Celebrating and recognising the achievements of children and young people is important, and over the past few months groups across the country have been doing this through displays, awards nights and other events. 

Earlier in the summer I had the privilege of presenting the awards at 5th Scarborough, and it was a real encouragement to see parents/carers, members of the Church congregation and representatives of the wider BB family come together to congratulate the children and young people on all they had accomplished. 

It reminded me of my time as a young person and one awards night in particular. The last trophy to be presented was always given to the “best” Senior. I was convinced it was my turn to receive this award and waited in eager anticipation. You can guess what happened: the trophy went to someone else, and to my dismay, not even to one of my friends, but to someone younger. I was outraged! 

As I have reflected on this experience, I have come to recognise that being the “best” is not important, and the real focus should be on “being the very best we can be”. The two things are quite different. This is what I saw at 5th Scarborough, what struck me was the way the young people celebrated each other’s successes and the encouragement for one another shone through.

I am delighted that over 150 groups are now part of the Building Stronger initiative, centred on increasing our engagement and reach to teenagers. At its heart is this sense of being the very best we can be through the opportunities and support we provide to young people. 

In this Gazette you will find cases studies highlighting how being part of Building Stronger has made a real difference to the lives of young people.

In the coming months we will be consulting with leaders across the country as we look to reshape the support structures of the organisation. Again, it will be about imagining what the “best we can be” looks like and how this impacts and enhances our engagement with children and young people through membership of a local group. 

Our five-year strategy to improve the quality of experience for children and young people is entitled “Be bold, be strong” and is taken from Deuteronomy 31:6, The Message puts it like this: 

Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down, he won’t leave you.”

Week by week, volunteer leaders commit time and energy, because they want to see children and young people grow in confidence and have the space to be themselves. This verse reminds us that we are not on our own, whatever frustrations and challenges, to keep going, and that God will never abandon us. 

I believe God encourages us all, young person, volunteer, trustee, or staff member not to aim to be the best, but to be the very best we can be. Let’s make that the focus of the session ahead.