Break time prayers during GSUS Live
GSUS Live lessons, hosted in a west Wales secondary school, led to eleven pupils approaching Counties evangelist, Janet Hawking, for prayer during their break time.
I spent a week leading GSUS Live lessons at Ysgol Bro Gwaun, Fishguard. The pupils were very receptive to learning about Christianity.
In Year 7, students are usually offered a New Testament, but some miss out. After the GSUS Live lessons, I was able to give them out to 35 pupils who’d asked for one.
Before the first lesson on Wednesday, the team prayed, and after the session, the class had profound questions. We shared our stories of answered prayer and explained how God offers comfort during hard and sad times.
By lunchtime on Wednesday, some of the boys had additional deep questions, of which we were able to answer from our Christian viewpoint. They also asked for prayer. Two of them had major family health issues.
I suggested they write down their concerns and mentioned the team would pray later. But four boys returned and said:
“We would like to pray now“
As we stood in a circle, in the busy corridor at lunchtime, one boy added: “Let’s pray in a circle.“ He prayer loudly and fervently for all the concerns that had been shared, and he did so with such compassion and empathy that there was no need for me to add to it. I was amazed, as none of these boys go to church.
By Friday, two of the boys asked if they could pray again at lunchtime, as they had been moved by our earlier meeting. Other pupils joined in, and so we pulled chairs around to form a little group. Soon, eleven pupils joined me. We left the door open, and some of the young people wanted to shut the door as they were worried that other children would laugh as they walked past. However, others thought that it should remain open so that others could join in. We agreed and left the door open.
One girl told us she went to Evensong at the Cathedral and could feel the presence of God in the classroom. One boy asked if he could kneel and pray.
Another asked if we could pray for his Gran, who is in hospital with cancer. He started to pray aloud, and he began to cry. He wondered if that was okay, as he said he was not usually emotional.
I reminded him that the shortest verse in the Bible is: “Jesus wept.” And I told him it was okay to cry if he wanted to. Then a girl shared: “I need forgiveness.” So, we prayed that the Lord would answer her prayer.
Two 16-year-old boys stayed behind after we had finished praying, and one of them asked about being baptised as an adult. As they didn’t attend church, I told them about a small Baptist Church up the road where they could be discipled before committing to baptism.
These eleven teens blew me away. Expect the unexpected. The boys were eager to pray aloud, and they were also unashamed to be vulnerable and share their needs.
What a privilege to support and share with these teenagers following the GSUS Live lessons. I do thank the Lord for a Pioneering Spirit to serve and support our schools in West Wales.
To find out more about GSUS Live, visit the website here or contact Dave Thomas: gsuslive@countiesuk.org.