Ventures Update Summer 2012
Prayer power! www.ventures.org.uk
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 Corinthians 2:14 My attempts to buy tickets for the Olympics were not successful. It seems the closest I’ll get to seeing the Olympics in person is watching the torch relay go past the end of my road. It’s not as if sport is of huge interest to me but I do like to be part of whatever is going on. I don’t want to miss out on something significant that will probably not happen again in my lifetime. So I’ll make sure my family and I get a good view of the torch, however brief it might be. We’ll be able to say ‘we were there’.
Just a few days after the Olympic torch passes through my town we’ll be kicking off the Ventures summer season. Perhaps to a little less public acclaim and certainly less news coverage, something even more important than the Olympics will be taking place across the country. With significant self-sacrifice and commitment, our volunteers will be ensuring that all those who attend a Venture this summer will have the opportunity to make truly life-changing choices. Those who attend a Venture in 2012 may find the most significant thing they remember of this Olympic year is how they discovered the good news of Jesus Christ.
Visit www.ventures.org.uk/praying for tools and ideas to help you pray
What will your role in all this be? Unlike the Olympics it is so much easier to play a decisive part in the success of what happens on every Venture this summer. You can join the triumphal procession by praying for our leaders and members to experience the aroma and knowledge of him this summer. There’s still time for you to promote Ventures to your friends and in your church. Make sure young people you know don’t miss an experience of a lifetime. Thanks.
David Hart Director, Ventures and Falcon Camps
Encounters with God We asked the young people who went on Ventures last year ‘What’s the most amazing thing you learnt about God on your Venture?’. For many, the answer came from the time they spent talking to God and hearing his voice.
‘I realised that I could talk to God as my friend and that he wants us to tell him what’s up!’ ‘God sent his only son Jesus Christ to die for us, and to allow us as Christians to communicate with our Father.’ ‘When we pray, we get to talk to the creator of the universe.’ ‘The Venture allowed me to speak to God in a way that touched me and it has completely changed my life because I now know God loves me and doesn’t want me to be miserable.’ ‘He spoke to me, urging me to forgive those who hurt me recently; and when I finally asked him to help me, I felt like a weight had rolled off my back.’ ‘God does answer prayer and works in many different ways!’ ‘I loved a session we did called ‘powerpoint’ where we just waited on God and meditated in his presence. It was good to have the space to do that – we don’t always make time for God in our normal lives.’
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. James 5:13
‘I learnt how wonderful a relationship with him is.’
Prioritising prayer Prayer forms a key part of the preparation for any Venture holiday. But how do leaders encourage ways of prayer permeating all aspects of a holiday, in the weeks and months beforehand as well as on the Venture itself? We caught up with Amy Wicks, who heads up ministry among younger women at St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, and is now in her twelfth year as a leader on Sparkford 2.
‘There’s a planning team which meets three or four times during the year, where we spend time listening to God and asking him to be at work in the members’ lives. ‘As leaders, we can plan until the cows come home but ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain’ (Psalm 127:1). Our plans and preparations are formed by the wisdom we’ve caught during the year, because it’s all down to letting God do his stuff with the members. ‘We try to cultivate that attitude within the team: it’s all because of the Lord’s work – he’s the one that will change people’s hearts and draw people closer to him. ‘We encourage leaders to pray in the build-up to a Venture, and it is a feature of every contact we have with each other. The invitation letters and administrative updates all include prayer points relevant to what’s
going on at the time, and we make time to pray whenever we meet together. ‘At the leaders’ training weekend in June we obviously pray together a lot, but we also provide people with copies of the week’s programme of talks to send to others in their churches or families. This is a practical way of bringing others into praying for what’s going on during the camp. ‘On the Venture itself we have two leaders’ meetings each day, with a focused prayer time in the evening. The morning includes a dorm leaders’ update with encouragements and things to pray for – and it’s always great to see God quickly answering prayers in the few days while we’re away together. The dorm groups also form the basis of encouragements being shared with each other after the Venture, as we continue to see prayers answered and God doing his amazing work.’
What’s your prayer? All kinds of people are committed to praying for this summer’s Ventures. We asked a parent and a couple of leaders what prayers God is putting on their hearts.
Matthew Williams, overall leader on Woolhampton 2: ‘Father God, you are great and we long for the young people on Woolhampton 2 to know that too. Please help the leadership team plan and deliver a fun holiday and an engaging teaching programme that will present the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ faithfully and clearly, call the young people to trust in him and equip them to live for you in their homes, schools, friendship groups and churches.’
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Harriet Heard, overall leader on Lighthouse: Bourton Taster: ‘We pray for the children coming on our Venture for whom it will be their first time away from home to settle in easily and not to feel homesick, and for friendships to be made so nobody feels left out. We pray that the children will have such a wonderful time that they are eager to come back next year to learn more about their fabulous creator.’
Andy Scott, parent of a member on Bakewell: ‘I pray that God meets my son in a really special and deep way this summer. I hope he can enjoy and store up positive experiences, friendships and memories which will build his confidence in God, and help him to be strong in his faith when he returns to the pressures of an often unsympathetic world after the Venture is over.’
Inspiring individuals Developing creative worship skills is high on the agenda at Bridgwater. The 14-18 year olds can choose to ‘major’ in drama, dance, music or visual skills, all of which have a prayer component. A creative prayer workshop is also offered, and a prayer space is available throughout the week.
Connecting creatively How can creative prayer be fostered on a Venture? How can we enable young people to communicate with God individually and in community, in a way which works for them? For David White and Helen Pattinson, overall leaders at Bridgwater and Morfa Bay, creative prayer is all about empowering young people to use and enjoy their own unique gifts.
David said: ‘Using a variety of media in prayer is helpful. Last summer, some of our young people used different objects to make a cross image, such as bins and rubbish bags, to show that Jesus died for all the rubbish in our lives, and stones to show Jesus’ power over the hard things we face.’
Small group support Like on many other Ventures, the children and teenagers who go on Morfa Bay spend time in dorm groups. ‘Praying together as a dorm group using prompts is very helpful to many young people, particularly those who are not used to praying in a group, or praying aloud,’ David said.
‘Sometimes we use a specific trigger to aid prayer, such as passing something around the circle, or asking people to write a prayer and seal it in an envelope, which we then send to them a few weeks after the Venture.’
Cultivating creativity ‘The fantastic thing about seeing young people grow in their skills and discover how to be themselves in prayer and worship is that it doesn’t stop at the end of the Venture. ‘There’s a running joke among the leaders at Bridgwater that none of us feel particularly qualified to lead creative worship sessions, but in a way that’s great, because it becomes about mentoring and nurturing rather than instructing. ‘The focus is on releasing skills in young people which can then be developed back at home. I love hearing from young people who are now involved in leading worship in their church!’
Prayer Bookmark
Partnership in the gospel
A prayer for Ventures
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel Philippians 1:4-5
Most Ventures are around a week long, yet the impact can last a lifetime for many children and teenagers, thanks to the complementary relationship between Venture holidays and local churches. Andy Kearns, one of the overall leaders at Edgehill and curate at St Mary’s, Maidenhead, gives us the view from both sides of the fence of this very special ‘partnership in the gospel’:
‘Here at St Mary’s, we are directly involved with several Ventures, including Edgehill, which I help lead. As a leader both in the church and on the Venture, I get to see first-hand how brilliant Ventures can be with God’s help and the church‘s support.
Why not pray this prayer with your small group, or as part of a church service? ‘Twice a year, we focus on summer camps at our central prayer meetings, once in the run up to summer, and once in August, when the Ventures are taking place. ‘We also list by name all those going on Ventures in our prayer diary during the summer, inviting people to pray for the holidays as they happen. Communication is key – people will pray if they know what to pray for. ‘We’ve really seen God change things in response to our prayers. We regularly pray that children and teenagers from St Mary’s will bring their friends who have no contact with church on Ventures, and that they will hear the good news of Jesus, and we’ve seen this happen, praise God!’
‘People will pray if they know what to pray for.’
Almighty God, We thank you for the opportunity for thousands of children and young people to hear the gospel on Ventures. We praise you for all those who have come to faith in the risen Jesus through these life-changing holidays. In the coming weeks, may you sustain and guide all those who make Ventures such a great experience, including leaders, helpers and cooks. We pray that all of this summer’s Ventures will be filled with great activities, good friendships and lots of fun. And we pray that on Ventures more children and young people will meet Jesus, get to know him better and, in turn, lead others to him. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Prayer Bookmark
A week of prayers SUNDAY Members arrive, new friendships are formed. Let the fun begin! MONDAY Pray for anybody struggling with homesickness to know God’s comforting presence. TUESDAY Ask God to protect people during the activities which fill Ventures with fun and adventure. WEDNESDAY Pray for more young people to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. THURSDAY May the grace of God shine through as people grapple with big questions and tough issues. FRIDAY Praise God for all that he has been doing with members during their Ventures week. SATURDAY Pray for courage and boldness as members share their understanding of Jesus with friends and family.
Keeping in touch • Visit www.ventures.org.uk/praying for a list of this summer’s Ventures, so you can pray for them as they happen. • Follow @CPASnews on twitter for prayer points. • Like us on Facebook (facebook.com/cpasventures) for regular updates, quizzes, photos and more. • If you’re going on a Venture this year, why not email us (ventures@cpas.org.uk) with your photos and stories? We love to hear about what’s been going on!
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