Introducing Isak!
Isak has been a member of The Door and illuminate teams for a few years now, but as of January 2025 he has stepped up to become the illuminate Coordinator part-time alongside his other community youthwork activities across Stroud and beyond. We asked him to introduce himself…
Let me start by saying how excited I am for the potential impact illuminate might have in Stroud and how privileged I feel to now be in the driving seat for establishing a unified youth ministry in Stroud. In the first Archway lunchtime group of 2025 – a group made up almost entirely of unchurched Young People who are curious about questions of faith – we looked at the word “resolution”, what the word means to these young people, its origin, and perhaps its deeper meaning. Naturally, the discussion went on to the idea of New Year’s Resolutions, why people make them, and what resolutions they might make for themselves. My favourite moments in these lunchtime groups are when I see a young person have a lightbulb moment and in this discussion there were many such moments and as I reflect on it now I believe that some of the lessons learnt are perhaps prophetic for illuminate.
Firstly, somewhat strangely, the word resolution comes from the Latin word resolutus meaning to break into parts or to be of loose structure which is a contrast to what we mean in the word “resolute”; the word our new year’s resolutions come from. In a lightbulb moment from one of my young people they asked what the link between resolution (as in a decision of conviction) and resolution for a tv screen was, when I explained how higher screen resolution meant more pixels, so the screen was broken up into more smaller and smaller pieces, the young person finished my sentence by saying “so the whole picture looks more complete”. We then spoke quite excitedly about how breaking tasks into smaller bits can help complete them more fully, and I finished the lunch conversation with the group with encouraging them to make small “resolutions” that lead to “life to the full”. That 30 minute lunch time for me was an example of a small step building up the resolution of a lesson of how the way of Jesus offers life to the full.
irstly, somewhat strangely, the word resolution comes from the Latin word resolutus meaning to break into parts or to be of loose structure which is a contrast to what we mean in the word “resolute”; the word our new year’s resolutions come from. In a lightbulb moment from one of my young people they asked what the link between resolution (as in a decision of conviction) and resolution for a tv screen was, when I explained how higher screen resolution meant more pixels, so the screen was broken up into more smaller and smaller pieces, the young person finished my sentence by saying “so the whole picture looks more complete”. We then spoke quite excitedly about how breaking tasks into smaller bits can help complete them more fully, and I finished the lunch conversation with the group with encouraging them to make small “resolutions” that lead to “life to the full”. That 30 minute lunch time for me was an example of a small step building up the resolution of a lesson of how the way of Jesus offers life to the full.I am so very excited to be carrying the work of illuminate forward and I am excited to be sharing the vision of this work with you all in the next few months, please continue to pray for the work and for me in this time.
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