is

gradually expanding across the

county. Initially this will be on

an occasional basis until we can

build the infrastructure capable

of sustaining regular work.

Already we have had a number

of opportunities across the

county. We have taken a CU

and a tutor group at Barnwood

Park Arts College and a Year 7

PSHE lesson at Tewkesbury

School in conjunction with the

Tewkesbury Churches schools’

team. More lessons will take

place later in the year.

The Flat, The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham. GL51 6PN office@cheltenhamyfc.co.uk 01242 524408 Charity Number 1059805

Ways to give

To make a one-off or regular donation to our ministry you can give via our Virgin Money Giving page. You

can also set up a fundraising page if you wish to do a sponsored event. Visit www.tinyurl.com/give2cyfc

cheltenhamyfc.blogspot.com facebook.com/cheltenhamyfc @cheltenhamyfc

In September we began working with Tewkesbury Baptist

Church running a young leaders course for the church. Over a

course of the year we will be running monthly sessions with

the young people to equip and train them in leadership. All the

young people are involved in aspects of the church’s ministry

and we are looking forward to working with them as they grow

in their roles.

At the start of the academic year All Saints Academy had a

retreat day for their new Year 7 students at the Pioneer Centre

in Shropshire. Paul went along to the day and was involved in

encouraging young people as they tackled high ropes, assault

courses, raft building and caving activities. At the end of the

day he had an opportunity to encourage the students to make

the most of their time at the school not only in terms of

education but also in seeking a living, vibrant God.

Congratulations to Josh Hodgetts who completed the 12 mile

Tough Mudders assault course and raised £70 towards our

work. Thank you Josh for being willing to endure so many

painful obstacles and challenges in order to help our work with

young people.

On 5th October Trev, who was with us for the last two years,

married Laura. The team enjoyed celebrating their wedding

day with them and wish them many years of happiness

together and pray that God will open amazing ministries for

them.

Cheltenham YFC Annual Auction

On 9th November (7.30-10pm) we are holding our 4th

annual auction at The Pavilion, Cheltenham. The

evening is always lots of fun, laughter and some great

auction items. People who have been to previous

auctions have described it as “A great event”, “The best

night of their year”. One person who attended last year

said of this year’s auction “I can't wait. The boys loved it

last year and are already looking forward to bidding.”

We already have a selection of artwork, wine and

donations from Cotteswold Dairies, the Dezac group

and Up and Running, Lush, Body Shop, Waterstones

and many more. We have a special signed item from

Manchester United that is sure to please any fan.

Beards the Jewellers have donated some lovely

earrings that are sure to be a real hit. There will be

items for every budget and no matter how much you

spend it will make a difference in the life of a young

person. On countless occasions we are there when a

young person hits a problem and need some one to

talk to and often pray with. The auction raises valuable

funding to make this possible. Your bid really could be

the difference.

Besides the auction their will be various fun and games

along with a selection of refreshments available to buy.

Come and enjoy a great night, get lots of Christmas

presents for people and raise money to help us

continue working with young people.

Short Stories Upcoming Events

Weekly

9am Thursday Mornings

CYFC prayer meeting all our

welcome to join the team to pray

for our work.

November

6th 7.30pm

Getting your kids through church

Cheltenham Town Hall.

9th 7.30pm

CYFC Auction The Pavilion,

Hatherley Lane, GL51 6PN

Entry is free and refreshments will

be available

December

14th

Love Cheltenham evangelism

event for young people.

given 35p by Amazon. This may not sound much but one

supporter raised £70 by purchasing a holiday. They got a

great price for their holiday and as a result we got £70 at no

cost to the supporter. The average online shopper can raise

£20 a year. If we had 100 people using the site for us we

would raise an average of £2000 a year, enough to start a

new detached project in a school.

Why not sign up to support us at www.giveasyoulive.com/

join/cheltenhamyouthforchrist and raise money for use just by

shopping online. Watch the video to see how it works and

download the app to make it really easy.

In the last two years we have raised £250 for free! This

money has been raised by twenty people who shop online

who use a website called Give as You Live. We know we

could raise so much more if more people signed up.

Last year more than £50 billion was spent online in the UK.

Give as You Live aims to get the retailers to give a

percentage of their customers spending to help charities

such as ourselves. This money doesn’t cost the shopper

anything, the money comes from the retailer. We recently

purchased some items from amazon for the office that cost

£23.39. As a result of using Give as You Live we have been

Give as you live