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John
Mclean is the Divisional (Regional) Youth
Officer for ALOVE Ireland. He and his wife
Kat, run H20 (Hope To Offer) – a new
youth focused project in the Lisburn Community,
Northern Ireland. We asked them a few questions
about the work of H20…
How long has Lisburn
been open?
Lisburn Corps/Church has been in Lisburn for
125 years. But H20 has been running with a
programme for about six months. The ‘established’
Corps is still running, alongside the youth
programme.
How did it start?
Last year, some people that are training to
be Salvation Army officers came to Lisburn
on their summer placement. Part of their remit
was to research the local needs through a
community questionnaire.
The results showed the need for youth/Children's
work within the area. Alongside this was the
passion Kat and I had to plant a Christian
Community that was culturally relevant to
the locality. The Divisional Leadership recognised
this and have given us the opportunity to
plant what has become ‘H20’.
Why did you call it H20?
H20 stands for ‘Hope to Offer. ’When
we initiated the project, we held a team prayer
day, at which we had numerous images from
scripture that related to water; washing,
cleansing, revitalising, refreshing and so
on. This gave us the idea for H20. We also
sensed that Jeremiah 29:11 was going to be
central to our vision and purpose.
What is the Vision
and purpose of the work you are doing at Lisburn?
To show people authentic Christian Community
at work. Although the community at Lisburn
looks good cosmetically, it is actually a
community that needs hope. The purpose of
all that we do is to offer hope and a future
through the love and power of Jesus Christ
and modelling authentic community.
Who's on the team
at Lisburn and what do they all do?
Kat and myself lead the team. We are looking
into developing a cell discipleship programme
and some form of community church. I also
lead the Division’s youth work. The
team is made up of two ALOVE bursary students1,
Clare Chambers and Heather Wright. Working
part-time in the development of H20, they
are involved in community outreach specifically
to children and youth.
What are the main
needs of the young people and the community
that you are serving?
Reaching young people before they are influenced
by the religious culture that often cripples
communities within Ireland. We want to show
them a different way of life and mutual respect
for all people. The ultimate need is that
the young people find Christ and go through
the transformation that only He can bring
through His Spirit's power.
What are some
of the key elements for the programme you
are running?
The programme mainly consists of a youth drop-in
centre, a children’s club along and
some detached work. All that we do in these
very early stages is build relationships and
have fun. Building community is the key to
the future of our programme.
Hopes and prayers
...
Our hope is that the spiritual temperature
of the local community will rise and that
we will see the community change in its understanding
of who they are. Our prayer is that by being
real, people will feel valued.
What are the biggest lessons you have learned
so far?
That everything doesn’t happen as quickly
as we often think it should. For Kat and I,
we have learned yet again about the faithfulness
of God. God will and can use ‘little
me’! Also, I’ve learned that teamwork
doesn’t have an ‘I’.
What are the most
encouraging stories so far?
My favourite story is a conversation I had
with two young brothers that come along..
In the early weeks of H20, they made our work
very hard. Once, after they had been setting
fires in the toilets, they asked me why I
bothered with them and I said, ‘Because
God loves you and thinks you have potential
to become great. Also because Kat and I think
you are cool and we want to get to know you
better.’ They were both moved and I
sensed God had touched them. A few weeks later,
one of them asked for a youth devotional resource
we had. God is beginning to break through
and we can’t wait to see these guys
come into a relationship with Jesus.
How do you seek
to live out the ALOVE essentials through the
work at Lisburn?
We feel that being authentic community helps
us live out the essence of ALOVE.
Continually, we assess and plan the programme
so that we can bring the youth into all areas...be
it worship...mission...discipleship or social
action. As a team, we are asking the big questions
of what ‘emerging church’ look
like. We see the four essentials as key to
what we will become. |
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Youthwork -
The Partnership ...
ALOVE,
Youthwork Magazine, Youth For Christ, Spring Harvest and
Oasis are working together to equip and resource the Church
for effective youth work and ministry. |
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