"If you could prove to me that God is real, I’d give absolutely everything for a relationship with Him!”

This is just one statement that emerged from the most recent Step Day. During a Step Day students experience a day out of school to retreat. We believe a retreat is an opportunity to reposition so as to give yourself an advantage. Young people desperately need this as they often feel assailed, they are the metaphoric person who takes the short-cut from Jerusalem to Jericho in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. They are walking a dangerous road, often they are on the road not of their choosing and the thieves are gathering. Step Days enable us to come alongside like the Good Samaritan, to either gives them the skills, information or opportunity to get off the dangerous road, or to rescue them whilst they are on it.

Last week's Step Day included playing ’Life Auction’, a bidding game which helped the students explore their values when it came to possessions. A few left field questions were included, one being “how much would you pay for a relationship with God?” The comments that followed included “isn’t that free?”, “is it exclusive?”, and the thoughtful challenge “If you could prove to me that God is real, I’d give absolutely everything for a relationship with Him!” What a challenge to rise to. It was a sincere moment that took everyone aback. But beyond the immediacy of that moment, it raises an even bigger question - how many young people are there in our schools who are waiting for good cohesive reasons to believe, or even to hear simple stories of our own faith? It means that every time we go into a school, have a conversation or even open a door for a stranger we may be standing next to someone waiting and hoping for us to present 'the reason for the hope that you have'. How many questioning students are we meeting in an average day? How should we prepare for a day in schools work where these pivotal moments are queued up?

Step approaches each day with a sense of trepidation, hope and an expectant gravitas because young people are articulate and questioning when it comes to matters of faith. In the absence of the Christian hope being shared they will form their own opinions, some of which are destructive and dangerous whilst other are fantastic and wonderful like the 12 year old who said, “The universe is a set landscape for everything. A place where all ideas can be played out”.

Next week's Step Day involves 90 students retreating from school to consider if their value is measured by achievement and popularity or by what God imbues to them. Our prayer is that their retreat experience enables them to personally believe that 'iMatter'. Step’s iMatter initiative, journals and programmes seek to help young people gain a positive sense of worth and value built on something more reliable than their ability to perform and the transient opinions of others. More about iMatter can be discovered here.

Chris