(More photos of SOCT can be found under Training – Summer Outreach Course)

 Having completed the Junior Training Course a few years ago, I knew this week would be intense, tiring and, at times, a little nerve racking, but completely worth while.  And yes it was!  Things began on Friday evening with a brief introduction to the week ahead and CEF^® itself, breaking us in to the routine of SOTC.

The students

Each day began with rise and shine at 7.00am, and our own individual Quiet Times, followed by breakfast, and then prayer time.  Daily John Nixon gave a Bible study, before the teaching classes started.  This year the Bible studies focused on questions – Why? What is the message? Where? How? Who? What then?  Delving into God’s Word to learn for ourselves about our God, His great plan, and how we are part of it and are to be as His children.  The teaching began appropriately on “The Biblical Basis of Child Evangelism”, reminding us that many children are lost, that they can be saved and that as Christians we have a responsibility to share God’s Word with them and in the way the Bible instructs us to. 

Elementary classroom

The remainder of the classes largely focused on how to deliver the Gospel effectively to children.  “What is the Gospel?” with David Crutchley, laid out the key truths of the  Gospel, helping us to understand them clearly in our own minds, to allow us to teach them simply to children.  The Bible Lesson practical is possibly the most dreaded task of the week.  The Bible Lesson classes with Denise Annett broke the task down into simple accomplishable steps with constant encouragement, delaying the nerves somewhat.  One of the classes I found very interesting was “The Roman Catholic Child” as it helped to give me a greater understanding of the mind set of a Catholic child and their need of the Gospel.  The urgency needed when teaching the Gospel came through both in class and in the Bible study.  We do not know what is to come in the future, or when.  We do not know if we will be here tomorrow – if we are not, did I, did you, do all we could to bring others to Christ?  I know this highlighted my need to maintain my focus on Him, always.

Dorm 11

Dorm times were special.  I won’t forget Dorm 1 quickly!  We had some hilarious times, but it is the fellowship we shared that stands out the most.  Each of us spoke honestly and from our hearts on what we had heard earlier in the day and the thoughts it provoked, as well as many aspects of faith, including sharing how God had been and was working in our lives.

Christy teaching her lesson

The encouragement from God’s Word from leaders and fellow classmates each time doubt popped up continually reminded us that with God each of us could and would teach a lesson – ‘I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.’ Philippians 4:13.  The dreaded practicals themselves are nowhere near as bad as I had dreamt them up to be.  I even managed to come across as ‘confident’ in the memory verse, and overcame a memory blank in the Bible lesson – with God’s help nothing is impossible!

The teachers

One of the great things about SOTC was being able to see the passion all the leaders have from and for God.  Often I am frustrated by the apathy in the church especially towards the lost, but there was no shortage of passion and enthusiasm at SOTC.  The leaders’ passion was clear to see and infectious; in how they taught, encouraged us and testified to God in their lives.  It reminded me to live ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ – to God alone the glory.

To sum up why I enjoyed SOTC so much, is because it was a week filled with teaching, learning, personal encouragement, fellowship and worship of our great God.  Now that the week is over I feel more able to “reach the unreached within reach” with God’s help, for God.

Christy Reid

Marcus Prayer letter May 10

Angie

The only advice I can give you is –  Keep Going! Keep working hard.  Do your best.  Keep the end in sight, then you’ll have the whole summer to enjoy.  Some of you might be thinking ”I’m a Christian so I’ll get the results God wants me to get, whether I work hard or not”?  But is that right - if you don’t do any revision and get poor marks, is it God’s fault, then?  I don’t think so!!  1 Samuel 2:30 has a lovely promise from the Lord – “…for those who honour Me I will honour…”  But it’s a promise with a condition – if you honour God in everything you do, including your studying, then He will honour you.  How He honours you is up to Him.  For Daniel and his 3 friends it meant they were 10 times wiser that all the wise men in Babylon.  Now, God may not make you 10 times wiser than everyone else doing their exams, but in some way He will honour you.  Work hard at all you do.  Next time you feel like you can’t be bothered to do some revision – stick at it!  Do the best you can.  Remember what Paul says – it includes your revising(!):

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord and not to men.”

Maybe in the back of your mind you may have that sinking feeling that when you open the exam paper you won’t be able to answer any of the questions!  Help!!  Well, don’t panic.  Just quietly ask the Lord to bring back to your memory all you’ve learned and rely on His help.  He’s not going to abandon you when you walk into an exam room – He’s right there with you.

Whatever you do through exam time, make sure you keep your time with God everyday.  Don’t let the busyness of revision and exams push that time out of your life.  You need to keep close to the Lord, so guard your Quiet Time each day. 

 Those of us in the Youth Challenge team are, and will be, praying for you throughout May and June until the exams are over.  And if you want a wee break then why not come and join us for the SYC Fun Night on Saturday 12th June 2010 – more details later. 

God bless.

Angie

After re-reading previous blogs on this website, I can finally sympathise with Mark Knox, who spoke of his millions of drafts when preparing his report!  However, I’ not  complaining; in compiling this summary of Easter Conference, I’ve been granted a valuable chance to truly reflect on what can only be described as an amazing few days.  Life-changing in fact.  But how can I summarise all that God did in those few days?  It’s impossible.  But I’ll give it a go.

Having conquered Teen Camp, New Year Camp and 1^st Year of SOTW, I figured it was time to see what the fuss of Easter Conference was all about.  I was slightly apprehensive; this would be the first CEF camp I’d been to, where I wouldn’t be enjoying Rosemary Law’s wonderful hospitality at Seaview (she told me to say that!)  Apparently the format would be different, if not even slightly intense.  As per usual, my worries were pointless, as I am currently looking back on an amazingly blessed number of days.

It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces again upon my arrival on Friday.  A group of around 35 young people (I include Angie, Marcus and Chris in this group, so that I can be invited back next year!) stayed in the youth hostel in Bushmills, a group which enjoyed great fellowship throughout the Conference.  Friendships were both made and strengthened, and it was a privilege to be part of the group.  After a rather relaxed Friday evening together, we eagerly anticipated plunging into the Conference itself. 

Saturday and Monday were similar in structure.  Both days began with a voluntary prayer meeting, followed by breakfast.  It soon became evident that certain individuals had not experienced this time of day for quite a while!  Lead by Marcus, the prayer meetings were the perfect way to start each day, with a short devotional swiftly followed by meaningful, sincere prayers.  A brush of the teeth and grab of the coat, and it was onto the bus, travelling to Portrush Presbyterian Church for the Conference itself.  The Bible study, terrifically lead by Roger Carswell, was swiftly followed by a short coffee break, before we moved back into the main church for the morning seminar.  Each afternoon, the young people were ‘unleashed’ into the likes of Portrush and Coleraine to spend some free time together – many good times were shared, and extraordinary beach volleyball talents were unveiled on Monday!  Before we knew it, it was back to the church for tea, before the evening service kicked off.  A very full and busy day away from the youth hostel finished with a brand-spanking new event called ‘Meltdown’, a more relaxed meeting for the young people, led by Angie, Chris and Marcus where we heard from various missionaries, and found ourselves being incredibly challenged.  One sleepy bus ride later and we were back in Bushmills – the wise option would have been to grab a cup of tea and go straight to bed, however it was hard to resist the lure of group games such as ‘Signs’ and ‘Empires’!  A couple of hours later, and it was finally time to crawl into bed.  Sunday followed the same basic outline, apart from the morning, when we were able to attend a church of our own choice.

As someone who had no clue what to expect during the few days, I spent most of my first moments at the Conference with my mouth wide open – all the people I’ve ever met within CEF, all under the same roof!  The names which so frequently occurred in prayer letters finally had faces!

If asked to describe the Bible studies in one word, it would be ‘refreshing’.  It was universally agreed that our speaker, Roger Carswell, had been given a gift, and he was definitely using it to glorify God.  He managed to connect with people of all ages within the Conference, leaving us all with a lot to ponder and causing key truths to re-emerge in our individual walks.

The seminars really stood out for me as the highlight of the few days.  On Saturday morning, we discovered more about “The Past, The Present and The Future” of CEF in Ireland, from Sam Doherty, Henry Berry and Philip Annett respectively.  I found this hugely informative, especially “The Past”.  Whenever I’m asked to give a short presentation at church, on the volunteer work I do with CEF over the summer, I’ve always thought that it’d be more useful to include a little context.  Now I feel it’s a necessity.  It is astounding to hear of how CEF grew and flourished from its humble beginnings, to what it is today, under the Lord’s help and guidance.  Our God is great!  “I’m down! How do I get up?” by Valerie Murphy, definitely caught the eye when scanning down the programme, and it most certainly did not disappoint.  Combining examples from the Bible with practical advice, God was most definitely present and speaking through Valerie that Monday morning.  Evening meetings were just as mind-blowing, with the report on CEF Ireland encouraging all those present, yet making us even more determined to help continue its development.  Sunday night saw a very interesting report from Pavle Kostadinov of Macedonia and finally the retiring CEF European directors, Roy and Ruth Harrison.  Shortly after their presentation, and being ‘interrogated’ in a interview by Chris and Angie later in ‘Meltdown’, I can confirm that all of the young people who had never before met Roy and Ruth instantly fell in love with them, with quite a few females being quoted in saying “I want to get married, grow older, and be just like that”!!

Another personal highlight was the Saturday night meeting, which was mostly a worship session, with the highly anticipated debut of a small band made up of CEF workers.  Once again, goosebumps were forming on my arms as it was very clear that we were in God’s presence that night.  Finally, a huge thanks to those who spoke at Meltdown meetings; Harry and Wendy Robinson, Pavle, Stan Beamish, Roy and Ruth, Chris, Marcus and Angie.  Suddenly, questions were triggered within my head: Why remain comfortable in good ol’ Northern Ireland?  What is God calling me to do?  Let’s serve this extraordinary God.  Marcus, Chris and Angie had admitted that ‘Meltdown’ was on its trial run, and that they weren’t sure how it would turn out, or what reaction it would receive.  I’ll take this opportunity to say that I thought it was the perfect way to end a day at the Easter Conference.

In finishing, I want to mention the big thing that God taught me during the course of the few days.  The easiest way to explain is to take some of the lyrics from a song we sang on Friday night, during a short worship time;

“Ordinary people are the people God will choose.

Ordinary people are the people God will use.

People who are changed inside, whose hearts have been made new,

Are people who can change the world, that change begins with you,

That change begins with you.”

Time and time again, this theme of ‘ordinary people’ arose.  Henry Berry often coined the expression, ‘We are simply ordinary people, serving an extraordinary God.’ Valerie Murphy’s seminar presented examples of how the people in the Bible were not massively different than us, and they suffered the same setbacks as we often do.  Suddenly it hit me.  Those who work for, or volunteer in organisations like CEF are not in some ‘exclusive club’.  They are by no means unlike any other Christian.  However, where the difference lies, is in the fact that they are fully committed to serving an amazing God.  And consequently, they have been blessed.  Even though we always see them up on a stage in front of lots of people, or leading a camp, amongst other things, they are simply ‘ordinary people serving an extraordinary God’. 

On looking back upon the Easter Conference, I’m well aware that now God has made this clear to me, there’s no excuse.  It’s time to truly commit to serving Him.  Only then, as the song reveals, will God use me.  It’s safe to say that the Easter Conference changes lives, and it’s definitely something I’d recommend to anyone with a desire to hear God speaking to them.

Michael Pollock

To help you to do that we have a Summer Outreach Training Course for those aged 16+, beginning on Friday 25th June 2010.  Susan was at the Course last year – here’s what she writes about it:

Having already been through the Elementary Summer Outreach Training Courses last year, I decided that I would return to take the Advanced Course.  I had thoroughly enjoyed the first year and did not think that it would be possible for the second year to be any better, but I was quickly proved wrong!!

After arriving in Kilkeel and discovering that I had to live in dorm 11 for a week (the sauna of the house, but thankfully David took pity on us and bought us a fan!), there was a joint Elementary/Advanced class on the work of CEF^® around the world.  It was amusing to see the shock on the faces of those on the Elementary Course as the timetables for the week were handed out – SOTC is far from a holiday!!

Throughout the week we enjoyed our usual praise times before supper and when the weather was nice we had the opportunity to go down to the harbour for it.  This for me was one of my favourite parts of the week as it gave us all a chance to relax and enjoy fellowship with each other.

Speaking of enjoying each other’s fellowship, last year, and also when I did the Junior Course, the main sport of the week was volleyball.  However this year, to the surprise of David Crutchley, ultimate frisbee was the game of the week, a game inspired by “The Fermanagh Four”.  Anytime there was a break, if you looked out the window someone was throwing a frisbee about and it was great because everyone could play (well…most people anyway…!)

Each morning someone on the Advanced Course shared a devotional and then we were split into smaller prayer groups.  This gave us a chance to pray individually and for each other and throughout the week it was interesting to notice how more people began to pray as the practicals were looming!  Training week really does strengthen a person’s prayer life!!

The first class of the day was John Nixon’s Bible study on the Tabernacle.  I thoroughly enjoyed them and I do not think that I am alone in saying that I got a lot from them.  They were a real encouragement to us all and helped prepare us for the challenges each day would bring before us.

Last year as a first year I had often wondered why the second years always seemed to be laughing and making so much noise.  After sitting in a class with David Jackson I soon understood why!  The counselling classes were very amusing especially “Pastor” Alistair and Robbie’s Oscar winning performance!  But in all seriousness, these classes were important as we learnt how to deal with a variety of situations which we may face in the summer in camps, Holiday Bible Clubs and 5-Day Clubs^®, etc.  After  SOTC I found that all we had learned in these classes was very useful when I went out on a CYIA team and was a leader at Inters camp, and was able to put it into practice.

We had three visitors at SOTC, Judy, Ufuk and Emma – three CEF workers from Europe who were over to observe what Training Week was like.  They sat in with the Elementary class and when it came to the dreaded practicals, they took part in assessing us!  On the Thursday Ufuk celebrated his birthday and this meant that there was a birthday cake and he shared it with us all…I took the last piece but contrary to popular belief (Philip Annett!!) Ufuk did actually get a piece!!

When the dreaded practicals were looming it was interesting to see how fences, walls, pool table, mirrors, doors and so on were being evangelised!  We were split into smaller groups for the practicals, I felt that this helped calm nerves because there were less people to stand in front of and also gave us an idea of what a 5-Day Club might be like.  Thankfully we all managed to survive and pass the week!

In conclusion, I had a great week at SOTC this year with all the fellowship and banter, but most importantly I learnt how to teach the Gospel more effectively to the children.  I was able to put what I was taught at the course into practice throughout the summer at CYIA week and camps, and it was amazing to see what a great help SOTC was!  So I would like to thank all the teachers (big children) for all the help they gave to us all throughout the week and I really pray that children’s lives will have been won for Him during summer.

So why not think about coming along and be trained in how to teach children the Gospel?  For more details see under “Training” and “Summer Outreach Course” tab.  You’ll also find an application form you can download there.  Pray about it.  Ask God what He would have you do this summer.

Angie

This is the 60th anniversary of CEF in Ireland, hence the theme is “The past, the Present…the Future?”  Mr Roger Carswell will be teaching from God’s Word and Harry and Wendy Robinson from our International Headquarters will report on the work of CEF worldwide.  There will also be times to focus on what God is doing throughout Europe and, in particular, Macedonia.  Seminars on offer include “Spiritual values in a secular world” and “I’m down!  How do I get up?”  For the full programme of event look under the Camps tab and Easter Conference.

We’ve introduced a new event “Meltdown!” every evening to give you the chance to chill out and chat with other young people over some supper, praise God together and hear from some of our missionaries.

It costs £85/€95 for thse in full-time employment or £70/€80 for those in education or unemployed.

 Contact us  for full details.  Or if you’re interested in going, print off  the Application Form, complete it and return it to the address given.

So why not come along and join us for a great weekend – you will be seriously challenged!  Are you up for it??

Angie

Marcus is a dad!!

On 9th January 2010 Marcus and Jayne became parents!  Jude arrived weighing in at 7lb 8.5oz.  Both mum and baby are doing well – and as you can see from the photos Jude is gorgeous! 

Congratulations Marcus and Jayne.

Laura Martin was at Teen Camp 2009.  Here’s what she thought about it:

“Hello y’all.  I am a Teen Camp camper and may I take this opportnity to tell you that Teen Camp is AWESOME!  I doesn’t matter what you are into – whether it is walking mountanious hills, taking beach wanderings, or for the musical minded among you hanging with the guitars and keyboards, I can tell you, Teen Camp has a variety of things to do, and so there is something for everyone to immerse themselves into and enjoy.

But not only is there banter with all the friends that you make so quickly, there is deep spiritual teaching as well.  Adrian Moffett was the speaker who took the morning Bible sessions last year.  He took the theme ‘Ready for the Future’, and through his thought provoking words I can testify many people benefited.

So there is a very brief low-down on some of what is involved in Teen Camp.  There are so many more aspects to it, such as making life-long friendships and being able to learn from the insight of your dorm leaders in the quiet time discussions.  But as much fun Teen Camp is intended to be, it is also a place to get you thinking about God and what He means to you.”

Laura Martin

So why not think about coming along and joining us this year.  You’ll really enjoy it.

(If you want to see more photos of Teen Camp 2009 look under the Camps tab and go to Teen Camp.)

Have a look at some photos below.

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Roll on New Year Camp!  Happy new year everyone.  God bless in 2010.

Angie

Marcus and Chris headed up the outreach and challenged young people in the area about their need to come in faith to the Lord Jesus to experience the new life only He can give. In the lead-up to the event there were many opportunities to speak to young people in four schools in the area. Around 2,000 were contacted through assemblies, RE classes and Scripture Union groups. Each evening the Gospel message was presented through music, testimonies and Bible talks, while there was also the chance to chat informally about important things. Testimonies from Chris Killen, who was saved from a life of drugs, and Michael Halliday of Glentoran Football Club, really grasped the attention of the young people. After a slow start on Wednesday attendance grew throughout the week, and on the weekend nights the hall was packed, with over 100 attending on Sunday evening. A number of young people were left thinking seriously about their response to the Gospel. Please pray that the Lord will continue to speak to them.

We hope that “10:10” is a format we can use again in the future, and so we will be making it known to other churches that the Youth Challenge team is available to help them conduct youth outreaches. We trust the result will be that many young people will come to know Lord Jesus who can give “life to the full”.