How Biblical Simplicity Changes the Lives of Young People
Recently, we’ve heard inspiring stories of God changing the lives of several young people at Christ Community Church, Attleborough.
We caught up with Benny and Paige Marrett, the church’s youth workers, to see whether they could provide more details and impart some wisdom to the broader Relational Mission family about their process and practice. They were happy to oblige! Perhaps most refreshing about the Marretts' message is their advocacy for keeping things simple and biblical when establishing a culture of genuine love for Jesus and authentic discipleship.
Here’s what they had to say…
When planning the future, Benny and Paige went back to their roots
For the past six years, my wife Paige and I (Benny) have had the enormous joy of leading the youth group at Christ Community Church in Attleborough, Norfolk. As with all things there have been plenty of ups and downs, but God has remained faithful, and we’ve seen Him do some truly amazing things in and through the lives of those He has entrusted to us.
Reflecting on the Past to Shape the Present
When we started thinking about how to encourage our group of young people, we asked ourselves two questions:
What do we remember about our youth groups (good and bad) growing up?
How can we emulate the best of what we experienced to grow resilient disciples for Jesus?
It wasn’t the crazy games or the youth workers' ability to relate to our specific cultural moment that came to mind, but the love and encouragement we received from those who genuinely cared about our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Programmes, facilities, and being attuned to the latest trends can play an important part in building community, but they’re not replacements for individuals who go out of their way to foster safe environments that facilitate honesty and enable angsty teenagers to share their thoughts and doubts.
Paige and I spent some time reminiscing about what it felt like to be taken seriously by adults—it felt good, perhaps invaluable! We remembered how our youth workers took the initiative to pray with us, helped us understand Scripture, gave us opportunities to lead, and stuck by us through every season of our most formative years. Their actions and words exhibited Christ's love, patience, and kindness. Most importantly, they built into the foundation of their ministry an unbroken and unhurried space for the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus in His beauty!
So, having realised the bar hadn’t been set too high, we endeavoured to do the same.
Attleborough youth ‘taking over’ a Sunday service
Simplicity That Transforms
We often come back to 2 Corinthians 1:12, when Paul talks about living with ‘simplicity, godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom, but by the grace of God.’ From this verse, we derive that simplicity is key to effectiveness. Some think good youth work needs to involve flashy tech, slick worship, ‘relevant’ content, and high-quality entertainment, but that’s not the picture we get from Paul’s teaching. Again, I’m not saying that such tools aren’t valuable, but they mustn’t detract from taking the New Testament seriously. God has shown us that meeting regularly (twice a week), praying, worshipping Jesus, reading Scripture, practising spiritual gifts, and having fun is the heart of gospel simplicity. This isn’t groundbreaking, but its impact has been revolutionary.
There isn’t much in the way of extravagance; in fact, we’ve learnt endless ways to have a laugh with a few red cups and some ping-pong balls. Fun doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, but it does need to play a part in creating a wholesome atmosphere. If a youth club provides the most exciting activities money can buy but doesn’t facilitate openness and lacks a sense of trust, then it will never reach its full potential. Jesus was known for His warmth, and although His interactions never excluded challenging sin, I think people felt safe in His presence. He gave His disciples many opportunities to lead and was always there to pick them up when they fell. As I’ve already said, our youth leaders exhibited this sort of Christ-likeness when we were growing up, and so, following in their footsteps, we encourage our young people to step out in the spiritual gifts, have a go at leading in different ways, and talk about Jesus—a lot! We always cheer them on, share in celebration and sadness, and help them learn from their mistakes.
Over the years, we’ve found that young people are far more open to Christianity than secular culture would have us believe. They’re searching for truth and like what they see when they look at Jesus. They don’t need us to dumb things down for them or package the Bible in a more digestible way. In reality, the simple act of creating quiet and meditative spaces, sitting on cake-stained carpets in rural Norfolk, is how Jesus transforms the lives of many young people. The results speak for themselves! Many go on to ID, bless other churches through various kinds of service, or run alpha courses and Christian Unions in their schools and universities. In short, they become leaders in their own right.
From Small Places Come Bold Prayers
People often say, ‘Nothing special comes out of Attleborough!’ If you come from a small market town, I’m sure this sentiment is familiar, but I beg to differ. Jesus doesn’t despise small places or the people who inhabit them. We’re currently beholding a bunch of young, resilient disciples emerge in our little town.
Sunday Service Youth Takeover: Serving their church family
Sunday Service Youth Takeover: Serving their church family
At the beginning of the year, one girl came to us and said, ‘Last week, the speaker told us we should pray like the persistent widow. At youth, can we pray for the same thing every week—but, like, loudly? Like, bold prayer?’ She led us every Tuesday night for six months in LOUD prayers for the salvation of young people in our town, as well as the much-needed breakthrough we desired to see in our own lives.
Want to hear some of the things that have happened since?
We’ve had a 50% increase in numbers, all unchurched and searching for Jesus.
Fifteen years of prayer to get into schools have been answered. We are now running ‘Life’s Big Questions Club’ (Christian Union) in three local schools, one of which is completely youth-led.
One unchurched young person told us he was praying in his room one Saturday night and started speaking in tongues for the first time.
Another young person from the community has been reading the Bible daily in their room and has found it brings them peace in a chaotic household.
We’ve seen lots of physical healing and spiritual growth and flourishing.
Another unchurched young person recently told Paige, ‘I heard there was something called a sin. I read about it and realised I needed to ask God for forgiveness. I used to feel trapped. Now I feel free.’
The list could go on, but here’s just one more example I want to mention. This year, the young people led a Youth Takeover Service one Sunday morning in our new building. They welcomed, hosted, sang, read notices, preached, prayed, and poured coffee with genuine, godly sincerity. At least one person was healed, and many members of the congregation were so thrilled they asked whether the youth could lead again. This enthusiasm stems from seeing a boldness to glorify Jesus manifest in young people’s lives. Adults aren’t only excited to witness this from the sidelines but want to learn and partake. God is at work, and the young people are, to a large extent, leading the way.
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I hope you can see that solid youth work doesn’t need to be ‘relevant’, complicated, or flashy, and it doesn’t need to be led by expert youth workers. It’s underpinned by the tried-and-tested godly principles found in the New Testament. Jesus changes lives through simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God. May He continue to do so in our town and yours!
by Benny and Paige Marrett
Benny and Paige live in Attleborough, Norfolk and have served the church there for nearly 10 years. Benny's an elder and a hiking enthusiast, and Paige is a self-confessed science nerd, but their big passion is glorifying Jesus through evangelism and discipleship - especially with young people.