AUGUST 2019
discipleship What is it and whose job is it to disciple our young people?
INSIDE STRENGTHENING THE WALLS OF OUR WHARE
DIGITAL DISCIPLESHIP
EXODUS PRIME: A DISCIPLESHIP JOURNEY FOR YOUNG LEADERS
I have been a follower of Jesus for as long as I can remember — and that’s long enough to have seen a number of waves of discipleship theories sweep through the church. Some have emphasised that a disciple is a person who is dedicated to an intense study of the Bible. Others have taught that true discipleship occurs when a person is involved in a small group in the same way as the small band of followers who were “discipled” by Jesus. Yet others have declared that a disciple is actively involved in Christian service — and recently social justice and environmental issues have been particularly emphasised. There is, of course, truth in all of these, because each encourages an important part of the Christian life. However, each has often been mistakenly seen as the way rather than as an element of the larger journey of discipleship. Here in SUNZ we’ve been thinking about what Jesus want us to understand about youth, and what discipleship and disciple-making in all its fullness means for those young people. I rather like this little summary from Matthew 4:19.
editorial
Being a disciple is… 1. Following Jesus (Come and follow,…) 2. Being changed by Jesus (I will make you…) 3. On mission with Jesus (Fishers for people) Please pray for our youth here in New Zealand. We are becoming an increasingly secular nation but despite this, youth remain open to exploring spirituality and want to see firsthand, people who live out a genuine faith. We want to see the youth of New Zealand discover Jesus and become lifelong disciples who share their faith with others and serve the world around them. Their future and the future of the church depend on this. And so, this issue of Adventure is all about discipleship with youth in all its fullness. As you read it please think about what it means to live and share the faith. Discipleship is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit but we can be intentional about it and when we are, God will use us. So if there’s any way we can help you, be in touch.
HILARY HAGUE
National Director Scripture Union New Zealand 2 www.sunz.org.nz
contents Features 4
10
DISCIPLESHIP: WHAT IS IT AND WHOSE JOB IS IT?
Neville Bartley
STRENGTHENING THE WALLS OF OUR WHARE
Paul Humphreys
12
DIGITAL DISCIPLESHIP
20
EXODUS PRIME: A DISCIPLESHIP JOURNEY FOR YOUNG LEADERS
21
STAY REAL: DISCIPLESHIP FOR THE LONG TERM
22
MEET THE YOUTH TEAM
Neville Bartley
Andy Banks
Richard Starling
Interviews 8
Q&A - NUA FEEDBACK
25
LIGHT FOR THE PATH
26
OUT AND ABOUT AUGUST
Youth Leaders
Children’s Ministry 15
WAY2GO MAGAZINE
Resources 28
RESOURCES FOR LIFE
Produced by Jamuel Enriquez Edited bu Janice Hunt Adventure Magazine Design by Anna Juden WAY2GO Magazine design by Windsor Creative
AUGUST 2019 3
Discipleship:
What is it and whose job is it? BY NEVILLE BARTLEY Nat i o n al Yo uth Min istr y L eader, SUNZ
4 www.sunz.org.nz
(and thus, disciples). For example, Acts 14:21 says, ‘When they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium’. • Discipleship can also be helping others in the lifetime process of learning the ways of Jesus. We find this sense of making disciples in Matthew 28:19–20: ‘Go therefore and make disciples’. Jesus explains further what that means: ‘baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you‘. For the purpose of this article, I have decided to start from this third standpoint.
You could be in a room with ten Christians and get about 14 different answers to this question! So I can’t believe I am even attempting this article. But what I will do is give my perspective of discipleship based on 33 years of following Christ and on what I perceive scripture is saying. I’ll start by noting it’s no wonder there are so many different ideas on what discipleship is and what it means to disciple someone. The word ‘discipleship’ doesn’t actually appear in the scriptures, and we use the English word ‘discipleship’ in at least three different ways. • It can mean my own pattern of following Jesus and trusting him and learning from him. • It can also be helping others to make a commitment to follow Jesus — we do have a verb for this in New Testament Greek: mathēteuō, to make disciples. This word can mean to preach the gospel so that people choose to follow Christ and become Christians
Discipleship is a very long process. It is a lifetime process that spans from leading a person to a point where they choose to follow Jesus, through baptism to spending a lifetime teaching them to obey all that Jesus said. Discipleship is not a one-off programme or even a series of programmes that you or your church runs. The church has a history of doing this and sometimes it has tended to make a particular part of being a follower of Christ more of a focus than others. The result of this is people who are not fully discipled. They become strong in love of their neighbour, or social justice, or intentional community, for example. All of which are good things and a part of a fully rounded disciple, but when the focus is predominantly on one aspect, it creates an imbalance and does not fulfil the scripture in Matthew 28 that we read earlier. To me, discipleship is being involved in the life of another; you journey together and the example of how you live your life as a follower of Christ teaches them the way to be a follower of Christ. You are the teacher and they are the AUGUST 2019 5
disciple. Now I imagine some people are saying, ‘I don’t want to have that responsibility. I need someone to disciple me first’. Well you are right (yes, you do need discipling yourself), and you are wrong (I suggest you can also be discipling someone else). We should all simultaneously be a disciple and be discipling others.
us all and say that is not acceptable. Jesus had 12 disciples and from my experience I think this is achievable for us too. Jesus had the three that he put more time into and that is a good rule to follow. We too will have some people we input into, some on a daily basis, others maybe weekly and yet others just occasionally.
Discipling is not the job of just one person alone, or of a specific person in the church. In fact, the discipleship of a person is the responsibility of the whole Christian Community — the responsibility of the church. That means all of us have to take it seriously and we can’t just expect someone else to do it.
I have been thinking a lot about the scripture that states you can’t put new wine into an old wine skin. It’s been interesting to discover that, on the other hand, you can put old wine into a new wine skin. In fact some wine makers deliberately add some old wine to the new wine to help it to mature and become fullbodied. To me, that is a picture of discipleship, the new believer is a new creation and has to mature and other Christians are the old wine that can be added to help them mature and reach a rich full bodied taste.
Parenting is an example of discipling. From the moment my child is born my job amongst many others is to disciple them. This means that my children should witness and take part in my journey as a follower of Jesus Christ. The only time we should exclude them from the journey is if it is emotionally harmful to them. If we are praying for others, then they should be present to witness it, and as they grow they can participate in it. We shouldn’t compartmentalise areas of discipleship and only allow people to experience certain parts when they reach a certain age. As a parent I am discipling my child as they grow. The children’s worker and the youth worker also have an input into the discipleship of my child, as do other significant followers of Christ whom they meet and journey with throughout their lives. To disciple someone takes a whole community. Some people will have a daily input, others weekly, others monthly and some just on the very odd occasion. But all of that input helps to make a fully rounded disciple who is continually learning, and growing, and discipling others. Perhaps the biggest excuse given for poor discipleship within a church community is lack of time and resources. Well, I want to challenge 6 www.sunz.org.nz
So what is discipleship? It is sharing your life as a follower of Christ with another to help them to become more like Christ. Whose job is it? Well that’s simple it is the job of anyone who has chosen to follow Christ. It is a lifestyle, and it happens throughout our whole life. It’s not a programme or a series of sermons, or even something you study at your life group. All those things are a small part of it. Really, I think we need to realise that it is the input of a whole Christian community into the lives of all those who are part of their community. That means we have to be a community that is involved in each other’s lives more than just once or twice a week. What, may I ask, is more important than being discipled and discipling others? I think nothing, because if we all do this then we will create a community that stands out from the rest of the world, and our lives in themselves preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world.
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AUGUST 2019 7
TURN OVER
Q&A
Recently we asked youth leaders how NUA - Scripture Union’s bible study film series for young people – is helping their youth groups. For more information about NUA please visit www.sunz.org.nz/nua
“Engagement with my young people seemed good. Think this series is a lot more relatable for kiwi teens than some American series. Seemed to get a good balance of humour and serious without crossing into cheesy territory. “
8 www.sunz.org.nz
“Fantastic videos, with many good points of discussion. The studies and videos work in harmony and ‘C ompelling’.” “Great videos with cool graphics, good conversation starters.”
“I really liked that it was interactive and gave you the time, space and opportunity to discuss.” “NUA helped raise deep questions about life and faith for me to answer.”
“NUA was very challenging and inspiring.”
AUGUST 2019 9
Strengthening the Walls of our Whare BY PAU L H U M P H R E YS South Island C amp s Facilitator, SUNZ
Discipleship…. It’s a word associated with differing meanings and interpretation. Of course, we know lots about Jesus’ disciples — even what most of them did for a profession. Yet how would our discipleship today stack up against the discipleship that Jesus modelled? John 10:10 tells us that through Jesus we can have ‘… an abundant life’, or as one translation puts it ’…a more and better life than they ever dreamed of.’ Some might measure that abundant life in tangible terms and physical assets — a big TV, or brand new car, or kids in the ‘right school’, a retirement nest egg growing nicely, thank you very much. But perhaps Jesus’ idea on an abundant life was centered on a more holistic definition. Our Tangata Whenua have a model of health as a four-sided whare (house), Te Whare Tapa Whā. The four walls represent the dimensions required to make your holistic whare strong: mental/emotional health; spiritual health; relationships/family health; physical health. For me this is a wonderful definition of an abundant life. A holistic, complete and full life. And, as you might have noticed, one wall in there is mental health. For me this is the missing piece of discipleship. Sometimes discipleship has only considered a few of the ‘walls’. Discipling is more than just being authentic with each other and asking questions about one’s soul or (cue the cheesy music) ’how’s your relationship with Jesus?’ 10 www.sunz.org.nz
Discipleship has to be holistic in its response. It can no longer be just a three-walled whare or a partially built mental/spiritual wall of that same whare. From what we know, Jesus’ disciples dropped what they were doing (literally for some… their fishing nets), followed him and became his disciples. That’s not possible for all of us today. However, my point is the disciples were involved in all aspects of Jesus’ life. They had all four walls of Te Whare Tapa Whā intertwined as they were exposed to Jesus and his ministry every day. What if we were able to intertwine, in a 21st century way, our lives and the lives of those we disciple to embrace all walls of the whare? What if our mental health was talked about more frequently amongst friends, family or those we disciple or are discipled by? What if we were willing to disclose our own, and ask about others’, mental health? What if it was normal to ask for help, tell people if you need help, or ask if someone is doing ok and needs help? A recent article on Stuff 1 reinforced that in the context of mental health it is important that people shouldn’t be told to ask for help when they need it— instead help should be
offered early and without it being asked for. Then, ‘when someone starts struggling we already see an open relationship and open dialogue and they don’t have to wait until they are trying to kill themselves or until they are in crisis’. I would argue that this is an approach that should be part of discipleship and living an abundant life together. Embracing mental health into our view of discipleship does not make us (or require us to be) a qualified mental health practitioner. We cannot diagnose. Our role is not to cure people from their illness. We still need the qualified and trained practitioners — maybe even more so now. What I am arguing is that if the disciples were all in on Jesus’ life and he in theirs, why can’t we be like that with our discipleship? We already have some great discipleship going on. Let’s just enlarge our definition of discipleship to include mental health conversations. Ones that occur early and often. Perhaps that will help us to truly fulfil John 10:10. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/111878985/once-werewarriors-25-years-on-youth-suicide-rate-flat-for-25-years--whatmust-change
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SUNZ has developed a programmed called Āpōpō which is a co-operative approach for communities to respond to mental health and suicide. To learn more about Āpōpō for your church, youth group or school contact Paul Humphreys: Paul.H@sunz.org.nz. AUGUST 2019 11
Digital Discipleship BY NEVILLE BARTLEY Nat i o n al Yo u t h M in istr y L eader, SUNZ
We often worry about the effect of technology on our lives and particularly on the lives of our children as they grow and become adults. However, technology is an integral part of all our lives today. Even in a small village high in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, you will find people using cellphones and watching satellite TV. Generation Z (those currently in high school to their early twenties) have grown up with technology and the next generation too will have very little choice other than to participate. The world has changed and is changing. Should we be questioning some of the changes? I think we should. However, let’s look at how we can actually use the technology that is around to help to grow disciples for Christ so we don’t miss a very effective tool for our discipleship tool belt. I want to emphasise here that I am certainly not saying that we can just use digital 12 www.sunz.org.nz
technology to disciple people without having actual physical face-to-face engagement with them. Digital connection will never replace the importance of actual physical connection between humans. In our ever-changing world — with people complaining about being time-poor and many people needing to work at the times when we have traditionally met together as followers of Christ —technology may give us some tools to help continue to connect and grow disciples. Youth ministry needs to grab hold of the current technology and discover ways to use it for the benefit of the young people with whom they are working with. Many young people can’t always make it to the meetings where you are focusing on scripture and on things that will help them grow as a follower of Christ. The reasons for their absence range from work
to school commitments and even not having anyone who will drop them off that night. • Are there ways we can keep them involved? • Can we live stream our event so that they can join in from where ever they are? • Is there a way that you can get a group of those who struggle frequently to get to things to meet online through things like Skype, Zoom and Whatsapp? In fact, with today’s technology, there should be fewer reasons for young people not to stay connected and involved. As youth workers, it is easier to connect with our young people daily without having to be physically in the same location as them. We can text, message, FaceTime, Snapchat — and the list of ways to communicate continues to grow. We should be using these tools to continue to engage with our young people and we can even use them to pray for them and with them for others.
One of the fastest-growing social media platforms is online gaming. The online chat that takes place alongside the gaming has become so popular that many young people who weren’t big online game fans are joining in because of the social side of the game. This is an opportunity for us to engage with our young people through a medium on which they may spend substantial amounts of time. It is a great way to engage them in an area they enjoy and to have conversations with them — often about deeper things than if you were sitting side by side. Discipling a young person means being involved in their daily lives and if we can connect with them via technology then we should use that to its fullest advantage. We can, of course, use technology to be able to organise face-to-face connection as well. Finally, if we are using the same technology they are using, it allows us to see the good and the bad side of this technology which will help us in our role of discipleship with young. We are better to be engaged and educated than disengaged and uninformed.
AUGUST 2019 13
ENGAGE:
Daily Bible Reading App
Daily Audio Bible Reading The Engage App is designed to provide a platform for you to engage with scripture daily. New audio, readings and questions are posted in the app each day. You can also talk all about the day's studies on the Engage Facebook page with other NZ youth.
Available in Maori As well as English, all the daily readings and scriptures are available in Maori. We have plans to expand this app into other languages too so watch this space!
Download audio readings You can download all the bible readings in the app so you can listen to them offline if you're on the go. Use the download manager to play your downloaded readings, delete them or even to share them.
The whole Bible in an app We know that you probably already have a bible app on your device, but having the bible in the Engage App makes it that much more convenient. You can listen and read the daily readings that the Engage App provides, but if you need to access the bible you don't even need to leave the app. You can view an online ESV bible (with audio) right in the Engage app.
The app also has SU Youth Events & Youth Camp Registrations, Media that matters to you and so much more!
Available for FREE on all mobile platforms
14 www.sunz.org.nz
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ISSUE
68 Welcome! Check out our ideas! Pull it out! & Pass it around!
CreationCare
My nephew has just won the Year 5 speech contest at school for a stirring speech on the harm of factory farming pigs. His younger brother wrote his own speech which he delivered to the family after dinner, demanding action be taken to clean up our beaches and urging us to pick up five pieces of plastic each time we go the beach. They are not alone. In recent times we have seen children and young people take to the streets to demand action on climate change. A growing number of children and young people are voicing their opinions about the need to care for our world. If our children are talking about the harmful effects of humanity on the environment, if they are delivering speeches about it, if they are marching down the streets about it, if they are helping adults to change their buying habits, then it’s important that we are helping them to connect their faith with these conversations.
“What does God have to say about the factory farming of pigs or the plastic on our beaches? What does the Bible have to say about caring for the environment?” This edition of the WAY2GO mag is not about making a political statement about climate change. We don’t want to get into a debate about carbon emissions! Rather, we want to give you a couple of practical suggestions to help connect these conversations children are already having with faith and the Bible. How do we help children to think biblically about caring for their world?
___ Annette Osborne SUNZ Children and Families Consultant
For God so loved the world… Most children love the environment deeply. From early on they wander the world noticing the smallest bug or a bright coloured leaf. As they grow, they delight in the perfect climbing tree, or a summer swim at the waterhole. Let’s help them to know that God loves the bugs, climbing trees and waterholes too! Let’s help them to know that part of what it means to be a person of faith is to take good care of God’s world.
Outside In: Often our children’s programmes are run inside buildings with concrete walls. The bugs and trees and waterholes are tucked away outside, out of sight. It may not always be possible to head outside, but we should aim to sit under a tree and read a story from the Bible whenever we get the chance! And if we can’t head outside, how do we bring a bit of creation inside? Here are a couple of suggestions:
• Encourage children and leaders to bring along amazing creations (a jar with a hairy spider in it always sparks joy). Take time to look at a beautiful ladybird or a bunch of roses. Have a magnifying glass on hand for closer inspection. Notice all the detail and be in awe!
• Ask them: What do these created things tell us about what God is like? • Read a Psalm or passage from Isaiah together, looking at how the Bible talks about God and creation. Here are a few to get you started: o Isaiah 40:25-26 o Psalm 19 o Psalm 8 o Psalm 104
• Create your own piece of creation on-site. Grow something. Does your church have any garden space, or a spot for a couple of garden pots or boxes? Make sure you keep it manageable and start off small. • Plant something that you can eat. This could be a fruit tree somewhere on the church premises, or some strawberry plants in a pot. • Plant something that the birds or bees will enjoy. This might be a line of flaxes down the driveway, or some sunflowers. • Enlist the help of the gardeners in your congregation and community. This is the perfect reason to bring the generations together in a project.
Rethinking Craft
I have had to give up my love of glitter. These shiny little pieces of delight are actually harmful to the environment. It’s sad to no longer be able to sprinkle a little bit of sparkle around, but it is more important to stop these nonbiodegradable bits and pieces ending up in our lovely ocean.
For years, craft projects have been a common component of a children’s programme. But, as we become aware of the impact of certain products on the environment, it should cause us to stop and think about the crafts that we create. Are they long-lasting and useful, or will they simply end up in the bin or clutter up the family kitchen bench and gather dust? Crafts and art projects are great but we just have to rethink how we approach them. • Think about an art project that takes all term long and results in something of more lasting value. • Are the materials used for this craft recyclable? • Are the materials used for this craft up-cycled? • Can the craft contribute to helping our environment flourish? We made beeswax wraps on camp, so that the kids could take them home and use them to wrap up their sandwiches instead of using non-recyclable plastic wrap. I found the instructions on this website very helpful: palmers.co.nz/ diy-bees-wax-wraps
Conversations: Allow children to bring their conversations about the environment with them to church. Talk with them about ways in which the church could be a better steward of their resources. They will have lots of ideas! Here’s a few to get them started: • Do you use disposable cups for morning tea and if so, can you replace these with reusable ones? • Do you print out newsletters and notices to go home to families? Could you email them instead? • Do people turn off lights when they leave a room? • Are there recycling bins around the church site? • Is the coffee served to the adults ethically sourced? Considering all this can be challenging for the wider church, but our children are already taking action on these things. And for them, our actions as adults will speak louder than words.
Resources to help you Waste Watchers If you are looking to run a holiday programme in your community around the theme of Creation Care, then Scripture Union has the resource for you! The ‘Waste Watchers’ resource explores the wonder of God’s creation. It encourages 5-11 year olds to look after the world God has made and to discover how Jesus can make a difference to the mess we make of our world and our lives. This programme covers the life of Jesus, and has been written in partnership with A Rocha, a Christian nature conservation organisation. A Rocha is also in NZ. You can find out more at: www.arocha.org.nz/
‘Love Your Neighbour’ The Love Your Neighbour Trust has the mission of helping churches engage with their communities. Their website is a fabulous source of stories of churches in action. It’s a good place to go for examples of how churches are caring for creation in creative ways.
loveyourneig
Caring for Creation The Presbyterian Church of New Zealand has a helpful resource called ‘Caring for Creation’, which is suitable for all ages. It includes study material, links to helpful websites and important information. It is a couple of years old, but still good! You can find a pdf version here: www.presbyterian.org.nz/sites/default/files/speaking_out/ Presbyterian_Church_Caring_For_Creation.pdf
Scripture Union wants to work with your church to create opportunities for children and young people to discover and follow Jesus, grow as leaders, and influence the world. Contact us and let us know how we can help you.
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EXODUS PRIME: A DISCIPLESHIP JOURNEY FOR YOUNG LEADERS BY ANDY BANKS Auc k lan d/ No r th lan d Yo uth C onsultant, SU NZ
One of my favourite verses in scripture is the challenge to be witnesses in Acts 1:8: ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ As we look at the dictionary definitions of the word ‘witnesses’, we see things like ‘public affirmation by word or example’ or ‘something serving as evidence or proof’. When we look at the challenge of discipling young people in our churches, part of our desire for them is that their lives indeed ‘serve as evidence or proof’ of who Jesus is, wherever God has placed them. At Scripture Union NZ (SUNZ) we are passionate about developing lifelong disciples who bear witness to Jesus and creating tools that the church can use to help in this process. Our ‘Exodus Prime’ programme is one such tool in which churches partner with us to develop young leaders and disciples of influence. The young people embark on a four-year journey involving a yearly five-day long national leadership camp and ongoing mentoring 20 www.sunz.org.nz
throughout the year in their own churches. It is a programme that involves both learning skills and gaining knowledge, but even more importantly, there is the challenge to put it into practice and live it out whilst being supported and guided along the journey. The distinctive about Exodus Prime is that it is more than just another camp run by SUNZ. It is a long-term discipleship journey, not just for the emerging leaders but also the in-church mentors who are trained and supported by SUNZ. Since Exodus Prime began five years ago, we have seen many young people from right across Aotearoa, New Zealand involved in the programme and we have had nine young people so far come through the full four-year curriculum. Many of these young people have gone on to leadership roles within their churches, their schools, at SUNZ and further afield, even to the ends of the earth... Who might your church send? For more information about Exodus Prime please visit www.exodusprime.org.nz
Stay Real
DISCIPLESHIP FOR THE LONG-TERM
BY R I C H A R D S TA R L I N G Stay Real Co o rdin a tor, SUNZ
The SUNZ Stay Real programme operates in schools with small groups of youth, many of whom are disadvantaged or at risk. What does discipleship mean in this context? Discipleship in Stay Real is all about journeying with the young people to journey’s end. We meet weekly but leaders are available at other times if need be. And when the programme is finished for the year, we continue to be available to meet up in the years that follow — for some this contact is quite regular; for others, it is a brief catch-up a couple of times before they move on. Stay Real consists of a series of steps but they are not rules, and we do not provide answers for the young people — it’s more about using the steps to help young people discover for themselves what their next steps could be. The first step in our programme is to work out what they can change and what they can’t change about their life. When a person realises that the only thing they can really change is themself, they are ready to move onto the next step. I make a point to never tell the young person what they need to do to change; I simply journey alongside them at whatever stage they are at. I ask them: ‘what can you change?’, they say ‘we change ourselves’.
In the steps that follow, the young people learn the tools that help make that change possible. They learn how to listen, how to share honestly with one another and how to show respect. They discuss where and how to get help — both practical and spiritual — for the issues they are facing. They begin to take an honest look at themselves and say sorry for their part in hurting others. In one of my Stay Real groups, two young people are self-harming and have talked about suicide. The school counsellor is aware of these issues and they also have things in place to help support these young people. My role, as we journey together through the Stay Real steps, is to provide support and allow trust to grow. A sense of family and belonging develop as they have somewhere they can talk and feel listened to. Each week I have asked them, ‘How’s it going? When have you last self-harmed?’ Sometimes it’s been a week, sometimes a few days. Last time I asked, it was two months! Stay Real is a journey — a life-time journey. Richard Starling founded Stay Real in 1998 and his work with families now spans across generations. He can help churches with resources and tips on how to best work with an at-risk generation and provide training to set up Stay Real in your area. AUGUST 2019 21
meet the youth team Neville Bartley - Youth Ministry Leader, Wellington Heading up the Youth Team is Neville. He brings 33 years of youth leadership to his role overseeing SUNZ youth, schools and camping ministries. His work includes developing stronger relationships with churches to empower them for ministry,
training young people for Christian leadership, and challenging youth to see God in the outdoors as never before. Neville is a dynamic speaker for youth ministry events and trainings. He tells us his hair comes from his Viking ancestors.
Richard Starling - Stay Real Coordinator, Christchurch Richard is the founder of Stay Real, a programme run in schools to help at-risk children and young people learn how to take responsibility for their behaviour, build resiliency, and develop skills to deal with life issues such as anger and conflict in non-violent ways. Outdoor activities are an important aspect of Stay Real, allowing time to build trust between group members
and facilitators. Richard can help churches with simple resource ideas and tips on how to best work with an at-risk generation and provide training to set up Stay Real in your area. When he’s not a work you will find Richard with his grandchildren, walking his dog Jasper, carving and, when opportunities allow, out on his paddle board.
Paul Humphreys - South Island Camps Facilitator, Christchurch Paul is a crazy multisport adventure racer (who survived the 400+km ‘Godzone’ race and many others around the world) and experienced outdoor leader who understands that God loves transforming the lives of young people as they adventure outdoors. He finds camps 22 www.sunz.org.nz
ministry is one of the most fulfilling expressions of community and faith formation. As well as overseeing and running camps, Paul has been instrumental in setting up and running Āpōpō our mental health awareness programme for schools, youth groups and churches.
Natalie Duchesne - North Island Camps Facilitator, Waikato Natalie Duchesne starts this month as SUNZ North Island Camps Facilitator. She has assisted Scripture Union camping for seven years in New South Wales. Natalie has a passion for
creative arts and the outdoors, and desire to help young people live out their faith on a daily basis.
Andy Banks — Auckland/Northland Youth Consultant Andy supports churches in their ministry to young people across the upper North Island. His passion is ‘faith lived out’ and he encourages churches to mobilise their young people into urban mission on their own doorstep, using our YOUTHSERVE programme. Ask him about
‘It’s Your Move’, a programme he developed for transitioning to high school. Andy is a keen fisherman and football supporter who even gave his life to Christ on the pitch at Liverpool’s home ground at a Billy Graham crusade!
Lizzie Moore — Otago-Southland Youth Consultant Lizzie grew up with Christian camping and felt God’s call to youth work when she was 17. She completed a Bachelor of Ministry through the Presbyterian Youth Ministry Internship. She’s based in Invercargill to support and mentor youth workers in Otago and Southland and loves leading SUNZ camps. Lizzie sees a real
need for lifelong discipleship, and believes a lot of what we do at SUNZ is about creating spaces for God to move in people’s lives — and God shows up in incredible ways! Lizzie and her husband Ray have just returned from visiting missionary friends in Brazil for a month .
Karen Poy — Camps Administrator, Invercargill Karen is the cheerful voice on SU Camps phone line and looks after all youth camp registrations, queries and admin, plus the admin for Āpōpō, our mental health awareness programme. She is a long time SUNZ volunteer and recidivist
SUNZ staffer, previously having been on the Children and Families Team in Southland/ Otago. If you’re ever in the Invercargill office… Karen’s favourite chocolate bar is a ‘Picnic’. AUGUST 2019 23
E3 Canterbury Date: 10-20 December 2016 Cost $500 Start: Christchurch
SUNZ’s youth ministry can help your church! Scripture Union NZ (SUNZ) has a vibrant youth ministry dedicated to providing support, innovation, training and resources to youth and youth ministries throughout New Zealand. Our youth ministry offers a range of activities such as adventure camps, training and mentorship and wilderness journeys for year 12-13 students. We have a range of resources made for young people which include professionally filmed video bible studies, booklets to help Year 8 students entering into high school and a highly downloaded daily bible reading app. We also have community programmes to engage youth in local mission, an at-risk youth programme as well as a programme developed as a cooperative approach for communities to respond to mental health and suicide. If you would like to find out more about our youth ministry activities or how our youth ministry can help you please visit our website at www.sunz.org.nz/youth
sunz
- kupu ki oku - waewae He rama tau 24 www.sunz.org.nz
light for the path BY G EO R G E B AT E S
Year 12 E xo dus Pr ime camp er
Reading the book of Isaiah lately, God’s words became a ‘joy to me and the delight of my heart’ (Jer.15:16). I hope these beautiful truths from Isaiah encourage you to follow Christ with more zeal, more hope and more joy. Jesus’ life: fulfilment of prophecy Jesus’ coming fulfilled things proclaimed long before His incarnation. Isaiah’s awesome picture of a voice calling ‘prepare the way for the LORD’ (40:3) is fulfilled in John the Baptist, and we see that Jesus paved a way for God’s chosen people to return to and follow God. In Isaiah’s beautiful images of the ‘Servant of the Lord’ (42:1-7, 49:1-7, 50:4-9, 53:1-12) we see Jesus walking in humility, bringing justice, opening the eyes of the blind, freeing the captives and bringing light to the ends of the earth — one who has words to sustain the weary, does not turn away from the LORD, is beaten, mocked and spat on, bears the punishment for our iniquities and makes intercession for transgressors. Our life: a new identity in Christ ‘I, am he who blots out your transgressions... and remembers your sins no more.’ (Isaiah 43:25) We are forgiven. Our sins may anger God but ultimately His compassion is everlasting (Isaiah 54:7-8). What a great joy we have in Christ’s words: ‘Your sins are forgiven’ (Luke 7:48). ‘Can a mother forget the baby at her breast? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!’ (Isaiah 49:15)
We are Children of God. This is an incredible source of worth and value. We can be assured that even if friends and family forsake us, God is our good Father (Isaiah 63:16, 64:8). We don’t pray to a slave-master, teacher, policeman or doctor. We pray, ‘Our Father’ (Luke 11:2). ‘“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD.’ (Isaiah 43:10) We’re God’s witnesses, called to be the light of the world. This seems like a daunting task, but we have a covenant that His Spirit will not depart from us (Isaiah 59:21). That Spirit is “not of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Our hope: incomparable and glorious! ‘The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a wellwatered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.’ (Isaiah 58:11) In a hopeless world, the hope we have is incomparable. The broken-hearted are bound up and the captives are freed from the darkness; God makes an invitation to the hungry and thirsty; there will one day be a new earth with everlasting light, rejoicing forever, no more weeping, no more sorrow (Isaiah 60:18-20, 61:1, 65:17-25). Let us embrace with joy the life Jesus lived, the life we can live in him, and the unsurpassable hope we have for what is to come.
AUGUST 2019 25
Out & About
AUCKLAND
SY LV I A C O U LT E R
Youthserve
‘It’s great when you see how much it means to a person when you take time to stop and listen.’ This teenage girl was a participant at Youthserve with Church@126 in July and was reflecting on her day chatting with residents at Selwyn Retirement Village and hearing about their lives. When I visited, Youthserve participants had just finished their clean-
WAIKATO
26 www.sunz.org.nz
up work in the Oakley Stream and were about to head back to base at the church to debrief, and then make plans for the Family Fun Party they were running the following night. Under Andy Banks’ leadership, these youth were learning to ’flesh out’ their faith while helping a local church reach out to the community.
The exciting news for the Waikato is that our new North Island Camps Facilitator, Natalie Duchesne, arriving this month will be based in the Waikato. This is the answer to much prayer from our faithful local supporters, and we are looking forward to welcoming Natalie. We are hoping to see a good number of supporters will join us on 17 August for the Hamilton ‘At Home with SUNZ’.
WELLINGTON
JANICE HUNT
WAY2GO Wellington
We’ve enjoyed having lots of staff from round the country coming through the Wellington Office recently with WAY2GO in June and an Āpōpō mental health awareness community workshop at Ōtaki. The finance team have been busy with auditors here and we give thanks that went well. Kate Amos has enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of SUNZ supporters during a recent trip to Auckland. Neville Bartley hit the slopes with
INVERCARGILL
LIZZIE MOORE
Kia ora from the deep South! Nigel Winder and the rest of the Children and Families team helped to make three great WAY2GO training days happen around the country. I was part of WAY2GO Dunedin and it was such an incredible day full of encouragement and inspiration.
Nigel in the Prayer Ambulance at Wellington
Ruapehu Adventure camp and was delighted to finally get great weather and heaps of snow to finish camp. Liz Eichler has had a three-week trip to Sweden with her teenage daughters’ football team. Hilary Hague has been out and about preaching and, with and the admin team, is preparing for the 17 August ‘At Home with SUNZ’ supporter gatherings and AGM. We are looking forward to seeing many of you there! Nigel is now getting prepared for a SUPAKidz camp called ‘On Your Marks!’ in the Spring Holidays. We have sadly farewelled Bronwyn Withington who has been Camps Adminstration Assistant for the past ten years. We will miss Bronwyn, and wish her all the best for what the next chapter brings. Karen Poy is now into spring camps preparation and has restarted the Southland prayer group. We are getting ready for the Dunedin and Invercargill supporters evenings. On 23-25 of August we will be joining Paul Humphreys and our new North Island Camps Facilatator Natalie Duchesne at our South Island Camps Leadership Training (SILT) weekend in partnership with Camp Columba. AUGUST 2019 27
ORDER NOW ONLINE AT www.suresources.org.nz
NUA GUIDE AND USB
NUA is a film series that encourages questions, acknowledges doubt, and offers an engaging perspective on the Christian faith. NUA equips you with the ability to intelligently explore and understand what you believe. We give you tools to discuss your worldview with credibility and confidence, while encouraging you to wrestle with the things that just don’t seem to make sense. At the end of the day, this film series is about impact—immediate and personal, as well as the long-term, life-changing experience of working out your faith. For more information about NUA please visit www.sunz.org.nz/nua
$44.99 C R O S S E X A M I N AT I O N STUDENT AND LEADERS GUIDE
Cross Examination is the young people’s adaption of Michael Bennett’s very popular Christianity Explained course for Adults. Expanding on the themes of Cross Examination, the Leaders guide provides helpful assistance to leaders. This is a no-nonsense six session course for young people wanting to understand the basics of the Christian faith. Useful for groups or individuals.
Student Guide: $8.99 Leaders Guide: $11.99 28 www.sunz.org.nz
S T R AT E G Y F O R Y O U T H L E A D E R S F O R T H E 2 1 S T C E N T U R Y
An invaluable resource to help set goals and see results for youth pastors, church leaders, mission teams, high school chaplains, mentors of youth leaders.
$21.99
IT’S YOUR MOVE
It’s Your Move! is there to reassure children embarking on the next part of their educational journey (from intermediate school to high school), reminding them that God is always with them. In the UK over 1 million students have benefited from the advice and guidance It’s Your Move! contains, and through this brand new Kiwi version of the book, students across New Zealand can benefit from the same great advice. It’s Your Move! is a vital tool in helping students during an important time of change, but the effects last much longer than the weeks in between leaving one school and starting another.
$22.99
1
AUGUST 2019 29
$15.99 each for a single quarter $56.99 for a full year subscription LIFEBUILDERS SERIES
The bestselling Lifebuilders series have helped millions of people dig deeper into the Bible, individually and in groups. Some tackle a section of the Bible, others take a thematic approach. There are questions for stimulating group discussion, ideas for meeting God in personal reflection, and the new titles and revisions contain extra features.
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These are quarterly Bible reading guides (they cover three months’ worth of bible reading) that will challenge, encourage, surprise and inspire you. These guides are designed to lead you to a deeper understanding about what God is saying to you and His world today. The aim of these books is to attract readers who have used bible reading guides before, but also readers who are in the are trying bible reading notes for the first time.
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AUGUST 2019 31
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PO BOX 760, Wellington 6140 | 0508 423 836 | info@sunz.org.nz He rama tãu kupu ki õku wae | Your word is a lamp to my feet. Psalm 119:105 SUNZ is a member of the Scripture Union International Family