Last week in the newsletter I reflected on WAY and realized that what we are doing is “church” - be it for youth. In our culture we observe “youth” to be their own demographic of people. It is a transitional phase that neither we comfortably call children, yet we do not recognize them as adults. The fact that we think of “youth ministry” in its own category is a recognition of the helpfulness of this distinction.  And so, we must think through how we might best disciple youth in this transition between childhood and adulthood.

Naming WAY ‘youth church’ acknowledges that for a time church for youth may look different but do essentially the same things.  Youth will gather because they are mad about Jesus.  They gather to serve God and each other.  They gather to hear from God’s word and to pray together. They gather, and in doing so, say to their friends Jesus is not only real, but all of life is about him.

But youth church is different.  It is largely led by youth, with leaders to help and teach.  It is much more active than Sunday gatherings.  There are games and activities along with everything else.  There is more interaction, but most importantly it is the context in which our youth learn to do church together.

As our youth grow older and leave, they come to our Sunday gatherings understanding church is not a passive exercise.  It does require their participation in coming before God’s word, praying with and caring for their brothers and sisters.  Our hope is that we are raising a generation of followers of Jesus that take God’s call seriously and be trained in serving God and each other.

So, Youth Church on Fridays is just part of the picture.  Of course we don’t want our youth disconnected from Sundays.  Sunday gatherings are not their primary church, but they also realize the Friday nights are just for a time. But an amazing time working out what it is to do church (and life) together.

Exciting things are happening on Fridays. Indeed, some of our best ministry takes place on Friday nights. Those leaders involved, those with children and Teens know what I’m talking about. MAD is doing great things with its outreach. But I especially see what is happening with our youth at WAY, and it's exciting.

It’s dawned on me, and it's become clearer over time that what is taking place at WAY on Friday nights is church. Often, we think of church as a group of Christian believers. This is the default way we generally take the word church. But the word for Church in the bible is usually used to express the activity of gathering. And we see that with WAY. Teens gathering around God’s word to hear God speak. This is a clear reflection (or expression) of the heavenly church of which all God’s people are gathered around Jesus and will be seen on the last day.

One of the great things that is happening on Friday nights is that Teens are excited to gather together to hear God’s word and seek to live in light of the amazing work of Jesus. As we have continued to develop WAY, it has been met with much enthusiasm and Teens are more and more eager for their friends to be a part of this as well. I want this reality to be expressed and known clearly. And I wonder if for our Teens to recognize WAY for what it is we should call it so – ‘Youth Church.’

Obviously, this raises many questions. I will have much more to say soon and will be communicating through multiple channels. All I have space to convey in this little post is that that a change in name doesn’t mean a change in what we are doing. It’s a recognition of what is taking place and what it is.

Wouldn’t it be exciting if our Teens were part of a church where they own it, love to serve and through all this grow as disciples of our King, Jesus.

From Matthew 20:1-16. You might remember the Parable of the Vineyard and a Generous Landowner who generously hired servants to work in his vineyard.  While he hired them at different times of the day, he paid them all the same. 

This caused some of them who worked all day to feel ‘ripped off’, because they got paid the same as those who worked an hour. 

They forgot that they were given a gift to be chosen to work in the rich mans vineyard.  It somehow meant less to them when they found out how generous he was to others.

The parable’s main point is that God’s people possess an equal inheritance of the new creation, a right that does not ultimately depend upon how much we done or sacrificed.

It also causes us to ponder—both ours and God’s. The script we’re typically given is straightforward and insistent: “You’ve got to chase your dreams.” It’s a rallying cry echoed in motivational quotes, viral memes, and graduation speeches.

Yet Jesus introduces a paradox that disrupts this mindset, hinting that chasing our dreams might not lead us to the fulfillment we expect. “How do I chase my dreams?” The script we’re given shouts, “Go for it—chase them with all you’ve got.” The paradox whispers back, “Not everything is so dreamy; it doesn’t always work out.”

But Jesus flips it entirely: Our dream isn’t something we chase—it’s a gift from a generous God. It’s a gift we receive with open hands, a dream far bigger than our own, and one that God himself pays for through his sacrifice. 

Chasing my dream, or doing what I want seems good, and there’s freedom in that. But sometimes what’s true, wise, good, and beautiful is even better.  To work his vineyard is a wonderful privilege

We’re told to pursue whatever we desire, and that’s a fine starting point. Yet Jesus offers something greater—God’s dream for us: life with him, the forgiveness of sins, a brand-new heart, a fresh start, and a place in his vineyard, his kingdom, his family. It’s a dream that’s true, wise, good, and beautiful, and it’s a gift we can simply receive with gratitude.

This is the wonderful story we call the gospel, the good news.  It is the reason we are doing the LIFE series on Wednesday nights.  We are reminding each other of this good news that brings us LIFE to the full.  Life with purpose and meaning.  LIFE which in itself is a good thing, and is freely given to us – although at great cost to our LORD.

KYCK is a highlight of the year for our teens. 1200 Teens gathering around God's word and singing in thankfulness to God is special. It's powerful as well to spend a weekend together with the goal of focusing on Our Lord.

Here are three brief reflections out of KYCK this year:

1. God is at work amongst our Teens: In the hype of a big event it's easy to be caught up in the moment. Although there is a place for this, I was encouraged by the quieter moments where teens reflected on Jesus kingship in there lives. My highlight of the weekend was when we sat at our campsite and prayed together. I was filled with joy. Teens prayed that I had not seen pray before and gospel convictions were clear.

2. KYCK can be wet: It rained. It rained a lot. And our camp-site was substantially flooded. I was thankful for the patience of our teens. I don't wish that to happen again but the bonding it brings can't be replicated.

3. I'm thankful for our leaders: they were amazing. We are blessed at our church to have leaders committed to loving our teens through looking at the bible together and giving themselves to our youth. Our other helpers from cooks to those that helped with setting up/packing up the site made all the difference.

We believe God may be calling us to begin a new church gathering on Sunday evenings. For those who are committed to seeing this vision become a reality, we meet fortnightly during term time to pray, listen to God’s Word, and seek His leading.

Our prayer is that God will stir the hearts of people to imagine what He could do through an evening church service. We are asking Him to raise up a faithful group who will joyfully and sacrificially commit to meeting together regularly on a Sunday evening—putting aside other things for the sake of His Kingdom.

In the meantime, we are not idle. As Christians have always done when they gather, we open the Word of God together, listen as it is preached, and respond in prayer—asking that God's heart for the Hawkesbury and the world would shape our own.

We call this time “Simply Church,” because while we wait for God to build something new, we are already being the church—gathered around His Word, in prayer, and united in hope.

Even if you can’t join us in person, please join us in prayer. Ask God to raise up people who will form this new evening church and be part of what He is doing among us.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” — Psalm 127:1