Are you under 18? Have you got a great idea of how you could introduce your friends to Jesus but feel like you need a bit of financial help to make it a reality? We’re here to help. From taking your non-christian friends on a youth camp, running a pizza and film night, going to a fun park, running a youth alpha or buying christian resources for your friends, the Youth Evangelism Fund was set up for exactly that.
We want to hear from young people with their own ideas about how some financial support could help them reach their friends with the good news of Jesus.
This fund was originally opened in 2006 and has supported many innovative and creative projects. .
Please note that applications for 2023 are currently closed.
It was great to watch the young people step out in sharing their faith and take the lead in organising what that looked like.
Amy Stott, Centre Director at Newham Youth For Christ
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby said: ‘I am committed to seeing the next generation of young people mobilised in mission – both in words and actions. As we build on the investment of the Youth Evangelism Fund, I look forward to seeing young people in mission, taking a lead in seeing communities transformed by Christ.’
Applications can be made for amounts up to £2,000 and must be made by someone under the age of 18 from any denomination. That young person may be assisted in making the application by their youth leader or parent, but it must be clear that the first part of the application is being made by the young person. The second part should be filled in by the youth leader so we have a contact point and so as to comply with our safeguarding procedures.
About 10 young people chose to respond to the message and spent time praying, which was amazing!
Dan Sach, youth worker at West Kirby United Reformed Church
If successful the money will be paid into the supporting church or organisation's bank account who will then be responsible for ensuring the money is used for its designated purpose and help oversee the project with the young people.
In compliance with our safeguarding procedures, we also ask youth leaders to confirm that the supporting church or organisation has a safeguarding policy in place that has been read, understood and implemented, that they implement safer recruitment of its youth leaders (DBS checks, interviews, references etc), that they have carried out relevant safeguarding training in the past 3 years and where appropriate, that they will complete a risk assessment of any activity carried out as a result of receiving funding.
We especially welcome applications from groups that have done the Mission Academy Live course and where this will form part of the young people's outreach.
If you would like apply, please fill in the application form below.
Here’s the stories of some of those who have previously been successful in making applications:
In December of 2015 the young people ran a youth event called "The Big Christmas Party" that we had been granted money for from the Youth Evangelism Fund. We decorated our church with Christmas lights and tinsel, hired in inflatables, set up sound systems and lights, added in the Christmas Karaoke, and we had a huge party! About 50 young people came along to jump, flip, dance and enjoy fun times together. During the party we spoke to all the young people about the story of Christmas and who Jesus is, followed by an option to respond by exploring interactive prayer stations and praying with youth leaders. About 10 young people chose to respond to the message and spent time praying, which was amazing! And to finish of the evening we fed all of the young people pizza and chips delivered by our local pizza takeaway
Money from the Youth Evangelism Fund allowed us invest in the lighting equipment needed to set the atmosphere for the event, as well as helping to cover other costs of the inflatables and food, and because of this investment we were able run a "Big Easter Party" and "Big Summer Party" later that school year using the same equipment. By repeating all these events for 2 years, it enabled us to found a new ecumenical youth group and ministry, called [FUSE] Youth (because together we're stronger), which provides us the privilege of discipling 15-20 young people every week through various youth groups and socials.
Dan Sach, youth worker at West Kirby United Reformed Church
As part of the Mission Academy project, the young people we work with decided that they wanted to hand out breakfast pastries and a cup of tea or coffee to commuters on their way into work. They took the napkins that were being handed out and hand wrote encouraging bible verses on them as a way of encouraging and sharing their faith with those passing by. They also used some of the money from the Youth Evangelism Fund to get t-shirts printed that said 'Jesus Loves You’. It was great to watch the young people step out in sharing their faith and take the lead in organising what that looked like.
Amy Stott, Centre Director at Newham Youth For Christ
As part of running a Mission Academy, the young people decided to use Easter as a way to get their friends talking about Jesus, faith, and what life is all about. The young people gave out fliers to their friends and in their schools to invite people to text a question about Christianity. The young people then replied with a short answer and then invited them to an Easter Egg Hunt to find out more and get an Easter Egg! Off the back of this, the young people ran an Alpha course offering the opportunities to ask deeper questions.
We ended Mission Academy with a youth service, where the young people shared their testimonies of the week and took part in the worship band. A girl called Hannagh took part in the service and her mum (who had previously been pretty anti-church) became a Christian, and now her whole family know Jesus and are part of the church family!
Sara Kennett, youth worker at West Wickham & Shirley Baptist Church