Imagine a safe space where young people can learn new skills such as cookery and drama, meet new friends, and explore faith.
Such a place has been created in South East Northumberland, following the launch of Beyond Youth back in 2023 to work with children, young people and their families in Ashington; Seaton Hirst; Woodhorn and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea; Cresswell and Lynemouth.
Late last year, Beyond Youth introduced Be Real, an initiative where children and teenagers can meet during inspirational monthly sessions.
Dave Johnson, Youth and Children’s Coordinator for Beyond Youth said: “We are creating safe spaces to have fun, make friends, try new things and explore faith together.
“We established Be Real because the young people asked us to do something like this. We spent an afternoon sharing food and ideas - exploring what it should look like, and it evolved from there.”
Be Real events, which take place at North Seaton Community Centre, include cooking, crafts and games, with the first half of each session very similar to that of a youth club.
Guest speakers also have a part to play. At the session in May, the Mortal Fools Drama Club put on some inspirational workshops which explored the teenage brain and how it works.
The second half of each session is an opportunity to explore faith, but as Dave explains, this is a relaxed discussion with no expectations.
“If they wish, they can just do the first part,” said Dave. “There is no obligation to take part in the second half of these sessions.
“We make it clear that we’re exploring issues that are important to Christians - but that all opinions and viewpoints on these issues are welcome. We want people to have the chance to Be Real with themselves, each other, and with God.
“The most important thing is that people feel safe to share their viewpoint and explore others’ viewpoints.
“It makes for some fascinating conversations. We talk about prayer, we talk about whether there is a spirit, the afterlife and other engaging topics.”
For some of the young people, Be Real offers a chance to further explore their own Christian faith, with a small number of the regulars having been confirmed in the last year and using this space as part of their discipleship.
Be Real runs every month except August and is for Year 8 to Year 13 (ages 12 to 17). It is not advertised as a ‘drop in’ – so that those who attend are already in some way connected to Beyond Youth and that everyone in the room knows at least someone there.
To find out more, follow the Beyond Youth page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BeyondYouthNE or contact beyondyouth@newcastle.anglican.org
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