Dear Friend,
One of my favourite passages in the Bible is found in Judges 6 and 7 where God meets with an unspectacular man called Gideon and transforms him into a mighty warrior. I love this story because it seems to me that God wants us to understand that his view of life is the definitive one - Gideon can come up with all sorts of reasons why he is unsuitable for the title of 'mighty warrior', but in the end God is the one proved right. In Chapter 7 we read how God leads Gideon to defeat the fearsome Midianites, not with thirty thousand men, not with ten thousand, but with just three hundred, and three hundred odd ones at that - when was the last time you 'lapped water like a dog'? I would imagine a secular onlooker would have given very long odds on a victory for Gideon and his odd band of heroes!
Sometimes our task of sharing the Gospel with young people in and around Norwich feels like a similarly impossible battle for many reasons, but every young person we work with is another hero in the making. Recently I've been blessed by messages from people who were involved with NYFC thirty years ago, and have gone on to love and serve Jesus in different ways around the country and the world. It excites me to realise that every single young person we meet could be doing even more in another thirty years' time. As you read this the team at NYFC are working with young people across Norwich and beyond, sharing Jesus love with them, and being part of God's transforming work in each young life. We don't know where this generation will be in thirty years, but we are convinced that if they follow Christ they will do amazing things for his Kingdom, and we are equally convinced that God still has a plan for NYFC to be involved in revealing himself to young people.
This may come as no surprise given the state of our Nation's economy, but we are facing a very real financial challenge this year. In fact, for the last year we have been having to very carefully manage our costs, and take measures like staggering salary payments for the team to stay in the black. Even in the midst of this I firmly believe that God has been demonstrating His goodness and faithfulness by breathing life into our finances at times when we would otherwise have been dead and buried!
However, whilst in 2009 we were blessed to see the overall picture remain manageable, in 2010 we have seen our financial gap growing - whilst we have stayed in the black and met all our bills, we have not kept up to date with the team's salary. As I write this we have a gap of around £5,000, but if the trend continues this will grow to a much larger sum. So, we have taken the unprecedented step of writing this open letter to all who might be interested in supporting Norwich Youth For Christ and our work of evangelism with young people.
As you would expect we are taking steps to reduce our costs as much as possible but the fact is we are already a pretty efficient organisation. Our only option for large scale cost reductions is reducing our salary bill (and in fact some have already taken voluntary pay cuts), but reducing the size of the team would also mean reducing our capacity to meet and share with young people who deserve to hear the Gospel.
I mentioned the three hundred God gave Gideon to secure victory over the Midianites. Any human strategist would have wanted a much bigger band of heroes, but God is able to work amazing things with much smaller numbers! Our relatively small band of financial supporters are some of the unsung heroes of our work, they have built foundations for every conversation we have ever had with a young person. As I have prayed and considered our current position I have felt that it is time to add to their number. Put simply, we want to raise an additional £25,000 each year from gaining regular givers. That may sound like an optimistic target but just fifty new heroes giving £40 a month would (with Gift Aid) reach that target. £40 a month is less than £1.50 each day, so I am asking if you could be one of these fifty heroes?
You may read this and feel that this is a completely unrealistic amount for your circumstances, so I want you to know that we are truly grateful for every penny given in support, and if you would like to help with a different amount I do not want you to feel your support is not valued! Every pound helps towards the costs of every letter, lunch-time club, discipleship group, Spring Camp and everything else!
If you are able to help us in any way, please just fill in the form enclosed, or call me on the office number or on my mobile (07747 471218) to discuss how you can give.
On behalf of the staff and trustees of Norwich Youth For Christ, and in Christ's love,
Mark Tuma
Director, Norwich Youth For Christ
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