Weekends away – aren’t they brilliant?  We had our annual Pathfinders Weekend Away the weekend before last, and it definitely was!  On the Friday evening, eighteen Pathfinders and assorted leaders packed our bags and crammed ourselves into a minibus and two cars, and wended our way to St Bartz (near Barcombe) for a noisy, energetic, fun-filled weekend.

There was a lot to do, and the Pathfinders soon rampaged around the building, in and out of its nooks and crannies, discovering table tennis and table football, space outside to kick a football, comfy sofas to collapse into and chat, dorms, hidden staircases and lots more. 

Soon, though, it was time for the first session, and our speaker, Nathan (from Christ Church, Mayfair), began to teach us from the Book of Jonah.  Over the weekend, he gave four excellent and useful talks that took us through the whole book, demonstrating that God is in control, and that he is full of compassion and kindness to sinful people like us. It was really encouraging and challenging, and we had good times in dorm groups discussing what we had learnt, applying it and praying for one another.

The rest of the weekend was spent in a blur of eating delicious food, playing games, ice skating, watching a film and taking part in general silliness!

It was a great time, so thank you to all the leaders, Pathfinders, cooks and drivers, and most of all, thanks to God!
Jez Lowries

I wonder, if you look back over your life so far, what people, events and circumstances have brought you to know Jesus and keep on following him? What has kept you faithful even when life is difficult?

As I look back, I know the hardest time for me as a Christian was my teenage years. I found it really hard to follow Jesus faithfully at school and sixth form. As far as I knew, I was the only Christian in my year, and so it was incredibly tempting just to fit in with everybody else and live for myself instead of Jesus.  When I look back now, I can see that God faithfully kept me through those years, and second to my Christian parents, one thing stands out as absolutely crucial to my keeping going: Summer Camps!

The camps we at All Saints take our young people on are Venture Camps (11-14s – Stanbridge Earls 4; 14-18s - Maidwell 2), and they are just brilliant! We spend a week staying at a school, sleeping in dormitories, eating delicious food, doing all sorts of exciting activities, playing sports, creating crafts and taking part in huge amounts of silliness.

There is sport, drama, arts and crafts, swimming, film making, off-site activities such as rock climbing and kayaking and much much more! There is also plenty of time to relax with old and new friends. Most importantly of all, the priority of the camps is that we all grow in our relationship with Jesus. 

There are meetings and bible studies each day where we learn from the bible about Jesus, and how we can know him and grow in our relationship with him; there are bible studies to work through and apply the truths to our own lives more deeply and there are dorm times to chat through all sorts of issues and ask any questions. 

From my own teenage experience, I can say that spending a week with Christian leaders and other young people and being removed from my normal situation freed me to take real steps in my walk with Jesus and grow in my knowledge and love of him.  I wouldn’t have done anything else with that week for the world!

If you’re aged 11-18, go on: ‘Stanbridge Earls 4’ or ‘Maidwell 2’! You will have an amazing time!

If you are a parent, encourage your children to go!

If you are neither, pray for the camps as they are very significant to many people’s lives.    
Jez Lowries

In POD (Place Of Discipleship, 14-18s Bible Study Group) this week we were looking at part of Colossians chapter 1.  It's an amazing couple of paragraphs all about who Jesus is and how awesomely supreme he is.

As wonderful as it is, though, we can often come to a passage like that, read it through, agree with everything it says, and yet be completely unmoved by it.  Somehow, the fact that Jesus is 'the image of the invisible God,' 'the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead,' the one in whom 'God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell' can leave us cold.  Though these thing are true facts, what difference do they make to my life at the office tomorrow, or as I do my homework, or spend time with my friends?

In fact, these incredible truths make a huge difference because they describe a person.  Here are a couple to consider:

 ‘Jesus is the image of the invisible God.’  We can know God personally through Jesus.  He is with us as we work, and as we relax.  He shows us who God is, and we can know him! 

'All things were created by him and for him.'  Jesus made everything and everyone, including the people we don't get on with, and including us.  That means that everyone has value - they are the handiwork of a master craftsman, and they belong to him, so that affects how we see them.  Each of us is likewise made by and for Jesus.  Whose life are you living?  Yours or Jesus's?  He made you and you belong to him.  You are precious and you matter to him.  That’s got to affect your day!  (and mine . . . ).

At POD we discovered how knowing who Jesus is can turn your life upside down.  It's not just a series of dry facts - it's knowing the supreme Lord of the universe personally, and there's no one more exciting and life changing than him!

And that’s without even mentioning v20-23 . . .
Jez Lowries

Encrypt has changed quite dramatically over the last few months!  In September we were sad to say goodbye to most of the Encrypt group.  Almost all of the group completed their A level courses this summer and launched off into the world of university or work, leaving us behind with just one or two young people.

However, we have been hugely encouraged by a surge of newcomers joining in year 10.  It’s been fantastic to see a core group of Pathfinders join Encrypt at the bottom and then start inviting their friends and becoming more and more committed.  As the term has gone on, we’ve seen the group grow and grow as more friends come along, try it out, and then become regular members.

Some of the greatest encouragements have been in POD, the youth Tuesday night bible study.  We’ve been digging into the book of Jonah, and seeing God’s amazing grace to people who don’t deserve his kindness, and a number of young people have started to come regularly since the weekend away at half term.

We’re so delighted with the growth in numbers and maturity of the Encrypt group - praise God for his goodness to us and his work in the lives of our young people!  Please keep praying for us and for the young people of Lindfield and Haywards Heath, that God would be at work amongst them, bringing life, and that he would equip and empower us to serve him and them.  
Jez Lowries