Earlier this month, we gave opportunity to youth groups from across Burton to come together for our Big Youth Night at Elim.
These evenings give young people the chance to enjoy a much bigger version of their usual church youth group, meet others from across the town and, most importantly, have fun together!
The first hour was full of the usual chaos (in the best possible way!) with table football, giant Guess Who, pool, table tennis, giant Jenga, games consoles, the art corner, tuck shop and plenty of catching up on each other’s news.
For the second hour, we turned our attention to faith. With Matt leading the karaoke, we explored why singing is such an important part of worship, and thought about what it means to worship God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We also listened to the story of Horatio Spafford, who wrote the hymn ‘It Is Well with My Soul’ in the midst of deep personal loss. We then had time to worship God together through singing and reflection, giving young people the opportunity to think about what worship means in their own lives.
One of the things that makes these evenings so special is the mix of young people who come along. From Year 7s just starting out in their church youth group to sixth formers who have been Christians for years, everyone has space to get involved in their own way. Some need to burn off energy, others are happy to slouch on a sofa after a busy day and catch up with friends. This time, one young person spent much of the evening deep in conversation with a couple of our brilliant volunteers, debating all things philosophy and Scripture!
It’s not just the young people who benefit. Having youth leaders join us means they can build relationships with others doing similar work across the town. It also gives them a break from planning and leading for a change, so they can simply enjoy spending time with their young people.
This time, we had 41 young people from four different churches, alongside some young people we’ve got to know through our community youth clubs who don’t usually attend church. It’s always encouraging to see everyone coming together and building friendships across different groups.
Our next church youth event is our Christmas Party on Friday 4 December, at 7pm, at The Community Church, Stapenhill.
We look forward to seeing everyone there!
Sue Jolley
October 2026
