This Past Year & The Future

Greetings,

We want to start this letter by thanking our friends and family for their tremendous support over the past year! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We would like to take a moment to recap all the amazing work that has taken place over the last eleven months.  

School Assemblies 

I, Paul,  am a bit of an extrovert. :) (This is likely no surprise to those of you who have spent more than ten minutes talking to me.) As such, I must confess that leading monthly school assemblies is one of the highlights of my position. It is a great honour to speak into the lives of middle school children each month. In the past few months I have covered the topics of friendship, racism, life goals and the parable of the wise and foolish builders. 

I know that I have made an impact and difference when students and teachers stay after the assembly to speak with me. Students will often share their thoughts on the assembly material I have presented. One such teacher I have connected with as a result of the assemblies has been Judith Michie, who subsequently invited me as a guest speaker to her classroom. I am looking forward to resuming assemblies in the new school year, as I have already booked the September dates. I am told that kids look forward to “The Canadian Guy” coming each month.  

The Drop Inn

The Drop Inn was project launched in March of this year. The goal of the Drop Inn is to (1)To build relationships with youth in Morpeth, (2)To provide a safe place to hang out, do homework, and relax. (3)To encourage and mentor youth in positive decision making (4) To provide opportunities to point Youth to Jesus, through invitations to Youth Alpha, events, and sharing our faith. 

In our first month we saw an average of fifteen youth attending the Drop Inn, however there was a reduction in numbers after the term break and the arrival of beautiful weather. The youth who came were primarily from KEVI high school up the road, which was exciting given that our reach into the school is currently limited. We played pool, card games, hung out and played nintendo Wii. Oh... and they loved our “accent”. :) 

We are looking forward to re-launching the Drop Inn in the fall with more of an emphasis on younger youth. I find that older youth have an established routine. It can be harder to for older youth to “buy-in” to something new in the community. I hope to see a group of middle school youth connect with the Drop Inn and journey with us as they move to KEVI. 

Journey 

Journey is a collection of young adults (18-35+) in the Northumberland area. This group is a place where young adults can find community, spiritual growth, and encouragement in Northumberland area. We meet weekly at 7:30pm Wednesdays at NLCC, Morpeth to socialize and learn more about Christ. 

This past year we completed the Alpha program, heard from guest speakers, participated in bible studies, and connected for fellowship. A highlight of of our time together has been creation of a “safe place”, for those who are asking questions about faith, and for those who need support from peers. We look forward each week to “journey-ing” with fellow young adults as we live life together. 

Boy's Brigade 

I, Paul, have made a monthly commitment to volunteering at the local Boy’s Brigade in whatever capacity I am asked. I have led various games and activities with the Boys and Girls (mostly girls) of Boy’s Brigade. I have also had the great privilege of sharing my testimony, talking about Jesus, and giving fun “Ted Talks” type presentations on various subjects. One such talk that left an impact with the group was titled, “What you need to know before you travel the world.” It got quite a few youth interested in joining up with M10 mission in the next year.   

Liquid 

Liquid is a monthly ecumenical youth event for the Northumberland area. The purpose of the event is to gather different youth groups together to have fun, enjoy music, and build relationships with fellow believers. 

This event has been a great opportunity to hear from guest speakers, play games, and participate together in singing. It is our hope that this event will flourish in the year to come. I would love to see other ministry opportunities grow from this event, namely the establishment of a Christian Union at KEVI. 

Lifepath

I, Paul, found myself being approached ten months ago about something called “Lifepath”. The next thing I knew, I was participating in the monthly leadership meetings, and -planning to lead a prayer workshop. I am sure glad that I was give the opportunity to participate in the planning and leadership of this event.

Lifepath is a week long school focused VBS program. Lifepath was one of the best ministry events I have seen in a long time. In the course of the week, over 500 kids learned about Saint Hilda and the monastic communities that she helped to establish. I had a blast teaching children about prayer four times each day.  

Discovery Youth Group

When we first arrived in Morpeth there was no existing youth group and only a few youth in the church. We took the initiative to launch a weekly drop inn centre (mentioned above) as well as a weekly discipleship focused youth group, thus laying the ground for both evangelistic and discipleship opportunities.

 Discovery Youth was our discipleship based group. In our time together we have completed the Youth Alpha program, had social nights, studied the Bible, and had a blast doing it! We were privileged to watch each of the youth grow in their relationship with Jesus. 

Staying Alive 

Staying Alive is the camp ministry hosted at a retreat centre called “The Seahouses”. I, Paul, have been involved with the leadership meetings this year and really enjoyed our meetings together with the youth leaders from around Northumberland. There is a noticeable excitement in the air as we prayed and planned together. 

I am excited to be heading up the worship team for Staying Alive. I am putting lots of time into practicing with our worship team in anticipation of four beautiful nights at the Sea Houses.

Closing Remarks

When we think back to the past eleven months, we are extremely thankful for the partnership and collaboration from fellow ministers and youth workers from around the area. It has been a complete joy to work together with others to invest in work of the Kingdom. We are so blessed to be working with people who believe in the vision and mission of the Kingdom. It makes me think of what Helen Keller once wrote, 



"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much."

I believe that is true of the work of the Church both locally and internationally. It is through your support that we have been able to participate as workers at both New Life Christian Centre & The Mustard Tree Trust. These organizations are making a huge impact in the lives of children, youth, and young adults in the English county of Northumberland and beyond. 

The Future

It is with a heavy heart that we must inform you that our one year contract with New Life Christian Centre is now coming to a close. We had hoped to be working at NLCC in the years to come, however the leadership of NLCC has decided to move in a different direction and have made the decision to not renew our contract. We are saddened by the decision not to keep us on board. We gave our whole hearts to the ministry work of NLCC and will miss the congregation. 

Over the next few months we are looking for a new ministry position. We have been applying for ministry positions in both Canada and the U.K. In the meantime, we will be continuing to work for the Mustard Tree Trust.

We are asking for your prayers in the days ahead. As you may or may not know we are expecting our first child at the end of September and the news of our non-renewed contract has brought with it a new set of challenges. Please pray that God would give wisdom and knowledge about which church God would have us serve. 

We thank you for your support and prayers. 

God Bless,

Paul & Kaylee Walker