Building community at state youth games

At Victoria’s annual State Youth Games (SYG), high school students and young adults from churches across the state gather for an action-packed weekend of casual and competitive sports and arts.

But what about the smaller churches that often don’t have enough numbers to field a team?

That’s where SU Victoria comes in.

“Our role is to create a team so that a bunch of the smaller churches can still experience SYG,” explains team leader Calum.

SU Victoria’s team featured a balanced mix of participants from a wide range of churches, providing for a tight-knit community with various strengths.

“We won Scrabble, dance, table tennis and dodgeball as well,” Calum smiled.

The schedule at SYG included morning and afternoon games sessions, topped off with evening rallies featuring worship and Bible talks.

Calum’s highlight was the small group discussions that followed the talks.

“The youth were really encouraging, sharing how they came to faith and the struggles they have found in their Christian lives.”

One participant talked about softening a schoolmate’s hostility towards Christianity through actions and conversations, demonstrating the impact of living out their faith.

Particularly for those from rural and small communities, the opportunity to attend SYG with SU enables them to witness many others exploring and expressing their faith in Jesus.

“It’s really powerful for them to realise they’re not alone. There are other people who are by their sides, supporting them.”

Your support makes this important work possible. To continue providing more young people with opportunities to experience Christian community, please visit su.org.au/donate