Ventures Update

Summer’s coming!

www.ventures.org.uk

Summer 2013

David HartDirector, Ventures and Falcon Camps

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:8

I must admit it’s been a long time since I’ve done any serious walking. I’ve still got the same pair of walking boots I had when I was 16 and they do leak a bit now. It’s not as if I don’t enjoy walking, I love getting out into the countryside. But it’s making that first step that I find most difficult. Once momentum is built up it seems much easier to keep going, and that’s not just because I am a little heavier than I was when I was 16!

I’m not sure how Abraham felt about God’s command to leave his home and create a whole new nation. But I’m guessing the first step must have been the most difficult. His continued faithfulness in the face of continued challenges without visible confirmation of God’s promises being fulfilled is an encouragement to us all.

In this issue of Ventures Update we’re challenging you to take some steps to ensure children and young people find their place in the family of God as descendants of Abraham. Even if you can only do something small we know its effects could be exponential. Abraham’s steps of obedience changed the course of human history! We’re delighted some Ventures are full

already but long for the remaining spaces to be filled so that even more young people have the opportunity to discover the truth of God’s word for the first time. We are planning for an exciting summer and we’d like you to be part of it.

To help you take a first step, you could:

Say a prayer right now for our leaders as they prepare for the summer.

Work out which specific family’s children you’ll encourage to join a Venture this summer and when you’ll speak to them.

Consider whether you or your church could support our bursary fund to enable more young people attend Ventures.

Whatever you do to support the ministry of Ventures this summer, I want to say thank you. It’s not always easy to take the first step but I know the stories contained within this issue of Ventures Update will inspire you to take action.

Focus on fundraisingVentures stay affordable to young people and their families thanks to generous donations from leaders, parents, churches and our wonderful supporters. Lucy Hogg is an overall leader of Due South, where fundraising is key to enabling young people to come on the Venture.

Lucy explains: ‘We often have children from outside the church who want to come on Due South, who’ve become involved through a youth group or Christian friend. We think it’s really important to ensure cost isn’t a barrier for these young people in particular, so we raise money for our ‘Friends of Due South’ fund.

‘Initially we asked leaders to raise £100 each. There were sponsored bike rides, coffee mornings, cake-baking, and one church hosted a fantastic evening of music and entertainment. Our quiz evenings have also been very popular. Besides raising much-needed funds, these events have been a great opportunity for members, their families, and the wider church family to feel more involved in Due South.

‘We are very well supported by a number of churches and individuals – we really want young people to hear about Jesus, and we are blessed with many others who share our vision.’

Five tips for fantastic fundraising events

We’d love to hear your fundraising tips too! Email your ideas to ventures@cpas.org.uk

1 Focus on the impact Whether you’re putting on

a talent show, ‘spud and pud’ night, quiz, smoothie morning, cake auction or sponsored line dance(!), make sure you hold the event before God in prayer, and focus on the impact it will have on the young people on your Venture.

2 Use what you haveTapping into the gifts and

skills of people in your networks is a good way to keep costs down and ensure the event is a success. If you’ve got a church full of musicians, have an open mic night, for the fashion-conscious, a clothes swap, or for creative types hold a ‘crafternoon’!

3 Sell tickets beforehandIf you’re catering, knowing at

least rough numbers beforehand makes your job much easier. Selling tickets ahead of the event encourages people to commit to coming, and gives you a better idea of what numbers to expect.

4 Do it togetherHave someone in overall

responsibility who co-ordinates the different aspects of the event, but also make sure tasks are delegated and you have plenty of helpers. Not only does this help things run smoothly, it also gets lots of people involved in supporting Ventures.

5 Choose the right timeMay and June is an ideal

time to fundraise for Ventures, as the run up to summer has begun and there’s excitement in the air, especially if some of the young people going on the Venture are directly involved in the event.

Prayer‘Like many other Ventures, we send out a regular prayer email to all our leaders and supporters in the few months running up to Lindfield. We feel blessed to have such a strong network of people praying specifically for us. Knowing people are praying throughout the week of the holiday itself is a great encouragement, and prayer is an integral part of the Venture itself, both for us and the children in our care. Helping children meet with God in a way which is relevant to them is really important and it’s a joy to see them getting excited about prayer on the Venture.

Praise‘We have so much to thank God for! We’ve had a real turnaround over the last couple of

Relying on God

years in the number of children booking onto Lindfield. In 2011 our bookings were so low that we merged with another Venture. The experience of a different site and team was very positive, and we felt it was right to try to run Lindfield again in 2012. We are so thankful that we had a good number of children and bookings are going really well again this year.

‘We have two or three groups of children coming from different churches as well as some from our own church. Last year we had one child whose mum had found us on the internet. She had a great time, and is coming back this year with five others. We are also especially thankful for our team – God has provided us with an amazing bunch of hard-working leaders and helpers.’

With all that’s required to make Ventures happen, there’s certainly a lot to pray about! Overall leader Catherine Wilson tells us how ongoing reliance on God through prayer underpins the ministry of the Lindfield Venture.

‘I liked having an allocated quiet

time to read the Bible and pray and reflect on

what we’ve been taught.’ Jessica, 17

Our father in heaven

What young people learn about prayer on a Venture can shape their relationship with God

for years to come. Children and teenagers from last year’s Ventures tell us more.

‘I loved praying in the sea.’ Alex, 14

‘I learnt how to listen to God and I learnt a lot more about how to read

my Bible.’ Rupert, 17

‘I learnt how important it

is to pray together about things.’ Angelina, 10

‘God will always listen to us when we pray to Him.’

Andrew, 14

‘I know he’s always listening.’

Hannah, 12

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

‘I learnt that God really does listen

and responds to prayer. I also explored the different

ways of talking to God.’ Hannah, 17

‘God is always with

us, you just need to pray to him and you’ll

feel connected.’ Bryanna, 17

‘We have so many stories and have had staggering answers to prayer. One of my favourites was the change we witnessed in somebody last year who didn’t have any church background. During the week he began to see how different life is on camp and how different God makes us, then one day I saw him sitting in the Holy Space reading the Bible and just soaking in what God was saying to him.

‘It’s always a privilege to see how God is working and changing people’s lives. We follow a truly awesome God and that’s what keeps us passionate about serving him on camp.’

their churches, and we send copies to many former leaders who continue to support us.

‘During the Venture itself, we start each day with prayers at a leaders’ meeting and then after breakfast we have a quiet time for the young people to reflect on the previous evening’s talk, discuss what it means for them, and pray together.

‘Within the main marquee we create a “Holy Space” that is available for prayer and reflection, and is also used for song-writing workshops and occasionally for seminars. This year an optional activity called “encounter” will be available, which aims to help young people draw close to God.

Engaging young people in prayer is a key aspect of any Venture, equipping more children and young people to develop a deeper relationship with God during the other 51 weeks of the year.

For more than 10 years Ann Leddra has been an overall leader at Sandiley, where all of the accommodation and meeting space is housed under canvas on a site near the North Yorkshire coast.

Ann said: ‘Prayer is vital to everything we do at Sandiley, including during our preparation. The leaders’ weekend in April is a key time for us to talk, pray and plan. We also produce a prayer letter for the leaders to share with

Finding holy space

Please join Ann and the other Sandiley 2013 leaders in praying for an amazing week this summer.‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’ Joshua 3:5

We’d love to help more young people attend a Venture in 2013 and beyond. In order to do this, we need your help to give families facing financial difficulties some much-needed assistance to fund their child’s place on a life-changing Venture. Each bursary covers up to a third of the total cost of the holiday. Here’s how you can help:

LegaciesLeaving a legacy to Ventures is a fantastic way to help us continue giving young people transformational Christian holidays now and long into the future. Visit www.cpas.org.uk/legacy.

Giving to Ventures

Look out for our ‘Be a blessing’ leaflets too!

One-off donationsTo give a one-off gift to Ventures, scan the QR code, visit www.cpas.org.uk/blessing, post a cheque payable to CPAS Ventures to the address overleaf, or call 0300 123 0780 (option 1).

Regular supportRegular gifts are fantastic, as they help us plan the future provision of bursaries. You can request a Standing Order form by contacting us using the details overleaf, and we’ll do the rest.

For volunteer leaders … thanks a bunch! If you’re going to be leading on a Venture in 2013 – we’re so grateful and think you’re amazing! To ensure your financial gift goes towards your Venture, please visit the leaders’ section of the Ventures website to make a donation.

Your own financial contribution is vitally important to help us keep the cost of the holidays down, so that more children and young people can afford to come.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Church givingSupporting Ventures as a church is a very rewarding experience. We offer posters, leaflets, DVDs and PowerPoints about Ventures and CPAS’ wider work at www.cpas.org.uk/promote.

PrayingWe produce a free Ventures summer prayer guide as part of the CPAS Prayer Diary. To receive this, please email supporter.relations@cpas.org.uk.

Supporting The more money we can raise, the more affordable Ventures will be, and the more young people can have the experience of a lifetime! Turn to page 7 or visit www.cpas.org.uk/blessing.

Keeping in touchFor up-to-date news from Ventures throughout the summer, follow @CPASVentures on Twitter and like CPASVentures on Facebook.

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

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