Distilling Step

This week I’ve been challenged with having to distill and present Step to a new employee. It’s a pretty difficult thing to do. Step has clearly articulated aims and objectives - ‘the what’, and it seeks to achieve them through some values - ‘the whys’, which have evolved over the last 25 years. I can explain the first, but values, they can’t be taught, they are caught by osmosis once grafted into Step.

So, I’m still faced with the challenge of finding something of value to pass in the first week. So if it’s not ‘the what’, and it’s not ‘the why’, then it probably has to be ‘the how’ - how does Step engage with students.

S imple
T each people His way of life
E xperiences matter
P ersonal

It’s a nice acrostic, but what does it have to do with how?

Step's constant challenge is to distill Christian truths to simple and clear images and ideas, which stick with the young people we meet, to the point when we meet them 10 years later they still remember what we said.

I am captivated by Jesus' famous Great Commission command to make disciples. The call to enable people to take on full responsibly for their own following of Jesus is compelling. The Message Bible translates the command as ‘teach people this way of life’. The tone though different is equally compelling and fits so well in a missional context. It commands us through every interaction to teach people His way of life, be that coping with shame, comparing ourselves, battling anxiety, facing failure or feeling all alone in this world. As they encounter His way of life, they are also drawn towards meeting Him.

I’ve often said that a lot of good youth work is literally about moving chairs - so as to make room for God. It’s not that He needs the room. It’s that we need the room to experience Him, because experiences matter to us. They allow us to test the hypothesis forming in our minds, to challenge if these growing thoughts are trustworthy or not. I don’t mean ‘spiritual experiences’ though they are valuable, I mean undisturbed moments where you are free to engage with God in whatever way suits your personality - silence, activity, reading, reflection, wonder, challenge, debate and even disruption. With that in mind Step seeks to immerse, submerge students in experiences which disrupt their current world view and hail in another.

Last year I challenged the team to prioritise ‘individuals, not incursions’ - to focus on keeping it personal, rather than numerical, because  I am keen that our students meet Christians from local churches who see them, who value them and who want them to be part of their community. This isn’t done from the front of assembly halls, but in small groups, in costly conversations and allowing our lives to be disrupted by those Jesus called us to love.

I’’m sure you already knew the what’ and 'the why’ so hopefully ‘the how’ has inspired you further. If you’d like to join in do contact us.

Chris