A Unique Partnership Between a Local Church and a High School

How a South Wales church is seeing young people rediscover Christianity.

In a modest suburb of Cardiff South Wales, something quietly remarkable is happening. A local church has become more than just a building – it’s becoming a haven, a bridge between generations, and, perhaps most surprisingly, a place where young people are starting to explore faith again.

Counties Evangelist, Mike Thomas, who leads a local church, has always believed that the church should be part of the everyday fabric of the local community. But over the past year, that belief has taken on a new dimension as the church stepped into an unexpected role: hosting a school intervention group for vulnerable pupils approaching their GCSEs.

The invitation came last summer, when the headteacher of a nearby secondary school approached Mike with a dilemma. Like many schools across the UK, this one had seen a significant rise in mental health challenges among its pupils in the wake of the pandemic. Attendance was down, behavioural issues were up, and more and more students were finding it difficult to cope with the demands of school life.

“We were seeing kids falling through the cracks,” the headteacher explained. “We needed to try something different.”

What the school envisioned was an off-site intervention group – a space where struggling students could receive additional support, away from the pressures of the main school campus. They needed somewhere quiet, safe, and stable. Did Mike know of anywhere?

He did.

Upstairs in his church building were several underused meeting rooms, and Mike didn’t hesitate. That simple offer of hospitality became the start of something profound.

A church-school friendship

This wasn’t the church’s first connection to the school. The relationship had roots going back over two decades, when Mike and a colleague began spending lunchtimes in the school cafeteria – a space usually avoided by school staff. Week after week, they sat among the students, answering questions, offering a listening ear, and gently breaking down stereotypes of what it meant to be a Christian.

In the years that followed, the partnership deepened. Mike and others from local churches were invited to lead assemblies, pray at staff meetings, run a weekly lunch club, and offer a regular early morning prayer space before school. The church became a quiet but consistent presence in school life – visible, reliable, and approachable.

But even with all that history, the events of the past eight months have been different.

Creating space for healing

Since the autumn term, Mike’s church has been hosting 15 pupils and four school staff every week. The rooms upstairs have been transformed into a calm and welcoming environment – a soft landing place for young people facing hard days.

Mike’s own office sits just next door to the rooms the pupils use, and their paths cross regularly. He often joins them for lunch, not with an agenda, but with availability. Over sandwiches and school chatter, conversations spark.

“They’re curious,” Mike says. “They’ll ask things like, ‘Why do you guys care so much?’

That’s a golden moment – to share that it’s because of Jesus, because of the Gospel.”

For many of the students, it’s the first time they’ve encountered a church not as an institution, but as a community of people who care.

One pupil was so intrigued he asked to take a Bible home. A few days later, he returned – not with polite thanks, but with questions!

Gen Z and the quiet return to faith

That curiosity isn’t isolated. Across the UK and further afield, there’s been a surprising trend: Gen Z is showing an openness to Christianity that many assumed was long gone. From viral TikTok testimonies to packed student Alpha courses, today’s teenagers and twenty-somethings are increasingly asking spiritual questions – often in places far removed from traditional church settings.

It’s not that young people are rushing to fill pews. But they are exploring. They’re reading the Bible, talking about prayer, asking deep questions about meaning, identity, hope, and truth.

For churches like Mike’s, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity: can we be places where those questions are welcomed and explored? Can we create spaces – physically and relationally – where Gen Z feels safe to investigate faith for themselves? At this South Wales church, the answer has been a quiet but emphatic ‘yes’.

From curiosity to connection

Since the group started meeting at the church, six of the pupils have begun attending the youth group – a vibrant community of around 45 young people who gather each week. One student has even said he plans to come along on a Sunday morning to see what a church service is really like.

Parents have noticed a difference, too. One mother called Mike personally to thank him, explaining the changes she had noticed in her child. Teachers are reporting similar stories: better behaviour, improved engagement, and a sense of hope for these kids.

Mike puts it down to God’s presence – and the simple act of making room.

A community-wide win

The partnership has been a win on every level. The school has found a supportive partner in the church. The pupils have found a safe space to learn and grow. Parents have found fresh hope. And the church has been reminded of its mission – to love its neighbours, especially the young and vulnerable.

“Hosting the intervention group not only provides a safe haven for students during challenging times,” Mike says, “but also opens doors for meaningful conversations about faith. It’s been a blessing to answer questions from students about faith and see curiosity about Christianity grow among both the students and staff. This partnership embodies our mission to love and support others unconditionally, creating a really positive environment where faith and community intersect.”

Looking ahead

As the academic year winds down, plans are already in place to continue the partnership in the year ahead. The school wants to expand the group, and Mike is preparing the church building – and his team – for more students, more questions, and, God willing, more encounters with the Gospel.

While the church may never make headlines, what’s happening in that quiet upstairs room is part of a much bigger story. Across the UK, Gen Z is asking new questions – and finding, sometimes to their own surprise, that Jesus might just have the answers they’re looking for.