n e wsle t te r

Firstly I want to
apologise for the
late arrival of this
newsletter. The term
started with such a
burst of energy I simply
didnt get round to
writing things down
until now. I hope it
encourages you!

JAN FEB 2015

God wants the combin
ation of his steady, con
stant calling and
warm, personal counse
l in Scripture to come
to characterize us,
keeping us alert for wh
atever he will do next.
May our dependably
steady and warmly pe
rsonal God develop ma
turity in you so that
you get along with eac
h other as well as Jesus
gets along with us
all. Then well be a cho
irnot our voices only,
but our very lives
singing in harmony in
a stunning anthem to
the God and Father of
our Master Jesus!
Romans 15:4-6 (The Mes
sage)

Unity is possible!
Unity isnt about all doing the same thing, or even agreeing on everything.
It is more about an awareness of what is important and then loving, serving,
and forgiving people with a Christ-like attitude.
I feel utterly privileged to be able to work alongside a group of people who can
see the benefits of working together and having the spirit of unity. Anyone
who works in Harpenden and St Albans and the surrounding areas will be
hugely aware of the work that God is doing within our youth and childrens
work. I truly believe that part of this growth, blessing and unity is down to the
attitude of the workers and leaders I serve alongside.
Of course we are not perfect and of course we do not think the same way on
every topic. But we do love one another unconditionally, we do forgive quickly,
we do encourage regularly and we do seek to build one another up.
This atmosphere of unity mustnt be taken lightly, in over 20 years
of ministry I have never seen a group of youth and childrens
leaders working together as much as I have here. We are
friends, we speak about our families, we share our struggles,
we show our faults, we learn together and we journey together.
This is not luck or coincidence, this is a bunch of people
choosing to imitate Jesus in the way
we live, serve and love.
I thank God to be part of a
choir that sings out loud
Gods stunning anthem
of the message of Jesus
Christ, and lets be
honest it will be the only
choir I will actually ever
be allowed into!

G o d at w o r k :
Our New Years Houseparty
was an absolutely wonderful
time. Not only did we eat
well, have so much fun and
enjoy one anothers company
but we heard a bunch of
young people share their
story of faith. It was a massive
encouragement to everyone to
hear these guys sharing their
struggles, joys and places where they have seen God do wonders.
There was also the added bonus of a 53ft inflatable assault course, a trip to the
Snow Centre for sledging and also one of the greatest games of Sardines ever
played!
Claire Banham, our project youthworker, continues to do wonderful things
and be a real blessing to the ministry. Claire has been working with STEP to put
together plans for our upcoming More? series. Together they have planed 5
sessions looking at identity and the series title is Who Am I. These begin on
Monday 23rd Feb so please pray for each of the sessions, the speakers and
opportunities to invite new people along.
We continue to be encouraged about how word of the267project is spreading
and we are being able to share with more churches about how we can support
them in their ministry.
God has blessed us with a couple of great donations at the beginning of
this year. We pray that God will always supply our needs and ask that we will
have enough to grow and make plans for the coming year, which will include
continuing to employ Claire and Tracy. Thank you.
We give thanks massively for our new home at High Street Methodist Church
in Harpenden. We love being here and it has been great to build much stronger
relationships with many churches in the area.
I want to give thanks for Thursday in our office! Each Thursday in the office there
is me, Claire, Tracy and Penny; one of our trustees. These days are such a joy
and have been such a blessing to me personally. To have a bunch of people who
not only inspire me to work better, they also make ministry and real joy and help
create a wonderfully positive and affirming atmosphere. Thank you penny, Claire
and Tracy.
We give thanks for the donation of 3 laptops to the project. This has enabled
Claire and Penny to be able to have one each and so have a much easier and
resourceful way of working.

Our prayer requests:

More? begins on 23rd Feb and our theme this term is Who Am I looking at how
our identity is sometimes shaped by different environments, both positive and
negative ones! Pray for each of the sessions, the speakers and opportunities to
invite new people along.
Finance is always a tough thing to talk about but we want to be bold in asking.
God has given us a great ministry with a superb network of people. So we want to
pray that He will inspire churches, grant bodies and individuals to give generously
to the267project. The ministry we are involved in is growing and we need resources
to do this.
At the end of February we are running a weekend away for 7-11s. We are very
excited about this and ask for you to pray for safety, bundles of fun, great chats
about how great God is and peace for those children who havent stayed away from
home before. We are bringing together children from about 6 different churches
which we hope will also be a real blessing.
At the end of March, 28th, we are running a
conference for those involved in Youth and Childrens
Ministry. Please pray that this event will be a really
big encouragement to all those who come. Pray for
our speakers and for their preparations. But we
mainly pray that word of the event will get out and
that churches will see this day as a real resource for
their churchs ministry.
Please pray for Mike as he tries to get some days
away to write resources, pray and think. God is
continuing to inspire him in so many ways but he
has been struggling to find space to filter and give
time to all these ideas.

Youth and Ch ildrens Min

istry
Conference - Sat 28th
March
An opportunity for trainin

g, encouragement and netwo

Saturday 28th March,

9.00am - 4.00pm
Forest Town Church, Lyon
Way, St Albans AL4 0LB

L IS T E

rking

V IS IO N

AT IO N
IN S P IR

STRAT

EGY

The Conference is organised

by the267project in
partnership with local churches
and STEP
More information about each
ministry will be
available at the conference
www.the267project.com
www.stepschoolswork.org.uk
www.younglife.org

The aim of the conference

is to resource, encourage
and equip you and your youth
and childrens ministry
but also to provide opportuniti
es to partner with
nearby churches and organisatio
ns in some aspects
of the work you do
The cost of the conference
is 12 per person, this
includes lunch and refreshmen
ts
For more details or to book
your
place contact Tracy Cripps:
pa@the267project.com

At our first youth leaders breakfast gathering

of the year there were 22 of us and it was a huge
encouragement. Please pray for these times on the first Thursday of each month as
they are proving a real support for those working with children and young people.
Pray also for the first gathering of those specifically involved in childrens ministry
which we are having at the end of February. If you are involved in childrens work
and would like to join us we are meeting at Wagamamas St Albans at 1pm on
Thursday 26th Feb, drop us an email to let us know you would like to come.
Telling the Next Generation

Encouraging and equipping

Pray for all the trustees as we enter an exciting but possibly challenging year.
We give thanks for the energy and wisdom they possess and ask that God would
continue to give them boldness and insight as they help lead this ministry.
If you would like to volunteer with the267project then drop us an email
director@the267project.com or pa@the267project.com
Thanks

your youthwork

JAN FEB 2015

Prayer diary
Monday 12th January
Speaking at CYM Cambridge

Wednesday 4th March Running a retreat

day for the youth team of High St Methodist

Thursday 15th January Trustees meeting

Thursday 5th March Youthworker

Breakfast at The Ancient Briton, St Albans,
9.30am11am

Sunday 25th January Fuel St Albans

Monday 26th January
Mike training on the topic of discipline
at Christ Church St Albans
Monday 26th January
Claire and Jack running a games session for
Panshangar youth groups
Tuesday 27th January
TTS: encouraging and equipping parents
Friday 30th January Impact Harpenden
prayer event at St Georges School
Saturday 31st January X:Site Event at
High Street Methodist Church, Harpenden
Monday 2nd February Advocates meeting
at Cafe Nero St Albans, 6pm7pm
Tuesday 3rd February FUEL Team Training
at High Street Methodist Church,
4.30pm8.00pm
Thursday 5th February
Youthworker Breakfast at Markyate Baptist
Church, 9.30am11am

Monday 9th March More? Week 3:

Who am I... In the future
Thursday 12th March Trustees meeting
Monday 16th March More? Week 4:
Who am I... In Gods eyes
Saturday 21st March Trustees Away day
Sunday 22nd March
Fuel St Albans, 7pm-9pm
Monday 23rd March More? Week 5:
Who am I... and what am I good at
Monday 30th March More? Week 6:
Who am I... Any Questions?

Who am I...?
...Online?ry

Monday 23rd Februa

ne
...When no-o g?
else is watchinMarch
Monday 2nd

re?
...In the futu
y 9th March

s?
...In Gods eye
Monday 16th March

...& What am
-

I good at?

Monday 23rd March

ns?
...Any Questio
Monday 30th March

Monda
pany, St Albans
Coffee Comrship
with STEP
hant Tea and
m at The Merc
7project in partne
7.00pm - 9.00p
event is run by the26
at ages 13-19. This
Aimed

Sunday 8th February Sharing about

the267project at High Street Methodist
Church, Harpenden
Monday 9th February Trustees meeting
Sunday 22nd February Fuel Harpenden,
7pm9pm
Monday 23rd February More? Week 1:
Who am I... Online

More Jan 2015

25/01/2015

d 1

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OT HER IM PO RTA N T FU T U R E DAT ES :

Saturday 28th March
Youth and Childrens Ministry Conference,
Forest Town Church, 9am-4pm
Saturday 18th April - Cheese, Wine and
Auction Fundraising Evening.
The Chapel, YWAM Base, Harpenden

Thursday 26th February

Childrens Workers Lunch, 1pm at
Wagamama St Albans
Friday 27th February Sunday 1st March
7-11s Weekend Away at Newland Park
Monday 2nd March More? Week 2:
Who am I... When no one else is watching

Encouraging and equipping

your youthwork

16:40