In this year’s Youth Focus Day at the CRE, the Romance Academy seminar was the main highlight, as the presenters of BBC 2’s “No Sex please we’re teenagers” hosted the session. The room was so packed that some attendees had to sit on the floor or listen outside of the room.
Dressed in black shirts with the words “No Sex please we’re teenagers” across, youth leaders and co-founders of the Romance Academy Dan Burke and Rachel Gardener encouraged people to work with them on the initiative, which could positively influence the lives of thousands of teenagers for the better.
According to Gardener, the programmes are not only open to Christian teens— but to everyone.
“We [invite] people who are not Christians to take part in this. And that’s risky. But I believe the values that Christ set out can be for everyone- whoever you are and wherever you come from,” said Gardener.One of the teens involved in the “No Sex please we’re teenagers” programme, Byron McClean, briefly testified about his conversion to Christianity through the time he spent at the Romance Academy.
“In August, I became a Christian,” McClean, 18, said. “Dan and Rachel helped me to know where I am in life and where I want to go... and I learned to love Jesus.”
The Romance Academy will hold future conferences, to encourage more churches to engage with the youth.
For more information, go to www.romanceacademy.org.
