Finding their voice - youth stream at the Baptist Assembly 

Young people explored how they find their voice, their anointing and what building the Kingdom of God might mean in their context through a series of creative sessions at the 2023 Baptist Assembly 

The youth stream was once again facilitated by Clare Hooper from the Southern Counties Baptist Association and the Children, Youth and Families (CYF) Round Table. Clare was joined by interns from London Baptists and others.

The sessions built from last year’s Assembly, which had focused on young people being noticed and their sense of identity and worth. ‘Once someone's been seen, how do they find their voice?,’ said Clare. ‘What do they want to say?’ 

They explored Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), and Jesus's manifesto (Luke 4:14-30) and what the Spirit had anointed him for. The young people were subsequently invited to reflect on the passage and consider what they had been anointed for. There was teaching around the sacred pathways, looking at how they best connect with God and how God connects with them. 

There were workshops too – with one around protests, justice and finding their voice. 

‘There was a real kind of breadth of how the young people wanted to use their voice,’ said Clare. ‘Some of the activism was around caring and protesting. A couple of lads were exploring Black Lives Matter; another girl shared how challenging racial discrimination was important to her. Another was interested in transgender rights.

'Some wanted to explore telling people about God, knocking on doors and sharing about Jesus. They also wanted to explore hypocrisy and not being a hypocrite.’ 

Other workshops focused on wellbeing, bracelet making, prayer journals, planting seeds, decoupage, loops in music and songwriting.  

With Saturday being a long day, there was time to go to the nearby Telford Town Park, play football and 'just have a bit of a run around and let off some steam'. In the evening there was nerf wars and pizza. This followed on from last year when the young people made it clear they valued the time just having fun together.

Sunday focused on the Kingdom of God, and what does building the kingdom look like for you in your context. In keeping with the creativity of the sessions, lego was used here, and again, 'there was a real variety of response,’ said Clare. 

‘The young people were just absolutely amazing, and I was really pleased with it,' said Clare. 'They engaged really well, and created an excellent atmosphere for one another. As well as the teaching, it’s so valuable for them to meet with the others, offload and share.  

‘We had an excellent team. The London interns - Anna and Jennifer - joined us, which was wonderful. Barney Barron was there too, and Roo from JPIT (the Joint Public Issues Team). A couple of local churches gave us resources for what we needed. People at Baptist House were gathering it all, so it really was a team effort. 

'It was great to start on a journey of exploring the Kingdom of God with them, and what that might mean for their context. It's something I'd love to pick up with them next year, looking at the different places where their voices can speak into and dreaming of how God’s kingdom can transform their community.'