Jon Hills is our new Chair of Trustees
Engage is very pleased to welcome Jon Hills as Chair of its board of Trustees. He brings to our leadership team his great experience as a schools leader and awareness of the challenges of introducing Christian topics into education.
Jon is CEO of TAMAT (The Alliance Multi-Academy Trust) comprising five schools in the Surrey Heath area.
He said: “I have been involved in education all my life and have had the privilege of senior leadership roles in primary schools for over 22 years.
“After benefiting from the support of Engage in my schools I was delighted to be asked to join the Engage Trustee board as Chair, to help ensure this important resource continues to flourish.”
Jon said that as a headmaster he saw first-hand the commitment and care of the Engage team: supporting schools and children, and telling Bible stories in an engaging and often fun way during school assemblies.
“Engage works with schools in a sensitive way: it brings key Christian festivals such as Christmas and Easter to life, while aware of the rich multicultural communities it serves.”
Jon stressed that school staff are stretched and time is precious. “Engage supports them by reinforcing Christian topics within the RE curriculum as well as presenting timely assemblies in primary schools, presented in person and recorded so schools can access them online.
“Engage also works with secondary schools, supporting lunchtime clubs, small group work focusing on well-being, and adding capacity to the school’s pastoral work.
“It is a great cross-church service, utilising the skills and talents from many people who have a common aim: to serve young people in our communities.
“Its core work is carried out by a small team but relies on the generosity of individuals and churches giving time and financial support to ensure Engage continues.”
Jon is married, with three children who have all been through local schools and are now in further education. “I appreciate that at every stage of parenting there are both immense challenges and times of great joy!
“I attend Welcome Church in Woking. In my spare time I enjoy going for a run with my dog. And during any further spare time I like to experiment in the kitchen, adapting recipes – usually to a soundtrack from the 1980s!”
Third Encounter event in April
We will be running Encounter for the third time in April, as young people have enjoyed it so much.
Encounter is a special free evening event for young people in school years 7 to 13. Increasingly the young people we meet have a growing spiritual hunger to know more about and to encounter Jesus.
Churches in Woking come together to run Encounter in order to serve young people in our community: showing God’s love and creating a new Christian community that young people feel they belong to.
Our second Encounter event in September was attended by about 60 young people from churches and schools in the Woking area. They heard a talk about how God is with us at all times, as well as wor- shipping, praying and connecting with each other.
You can play your part in this event by praying for all that needs to be done and that the hearts and minds of young people are stirred so they sign up.
Encounter is on Saturday 26th April at the URC Church on White Rose Lane. It is free and registrations are now open: to sign up, scan the QR code or click here.
Reaching children in primary schools
We have a busy and varied Primary Schools program reaching children from all walks of life, reports our Primary Schools Worker, Bronwen Hall.
Our lunchtime prayer club at Horsell Junior School meets weekly with a different focus each week. We use different mediums to bring prayer to life, giving the children an opportunity to delve deeper into what it means to pray. It is a “drop in” club, so attendance varies from week to week, but it is lovely to meet many different children and to get to know those who attend regularly.
We help out weekly at the Noah’s Ark after-school club at Ottershaw Infant School. It is open to all children in Reception, and KS1. The children are enthusiastic and love the interactive Bible storytelling, worship songs, games and story- related craft activities we provide.
Kingdom Explorers is our after-school club at Bisley Primary School, open to all children in school years 4, 5 and 6. We run it for an hour each week, giving children the opportunity to dive deeper into the Bible and to explore their faith and the impact it has on the world around them.
We set up and run Prayer or Reflection spaces in schools. These give children a safe space to be still and to reflect or pray for situations that may be impacting them. Children and staff really enjoy these sessions and feel the benefit of this time away from “normal” school activities.
Finally there are our school assemblies – famous across the Woking area! Our assembly team brings the Bible to life in assemblies for over 30 schools in our area. We present stories in schools at Harvest, Christmas and Easter. For those schools that don’t get the live performance we record a “studio” version, available on our YouTube channel for all to enjoy.
These assemblies have a big impact on children and are remembered through secondary school, and beyond!
Prayer Prompts
Please give thanks for:
God’s continued provision for Engage.
All of our committed and faithful supporters.
Please pray for:
Strength and good health to sustain the team.
All the young people we see and with whom we share the Gospel message.
The forward planning of our work.
Our mentoring work in schools.
The Encounter event – for the stirring of hearts and minds in all those who see the advert, and that they want to attend.
