Young people from America have been making the journey across the Atlantic to share their faith with children in Durham Diocese.
The latest in a series of inspirational visits took place earlier this month, when a group from Florida attended two primary schools in Sunderland.
It was part of the UK-USA Ministries initiative, which has been growing partnerships between churches and schools in both countries over the past 14 years.
The group from Family Church, West Palm Beach, Florida, were all aged 15-plus and included three student ministry leaders. They spent time at two schools in Sunderland - Southwick Primary and Northern Saints Primary.
Both schools followed the initiative’s annual Camp of Champions programme, in which the American visitors engaged pupils in sports and active games before one of the team shared their faith story and the love of Jesus.
The programme was supported by Holy Trinity Southwick, the Parish of North Wearside, and a team of volunteers. Bibles were given as gifts to children in Year 6 who are moving up to secondary school this summer.
Outside of the schools work, the US visitors took part in two worship nights, trips to the local beach, York Minster and finished their ministry atop Penshaw, praying over the city of Sunderland and for all those they had met.
Stuart Main, who is Parish Warden at Holy Trinity and is part of the UK-USA Ministries project, said: “For some children this is the sixth year of engaging with teams from the USA and the impact on their faith journey is profound.
“Florida is a place many of us dream of visiting, so to have people come here to speak to us is eye-opening for both children and adults alike. There’s an instant connection with questions about our respective backgrounds and home life. There’s an abundance of fun and it’s a great way to share stories of faith.”
Among other recent visits, a group from FBC Concord in Knoxville visited Hope Family Church in Sunderland back in April, when young people were given the opportunity to interact on a double decker bus which had been converted into a youth centre and mobile pop-up café.
There will be further American visits this summer. These include Hope Family Church once again, and also to Christ Church New Seaham.
UK-USA Ministries was established in 2011 after its founder, Mike Taylor embarked on his own journey from America to the UK. Since then, many groups have made journeys across the Atlantic, mostly to the North East of England.
If you’d be interested in partnering with a USA church for week long mission, please reach out to Stuart Main on stuart@northwearsideparish.com
