Meet our new NYC Leaders

Cat Kingham and Lily-Beth Smith are the latest additions to the Network Youth Church team as leaders. In this Q+A, Raewynne Whiteley catches up with them to find out a little more about them.

Catriona (Cat) Kinghan, NYC Minister, Derwent Area

Lily-Beth Smith, NYC Minister, Kendal Area

In primary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?

C: A vet.

LB: A sound engineer.

Childhood nickname?

C: Tween – a nickname given by my best friend as a strange shortening of Catriona.

LB: LB.

Cats or dogs?

C: Dogs, lots of them.

LB: Cats.

What is your earliest memory of church?

C: My earliest memory of church was hiding in the church attic eating biscuits with my siblings and neighbours whilst our parents drank coffee in the church hall below. Biscuits seem to play a key part in my children’s church life too.

LB: I grew up in church and can’t remember the really early years.  When I was about ten I joined the youth group at the church around the corner in Whitehaven, which was the first time I had seen people my own age fully engaged in worship.

Favourite bible character?

C: Moses, at the moment.

LB: Samuel, because he was very young when he was called.

Favourite holiday place?

C: Portballintrae, a small fishing village in Northern Ireland, boasting the most beautiful beach with the loudest Atlantic waves.

LB: I’d love to go to Iceland – I don’t like it when it’s hot!

What three people, past or present, would you invite to dinner?

C: First on my list is my grandad, who was a minister his whole life, a beautiful gentle soul who passed away last month aged 96 and I would love to have one last meal with him. Next would be David Attenborough, as I think his eyes for nature and our planet would show us so much about God and how to love our planet, and I think he’d get on well with my Grandad. Finally, I think I’d invite someone like Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai or Greta Thunberg to throw in a lot of sparks, and to remind me that things worth doing take great courage and often come at a great price. There are too many incredible female activists to choose from!

LB: One of the disciples because I want to know how they lived before and after they knew Jesus in physical form; Francis of Assisi, what he did in mission, and his experience of poverty and trust in God;  Pope Francis  to talk about how he joined a religious order, as I’ve been exploring monastic rhythms in life.

How did you end up working as a Network Youth Church minister?

C: I grew up in a small rural village outside Glasgow.  I had an incredible youth worker as a young person and saw what a difference it made in my life.  I studied architecture at University.  In my third year, I did a project designing a community centre and realised that I didn’t want to be designing it – I wanted to be in it.  I tried youth work for a year, and it stuck!  I’ve taken a few years off raising kids and doing other jobs, but now that the last one has begun high school, I’m able to go back to what I love doing

LB: When I was about 17 and going to youth group, I thought there was not enough about God.  I started doing a talk or short video on a single verse or bible passage and putting it on a private Facebook group.  Then I became ill, and the only people I had contact with were from the local church.  I spent time in hospital in Newcastle where, because of COVID, the only people who could visit were my youth leaders. After I began to recover, in spite of being told I would never be able to work, my NYC leader suggested I do a Future Youth internship. I ended up doing two years; halfway through realised I wanted to study theology, so I did training with CMS which helped me to think like a pioneer, to go where young people gather knowing that God will be there when you are with them.

What do you see as the biggest issues for young people today?

C: I wonder if it’s about deep connections. Young people are stilln working out who they are, and are desperate for someone to know them, for someone to love them. Much of life is lived on the surface and can be so busy that they often don’t have the time or the capacity to develop those deep connections.  They are searching in so many places, and I believe that they can find this in Jesus.

LB: This week I was devastated to see a young person down by the river who had scars on their arms.  Mental health is a big issue with young people.  COVID meant that they spent a formative part of their lives inside all the time. They have anxiety about going to school and learning and spend all their time on technology.  I see them sitting around tables holding their phones really tightly: if someone were to take their phones from them, they would have nothing else. There is a better answer, love, which you can find with God.

What are your hopes for your ministry?

C: I’d love to see a real partnering of youth work across the area, so that young people can see that the leaders come from the same place of loving God and are safe people who they can trust, and that we have safe places to ask questions and be curious, where they won’t be judged. I’d like them to know that their voices are important and are heard. And I’d love them to hearts open to Jesus, and for there to be revival in the area.

LB:  I would love to give others hope. In my internship I saw young people who need God and need love, and many of them won’t get it from their parents. And they struggle when they get the slightest knock. Coming in to the church from the outside can be daunting: I want to break that norm, so that church feels reachable.  I hope to be a role model, to nurture their faith.  You can’t live without hope.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]