Being Salt & Light…

SAYT is a Christian Trust founded in 2001 to employ, manage, train and support Christian Youth Workers in the Sevenoaks area and:
     Undertake Detached Youth Work  (i.e not in a centre or youth club) in the streets and parks in local towns and villages – wherever Young People are…
      Provide a limited but regular presence in local Schools 
     Encourage and support other youth workers in local churches who run youth clubs

The Trust is sponsored by a wide cross-section of churches (Anglican, Baptist, Free, Methodist and United Reformed so far), within Sevenoaks and District, and by individuals and some grant funding. It is managed by a Board of Trustees (which you can find out more about on the ‘meet the team’ page) with some advisors and is a registered charity.

What We Believe:

The Trust unites with the members of Churches Together in Sevenoaks and District in pilgrimage acknowledging God’s revelation in Christ and confessing the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures; and in obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit the Trust commits itself to:

         Seek a deepening of communion with Christ and of fellowship with all within the Church, which is His Body
         Fulfil its mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service in the world
        The glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit

The Trust seeks, particularly by its work with Young People, to serve the whole community of Sevenoaks and District – regardless of the race, gender, religion or creed of any person or persons in need.  
We are needs-led, young person-focused, non-judgemental and never discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexuality, disability, faith or social background.
We have committed to the FaithWorks Charter.

Background

Sevenoaks is situated about 20 miles south east of London, in rural Kent. Sevenoaks can be described as a fairly traditional town, with some light industry, shopping areas, many churches, pubs and restaurants. The Town centre is becoming more modern with the high street full of young people most Saturday evenings, making use of a number of bars, pubs and eateries.

There are reasonable leisure centres in the area. It is close to the M25/M26 interchange and there are several rail stations in the area. Many residents commute to London for work and many teenagers commute to schools in Dartford, Tonbridge or Tunbridge Wells. There are two secondary schools based in Sevenoaks which we visit with one, Trinity School, being a faith based school. A minimum of 50% of each year 7 intake are from non church based families. Typically people tend to move away to further education or jobs at nineteen and cannot afford to move back until they are in their thirties. This tends towards an elderly and conservative community in some of the villages and churches. The young people who live in the villages often feel that there is nothing for them as they cannot easily get transport in to the town with few buses, much of our detached work is based around villages where our young people congregate.

SEVENOAKS AREA YOUTH TRUST or SAYT has grown out of Churches Together in Sevenoaks and District, which covers the area of the town and over 10 village communities, equating to two Church of England Deaneries, or some 40 churches of all local denominations.

Urban and rural areas include pockets of great wealth, but also of great deprivation. Whether from rich or poor background, young people in the area are no strangers to the problems of family breakdown, teenage pregnancy, drugs, alcohol abuse, and violence. The suicide rate for 16-20 year old males in the area is over twice the national average – probably an indicator of the various pressures on young people from peers, parents, schools and media.

Because SAYT has been going since 2001 we recognise that this initiative cannot be successful in isolation at that it needs the ongoing support of church, Christians, youth leaders and many other agencies. In particular the successful youth worker will develop and nurture a wide base of contacts and volunteers in each village/area to work alongside and eventually in some cases leave local volunteers to carry on the work after sufficient experience and training.

We are linked to Frontier Youth Trust (FYT)