Progressively, teenagers are now being seen by marketers as a key demographic in disseminating cultural ideas. Jesus Youth understands that this is a time when teens are being swayed by the conflicting influences around them and are often burdened with difficult choices. Jesus Youth Teens focuses on initiatives and sustained formation programmes for school students in year 8 to year 12. It reaches out to teenagers in contemporary and exciting ways and helps them discover the beauty of a Christ-centred life.
A small group of teens started to gather at Hornchurch in London from December 2018 and they named the programme Pathfinders. As this group continued for a few months they identified the need to grow deeper in their faith. The first residential retreat was arranged in July 2019 called Encounter. This retreat was attended by around 60 teens from across the UK. The teens who attended the retreat had a deeper and personal encounter with God and they started teens groups in their own areas.
This was the beginning of a series of programs including:
As a fruit of these initiatives, currently we have 14 teens groups across the UK which meet once in a month.
Other initiatives include outreach programs for the Syro Malabar Church and collaborations with other charismatic movements as part of CHARIS National Service of Communion (CNSC) in conducting teens programmes.
From its very beginning, the Jesus Youth movement had nurtured a special call to accompany young people in their journey of faith. The formation plan of the Jesus Youth, drawn from its vast experiences over the years, is designed to help young people move ahead and sustain their faith in a balanced manner. The formation plan involves different levels- 5 day discipleship training called choosen, weekend topics based formation called Teens Line, talent/skill based training Music camp, audio visual/Dramatic trainings, Worship workshops, training on apologetics, Theology of body , social media, visit to mission country Uganda mission etc, all these formations and training offer grass-roots formation, a step by step progression, trained formators and a lifestyle of a missionary disciple enabling them to step into wider world after their school life.
The Greatest of All Jubilees, the Year 2033, marks the 2000 Anniversary of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of All Mankind. Jesus Youth have started a 10 year project to form 2000 Jesus Youth missionary disciples to celebrate in the UK.
The start of the programme is by launching a long term Teens formation programme from September 2023 (4 year). The aim is to provide formation to older teens in the first 3 years and the 4th year being a commitment year where they will continue their mission in universities, workplaces or through a gap year. The completion of the Teens Formation will naturally lead all participants to enrol in the Jesus Youth formation module of Philip course. This long-term formation will be an ongoing programme with enrolling 30 teens each year.