About Youth Challenge

Youth Challenge is a ministry of CEF Ireland.  In CEF Sligo Area, Youth Challenge is a group of young people aged 12-18 yrs old that are interested in meeting together, and share the common interest of seeking to know more about God and His Word (the Bible) and what it means to be a follower of Jesus (a Christian).  CEF have Youth Challenge groups all over the world meeting together. It is very specifically a non-denominational youth group that welcomes all youth interested in the things of God.

Why is Youth Challenge an important activity?  Youth Challenge is a safe place/environment for Christian youth to enjoy good wholesome and enriching relationships and fun, where they have a common interest in faith and will experience Christian unity and fellowship.  The world has a lot of wonderful things to offer but in the specific matters of spiritual unity and growth the world has very little to give.  We believe in CEF that developing a foundation of spirituality based on God's word and teaching them how to grow in their relationship with God through Christ will equip the youth to bear what life throws at them, knowing they will never be alone.

Where does Youth Challenge meet?  Youth Challenge will meet every other week on the day, and in the location, predetermined by CEF leaders. Your family will be given notice at least a few days beforehand on where/when these meetups will be.

Who will be meeting together? Youth challenge youth and leaders will meet up on the selected days – All leaders are garda vetted and approved by CEF leadership (see ‘YC Leaders Section’).  As mentioned above, most activities/meetups at the moment will be outdoors to comply with Covid-19 safety restricitions. Some examples of possible activities would be: stand up paddleboarding at Hazelwood, hiking Knocknarae, etc. After the activity there will be a time of bible learning and/or discussion time among the youth and leaders

When will Youth Challenge be running?  Youth Challenge aims to run during school term time.  When the schools are off generally Youth Challenge is off.  We also support Camp weekends and Camp weeks together with CEF and other Christian Organisations, although these are not possible at present with COVID-19 restrictions in place.

Safety – Safety is a priority to us.  We will ensure that in meeting together everyone abides by the rules laid out in the CEF guidelines, the government's Covid-19 guidelines, and those of the environments in which they meet – coffee shops, church buildings, outdoor activities.

- Masks - Every person will be required to bring a mask with them to every meet up in case they are required to be worn. eg. getting an ice-cream at Mammy Johnstons or Fabios; the mask needs to be worn to enter the shop and make an ice-cream choice etc. 

- Forms - A Covid-19 health check form for each meet up will need to be filled out to comply with regulations regarding traceability.