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Youth Work 

Youth Logo-white Background
Supporting and seeking fullness of life for all Young People in Brentwood.  

DRCC Youth in now in its second year of engagements! We have been massively blessed in our work and how we work with our community!

We set out originally, as a church, with the intention of sharing the love of God with local (unchurched) young people in a really tangible way, recognising that there although Brentwood is seen as an ‘affluent’ area, there is an ever-growing amount of need from pretty much every generation in our community.

By reaching out and engaging with our community in various different ways, we have found ourselves in a position of being able to walk with young people through adolescence and in some case, really difficult circumstances. This ‘position’ has afforded us many opportunities to advocate for young people, pray and speak into their lives, have an impact on outlook of life, perception of reality, self-worth, value, identity, resilience, expectations of relationships as well as supporting in some cases with addiction, sexual behaviours and Social Care.

We are currently funded £20000 this year towards salary by the Police Fire Crime Commissioner (PFCC) under what is called the Violence and Vulnerability Project. Ultimately the purpose of this funding is to facilitate work that supports young people at risk of exploitation and vulnerabilities from risky behaviours. Beyond salary, all our equipment and resources are supported by various other funding sources.

So how do we do this?
Well, we have different ways in which we engage local young people. These projects which I will explain are set up intentionally to create opportunities for young people to engage with multiple contexts.

The reason for this is so that young people are continually supported through their weeks. For example: a young person my access support through 1-2-1 youth work in school but through that we also be able to find consistency, care and belonging in one of our other projects either at a drop in or one our detached sessions.

[A group of arrows pointing to different directions Description automatically generated] This means that no one piece of work with a young person is a flash in the pan. There is constant engagement making sure that each young person is known and known well.
process of work


A Brief Breakdown of Projects


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Why?

 

I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.
John 10:10

 
It is our desire as Christians to see God’s kingdom come, we pray “your kingdom come, your will be done,” but do we actually mean it? For us at DRCC we have been given the privilege of walking with some of the most needing and hurting people and young people in our community. I believe that we have been tasked with helping them in tangible ways, sharing the love of God and the power of the Gospel as we go along, through the way in which we interact, love, care and support and pray for each individual regardless of their background.

The narrative of caring for the needy and advocating for those who cannot stand for themselves is throughout the Bible. We could look at Moses… to secure the Israelites’ freedom, he used his connection to Pharaoh to speak for the people. Or, Daniel, who spoke up on behalf of himself, his friends, and his faith when he and his friends were taken from their own people and delivered to a king and country they did not know. Esther, was willing to risk everything to save her people. “… I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

By using her influence with the king to advocate for the Jews, she put her newly found status as queen, and even her own life, on the line. And it worked: King Ahasuerus heard Esther’s pleas. She and her people were saved. We looked at Proverbs (31:8-9) recently and we read “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” In the New Testament, Philippians 2:3-4 says “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ”World Vision Advocacy write on their web page, “Our faith motivates us to speak up for others. When we begin to understand how much God loves us and those around us, we begin to understand why injustice is such a big deal in the Bible: Injustice keeps people from experiencing the fullness of life God wants for all of us!”
 
This is it, this is the reason why we, as a church support so many hurting people in our community. By helping with the physical and the practical we can open pathways to exploring God, we can provoke an interest, we can sow a seed and although we might not see that translate immediately to numbers on an Alpha Course or how many empty seats there are on a Sunday morning, that person has had the chance to experience the love of God through relationship and they have been prayed for either face to face or by our teams.
 
We stand in a beacon of hope within our community as ushers to His Kingdom.
 

What can you do?

 
You now know all that we are doing in terms of Youth Work and Community Support. You know the projects, you know the difficulties, you know a few of the young people.

I implore you to ask questions, PRAY for this work, be praying for its sustainability, be praying for opportunities to share the gospel with people, be praying for the wisdom needed to manage various situations, be praying for the people in our teams and for the people who are supported by our church.
 
Every Blessing
Aaron Watts
Youth and Community Pastor
aaron.drcc@outlook.com
Glenys
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello 

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10.30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service which is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access and a disabled toilet in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10.30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our worship team. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then sing a final worship song and finish by sharing news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church.  Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

Church

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

  • Creche (0 months to 5 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
  • Sunday School (5- 10 years)
  • Youth (11-15 years) Every other week.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome and songs. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the songs, someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. 

The children and young people group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, praying, music, craft and fun games. 

Children

Getting Connected


Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group who would be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help either on Sundays or any other time of the week, please do get in contact. 

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

  • Men's Ministries
  • Women's Ministries
  • Youth Work
  • Toddler Group(s) (Tots Aloud)
  • Foodbank

 

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.            Contact Us

What happens next? We will contact you to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.


Leadership 

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Lead Pastor
Peter Graham
  Youth and Community Pastor
Aaron Watts
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We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

The DRCC Team