Filling in the Blanks - Summer Reach

Due to the long break between the end of the Reach meetings at Easter time and the beginning of the new season in September, three “events” were organised to take place during the summer months to try and keep in contact with the young people and encourage them to come back when the meetings resumed again in September. These three events took place from 7pm-8.30pm on 3rd May, 26th July and 30th August 2016 in the Jubilee hall and brought together the two groups of young people from the Monday and Tuesday night meetings in Martyrs and Taughmonagh, respectively. The church minibuses were used to bring the young people in from the East and South Belfast areas reached on Monday and Tuesday nights and they made it possible to run these events at minimal expense. The meetings took the following format:

• 7-7.30pm: games/ challenges to encourage the workers and young people to engage with each other and build relationships/ get to know each other

• 7.30-8pm: Gospel Meeting including:

(i) activities to get the young people using bibles to find verses (some were using bibles for the very first time)

(ii) Gospel message at each of the 3 meetings - given by Joel Harrison, Malcolm Daly and Stephen Kyle, respectively

(iii) Quiz to try and reinforce the main points presented during each Gospel message

• 8-8.30pm: snacks (chips) were brought in to give the young people and leaders time to eat and talk together on an 1-to-1 basis after the Gospel message The three events were attended by an average of 15-16 young people and 6-8 workers each night. We have seen the most of these young people back at the weekly Reach meetings which started again last week. At the final event on 30th August we were encouraged to get 4 new young people in from East Belfast, two of whom have since come to the Monday night meetings.

Please continue to pray for this outreach work, that God's blessing will be in evidence upon it, that children will be reached for Christ, and workers will be encouraged.