October 2017

I love the autumn season and watching the leaves changing colours, the slightly

crisper mornings and the start of a new season. It can bring with it some really

beautiful sights that remind us to pause and see the creator’s hands at work & to

be thankful for all that God provides for us, to stop and take stock of what the

summer months have held, giving thanks to God for the many lives changed

through Christian festivals and camps before looking to the new opportunities be-

fore us as a ministry in the coming term.

Looking back

At the start of summer, YFC launched new research called “Gen Z - Rethinking Cul-

ture”. Over the years, the stereotype of young people saw them as being lazy,

binge drinkers and taking drugs. That is no longer correct, the reality is of our

young people suffering from anxiety, depression and mental health issues. The

Gen Z research findings focused on four areas: culture, influences, priorities, faith

and religion and posed some interesting questions for us as we seek to relevantly

share the gospel with a generation who have grown up with the internet always

present, with the pressures of a social media community that is rarely physically

present when life gets difficult and where fear of war and terrorism is one of their

biggest concerns. For me, a quote from a young person’s answers within the faith

and religion section stood out to be a challenge for anyone who says they are a

Christian:

“What is your experience of Christians? They are normal like everyone else. Their faith doesn’t change them.”

Being seen as ‘normal’ can be no bad thing in some ways as it means we are ap-

proachable, however, what followed next brings with it a need for some self eval-

uation in how we live, show and share the difference that an alive, vibrant rela-

tionship with God makes. How do the people we meet know that our faith chang-

es us, that we stand out? Matthew 5:14-16 lays down that very challenge, to let

our light’s shine before others that they might see and glorify God. A personal

challenge for me in the term ahead across all of life and within Youth for Christ’s

ministry in Scotland.

In 2016 British Youth for Christ celebrated over 70 years of being ‘anchored to the

rock, but geared to the times’ as it seeks to take the life changing, hope providing

message of the gospel to young people who are searching within a hopeless

world. It is my privilege to support the Trustees and Staff of our Scottish YFC Local

Centres & projects as they seek to meet some very real, practical needs for young

people within their communities while having the gospel at the centre of every

part of what they do. The relationships built through each centre’s ministry can

often serve as a catalyst to young people engaging with local churches in a com-

munity where they would of struggled in the past. I have picked a few other sto-

ries from over the last few months and some future developments still to come in

the year ahead, I hope you find then as encouraging as I have.

Thank you for standing with me in this vital ministry. For all that you give and do

prayerfully and financially. Your support changes things and gives more young

people the life changing opportunity to hear who Jesus is! THANK YOU!

Contact details:

Youth for Christ

C/O Tearfund Scotland,

Challenge House, 29 Canal

Street, Glasgow, G4 0AD

Email: sandra.blair@yfc.co.uk

T H E W O N D E R F U L W O R L D O F S A N D R A B L A I R

was among many who were joyful-

ly surprised by the significant dis-

play of faith in the centre of his

home city, and it became a tangible

testimony to the fact that God is at

work in the centre of Glasgow.

YFC One Gap Year Programme

Every year, at the start of Septem-

ber, Youth for Christ welcome a

group of young adults to do their

gap year with us. They can be-

placed with a YFC Local Centre, join

one of the specialist touring teams

or choose to do our new Home

Grown option where they train

with our YFC One programme but

return back to their sending church

to put into practice what they have

learned. Their workload is quite in-

tensive with both practical youth

work training alongside theological

training.

This year, Sarah has joined one of

CreationFest Scotland

It was an incredible privilege to partner

once again with CreationFest Scotland

as they took over George Square, Glas-

gow for the day and had a mixture of

activities from skating, live bands, chil-

dren’s activity tent, seminars and our

YFC Football cage.

There were two key elements to the

day...that people could enjoy all the

free fun activities and that there were

clear opportunities for the gospel to be

heard and responded to. There have

been a number of stories from the day,

below is just one way we saw God at

work in people’s lives:

“Today is the happiest day of my life.”

The quote is from a man who woke

that morning filled with doubts about

his faith in God. He prayed that God

would give him a tangible sign of His

love and presence in his life. Later that

day he went for a walk, which brought

him to George Square, Glasgow. He

our Scottish Local Centres, Create Pais-

ley alongside a church placement

with Connect Church in Paisley.

Please join me in praying for Sarah as

she settles into life in Paisley and walks

alongside young people, sharing the

good news of the gospel.

Focus Scotland & National Board Visit

November the 16th & 17th are going

to be special days as we have the Na-

tional Youth for Christ Board of Trus-

tees and Leadership Team coming to

visit. We will be gathering many of the

Scottish Youth for Christ family togeth-

er from the highlands right down to

the central belt. Please do pray for us

as we hear from Youthlink Scotland

on the direction of youth work across

Scotland, consider what that means

for us as a movement seeking to reach

Scotland’s young people with the gos-

pel and celebrate where we have

seen God at work with Youth for

Christ.

Some Key Up and Coming Dates!

27th October - Speaking at Soulnet Glasgow (gathering of youth workers from across the city)

23rd - 25th October - Visit the North East Scotland YFC & meeting potential new trustees for their ministry.

29th October - 11th November - Two of our Touring Teams, The Sense & Stance, are in Inverness delivering schools missions in

partnership with Highlands and Islands YFC and local churches.

30th October - National Staff Prayer Day (travelling down to Halesowen 29th & back up 31st Oct)

17th & 18th November - YFC Leadership Team & National Board meeting in Edinburgh with Youthlink Scotland & our Local Ministry

partners from across Scotland.

22nd November - Christian Values in Education: Scotland management team meeting at SU Scotland offices.

4th December & 18th December - S1 Assembly and then S1 & S2 Christmas Service to finish the term.

5th December - Local Ministries Team meeting via Skype. Please pray for us as a team as we seek to support over 70 Youth for Christ

Local Centres across Britain.

2nd - 6th January 2017 - YFC National Conference. A time for the whole of the YFC family to be together for teaching, training and

envisioning for the year ahead.

19th - 21st January - Deep Impact Conference, Aviemore

Other News From the last few months

Thank you for supporting me within the ministry of Youth for Christ!

Please Pray! • Please pray for the Trustees and staff of our Local Centres across Scotland (Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Paisley, Inverclyde

and Queensferry). We have a few spaces for recruiting new trustees and would value your prayers as we look for people to

support vital local ministries.

• Please pray for the chaplaincy team at Knightswood Secondary. That we would continue to have fruitful conversations with

the pupils and staff and introduce new ways to engage with the school community.

• Please pray that the churches and communities where we are working together to explore launching new ministries.

• Thank God for the opportunity to share what it means to be a Christian and have a living faith in God. Pray that the seeds

planted will develop into people choosing to give their lives to God.