Ventures Update

Sharing Jesus

www.ventures.org.uk

Spring 2014

It was brilliant and now my mate wants to come next year!’ I don’t think my godson

would mind me saying this but he’s not ‘top of the class’ in R.E. or particularly well-practised in evangelism but within minutes of returning from camp he’d convinced a non-Christian friend from his rugby team that he couldn’t afford to miss out in 2014!

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if all our children and young people came home from their Venture unable to contain their enthusiasm, bold and daring enough to invite their friends to explore the gospel with them?

It’s not easy, of course. For one, they don’t want to be accused of ‘ramming the Bible down people’s throats’. Nor, perhaps, do they want to their Venture to be anything other than a ‘safe retreat’. Understandable – but if we believe the gospel is urgent news for everyone and young lives are being transformed by experiencing the reality of Jesus on Ventures, we cannot keep this for ourselves. ‘As for us we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard’ (Acts 4:20). It has to be shared!

The Ventures and Falcon Camps team are presently exploring ways to help young people invite their friends onto a Venture and we welcome your ideas. Whether it’s a conversation-

provoking wristband, a first-timers discount, or a Biblical resource highlighting the importance, we want to provide as much help as possible.

Perhaps the most important thing each of us can do is to lead by example. Do the young people around us see us inviting friends, colleagues or neighbours to engage with the gospel, or inviting their children to attend a Venture alongside them? What conversations can we have this week? It takes courage for ordinary people like us to seize gospel opportunities – and our children and young people might take note.

Having just spent the weekend promoting Ventures at a key conference, I wonder if you can assist by promoting the ministry through local churches, regional events or other avenues? Let us know your ideas and we will aim to resource you appropriately.

Thanks for all you are doing – it’s been noted!

Tim Friend,Ventures Principal

When they saw the

courage of Peter and John

and realized that they

were unschooled,

ordinary men, they were

astonished and they took

note that these men had

been with Jesus.

Acts 4:13

‘

New Hope as Venture expands

Please pray for Andy, Amanda and the other leaders as they prepare for the Hope Valley double-header this summer.

‘It’s a bit of an adventure but we’re hoping it will be popular with the older teenagers. Over the years we’ve seen the real fruit and benefit of Ventures, and it’s always a joy to see young people taking significant steps in their Christian lives. It will be a great privilege to be able to help older teenagers in the same way – either to meet Jesus for the first time, or to be encouraged to keep on following Jesus through the transition into adulthood and beyond.

‘Lots of positives were coming out of the Pathfinder Venture, but the members were leaving us at 14 and wanted to stay as a group but were struggling to go somewhere together.

‘We suggested other CYFA Ventures but there aren’t many in this area and we had parents and youth leaders asking for advice. It became apparent that there was a local need for a new Venture to serve this age group.

‘We’ve ended up planning to run both Ventures alongside each other, using the centre’s two accommodation blocks.’

Starting a new Venture has some obvious challenges, but the shared site will make this transition a bit easier for the team.

Andy added: ‘We’ll share some resources and eat together, but it’ll mostly be two separate Ventures for different age groups taking place on the same site.

‘The support team and core team is shared between the two Ventures, but we need to recruit more dorm leaders to serve on both camps. We’ve got a good partnership with Christ Church Liverpool who are very supportive and send lots of students to serve on the team, which is hugely important. As well as that we have two or three churches which send big groups of members on the Venture.’

The Hope Valley Venture is expanding to cater for 14-18s this summer, with two camps running alongside each other on the same site. Andy Brewerton, vicar of St Thomas’ Kilnhurst in South Yorkshire, is overall leader along with his wife Amanda. He explains how the Venture has developed into this new phase of life.

‘I first got involved in Ventures through St James Muswell Hill, which was the church my family went to at the time. As a child, Ventures was all about the fun activities and making friends with other Christians my age. Although I have continued to enjoy these aspects, the spiritual side has become increasingly important to me as I’ve got older. I’ve learnt so much about myself and my faith at Ventures over the years. I used to be quite a shy person, but as I’ve grown up I’ve become more confident. I’ve been more and more involved in organising things, particularly at @Brymore, which I’ve been

throughout the whole year. It sounds a bit dramatic, but I think I’d be a different person without Ventures!

‘I’m now studying medicine at Cambridge University and am part of a church with a strong student ministry. I hope to come back next summer as a cook to @Brymore, and then go on to become a leader. I’d definitely recommend Ventures to anyone who was considering going, whether they’re 8 or 18!’

going to since I was 14, and last summer I helped run the weekly prayer meeting.

‘Ventures have always been the highlight of my summer, but they’ve also impacted me all year round. They’ve been a big part of my life for ten years - I’ve basically grown up with Ventures! It’s been really good for me to have that ‘boost’ in my faith every summer and the friendships I have with Christian friends from Ventures have been really important. It’s great to have that community, and to keep in touch with each other and talk about things we’ve learnt on Ventures

In 2003, 8-year-old Imogen Wright went on a Venture for the first time, following in the footsteps of her older sister and friends from church. Ten years later, Imogen is something of a ‘Ventures veteran’, having been every summer since! We caught up with her to find out more about the impact of a decade of life-changing Christian holidays.

From 8-18

Taking to the water

Easter Haslemere, 12-17 AprilSport, creativity, worship, drama, night games, ten-pin bowling and fantastic food! An exam revision track is being offered to the young people, with leaders offering help on a variety of subjects.

The Broads Cruise offers a unique Venture experience for the 50 young people who will join this week of sailing around the Norfolk Broads during the Easter holidays.

Paddy Gleave, who works in the legal team at the National Trust central office in Swindon, has been part of the Broads Cruise ever since he first attended as a 14-year-old in 1993.

Ski Switzerland, 11-20 AprilFun, friendship, Bible teaching and skiing on the slopes of Switzerland! The 35 teenagers taking part will be finding out more about God, what life is all about and what being a Christian means.

‘I was a teenager in a traditional village church with nobody else my age, so on a Venture I really appreciated spending time with teenagers a few years older than me and meeting some good Christian role models.

The Broads Cruise is for young people aged 12-16, with a total of four to eight people on each yacht as they sail around the Broads in groups of yachts – known as squadrons – with plenty of opportunities to talk about faith issues, make good friends, have fun sailing and read the Bible together.

Paddy said: ‘It’s a very special thing to be involved with. As leaders on a Venture we do our best to help create a memorable week, but God does the rest and it’s all about how the members respond to him.

‘While all Ventures are a big logistical task, a sailing-based holiday does throw up some unique challenges, especially with meals being cooked on all 16 boats and very few fridges, as well as lugging around sound kit for worship.

‘We’re praying for a really fun week of sailing on the Broads. Last year was very cold which was a huge challenge, but it was great how people modelled the Christian life by bearing with one another despite the difficult conditions.’

Also taking place during the Easter holidays:

‘Freedom is something which is really relevant to so many areas of young people’s lives. We looked at freedom in terms of our walk with God, our identity and our relationships with others.

Freedom in Christ‘We started off by focusing on Jesus, and the fact that his death and resurrection did not just bring us freedom from the consequences of our sin but he suffered so that we may know life in all the fullness God intended. We considered many aspects of freedom, such as being free from guilt and

Fun and freedom at Brambletye 3The teaching theme at last summer’s Brambletye 3 had a big effect on the 14-18s who took part. Overall leader Toby Nicholls tells us more about why freedom is such an important topic for teenagers.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17

hurt them, and mend broken relationships. One young person’s relationship with her dad had been broken for many years and she felt very hurt. On the night we talked about love she phoned her dad and forgave him but also recognised and said sorry for the times she had treated him badly.

Freedom to have fun!‘Because we were engaging with lots of deep, personal stuff in the teaching sessions, we made sure we kept the other aspects of the Venture a bit lighter, celebrating our freedom to have fun!

‘On the penultimate night, we had a Glastonbury-style festival complete with marquees, a hog roast, a bouncy castle and candyfloss, and we even had a (rather unseasonal) Christmas day, with decorations, festive food and carol singing!’

shame, the freedom we have to share our faith with others, and the freedom we have to be ourselves because of our identity in him.

Freedom from addiction‘We considered the topic of freedom from addiction in quite a broad way, recognising that people can get addicted to almost anything, including things which can become unhealthy if they become too important to us. For example, being addicted to needing praise from others, or spending so much time on Facebook that we begin to live our lives through it and neglect our ‘real’ relationships.

Freedom to forgive‘The sessions on freedom to forgive and freedom to love and be loved were particularly powerful. A number of young people took the step to forgive those who had

Tools to spread the word

On paperWe’ve got all sorts on offer for free to help you spread the word about

Ventures. The brochure and DVD are available from the Ventures website, and additional posters, leaflets and

updates can be ordered at www.cpas.org.uk/promote.

If you know someone who would love to come on a Venture, but is facing

financial difficulties, why not suggest they apply to

the Ventures bursary fund?

In personNothing beats a personal

recommendation! Ask God if there are any young people you know through church, work, school or

other networks who would benefit from a fun, safe, life-changing

Christian holiday.

OnlineAs well as the Ventures website

(www.ventures.org.uk), which has details of all the 2014 holidays, you can also keep up with the world of Ventures through Facebook (like CPAS Ventures)

and Twitter (follow @CPASVentures). The more likes, shares and

retweets the better!

Any ideas?We’d love to hear any other ideas

you have. Please email Ventures and Falcon Camps principal Tim

Friend (tfriend@cpas.org.uk) with any bright ideas!

In churchThe Ventures DVD can be shown in church, or why not interview

a young person who’s been on Ventures during a service? There’s also information on

bringing a youth group in the youth leaders‘ section of the

Ventures website.

Bookings for 2014 are well underway, with some Ventures already fully booked! There’s still plenty to choose from for 8-18s across the UK at www.ventures.org.uk.

CPAS, Sovereign Court One (Unit 3), Sir William Lyons Road, University of Warwick Science Park, COVENTRY CV4 7EZT 0300 123 0780 (option 2) E ventures@cpas.org.uk W www.ventures.org.uk

Church Pastoral Aid Society Registered charity no 1007820 A company limited by guarantee Registered in England no 2673220 Registered office at above address

Ventures is part of the ministry of CPAS

Scan to visit www.ventures.org.uk

Book your place

Spread the wordDo you know any young people who might be interested in going on a Venture? Direct them towards www.ventures.org.uk, or order a free brochure and DVD for them online.

Pray and supportA big THANK YOU to everyone who supports Ventures through prayer and giving. You can find out more about the Ventures bursary fund at www.ventures.org.uk/bursary.