Youth View - June 2007

Around 700 young people queue in anticipation of an evening of fun, passionate, high octane worship and great teaching. On  February 3, this was the scene outside the King’s Centre in Oxford. They were waiting for Vertigo, a countywide youth event for young people in Oxfordshire.

Vertigo has now been running for two years and is organised by a group of youth workers from Oxford and across the county. It has been exciting to see what can happen when youth leaders and young people alike come together from a variety of denominations, forget their differences and concentrate on what they have in common, a love for Jesus. Over this time, we have seen great things happening both at the event as well as outside it in the time between. Young people have gathered in worship, prayed together, responded to challenging teaching and made decisions about how they are going to lead their lives. They have gone out on the streets of Oxford taking part in social action projects; they have found people at school who share their faith that they would have never otherwise known; they have got involved with different organisations and charities to make a difference. Vertigo aims to call young people together to equip and empower them to live lives passionate about Jesus, relevant to the world in which they live, and make a difference in their communities for the glory of God.

At this event, Krish Kandiah gave a talk about mission. That mission was about passing on the ‘baton of faith’ that we had all received from someone, maybe a parent or grandparent or perhaps a friend or youth leader. We were challenged that we could all be a part of this movement whether it was across the world or next door. In response to this, the next Vertigo on June 23 is a chance to put this into practice. Krish Kandiah has been invited back to give an evangelistic talk and an event is being planned that young people can invite their friends along to. The 29th Chapter are coming to perform a concert, the sumo suits are returning, inflatables, a BBQ, the café and bandstand will all be there ready for action. So, if you are aged between 13 and 18 come along and if you can, bring a friend!

For more information email info@vertigo-ox.com or go to www.vertigo-ox.com

Mark Harlow is a school’s worker based at St Andrew’s North Oxford.