What would you say?

I wonder, if you had the attention of twenty 11-15 year olds, for half an hour, once a week – what would you want to say to them? And would they be interested in what you had to say?!

Once a week, I am amazed that a group of young people, almost none of whom would call themselves Christians, or attend a Christian church regularly, noisily troop into the chapel in their Church of England secondary school, crack open their packed lunches or balance their school dinner on their knees, and willingly engage with a middle-aged mum who has turned up to teach them something about the Christian faith. 

I still have to pinch myself that I'm allowed this opportunity. If you asked me the question at the top of this post – what would I choose to say to a group of 11-15 year olds? - it would be exactly what I'm allowed to do on a Wednesday lunchtime, every week of term time – tell them about the God who made them, knows them, loves them, and wants to speak to them – them personally – through his word, the Bible. 

I can think of about ten reasons off the top of my head why I'm not suited to this role and why someone else could do it better. But here I am, and here these young people are, and here I have the chance to introduce them to something – and Someone – who could change their lives forever. 

I often wonder why so many of them keep coming back, week after week. My sense is that it's partly a chance for them to connect with one another, to chat and laugh and argue, and yes, we've sometimes had to intervene in actual physical fisticuffs. Rev Lydia, the school chaplain, has a warm relationship with many of these students, and they know they'll get a welcome in the chapel whenever it's open. Sometimes we play a game of 'hangman' or 'guess who', and that's fun too. But they all have the opportunity to leave before I start my little ten-minute 'Bible talk' and the majority choose to stay. Some weeks it's a struggle from start to finish to engage their attention. Sometimes the interruptions themselves are actually signs of engagement – I've had to start making a note of all the questions I've been asked so we can return to them properly – if God is in control of everything, does he cause mental illness? Can people from other religions go to heaven? At other times, there comes a moment – in the middle of the story of Joseph, or the story of Daniel, or when I'm explaining what it really means to put our hope in Jesus – when there's a sudden silence; as I keep talking I could hear a pin drop and I realise that the power of the story, or the example, or the challenge, on some level has really broken through. 

I know that's not down to me – I believe in a God who speaks powerfully into our lives and can capture both our attention and our hearts. He's even interested in making himself known to a very ordinary group of teenagers in Yardley Wood, Birmingham, in all the chaos and difficulties of their lives. 

So I wonder: if you had the attention of twenty 11-15 year olds, for half an hour, once a week – what would you want to say to them? What – if anything – has changed your life and given it such meaning and purpose that you want to pass it on to anyone and everyone who will listen? Knowing the God of the Bible, the God who made me and loves me, has changed mine. Knowing Jesus, who freely offers forgiveness, hope, joy, peace, and a restored relationship with God, is life-changing for everyone who encounters him. Are you interested in what he wants to say to you?