At Thrive we love sharing the stories of what God is doing through our ministry. James Yates, our Youth Mission Enabler, has been at the heart of developing the Warwick Youth Bus project. James brings a unique mix of experience in both youth work and bus driving (yes, really!) and has seen first-hand how God weaves even the most unexpected parts of our lives into His plans. Here he shares some of the exciting things that have been happening through the bus over the past year.
For the last eighteen months, we have been establishing the Warwick Youth Bus – a mobile youth facility on a double-decker bus. We have been running regular sessions and have seen encouraging growth in the project: both in the number of times the bus has gone out, and in the depth of relationships forming between volunteers and young people in the area.
My own story has long been intertwined with youth ministry and buses. I’ve been driving buses and coaches since I was twenty-one, alongside volunteering and working in a variety of youth ministry roles. When I joined Thrive in 2021, I thought my days of driving buses were behind me – how wrong I was!
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
When the Warwick churches approached us to take on this project, it soon became clear that my “just a job” experience of bus driving had been God’s training ground for ministry, sixteen years later. He really does take all things and use them for his purposes – even bus driving!
Warwick Focus – Growing the Regular Sessions
The vision of the bus is to provide a safe space for young people to enjoy – somewhere to have fun, spend time with Christians, and take their first steps on a journey of faith. To make this possible, a consistent presence is vital for building trust and reliability.
Over the past school year, we have been able to grow our work in Warwick with three regular outreach sessions.
Two of these sessions take place straight after school, between 3 and 5pm, giving young people the chance to relax, pick up a drink, and let off some steam. These have proved popular, with over 20 young people regularly attending and a committed core group now emerging.
In addition, we run a regular evening session in the Packmores area of Warwick. The growth here has been phenomenal, with all three sessions attracting new young people week by week. This regularity has enabled the team to build strong connections and to have increasingly meaningful conversations.
Growing Faith – Alpha on the Bus
Whilst the bus is a fun place to be – with games and activities on offer – it’s also a place where young people can explore faith with Christian volunteers. Over the past six months, we have been intentionally increasing the faith elements of each session.
We have used The Stir Course to include a short faith input in the after-school sessions. We are currently running an Alpha course before the Packmores evening, and many of the team have shared their testimonies. We’ve also been able to give Bibles to six young people. The bus is becoming a place where faith is explored and Christian journeys are beginning.
The Strong Course – Connecting with Schools
An exciting new development has been our visits to Aylesford School. We worked with a group of Year 7 students, running The Strong Course – an eight-week programme designed to build resilience and good mental health.
It has been great to see the bus being used to support young people both during the school day and in their free time. Alongside the course, we also ran a lunch drop-in, helped the pastoral team with a group of students struggling with classroom learning, and even used the bus as a mobile kitchen – serving over 500 milkshakes on the last day of term!
Moving Up – Transition Sessions
As part of our transitions programme, we took the bus to five primary schools to support Year 6 pupils as they prepared for their move to secondary school. These sessions not only give students a taste of what the bus offers once they’ve left primary school, but also provide fun, interactive activities through the It’s Your Move programme, making use of the bus’s tech.
Supporting Mission – Partnering with YWAM
In July, we had a fantastic week supporting Youth With A Mission (YWAM) at their Shine Festival and missions week. Teams from across Europe gathered at The King’s Lodge near Nuneaton for worship, training and fellowship before being sent out into mission across Coventry and Warwickshire.
We took the bus to support outreach in Canley, Attleborough, Foleshill and Bedworth, with teams from Poland, Slovakia and France joining us in serving young people.
Get Involved
The growth of the bus project has only been possible through the incredible support of volunteers, giving their time and gifts to serve young people. We are also deeply grateful to the many people in churches who uphold the project in prayer. Find out how you could volunteer on the bus here.
If you would like to commit to praying for the bus or any other aspect of Thrive’s work, please sign up for the Thrive prayer newsletter.