Church Partnerships

As a Christian organisation we are so proud to both receive support from, and provide support to, churches in our community.

With our missional and relational outlook as well as our experience of working with communities, we are ideally placed to act as a bridge between churches and their unchurched communities and we act as a catalyst to empower local churches to reach out to children and young people.

Working in partnership means we can provide:

• Initial discussion about what our consultation would look like, gathering like-minded adults to chat about gaps in provision
• Consultation with young people and parents into their desire for a youth service
• Tailored training e.g. Safeguarding, Child Sexual Exploitation, Risk Assessments
• Ongoing support for adults and young people after the service is launched
• Quarterly review of the service to ensure identified needs are met or new needs that arise.

We have a number of church partnerships through which we jointly deliver youth, children’s and families work. These partnerships are:

• Churches4All Mission Community (Whimple, Talaton, Clyst Hydon and Clyst Lawrence)

We run a fortnightly children’s’ group for ages 8-11 (details here)

• ISCA Church

We run two weekly community youth sessions in the Beacon Centre (details here)

• Exwick Community Church

Including running Messy Church for children and families in the community.

During 2019, we supported the development of an open access youth club in the Teign Valley.

The invitation to consult came from Churches in the Teign Valley who saw a gap in support for young people in the area. We met with local residents, including young people, and spoke about how they felt the need could be met.

Over a period of several months we then assisted the community in setting up an open access youth club, including making sure correct health and safety procedures were in place. We are thrilled the youth club is now successfully run by a group of local passionate volunteers and that from the initial contact, young people across the Teign Valley are receiving increased support.

In the past we have supported churches and Christians organisations to reach their communities by setting up Job Clubs to provide employment and training support.

• Axminster Methodist Church: https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/job-club-turns-lives-around-1-1506007
• Kingsbridge Youth For Christ: http://www.kingsbridgeworkclub.com/about-us/4561201579

We receive monthly and quarterly financial donations from several local churches who are committed to supporting the work of the YMCA. These churches are:

• Pinhoe Road Baptist Church
• St Matthew’s
• Exeter Network Church
• Moretonhampstead Community Church
• Belmont Chapel
• St Leonard’s
• St David’s Church

To begin a conversation about partnering with the YMCA to support young people and communities in please contact us by emailing office@ymcaexeter.org.uk or calling us on 01392 410530.