NURTURING YOUNG LEADERS
‘What I like about Checkmate is everything. The people, the church, the games, everything. I like the fact that we can get to know a wide range of people of all different nationalities and origins, and the fact that each helper has something unique to give to the camp. The fact that the whole thing is based on God, and depends on God in a way, is very reassuring. Ever since I was young I have always dreamed of living in a church where you go to sleep knowing God is watching over you. Some may argue that that fact doesn’t matter since we can worship God anywhere, which is true, but chellington has grown on me I suppose and I can’t wait to see those bird named cabins again, not to mention the Ibett and the Winnie Hall rooms.’ Simon
‘The games are also great fun, from football to Ibett room games, I love them all (although cricket is not my forte). It’s fun trying to guess what kind of wacky game Kevin will come up next, after his famous “Spiderball” game. Those games are all icebreakers and help us to get to know each other and to trust each other. One particular highlight of Checkmate 2013 was the night where we all had to share our testimonies. They gave a great insight on people’s relationships with God whether it was a simple comforting relationship based on a lifetime or and extraordinary one with many miracles.’ Simon
Over the years I have acknowledged the importance of growing young leaders. To grow young leaders means you need to have an intentional commitment to develop & train up young people, giving responsibilities & opportunities to serve along side those with experience. This enables the right blend of youthful energy coupled with wisdom & experience & helps develop new talents; people skills; confidence; communication skills & the qualities required to be a young leader, including the ability to make mistakes. To facilitate this growing environment you need patience, bags of encouragement, constructive advice & practical helps along the way. This training can only happen if you have young people coming along to the events in the first place & experienced leaders with the right attitude & patience to pass on their skills.
‘I believe every church leader should be involved in such ministry, the ability to mentor younger leaders, just as professional football clubs need to nurture the starlets coming through the junior & under 21 sides so that there are players ready to compete for first team squad places & eventually replace the senior players.’ Kevin
At Checkmate & Sketchpad, two residential young people holidays for 9-16 olds, I am intentionally growing young leaders. These young people are keen to learn & over the years are gaining experience to be able to work with younger boys & girls, to input into discussions, to serve, to do practical jobs, to take on responsibilities in group times, to be responsible, sensible [well, some of the time!] & aware. Encouragement is a key aspect in developing young people coupled with constructive comment and practical helps to help guide them. Over the years the young people blossom in the right environment rather like a flower opening or a butterfly coming forth & spreading it’s wings. In a Christian holiday the faith environment is a positive climate for young people to spiritually grow and ask questions, share doubts, learn together from the Bible, pray, discuss with leaders & share experiences from the past year.
‘One thing that made me laugh was when each cabin had a special time to themselves and I went with Matt’s cabin along with James and we played a Korean version of “splat” and kept going right until the very end of the holiday.’ Simon
‘We are a work in progress with ‘L’ plates on our backs.’
‘Christian young people need to be in the right environment where they can ask questions, share thoughts, laugh together, have fun & learn together in a natural way from the Bible.’ Kevin
‘Now for my testimony. Like many others, I grew up in a Christian family, with a Christian church where I learnt all about jesus in Sunday school My dad is a pastor so I also grew up knowing the importance of God in my day to day life. From the age of 5, I started praying publicly in church. Don’t ask me why, because I didn’t know who I was praying to but I knew that to get by in life you have to pray. You need outside help. It was by the age of nine that I really understood who Jesus was and what He had done to change the world. It was then that I picked up one of my dad’s evangelical leaflets that go strait to the point. It explained everything about being a Christian and what God can do in your life. and, like most leaflets, it ended with “If you want to become a Christian, then pray this simple prayer, and ask God into your life”. Well that sentence was like a dare to me, like God saying, “I’m here in front of you, are you going to take this opportunity?” So I did. I became a Christian and started a whole new life with a friend I didn’t know I had. My life from then has been a series of ups and downs but I now know that whatever happens, God will never let go.’ Simon
‘Checkmate this year was brilliant as always. I always anticipate and enjoy going because of the friendships and Christian material in the holiday. it was great to see people from different areas and countries getting together to play chess and discuss the Bible. It was amazing to see people from halfway around the world this year; I hope they can make it next year. Yong Hun made me laugh with his ‘en passant’. My favorite quote would be Daniel’s testimony about the miracle that happened at TeenStreet with his friend’s hip.’ – Tim
‘I think the highlight for me personally was being a young leader & being able to share my faith with the others. It really helped me & made me think about how I became a Christian, giving my own testimony & hearing the other Young Leader’s testimonies. It also gave me an opportunity to speak to some of the younger members about their faith & I hope I may have been helpful in strengthening their faith also.’ Matt
In the early summer before going into the residential holiday programme, a friend, Sarah, who regularly prays for me sent me a couple of prophetic pictures with words she had received whilst in prayer for me. One talked of seedlings that were growing steadily & needing careful nurture! I felt this prophetic word to be spot on for me & I was encouraged. Checkmate 2013 was the sixth Checkmate & five young leaders have come to many of those summer experiences.
I have been growing Hibiscus seedlings for some years now from a mature plant in the garden. The seedling plants vary from 2 to 6 years in age & so there height & growth vary accordingly. Over the years I have noticed the seedlings, planted them in suitable soil allowing their roots to develop, positioned them in the right place for sunlight & ensured they have had water when rain was scarce. I have weeded around them to ensure their survival and checked up on them removing debris in the winter months. Over the years they are growing from strength to strength & this last summer [September 2013] I had some of my first crop of seedlings, [now a good size] display their first flowers. How long is it from seedling to first flower you may ask, well it is 5 to 6 years & it will be another 4 years to reach their full height of around 8 feet.
The first ever flower from this seedling plant. I was so intrigued to see that it was white, no other Hibiscus is white in the garden so I was a tad surprised. Notice the other buds that will flower later in September. The leaves are healthy & the seedling plant shows me great potential for the future. In several years time it will have grown considerably taller & broader bearing lots of white flowers. When you have nurtured one from a tiny seedling it gives such joy! It was interesting to see that 5 flowers came forth by the end of September.
Hibiscus flowers trumpet their praise to God in heaven throughout the summer months. Our lives too can give glory to God in heaven. Look at the stories of Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel & Ruth in the Bible to see some examples of how this is possible.
By my birthday in late July they are flowering & then splendidly throughout August & well into September. I have several now in the garden & it is interesting to see the slight variations in colour each plant produces. I have white, blue, pink, purple & various shades in between now in the garden. Once grown they are low maintenance & a joy to have in the garden. I normally put bark mulch around the base & keep them well watered in the early summer. During the summer I spend a few minutes picking off those flowers past their best & keeping them fresh. I enjoy watching the bees hard at work collecting the pollen & occasionally having a rest!
My mature Hibiscus is flowering abundantly in late September with many flower buds still to unfold as you can see. They give colour & life to the garden, pollen for the bees who love them & the occasional rest for a passing butterfly. Butterflies were abundant in the garden this year & gave me real inspiration for art lessons in the autumn & artwork reference too. In the Bible John chapter 15 illustrates that our Heavenly Father wants our lives to produce good, lasting fruit. He desires our lives to bear fruit rather than be fruitless. Our lives need to be centered in Him for that to happen, Jesus said that we cannot bear eternal fruit in our own strength. Our Heavenly Father prunes the branches of our lives lovingly, with great tenderness & patience as the Gardener of all gardeners [see John 15: 1-16].
Butterflies of varying sizes, shapes & colours were in abundance in the summer of 2013 with a super summer of sunshine throughout July & August. Evidently there are up to 24 garden butterflies, I noticed Cabbage White, Peacock, Red Admiral & Small Tortoiseshell plus at least 3 other brown ones visiting regularly during the hot summer. I spent some time photographing their acrobatic displays during the summer & was inspired in the autumn to do an art lesson or two with my Sketchclub class & in school art class. Butterflies remind me of the graceful work of the Holy Spirit who brings out the beauty God sees in our lives. He works often gently & silently over the years transforming those who yield to Him to be like Jesus, from one degree of glory to another. I am thankful the Lord is patient & gracious, slow to anger & merciful when we make so many mistakes! I am so pleased that He looks at the potential in our lives & sees deep down where we can be in the future as He patiently works within our hearts & minds.
‘We are an unfinished canvass with the palette rich & the paint still wet.’ Kevin
Artwork inspired by a summer photo from my Sketchclub art class in September [after 5 hours but not yet finished]. As I have used a selection from the range of 72 colours in my set, so our Heavenly Father brings out colours in our lives with amazing detail & care in such a way that the colours in our lives glorify Him.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 & Ephesians 2:10
‘I much enjoyed checkmate 2013 and being a young leader gave it a different feel which I also enjoyed. I think my highlights would be the different competitions including chess tournament, maths, puzzle competition, Bible etc. and also the food, the food is always magnificent.’ Jake
The Checkmate residential is an ideal growing environment for young leaders. Checkmate works particularly well with boys due to their competitive psyche. In the coming years as the Sketchpad residential matures I plan to grow young leaders in this residential too, both boys & girls and I am already looking out for potential young leaders & have recognized one or two. Young leaders can be given responsibilities from 15-17 years of age, from 18 years they can be fully fledged team members if they are ready. As seedling plants develop & butterflies move on from being caterpillars so young leaders grow in ‘fertile soil’.
I did manage a few photos with 4 butterflies & one with 5 on one flower but I had to be very patient for this one! I think it is a true reflection of the 5 young leaders at Checkmate in the summer 2013, spiritually developing & complimenting each other. Young people need young people & young people attract young people.
‘One of the best things about Checkmate has to be the food ‘Kevin the Chef’ cooked for us everyday. It was always amazing and filling, but not in an unhealthy way, and the where seconds (and thirds and fourths) for everyone. The extra stuff we did outside of the chess tournament added some variety, and meant we could play some action games outside. The weather was great so we spent loads of time outside. Even though the football was a lot of fun, since my team didn’t win, I’d have to say the cricket was the best.
My favorite time was when I was playing with the younger boys and girls because they always wanted an action packed game, so that gave me a chance to burn my energy so I was always ready for bed. I look forward to the 7th year.’ Daniel
I leave you with a several questions to mull over & prayerfully consider. What environments can we create that facilitate potential growth of young people? How can we actively set about creating such environments in the coming years? How can we be more deliberate in the way we pray for and work with young people to develop them as aspiring young leaders?
If you have time to read and reflect on John chapter 15: verses 1-16 you will find that rewarding. I suggest you cross reference with Psalm 1 and Ephesians 2:10.
Please pray for me as I seek to nurture young leaders by developing their skills, providing the right environment for spiritual growth & giving them opportunities to take on responsibilities with young people. Thank you. The photos in this article are taken over the years so you can see the development of the residential holiday & the young people.
Kevin Moore
A light event done in the dark & below before an infamous balloon stamp challenge!
Please pray for Kevin as he will be putting plans together over the winter months for Checkmate next August.
If you are interested in supporting the ministry of Face2Face please go to the following link where you can give online:
https://my.give.net/face2facetrust
If interested in booking a place please contact Kevin or download the Booking forms.
if interested in serving on team contact Kevin: kevinmoore758@btinternet.com kevin@face2facetrust.org.uk
