Supporting & Encouraging Children, Young People & Young Families Youth Ministry Update Assisted Reading Scheme Report Last year we started the scheme with Leon School & Sports College to provide help for year 8 students who need extra support with their literacy. We sought volun- teers from Spurgeon Baptist Church [SBC] and were de- lighted when 13 people were willing to commit themselves to at least one session per week We were able to sup- port 15 readers for approxi- mately 10 weeks, and the results have been really en- couraging. in addition to the literacy improvements it has been great to see the in- crease in confidence among the students - this has also been noted by their teachers Reading Scheme ‘Alongside the current term's reading scheme, we've been working the team at Leon & the Crosslinks Centre ‘to develop the scheme. We've applied to MK Community Foundation for a grant to establish a formal pilot pro- ject. We are seeking to re- cruit more volunteers from a wider pool than just SBC in order to assist more readers, and welll shortly be ap- proaching our local Primary The team at Leon have re- ported great progress by the students on the scheme, Grace Hume, Assistant Head- teacher, says that ‘two thirds are now able to access most of ‘Inow enjoy being able to read the We had a celebration event at which we thanked the students for their hard worked & commitment and presented them with certifi cates. In turn they served their the reading tasks volunteers with they'll encounter —_ocal paper tea & cakes as a in year 9° (so Student —_thank you. they've effectively ‘aught up to where they are expected to be). Mrs Hume commented that they are ‘seeing greater improvements this term than for the last two years, and the addition of the assisted readi schem provement” Developments Schools to offer them sup- port via the scheme. A longer term aim is also to develop training & support for par- ents who want to encourage their children with their read- ing. Getting Involved ‘Ase you able to commit your- self to two 30 minute reading sessions per week? Your role is very simple but full training will be provided, and you will Thanks for your support... ‘A huge thank you to every- ‘one who supported the re- ‘cent Quiz & Supper night in to raise funds for our ongoing Youth Ministry work, and to the team who dreamt is up, organized it & served us so well on the night. It was a really enjoyable evening & a ‘great opportunity to invite friends/family along and share a little of the work That all happened last aca- demic year & we're just ‘wrapping up the scheme for this term with another cele- bration shortly. The specialist ‘team in Leon's Study Base are hugely appreciative of the time & commitment given by the scheme volunteers - and so are wel! be well supported, IF you feel able to offer your time, or you'd like to just find ‘out a little bit more about the scheme, please speak to Ricky (details overleaf) we're involved in. Also, a massive thanks for the excel- lent Gift Day total this year. Your financial, practical & prayer support is invaluable! Cen Rea Ne Sern etan ee ee) Ser ens are Coy per Rd Ree a) Seed peers re es ey Cee Quotes ed ee Set Res been able to tackle Pec eta) ora Ree aic Poe eer Pee unc twice a week’ Ree) Gere Drei tind was rally for adults Perse rd) read! STU Neu cca ful forthe funds that we Deets De ead erent Spurgeon Baptist ChurchBlessed, Refreshed, Resourced & Encouraged! In partnership with the Bridgebulder Trust we organ- ised an event in March for Christians who work in Edu- cation across MK. We were delighted to be joined by individuals representing 9 Churches and 11 institutions, from teaching assistants to deputy head teachers, admin- istrative officers to private teachers. The aim was to ‘bless, refresh, resource & encourage’ them for their ‘ongoing work as they work regularly with young people ‘A more detailed report can be found online at: ‘wwrweasyrew.com/blessed Following feedback from the event we are planning two further events this year: a social evening for mutual support & encouragement, anda retreat day for worship, prayer & reflection. We will encourage attendees to invite their Church leaders to the retreat day too. Please pray reguary | for Christians who 4 work in schools across MK (in any capacity: they are a vital witness to children & young people, many of whom have no other contact with Christians. “fa doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 30 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, & some of whom didn’t want to be there & were causing trouble, & the doctor, lawyer, or dentist had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.” How To Support Youth Ministry at Spurgeons Your continued support is as vital to Youth Ministry ast to every area of ministry the Church. You can support us in a number of ways; Financial: - see below for how to give How To Give Regular Giving: You can setup a Standing Order to give every week or month (whichever you pre- fer). Contact our Treasure, Dee Stevens, for details. If you already give regularly and ‘would like to increase your giving to support the Youth Ministry, please speak to Dee One Off Gift: ply place your gift in an envelope marked ‘Youth Min- istry’ and drop it into the offering bags on a Sunday morning or hand it to a Dea- con. Prayer: ~ new & existing projects - discerning direction - seizing new opportunities - increase in volunteers - sustainability of projects ~ attend prayer breakfasts Gift Aid: IF you are a UK taxpayer, you can ‘Gift Aid’ your giving to the Church which means that for every £10 you give we can claim an additional £250 at no cost to you (because it ‘comes out of tax you've al- ready paid). All you need to do is fill in a short form and hand it to our Treasurer, Dee. Surprisingly there are lots of people who faithfully give to the Church but have not reg- istered for Gift Aid (many of ‘whom are UK taxpayers). Volunteering: ~ Boys’ & Girls’ Brigade - Junior Church Friday Club ~ Schools Work Reading Scheme - admin & organisation Resource Sponsorship: IF you would like to provide something more practical, you might want to consider sponsoring a Youth Ministry resource. This might include: ‘sa Bible for a young person ‘Bible reading notes for a young person for a year ‘a DVD resource for use with ‘Young People ‘sbooks/resources to encour- ‘age young people in wor- ship IF you're interested, please speak to Ricky. a OTIS @ Spurgeons eer ca DAs Year 6 students joining Pete me Clara ran ema Dosa) Pes Thank you! CER Cge ae ard Offenders ee At eee Seay Se cg oO Inspired to Help? Corea ary rere iis am Contact Details: ‘Spurgeon Baptist Church Drayton Road Bletchley /MK2 3RR- wow spurgeonbaptistmkorg