When we first met Morgan as a 14-year-old, he was obsessed with video games. He would play them for up to 12 hours straight. Morgan used school as a place to catch up on sleep! We began meeting with Morgan every week to help him become more sociable. Morgan’s next goal was to start his […]
Once, with a few exceptions, to be Irish was to be Catholic. But as far-reaching abuse scandals linked to the church have come to light, many have turned their back on faith. Confidence in any church has plummeted.
A few summers ago, I took my adventurous daughter, then aged 10, to ‘Go Ape’. We were promised “unforgettable adventure” as we climbed and swung through the trees, high above the ground. As I followed Emily climbing up into the trees, I started to struggle. The forest started spinning around me. I felt sick. My […]
Yegor grew up in a Christian home in Russia, but when he was a teenager, he turned his back on God. His church didn’t think his music taste was appropriate – Yegor is a big fan of Alternative Rock.‘I was tired of feeling judged by Christians, and stopped going to church.’ ‘I’m not interested’ Now […]
Life for Matthew has been a struggle and frustration, an everyday experience. This often led to him failing to turn up to school. When he did make it, his anger sometimes boiled over into violent outbursts.
I remember the first time it happened. I had only been in Barton for a few weeks, living with some of the Thrive team, when there was a knock at the door one evening. I opened it to find a moody-looking teenager with his hood up and his head down. He mumbled to me, ‘I […]
Helena* is a courageous young Christian in a Central Asian country where that’s not easy. Back in 2014, she felt that God was calling her to reach out to children. But she had no idea how to start. With so few Christians in her country, she lacked support and felt isolated. Then, thanks to Innovista […]
Did you know that the five countries that make up Central Asia are around the same size as the European Union, but that together they have half as many Christians as Luxembourg has people?! Like you, we want to see that change. We want to see more people here following Jesus. And local Christians do […]
Across Central Asia, Christians are living under daily pressure from the police, the Government, and even their families, to keep their faith to themselves. And they are living with the huge responsibility of reaching their unreached communities with the hope of Jesus. Many of the church’s leaders here lack support and feel alone. But we […]
Amina’s* vision to help others discover life with Jesus began with a decision at 39,000 feet. She had become a Christian at the age of 16 after seeing the Jesus film. But the tiny church she had joined had no youth ministry, and seemingly no one to start one. That all changed last year when […]