Urban Saints are excited to be partnering with Stewardship on the 40acts Lent challenge for 2018 and making them available via the Energize website.
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Our Resources Manager, Peter Andrews, answered some questions on the partnership and his own personal experiences of generosity for the 40acts blog. Here's what he said:
What can people expect from this new resource?
"The resources we have produced aim to unpack James’ teaching on putting faith into action in creative, engaging and challenging ways for young people of all faith levels. They provide choices of activities so that leaders can tailor material for the needs of their group. They also, of course, encourage the young people to put what they have learnt into practice."
What do you do and who do you work for/represent?
"The mission of Urban Saints is to make young disciples for Jesus. We are guided by the values of adventure, discipleship and justice and we outwork this through establishing outreach youth groups in local communities and supporting like-minded groups with discipleship resources such as our Energize website."
What excites you about 40acts and your organisations involvement in it?
"We find that young people’s understanding of the Christian faith is enormously enhanced when they participate in putting Jesus’s teaching into practice. We see this on our overseas mission trips and 40acts equally offers a wonderful opportunity for groups to challenge young people to be active participants in demonstrating God’s love in practical ways. It’s a vital part of their discipleship journey."
Can you remember a time when you were on the receiving end of someone’s generosity, what happened?
"My wife and I have been blessed so many times by people’s generosity – a car stand out as one significant example – but the act of generosity that maybe had the biggest impact on us was a friend turning up for no apparent reason with a bag containing a M & S ‘Meal for Two’ which (even though we didn’t know it) was exactly what we needed at that particular moment in time."
Can you share a short story/anecdote where you have stepped out of your comfort zone with an act of generosity?
"An elderly lady was struggling to remember her PIN number to pay for her lunch in a café. I asked if she minded if I paid for her. She allowed me to pay and was so grateful because this was her first day out after a long illness and her day hadn’t been going well to that point. The café staff were also very appreciative of someone helping out one of their customers and it was exciting to see the ripple effect that the impact of one small act of kindness can create."