Tearaway Tim unwraps Easter

How do we make the Christian faith relevant to young people in our city? Anne Forbes takes a look at a number of initiatives which are attempting to do just that.

Tim Yau is refreshingly honest about his own teen years. Born in Grimsby, he admits to being a bit of a tearaway until, aged 15, he was invited to a church meeting by a girl at school and conversion changed his life.
“My later training and working as a nurse was an experience of life and death which made me grow up,” said Tim, who eventually felt called to specific Christian service.
As Norwich Youth for Christ’s Schools Worker, Tim is very aware of the changing nature of work in schools: “You have to earn the right to be where young people are and your life has to back up what you say,” he explains.
He wants to be salt and light, to represent Christ whatever he is doing with young people - in the playground or the classroom, in the lunch hour or in one-to-one contacts - to ‘be good news’.
Tim continues to be involved in assemblies and is taking the Easter Unwrapped series of lessons into schools using a multi-media approach.

NYFC schools worker, Tim Yau.
Picture: Ernest Forbes.

These are three or four sessions with years 8 and 9, to explore the meaning of Easter through consideration of the Human Condition, the Cross, Resurrection and finally Easter People including people of today.
As well as these specifically Christian, up-front roles, Tim goes into Blyth-Jex School one day a week, working alongside the YMCA. He is a ‘mentor’ and part of the Youth Action Group which enables youngsters to think

through their situations and make decisions for change.
He goes into three middle schools every week and sees the work with this age group as the biggest growth area. Here again it is also through practical activities that he feels able to bring something of God into the situation.
He often works in a team with people from churches like St Francis at Heartsease, New Hope and the Salvation Army.

High energy clubs for youngsters

Rock Solid Clubs are high energy, activity-based, fun and games sessions for young people aged between 11 and 14.
They also have a challenging theme about God and the Bible, which is a core part of the programme not added on as an epilogue. Life skills such as bullying, relations with parents, and the environment are honestly addressed.
The adults running the clubs are trained for the work and

themselves need a large amount of energy as well as wisdom.
There are a number of clubs in Norfolk based in churches such as Dereham Road Baptist and Acle Churches Together but also in schools like Heartsease Middle.
NYFC is a resource on which they can draw.

Anti-drugs initiative in city

NYFC is playing a large part in the national Crime-watchers initiative SNAP - Say No and Phone.
A number of statutory and voluntary groups in Norwich have taken up the initiative and NYFC’s Tim Yau is on the committee which organised a sell-out dance event at Time Nightclub during the February half-term.
These ‘safe’ evenings for young people aged 14-17 are alcohol and smoking free. In the VIP lounge, information and leaflets on relevant topics are available and volunteer

workers are there to build relationships and be of practical help in much the same way as nightclub chaplain Tracey Hyslop and her team operate in adult venues.
After the recent tragic death of 17-year-old Nick Green, a number of other organisations in the city are planning to set up similar evenings as well as a safe refuge for youngsters.
NYFC is committed to serving the young people of our community - to being and bringing the good news of the Gospel to them wherever they are.

Where to find out more

If you would like to find out more information about the work of Tim Yau, of NYFC, Rock Solid Clubs and SNAP, then contact NYFC, 3 Brigg St, Norwich NR2 1QN tel: 01603 620678 e-mail: office@norwichyfc.co.uk

Authors share city stage

Adrian and Bridget Plass in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Popular authors Adrian and Bridget Plass took centre stage at the Salvation Army’s Citadel, Norwich, this winter to share the legacy of joy imprinted by a leading Christian charity in poverty-stricken Dhaka, Bangladesh.
During a national tour involving poetry, humour, music and mime, the couple shared insights from their two-week tour in one of the poorest cities in Bangladesh. Bridget, a former Norwich schoolgirl, said: “Seeing World Vision in action is like seeing Jesus walking the streets.”
The couple, who support the charity’s child sponsor scheme, witnessed the contentment and pride of a poor but resilient people, who have found new hope through the charity’s improvement schemes.

Adrian and Bridget’s vivid and emotive recollections are now available in their book, Colours of Survival, published by Marshall Pickering and available through World Vision.
Meanwhile Bridget’s new work - Dear Paul, an imaginary collection of women’s letters to Paul and his possible answers - is published by BRN this spring.
Hardship is rife in Dhaka’s slums and outlying rural areas. Open sewers, silted rivers, annual floods, pollution and refuse are out of control explains Bridget: “The problems are overwhelming and they will never be eradicated but World Vision makes it possible to take the ‘edge’ off the

poverty and fuel hope.”
The local people have developed a fighting spirit. “At the centre of such poverty is a sense of energy and determination not to give up and it’s encouraging to see how World Vision are helping to empower the women,” said Bridget.
Bridget’s new book, Dear Paul, contains “gritty subjects but I have aimed to expand on their context. I worry a lot about modern women’s response to Paul’s letters,” she explained. “I hope it will help them see how many of the things Paul says have a deep relevance today.”
Weblink: www.worldvision.co.uk

Yellow submarine sinks

Norwich Youth for Christ’s big yellow bus broke down irreparably in February this year. Fortunately they have been able to borrow a replacement for the time being so that the work amongst the villages and estates around Norwich can carry on but the whole concept of the Bus Project is being reviewed.

“We really do need somewhere within the greater Norwich area to store the bus,” says Matt Gooch the project director. “And we need support and prayer whilst the review process is going on.” For further details contact Youth for Christ on 01603 420678.

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