Steve Moore: Comedy Genius Behind The Gathering's Summer Hols Q & A
The Gathering - which is not your 'run of the mill' Christian event for young people.. reaches its first birthday, organiser/creative genius Steve Moore, who is also the youth worker for Beechen Cliff Methodist Church tells us why zany videos, and a great sense of humour are a winning formula for this cross church event... But what challenges do the summer holidays bring for young people? And just what do you do if your exam results are not what you expected? Read Steve's Fab 'Q & A's.. And look out for more from him in coming months!
(PICTURES: STEVE MOORE (LEFT) AND THE GATHERING TEAM!, THE GATHERING IN ACTION)
What's the latest news with The Gathering? Any special dates for our diaries?
So The Gathering is one year old and we’re delighted with how it’s gone. We’ve really tried to be creative in how we run it each month so no ‘Gathering’ will look the same. Whilst this takes a great deal of effort it has bought in many young people who have never stepped foot in a church before and some have even become 
Christians! The Gathering relaunches on 30 September from 7pm at Ascension and is ALWAYS on the last Sunday of the month.
As the manager of the Beechen Cliff Youth Project are the summer holidays a busy time for you and the project?
We tend to really promote the Hillhouse Christian camps over the summer and some of our team including myself are heavily involved in the running of these weeks. We’ve also been interviewing for a second part-time worker over the summer and have recently made an appointment which we are excited about!
What are the main issues facing young people during the summer hols? And what tips can you give them to tackle these?
I think the obvious one would be boredom. The idea of five weeks with no school seems incredible, until around the second week when boredom begins to kick in somewhat. There are only so many times you can defeat ‘Angry birds’ before you begin to do the unthinkable and wish that September would roll on so you can get some structure back in your life! We try to offer some one off trips and activities to get involved with throughout the summer but as I said earlier our main focus is on the summer camps.
Is The Gathering growing? And attracting more young adults?
That we really hoped for with ‘The Gathering’ was that churches across the city would begin to own this, send young people they worked with and also have their leaders get involved in the team that planned each months shenanigans! Whilst numbers of young people were high from day one the number of people ‘on team’ 
didn’t seem to be growing, which was a little frustrating. However with much prayer and networking this is changing and we now have a number of other youth workers/leaders from various churches working alongside us.
Can you give young people waiting to either begin Uni in September, or go on to Further Education in September any tips or advice?
I could do, and I’m sure parents/friends/strangers have all already thrown much advice their way! In reality it is their journey and so they must do what they feel is right and give 100 percent. However one thing I will offer is the idea of a mentor, someone who the young person trusts/feels able to speak with about their struggles and fears openly and honestly. This sort of relationship certainly helped and continues to help me and I would commend it to all!
What would you say to young people who are disappointed with their exam results right now, and needing to rethink choices?
Don’t panic! Whilst they will obviously feel disappointed and perhaps apprehensive about the future there are so many option and avenues for young people to head down these days. Its also vital to remember that their value and worth is not simply based on grades on a piece of paper. Let me finish with one of my favourite quotes which says this better than I ever could - ‘not everything that counts can be counted…’
Look out for MORE from Steve over the coming months!!
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This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it about your Youth Project, or Exam Results and plans for September!
August 2012