Close ‘encounters’ of the student kind

How Chase Family Church’s Gap Year programme shapes young lives

From youth work and live-streaming to RE lessons and overseas missions, Chase Family Church’s Encounter gap year immerses students in church life. Chris Rolfe reports.

Hanna came to Chase Family Church as a shy 18-year-old. Then a year spent training and volunteering in every area of church life boosted her confidence and helped her discover a talent for – and a future in – design and media.

This is how the north London church’s gap year programme, Encounter, is helping young people discover God’s calling for their lives.

Suz Tidey, who runs it, explains Encounter began in 2018 and has attracted students every year since (barring the Covid years).

“It started because we wanted to give people an opportunity to spend a year discovering what God’s called them into,” she says.

“The idea was to have a programme that would plug people into every aspect of church and ministry – both in the building and in our wider community in Enfield – to let them give things a try and discover skills they may not have realised God has given them.”

Immersed in Church

Encounter has three main elements, says Suz, the first being a church placement where students are thoroughly immersed and integrated into every aspect of church family life.

“This year’s student, Vivi, joins the prayer meeting, runs our live broadcast, sets things up. She helps with the crèche, youthwork, kids work, coffee morning, toddler group, admin – you name it, she does it!

“Last year, we discovered Hanna was really good at social media and design so she helped with our different platforms and started doing our newsletter.

“Throughout the year we get a flavour for their skillset and what we can get them involved in. They impact pretty much everyone in church at some point because they help with every single thing.”

Time Out to Train

A second popular element of the project is its weekly Monday afternoon training sessions.

Chase is one of several local churches offering gap year programmes, so students from churches such as Restore Community Church and from schools work charities Pathway and CRiBS are among those who come to learn.

“We get national church and ministry leaders coming to talk on a whole variety of topics they’re passionate about,” says Suz. “A local minister did a session on grace recently and we’ve looked at teaching, preaching, healing, spiritual disciplines, working with young people and engaging with Muslims too. I did a session on the persecuted church and Helen Yousaf did one on creative worship. These sessions are key moments because the students get to hang out with other people doing gap years. It also means they get to receive after giving out all week.”

Mission Near and Far

Local and overseas mission are the third element of Encounter.

When it comes to local projects the students are kept busy volunteering. Chase has its own foodbank, older people’s coffee morning, door-to-door evangelism, schools ministry and summer outreach in a nearby park.

“We started our secondary schools ministry, Engage, around three years ago and with it our students deliver RE lessons, Christian Unions and assemblies,” says Suz. “This year, Vivi is also helping in a soup kitchen at a church in Palmers Green and with Enfield Vineyard’s Growbaby, which is like a foodbank for baby items.

“It’s about getting them out of the building, meeting the community and giving them an understanding that church isn’t just about being in the building.”

Every year there is an overseas mission trip too – historically to Lebanon, Tenerife and this year to Uganda.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for the students,” says Suz.

Discovery

One of Encounter’s highlights is the way students grow throughout the year; from the moment they shyly arrive for an introductory residential in September to their graduation in July.

“With Hanna last year it took until around Easter for her to come out of herself. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do after Encounter either, but during the year we told her she had a real gift in media and design and she then decided she wanted to study that at university. It was lovely to see her discover that passion and talent.”

Another student went on to do a BBC internship in radio; something she felt God was calling her into. But the biggest highlight is the understanding students take away of what church life should involve, says Suz.

“They go home looking to plug into churches with good preaching and worship, but also that serve the community.

“It’s really encouraging to see that, plus the direction they discover for their lives, after their year with us.”

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.