Logos Goes North

By Matthew Weil

Off Our Sofa

As a life-long, committed Southerner, my time spent in the northerly provinces of jolly England is, admittedly, limited at best. To my shame, journeys beyond the Watford gap, have, historically, tended to be more be accident than intention – but fortunately for me, all that changed when the Logos Group (consisting roughly, but not exclusively, of those within the 18-30 age group in Trinity Church) offered the perfect opportunity to get got me off my proverbial, “southern” sofa and out into a community in Billingham, Teesside.

To give you a bit of background before I launch into what we actually did on this humbling trip, I must mention Peter & Sarah Hoskins: both long-time friends of Trinity Church and the brains behind the brawn. These two, originally from the North, moved their family down to Essex years ago to be a part of Trinity Church in Brentwood. After many happy years, they felt the sun was setting on their time in the South, and God was calling them to move up to Billingham. Without knowing what to expect, Peter, Sarah and family relocated North, and set about finding out what God wanted them to do there.

Youth Group Plans

To cut a long story short, Peter & Sarah managed to hook up with a thriving group called New Life Church (NLC) led by Cliff Henderson who had been praying for someone to help him run the youth group. Inexorably, Peter knew that this was what God wanted him to do and soon plans were in place for them to re-establish the NLC’s youth group in the community centre just over the road from the church.

They were given a moderately-sized, dilapidated room in the community centre and effectively given a clean slate with which to start. And, in true Hoskins’ style, Peter & Sarah set about creating a place that they could use to reach out to the youth in Billingham and beyond. Enter Logos and the logistical genius of Daniel Yardy.

The small and, what can only be described as, “motley” crew arrived in Billingham on the Friday of the May Bank Holiday weekend; and after a long journey filled with frequent anxiety attacks due to being so far North (!!!), the team set to work.

Day 1 Saturday – Destruction Derby

Under the direction of “The Foreman” (aka Daniel Yardy), Peter, Sarah and the Logos Crew joined forces with the local Billingham massif to transform the space into a platform for reaching the community. On the first day, in true “Changing Rooms” style, the place became a destruction derby, with old carpets taken up, tatty lights removed, rough walls sanded, antiquated shelves knocked down and antediluvian work surfaces dispensed with…it was all brilliant fun! Only towards the end of Day 1 did constructive work take place.

Day 2 Sunday – Transformation

After the NLC’s morning service and a delicious lunch (laid on by the church), the team went back to work without a moment to lose. Painting, carpentry, a/v installation, lighting, drilling, carpeting and plumbing were the main order of the day, as the crew set about transforming the space into a vibrant, youth-centric venue. By Sunday evening the carpets were laid, plumbing was in, the 60-inch TV was mounted, the funky sound system was installed, the sparkly new spotlights were fitted, the American-football style paint job was complete and the new, sturdy work surfaces built. The team worked late into the evening and the transformation was on the very brink of completion. Only the laminate flooring stood in the way of the Logos/NLC team and a runaway success! But that couldn’t stop us, could it?

Day 3 Monday – Laminate Flooring Nightmare

Well, before returning on Monday morning, we had hoped to finish the very last of the work and head home in good time. That was before we had discovered that the glued-down laminate flooring had not dried properly, and glue was in fact sprouting wildly from the cracks betwixt the tiles! “But, whatever did you do!”? I hear you cry. Ah, well we had to take up ALL the laminate flooring and relay it with less glue of course. So ultimately, our trip was protracted slightly, but nevertheless the job was completed by 2pm and the place looked . . . absolutely magnificent!

Trailblazers Hang-out

The Hoskins and NLC Church members were astounded with the success of the joint-project and how much had been achieved by the whole team. In less than two and a half days the youth-venue had been converted into a slick-looking, spot-lit, American-football style, audio-visual paradise that literally glittered with opulence. Touchingly, many of the kids destined to use the room had seen the development and were so excited to see us there that they were literally tripping over themselves to thank and talk to us. For all of the Logos team there, seeing the end-users of the space (many of whom are underprivileged Billingham youngsters) so overwhelmingly pleased with their new hang-out was a singularly moving moment. But, most importantly, Peter and Sarah now had the perfect venue from which to launch their youth group in Billingham (known as “Trailblazers”) and reach out to the kids that really need help in the surrounding area.

Lasting Friendships

So, notwithstanding initial trepidation, Logos had ventured out into the ether and had managed not to break anything! In fact, the trip was a remarkable success by any measure. In just our first outing, we had managed to achieve something valuable whilst forging strong friendships with our northern compatriots that may yet pave the way for further joint mission/outreach teams in the future. If you ever wish to get involved in future projects, I can honestly say that you will get out more than you put in – tenfold. Stay tuned for news of the next Logos weekend.