Lesley shares how, with the help of Lifewords resources, she has had the opportunity to share and bring life to young people in Tunbridge Wells.

As a discipleship worker with Youth for Christ Tunbridge Wells, Lesley's role is all about journeying alongside teenagers – offering support, encouragement, and help. Through their after-school café, school visits, and partnerships with churches and community groups, Lesley seeks to support youth work across the town, helping to create safe spaces where young people can feel seen, heard, and valued.

Lesley first heard about Lifewords when someone at her church gave her a Little Brick of Little Books, suggesting that it could be a helpful resource in her work at Youth for Christ.

I found the books a really helpful thing to use to bring life to young people. I've been able to use them at the Christian Unions that I support. Recently, I was telling some of the young people how the reason that I'm a Christian and  follow Jesus is because he brings great joy to my life, and it was great to have the Little Book of Joy to show them after sharing this.

They like all the little pictures inside, the Scriptures, they’re just really, really accessible for that age group. I've been able to share more and more of the books with them. One of the young men actually said, “I love these so much. I've cleared a space on my bookshelf and I want to collect them all”, which I thought was really exciting. So they are obviously bringing hope and life to him.

She continued: "Our after-school cafe is a great way to use these books, because we have this corner where some of them come just to be quiet and think. We've had the books out on the shelf or laid on the table. And I remember on one occasion one of them was talking about their life – it sounded a bit like chaos. I shared Little Book of Chaos with them and they could really identify with reading that."

Some of the most meaningful encounters have come through creative uses of the books – whether it’s turning pages into posters or colouring printouts.

Lesley shares: "The graphics are so beautiful. The Scriptures go really well with them, and they're not cheesy – the young people like what they see. We’ve even made big posters out of some of them, or print outs to colour in.

"I particularly like this one from Little Book of Joy. 'Those who look to the Lord for help will be radiant with joy. No shadow of shame will darken their faces.' It's just great. It's something that young people can identify with and it's done in a way that's so relevant to them. That style – it's marvellous.

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‍"Little Book of Help also really spoke to me, because it's got that plaster cross on the front. And, sometimes we can have problems in our life, and I think some of the young people come and they've got problems, and they've been sticking a plaster on it and not really getting the help that they need. And it's only when you open up and share with someone and talk about what's really going on, that the healing can begin. When Jesus was on earth, he came to heal people and help people. And that's an area where we would really like to be used in the centre, just to be a listening ear and to help."

The work we do in Tunbridge Wells is really important. People think it's a very affluent town, but as with a lot of places, there are needs. A lot of young people that come into the café need a safe space. They need somewhere where they can come and relax and not feel judged and just share if they want to. And we can come alongside, encourage them, and help them. And that's our mission, to reach out and show love, show Jesus' love to them.

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