Keep growing

Keep Growing

So you've left Year 6 and you're heading off to secondary school. Thinking about a new school can make us nervous or sad or excited. We want you to know that you aren't doing it alone. I wonder who you know of that will help you and support you? They might be family, friends, teachers or others you love and care for you.

As Christians we believe God will be with you too, to guide, to help and to support you. The Bible says, "The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry." (Deuternomy 31:8).

You may be looking for ways to explore your faith and what you believe. You might want to keep nurturing your spiritual development as you start secondary school. You may know already you are following Jesus and want some help as you start your new chapter.

We have put together some activities to help you explore in a way that helps you. All the activities are below for you to click and download the ones you are interested in.

You will find activities about:

Purpose: Do you know you are made in the image of God?
People: Life isn't supposed to be lived in isolation.
Prayer: Do you ever sit quietly and talk to God?
Place: Everyone needs a place where they feel safe and completely themselves.
Plan: Good things usually happen when we set good intentions.
Progress: Do you want to keep growing spiritually?

You can do them in any order, as many or as few as you want. You might already know what you are looking for. If not, choose something that sounds interesting and start from there. It doesn’t matter where you begin, just keep growing!

Just click on the title and it will open up the activities for you to download.

Purpose: Do you know you are made in the image of God? Unique, perfectly you and with a purpose.

This section will help you to reflect on what being made in the image of God means for you.

Belonging, becoming, believing, serving

This is a space for you to reflect on who you are now and where you fit in. You can be completely honest because this is just for you.

Click here to download.

Fearfully and wonderfully made

What does it mean for you that you are fearfully and wonderfully made?

Click here to download.

Thought tracker

God knows you! None of your thoughts are a surprise to Him. If you are worried about anything this is a space for you to write your thoughts down and spend some time in prayer.

Click here to download.

Heartbeat of your life

What is the heartbeat of your life? When you find yourself feeling a bit lost you can come back to these things.

Click here to download.

Living well God's way

'Blessed are the poor in spirit...blessed are those who mourn...blessed are the meek..' What do Jesus' words then mean to you now?

Click here to download.

Trinity: The divine dance

The Bible says humans are made in the image of God.
God is Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are fully God and yet all different. Theologians describe them as being in a ‘divine dance’, making room for each other.

Click here to download.

Wondering about myself

Wondering about who you are, where you fit in and how you can make a difference? Here are some helpful thoughts you might want to look at.

Click here to download.

People: Life isn’t supposed to be lived in isolation.

This section will help you think about who the people are who can help you as you continue to grow spiritually and who you might want to share your faith journey with.

Intergenerational help

You aren’t supposed to do life by yourself, or even surrounded by people from just one age group. People from different generations can really help you and share their wisdom. Who are they and what can they help you with in your spiritual life and growth?

Click here to download.

Reconciliation

There will be times when you have conflict and fall out with others. Reconciling and forgiving are not easy things. Following Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Fourfold Path to Forgiveness can help us to love other's God's way.

Click here to download.

Ten ways to love

You have probably heard about how important love is lots of times. But what does it mean? The Bible says that God is love and that if we love others people will recognise us as disciples of Jesus. But how do you do it?

Click here to download.

My people

People who help you grow will listen to you, believe in you and do something to help you. It's really important to pause and think about who those people are for you.

Click here to download.

Prayer: Do you ever sit quietly and talk to God?

This section will show you some ways in which you can nurture a space in your busy days for prayer, silence and reflection.

Reading the Bible

A handy set of questions you might want to look at when you read the Bible. The questions help you think about what you believe and what it means to you.

Click here to download.

Offering worries to God

During any time of change, we maybe worried or scared about different things. The Bible is full of reminders that we can offer our worries to God.

Click here to download.

Circle of control, influence and concern

Use this when you are feeling nervous about something new or unfamiliar to guide your prayers.

Click here to download.

Social prayers

Often, we worry about our friends and family. Prayer is a good way to offer those worries to God. These are some fun ways to remind us to prayer for all different things.

Click here to download.

Prayer notes

Prayer is just talking to God and listening to God talking to you. There is no right or wrong way to do that but having a structure can sometimes be helpful.

Click here to download.

Resting with the Bible

Lectio Divina is a way of reading the Bible prayerfully and with contemplation. This is some instructions and handy ideas for doing it yourself.

Click here to download.

Listening to God like Samuel

Samuel did a lot of listening to God. Sometimes listening feels hard and it's easy to get distracted. So why not try it the Samuel way?

Click here to download.

Ending your day

This prayer is intended to be said at the end of each day. There are no set words, just different themes for you to use your own words to explore with God.

Click here to download.

The prayer Jesus taught us

The Lord’s Prayer is the prayer Jesus taught His disciples. If you aren’t sure how to start praying or what to pray, this is a good place to start

Click here to download.

Praying with images

Sometimes, having an image in front of you to focus on while you pray can be helpful. Here you will find some ideas and then you can head off and find your own.

Click here to download.

Place: Everyone needs a place where they feel safe and completely themselves.

This section will show you how to find or create a sacred space that is a place for you to keep growing spiritually.

Creating a sacred space

Is there somewhere that you find peaceful and relaxing? Could you use some images or objects to make it into a sacred space for you to pray, reflect or be silent? This has some great ideas to create a special place for you and God.

Click here to download.

Silence and solitary places

Jesus frequently chose to be alone. We do not know what he did during these times of solitude but then he returned to the crowds and went on to react with kindness and compassion towards others. Take some time to be silent and solitary.

Click here to download.

Finding God in nature

The Bible tells us that God is in nature. Find somewhere outside where you can sit surrounded by nature. Take some time to really look and listen. Is there evidence of a loving God here?

Click here to download.

Plan: Good things usually happen when we set good intentions.

This section will help you to plan for growing as you move through the natural cycles of life.

Planning for spiritual encounters

Lots of ideas to help you grow spiritually...not just prayer. What do you already do? What looks interesting? What else might you want to experience?

Click to download.

The armour of God

Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians reminds the Christians in Ephesus to ‘put on the armour of God’ on a daily basis.
Some days you might need one part of the armour more than others.

Click to download.

The liturgical calendar

The Liturgical Calendar shows us how the different seasons within the year help us to explore the big story of Christianity. With time for celebration, preparing and growth.

Click to download.

Progress: Do you want to keep growing spiritually?

This section will help you to make progress in different areas of spiritual growth so that you can continue the journey of discovering faith you started in your Church of England primary school.

Experience the Bible

St Ignatius of Loyola helped people connect with God through ‘spiritual imagining’ it involves the person imagining they are there in the Bible story with Jesus. This is to help Jesus feel more real to the person and to make them feel connected to Him more deeply. Try it!

Click here to download.

Living well

Christians use the Bible to help them to live well. The Fruits of the Spirit are one of the things that people aspire to when wanting to live God’s way. Could they help you?

Click here to download.

Big questions

What are your ‘Big Questions’ about life, God, yourself, the world? Here's a simple space to think about them and who you might want to ask.

Click here to download.

Life Labryrinth

These are some helpful questions to round off what you have been doing and thinking about. I wonder if you you would feel differently doing this at the beginning and at the end of the holidays.

Click here to download.

Thank you!

Thank you to the Diocesan Board of Education who are allowing us to house this resource so anyone can access it. And particularly to Jen Jenkins who created the materials.