At LUX Youth Project we are celebrating being a registered charity for 40 years this year (we are a little bit older having started working with young people before becoming a charity!). As part of our celebrations we are wanting to look back at what we have achieved and will be sharing 40 stories about our work over this time.
Story 9: After Youth Alpha
Last week James shared Polly’s story through Youth Alpha. I also had the privilege of being part of the adult team supporting this incredible group of young people as they led Youth Alpha for their peers. From the very beginning, it was clear that something special was happening: the young people who came along threw themselves into the course, asked honest questions, and discovered that faith could be both deeply meaningful and full of joy — sometimes with a little mischief too, like the occasional appearance from the vestry wearing the Vicar’s robe.
When the Youth Alpha course came to an end, the story did not stop there. The young people themselves did not want it to end. Instead, they began asking how they could continue creating a space where their friends could explore faith together. Out of that vision came Youth Beta, later renamed Fuse. Week after week, this remarkable team of young people planned talks, organised activities, prayed faithfully, and walked alongside their friends with courage and compassion. What made Fuse so powerful was that it was young people reaching young people — and those who came along loved it because they felt seen, understood, and welcomed by their peers.
This is what happens when young people are believed in, invested in, and trusted with real opportunities. Time and again, they rose to the challenge and far exceeded anything we might have imagined. Their leadership, faith, and commitment were a witness not only to their friends, but to all of us. It is a reminder that when we make space for young people to grow, lead, and share hope, the impact is huge.
Story 8: James Vaugton – Youth-led Youth Alpha reaches across the city of Bath
Sometimes you meet a young person who is incredibly bold, passionate, credible and hope-filled and all you can do is back them. One such young person was Polly. Polly seemed to attract other young people to follow her in a way that I had rarely seen. Polly wanted to run a Youth Alpha course for young people across the city and asked Bath YFC to get involved in supporting her to do so. Bath YFC did very little in reality, operating in the background to enable Polly and her team. Polly worked incredibly hard, alongside a committed group of young people to promote, invite, plan and then deliver the Youth Alpha programme to her peers. Though at times chaotic it was an absolute joy to see young Christians sharing their faith with their friends. Some weeks we would cram 50-60 young people into the Crypt at St. Michael’s Church. I am sure that seeds sown over the weeks of Youth Alpha being run continue to bear fruit in the lives of those who came along all those years ago.
Story 7: Joanna’s Story – Radical Hospitality
Story 6: Sam Packer’s Timeline with LUX
Sam Packer has been with LUX for more than 30 years, as a youth worker and schools worker, working mostly in the East of Bath. When asked why she had stuck with us she just says “she loves it!”
We love her commitment to being there for young people, whatever they are going through – she epitomises our commitment to being there for young people for the long-haul, journeying with them through the ups and downs of life.
Sam is our Chaplain in St Mark’s School.
Story 5: Nick and the Graff project
Back in 2005/2006 Jo Dolby was working for Bath YFC and started the Graff project – using graffiti to deliver youth work. I started working on the Graff project, which was my first paid youth work role and where the thought of being a youth worker became a reality.
I spent 5 years on the Graff project working with 30 different young people, running weekly sessions. One lad called Ben attended the project for the whole 5 years. When he turned 18 he stopped attending the project. I stayed in contact with him and met up with him from time to time to check in and catch up. When he was a young adult he got the opportunity to move to Berlin with his work. A few years later Jo and I had left Bath YFC and were working for Bath College, where we had the opportunity to visit Berlin. We reached out to Ben and caught up with him. It was so nice to see him in his context, he showed us round the city and gave us a tour of his workplace. He introduced us to his kid and made us feel so welcome. to see him doing so well in life and to be hosted by him felt a real privilege. He was so grateful for his time at the project and said it helped him get the job he had, and led to his life in Berlin.
For me, this is the beauty of doing youth work where the time you invest, when they need it, bears good fruit in the lives.
Image below: Jo & Nick in Berlin
Story 4: James’ Story – Hope in our Schools
I was two years into my role at Bath Youth for Christ. The year was 2007. Hope 08, a national evangelistic initiative was launched and following conversations with local church leaders we at Bath YFC set about seeing it as an opportunity to launch a schools’ ministry in Bath. The challenge was we did not have the funds to just launch the work. We had to raise the funds for a worker. Fundraising is always challenging but I had felt clearly that I was to invite Christians in Bath to support this potential ministry at the launch event of Hope 08 in Bath. The event was held in the Forum. Gavin Calver, now at the Evangelical Alliance, spoke. In truth the service went on too long and I recall sitting in the front row, waiting nervously to share about ‘Hope in Our Schools’. The idea was to share the vision of a schools’ ministry for Bath and to invite the people of Bath to commit to give £5 per month on the night. I remember sitting down having shared the vision. The YFC staff team took the offering buckets around and I just prayed there would be sufficient response to get something started. The service finished and I waited until people had left the venue to find out what the response was. The attendance had been about 250-300 people. As we counted the responses, we slowly became aware that there had been a significant enough response. The commitments made that night, along with other funds we raised over the next few months enabled Bath YFC to appoint it’s first lead school worker. It was an amazing example of how God provides in his way, for his work. That spark saw a schools ministry grow across Bath over the next few years as the team shared and showed Christ’s love among students in Bath primary and secondary schools. It is important to say that we didn’t do it alone. We had the joy of working with different churches from across the city in partnership so that we could grow the Christian presence in the schools. Over the years thousands of young people have seen and heard something of the Good News of Jesus because of Hope in Our Schools. That work continues today, nearly 20 years on, as Lux mentor and deliver schools and chaplaincy work in Bath schools. One thing I will always remember is being told that a group of older ladies had been praying for a Christian schools’ ministry for 20-30 years. Hope in Our Schools was God’s answer to their and our prayers.
We are so grateful to James for sharing this and also to the individuals that continue to support our schools work.
Story 3: Tara’s Story
When things broke down at home, Tara,* like many young people we meet, had to move homes several times. Understandably this has been hard for Tara and she lived in a few different places before she found somewhere they were comfortable. Moving around, leaving friends behind, being out of school and being away from home were all huge challenges – things no young person should have to face.
Libby, our Community Mentor, spent time getting to know Tara: meeting her wherever she felt comfortable, showing an interest in Tara’s hobbies, dropping a gift round when Tara felt unable to meet up, encouraging her and ultimately being a dependable person amongst the chaos and the change Tara was experiencing.
A year on and Tara is more settled where she is living. With Libby’s support, she is now back in education and attending school regularly for the first time in years. It’s not been plain sailing, but Libby has been there to journey with her through the chaos, championing her, sharing in the sorrows and celebrating the successes.
*Not real name
Story 2: Girls Night In
A year ago, LUX Youth Project started Girl’s Night In – a group for girls who we’ve mentored and their friends. As Rachel steps back from leading this project and Joanna starts to lead it, the young people wrote to Rachel to say what the impact has been for them in this card:
Story 1: Freja’s Story
I joined Motus Dance Academy aged 14. I remember how nervous I was when I first came along, but by the end of the first session I was struck by the welcome and how supportive Sam Ludwell and the group were. I became a regular and was given opportunities by Sam to choreograph and teach. I loved the family feel Motus provided.
When I struggled with my mental health and questioned if I wanted to keep living and where God was, I was able to talk to the leaders at Motus. The time, non-judgement and care I received from the leaders helped me to gradually move through these mental health struggles, grow in confidence, move closer to God and see a future.
15 years on and I am still just as passionate about Motus, but now I co-lead the project, ensuring I’m there for young people when they are struggling. I work hard to empower each individual in Motus (possibly to be the next leader!), believing in them and supporting them to believe in themselves.
We are so proud that Freja is part of LUX and continues to ensure young people can talk about anything as a family.