Slideshows:
Below are a selection of slideshows showcasing some of our many events and activities. Please click on any of the images to see the slideshow in a larger format.
Children and Youth Work
We at the Living Hope believe children and young people are an important part of the church family and this is reflected in the time, energy and resources that are invested into this area. We cater for all children and young people from babies until the age of 18.
Toddle In Toddlers
‘Toddle In’ started on 13th February 2006, we had 4 children attending. A year later our numbers grew to 19 children. This year our numbers went up to 25 children attending nearly every week. Toddle In is on every Monday from 10 am – 12 noon. Over this year we have bought a lot of new toys and crafts. We have had a visit from a community dentist, a health visitor, home and safety and also someone from Shankill Surestart.
We took the children and their parents on 2 trips to Fun Works in Glengormley this year and everyone young and old enjoyed both days.
In June 2008 we had our Graduation Day. We had 6 of the children leaving us to go to Nursery. All the children were dressed in blue gowns and mortar boards, they all received a certificate of attendance and a present. One of our team, Daphne Leith kindly made these gowns and mortar boards for us. We ended the day with a party and all the children went home happy with a gift. We start up again on 8th September 2008 and are looking forward to the months ahead with new ideas to make our Toddle In even better.
On Sundays we run a Creche for those aged 2 - 7 whilst the services are going on, they sing songs, learn memory verses and look at a different bible story each week.
Our Youth Group ‘Explosion’ meets o a Tuesday evening from 8.00-9.30 pm for those of secondary school age. At present we have about 40 young people. We have an excellent youth band called ‘Still Standing’ made up of 10 young people. There is also the opportunity to get involved in Drama and many of our young people are involved in many different aspects of church. We also organise 2 camps a year for our young people to come along to. We have an excellent group of committed leaders involved in our youth work. We believe God has a wonderful, amazing plan for these young people and you are welcome to come along any Tuesday evening.
KFC stands for Kids For Christ, we meet on Thursday evening from 7.00 - 8.00 pm. This hour is a fast paced exciting relevant programme involving worship, memory verses, messy games, stories, quizzes and prizes. We take a theme for a term to teach the children more about the Christian life, and about how much God loves them and how important it is to follow Him. We usually get about 140 children on a Thursday night and it is open to those of primary school age. As part of the KFC we run 2 camps a year - one in October for 50 children to Seaview House in Kilkeel and another in May/June time which is more of an outdoor pursuits weekend. We give away Easter Eggs and at Christmas we raise money to give each child a present, selection box, sweets and an annual. Last year we raised £3,000. Every year we run 2 weeks of summer play schemes for those children who attend throughout the year, they get the opportunity to play games, do crafts and go on trips. We have a gerat team of people from the church who are faithfully committed to the children we work with.
Deeper started two years ago and it is made up of young people who have made a committment to be a Christian. We meet on Friday nights in diferent people's houses, we now have two groups, one is called 'DEEPER' which is for older teenagers and a group called 'DEPTH' which is for younger teenagers. In both groups we are teaching them the importance of reading the bible, praying, worship and attending church. We have had some fantastic nights with the young people.
Our young people get lots of opportunities to serve in church and take part in special services geared towards young people. We also run 2 camps a year and are involved in activities with other young people from all over Ireland. We believe here at the Living Hope that youth are not the church of the future they are the church for now. If they are not the church now then there will be no church in the future.
