Young people were celebrated last night at an Evangelical Alliance awards evening which aims to break the negative stereotype of young hoodie-clad criminals currently dominating mainstream media.
Hosted by the Romance Academy presenters Rachel Gardner and Dan Burke, the awards highlight dedicated youngsters who have made a positive and life-changing difference to people in need through their own sacrifice and serving.
Award-winners included Ailidh Henderson, 11, from Kilsyth in Scotland who raised over £600 for Comfort Rwanda; Daniel Cronin, a 15-year-old football referee from Chiswick who is using his passion for football to spread the message of Jesus; Luke Clifford, a 19-year-old car mechanic from Roehampton, who is setting up a garage in Kenya that will train young people on the streets of Nakuru as mechanics so that they can support themselves and their families; and 22-year-old Carwyn Hill from West Wickham, founder of the Haiti Hospital Appeal which is currently raising funds for a new hospital in Haiti.
The overall winner, Luke Clifford, received the Anthony Walker Memorial Award in honour of the murdered Liverpool teenager who was also an active and dedicated Christian within his own community.
The award was presented by Mrs Gee Walker, who attends an Evangelical Alliance member church.
"Anthony was a special boy and I am sure he would have been nominated for one of these awards if he had lived," she said.
She told Christian Today: "I believe you have to first respect yourself before you can respect anyone else. When the youth do something positive we need to encourage them and support them and help them along the way the best we can.
Mrs Walker also said that "good old-fashioned manners are lacking in some way" in Britain today but added that young people do get a lot of bad press.
She added, "I wish churches would join forces and do a little bit more to encourage young people when they do good."
Rev Joel Edwards, director general of the Evangelical Alliance, said: "We are saying that the notion of respect...is a profoundly biblical idea.
"Our starting point for speaking about respect has to be that everybody is made in the image of God.
Rev Edwards added that the awards were "to actually show the converse of what you read in the newspapers every other day".
"Here are some good models of very ordinary kids doing really fabulous things in the name of respect," he said.
The awards formed part of the annual Temple Address organised by the Evangelical Alliance. This year's keynote speaker was Trevor Phillips, chair of the Commission for Racial Equality.
In his address, Mr Phillips urged the churches to tackle the BNP party, saying that supporters of the racist policies of the controversial party should be banned from taking communion because their views are in contradiction with the key principles of the Christian faith.
Mr Phillips challenged the churches to come up with a common response to the acquittal last week of BNP leader Nick Griffin who was cleared of inciting religious hatred.
"If ever there was a moment for hellfire and damnation, this is it. At the very least, every pulpit this Sunday should have been ringing with denunciation, ministers and priests crying 'Not in our name' ... the far right should not be able to claim Christ to their cause. But they will do if we let them."
Rev Edwards said churches had sought to oppose and condemn the BNP but added: "There is always room to intensify and increase our voice in this area."
He said that the act of communion was symbolic of a believer's "relationship with God", adding that, "People who make racist comments cannot reasonably claim to be part of that fellowship with God."
