AFTERHOURS Youth Groups is a long established youth group in the Farnworth & Worsley Methodist Circuit. We are dedicated to providing events and activities for young people from school year 4 to teenagers in order to build bridges between the Church & Young People.
The Youth Group is subject to rules and regulations of the Methodist Church of Great Britain and we implement best practice and safeguarding procedures to ensure the health & well being of all young people who attend our organised activities.
AFTERHOURS Youth Groups - HISTORY
Afterhours Youth Groups has been in existence for many years in under different names, some will remember the Worsley Circuit Youth Group & Worsley Circuit Youth Fellowship. The group in it's many forms and names has origins as far back as in the 1980's and probably before, of teenagers attached to various churches in the Worsley Circuit, basing themselves centrally within the circuit at St Andrew's Methodist Church, now known as Walkden Methodist Church. Some of the older members will remember attending the MAYC London Weekend at the Albert Halls, with Worsley Circuit Youth, and in the latter years Breakout! firstly at the NEC in Birmingham, to Winter Gardens in Blackpool and currently being held at Cliff College, and even remember the Green and Yellow Banner made, which we still have today!
In 1998 it was decided to re-brand the group to appeal to a today's youth, and AFTERHOURS Youth Groups (name) was born. Over the past 11 years the group has developed to meet the needs of young people in our society today. The group is adaptive to young peoples needs and will continue to adapt to various ages and activities for young people.
THE MEANING
The name 'AFTERHOURS' was chosen for a few reasons. We are a Christian Group and many Christians see a Sunday morning as their worship time. This may appeal to older generation in Churches, but there is a need for Christian work with Young people 'After Hours' outside "normal church time". AFTERHOURS seeks to be a progressive christian group outside of "Normal Church" to relate to young people in our communities, not just around where we are based, but within the Whole Commmunity of the Farnworth & Worsley Methodist Circuit.
In all this AFTERHOURS Youth Groups CORE Values in working with Young People is to.......
- ENCOURAGE young people in what the want to do....
- LISTEN to young people - to their views, opinion & needs.....
- SUPPORT young people in any way we can........
- VOICE provide young people with a voice for their views to be heard by the Church
Most of all we want to shake off the stigma that church is boring and we can prove we can make Church FUN!
