News

There is a hum of ministry activity around the SU movement. After the joy of a great summer where young people met Jesus and grew in faith and leadership, there has been a busy term one of school camps and now a full autumn holiday camp season is upon us.

As I prayed for our autumn camps with a faithful group of supporters last week, I was struck by how significant SU had been in my life and development, and how God continues to do the same work in the lives of children and young people now. It’s the dedication of all people in our SU movement who financially give, give of their time and talents, and pray fervently, that enables this work. Thousands of children and young people hear about the love of Jesus and are grown in faith and leadership each year through us.

We will soon be sending out our regular June Appeal which makes up a decent part of our budget each year. Thank you for prayerfully considering supporting the work through this appeal. Due to ongoing changes in ministry in government schools, the amount of our work that can be assigned as tax deductible continues to decline. As a result we will be offering reduced tax deductibility in the June appeal this year. This is obviously not desirable, but is part of the changing world we face. To explore alternative ways to give or talk through this, don’t hesitate to be in touch.

As I look forward to the ministry coming up, it’s my prayer that we will all have regular life-changing experiences of God’s grace in Jesus and that as we continue to share that with others, they too will encounter and grow in Him.

News

The Veta Morphus students recently had their first retreat for the year which was very exciting, and a great first glimpse for the students who are participating in the course this year.

The purpose of the retreat was to solidify and reinforce the material the students have worked on through the year so far. It was a great opportunity for students, chaplains and course facilitators to worship, pray and equip each other in discipleship.

We had 14 students attend from two different ministry schools. It was an invigorating couple of days which provided space and opportunity for the students to explore and discuss various topics within Christianity.

One of the highlights of the weekend was having what we call a “soaking session”. This is a time to sit in the presence of God and tune in to His Spirit. It was wonderful to see the students use the time to deepen and grow their relationship with God and be open to His plan for their lives.

We are really excited about what God is going to do in the lives of these students through Veta.

News

When I finished at Fine Edge in 2010 I always felt like I would be back in some capacity. As God would have it, it’s totally different to what I envisioned! My years in Fine Edge as a Performer and Team Leader were an incredible experience for me; they grew and fortified me in my relationship with God and expanded and built upon my love of joining performance and ministry.

Now I’m back and embracing the task of seeing whether God wants to breathe some life back into this ministry which has faced some tough recent years.

I will be spending this year seeking God’s direction for the ministry and taking the practical steps of finding out whether Christian theatre ministry has a place in Schools, what that would look like in regard to faithfully teaching the Gospel, and then also gathering and equipping a team to carry out that ministry if we hear ‘Yes’.

While in Fine Edge I saw many incredible moments with children hearing the Christmas and Easter stories for the first time and also High School kids seeking help and counsel from a Christian perspective which they had never before considered. It’s because of this that I believe ministry through the arts is incredibly valuable and would love to see Fine Edge continue as a sustainable, long-term ministry through Scripture Union.