META inspires SOMA International

Revd Stu Wright, founder of META Youth, and former vicar of Holy Trinity Hounslow where Michael Harper the founder of SOMA was based, presented META Youth to our SOMA delegates this Wednesday, and the results were sensational.

Stu told the five year story of META, how material he first tried out on SOMA ND and other ministers was reshaped for young people after realising that the church needed to be highly intentional in shaping young men and women like his own teenagers. He came back from a holiday with his son Jed in the summer of 2022 and within days had approached Richard about setting up META Youth through SOMA. An exciting journey ensued and we are now coming to the end of the fourth cohort of META Youth young leaders, heading into a fourth international mission, and having trained 80+ young people from UK, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Pakistan, India and more!

In fact we are now ready to launch a second UK based META and the SOMA International family were invited to send one or two of their young people on that as a step to running it in their own country. Already META is running in Rwanda, and SOMA Ireland hope to launch their own META in the autumn, with SOMA Kenya perhaps next in line… Each META gets to work out how best to use the material in their context. In the UK it usually people in Yr 12/13 or just left school. In Africa and Asia we find it often makes sense to work with slightly older youth (19-23) as they have flexibility and freedom when have finished their education.

A new version of all resources is also being planned as we continue to develop, hone and release this resource for the wider church.

After time with Stu we heard from each national SOMA, before heading to the airport on pilgrimage to Ireland.