Matt is in his third year on the Sion Youth Team, and serves as our Mission Co-ordinator - working tirelessly behind the scenes with schools to make sure all our missions run smoothly and enable each school to get the most out of mission week.
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On the 10th October we embarked on our first Mission of the new school year, with the new team for 2015/16! We went to St George Catholic College in Southampton, which was previously an all-boys comprehensive but has been having girls slowly phased in for the past three years, so for us it was an excitingly unique mix of single-sex (which is still the case for Years 10 & 11) and co-ed atmospheres.
The first mission of the year always presents challenges – specifically that of new team members getting to grips with mission – but also for me I suddenly realised that even the things that I have done so many times over the past few years I hadn't done at all for several months, so jumping straight back into it was a bit of a wake up call! However, I have found over my time with Sion Youth that two of the main things I'm passionate about are working with young people and sharing Jesus, so it didn't take long to get back into the swing of things.
As a whole we had a great reception from staff and students alike. I remember standing at the front of the assembly hall during the final Pre-Mission day and seeing teachers getting involved with the games we were playing with the students, which is always great to see! What’s more, I was blown away when on the first day of mission a young guy quoted the Letter to the Hebrews to me, telling me that 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for' which completely astounded me!
Participation in the week by the whole school was great, with many students coming to Lightfever, to light a candle in the presence of Jesus in the school chapel, and many more coming to receive prayer from the team & fellow students. The week was capped off with an amazing Mission Showcase with incredible performances from the students including a whole variety of singing, dancing, music and drama, as well as the Liturgies where the school entered into a time of prayer to finish the week involving some Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
For me it was a really great mission week, and as first missions go it was one of the best I have experienced! I believe it will set us up well as a team for the coming year. This term we have 3 more to come, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us as a team and for the young people we meet!
Want to find out if we're coming to a school near you, or support us in prayer while we're on mission? Check out the Sion Youth Diary for more info!
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