No ordinary Saturday morning yesterday at Northampton Jesus Centre

Why not? Well as I shared back in October it was time for another Saturday morning run exclusively by young people from our church in Northampton. Why do I love coming in to work to join them? Because I love being part of the life and energy they bring (partly fuelled by a mixture of too much caffeine and not enough sleep!) I enjoy watching them enjoy being together, gradually, gaining confidence in owning the centre as theirs for the morning, and bringing a sense of positivity and hope (& lots of fun) to everything they do. It reminds me that serving God and ministry are allowed to be fun and enjoyable and we so often turn young people off by making them feel its a duty and onerous responsibility and that to be truly spiritual it must not be enjoyed but endured.
This does not produce the wonderful vibrant life and enjoyment I witnessed yesterday morning.


I'm sure it does our young people good too, to be trusted & grow into the responsibility of owning and running the Jesus Centre occasionally and it does our visitors good to see young people taking an interest in them and enjoying being with them.
There is also a sense hope, for me, in glorious middle age, in seeing young people beginning to own their future and find their place in the Jesus Centre's vital ministry and particular expression of church and putting their faith into action. Some of them have found they've enjoyed it more than they though they would. Putting their Courageous faith into action and getting out of their comfort zones to do things they're not used to, is character training and maturing (and it can still be fun!)
We want to find more ways to engage more young people in more opportunities at the Jesus Centre to connect with all kinds of people, particularly students, graduates and young professionals. Through running events in the Cafe or starting new groups.
If you have any ideas or would like to find out more contact Michael Foord or Paul Veitch or to find out more about how you could get involved in volunteering contact me, Jayne Elliott at Northampton Jesus Centre.