Bath Youth for Christ

The Hive Community Centre was formerly Peasedown Youth Centre, run by Bath & North East Somerset Council. A few years ago, funding for this service began to be cut and the building was being used less and less. In 2019, it was eventually was cut altogether. A number of members from the local churches & community volunteered here and some had a vision for taking over the facility as an outreach, providing a space for young people to continue to meet, and indeed the whole community to engage with, thus the concept of the Hive was born.

Primarily, our vision is to see young people in Peasedown saved and being released into all they are in Christ. We want to see the Kingdom of God come in every area of young people’s lives so we will endeavour to provide a safe space to grow, be loved, use their gifts, gain new skills, volunteer, participate in positive activities, develop meaningful friendships, have big conversations and make a telling difference in their lives. The idea is that like a beehive, The Hive will be a hub for the whole community, where people are drawn together and ultimately, drawn to the Lord, being connected with the local Church. John 6:44 ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them'.  Over the course of the next 5 years (& beyond), we want to establish a youth group that includes young people from all parts of the community, which achieves what is set out above and continues to attract & disciple the next generation. As a team we want to be  rooted and invested in prayer, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Currently there is a Senior Youth Worker employed by the Hive and a Management Committee that oversees the project as a whole including the fundraising, which has been in place for 2 years. The youth worker is employed by Bath Youth for Christ and this placement will be one of the YFC team and receive all the support that comes with being part of that.  As well as having a team of local volunteers from the community and local churches, it is hoped that we may employ another sessional worker also. Part of the deal to procure the Hive, BANES council require us to provide 2 evenings of open access youth work for 44 weeks a year. All 3 churches in the village are invested in the project: St John’s Church of England, Peasedown Methodist & St Joseph’s Catholic Church - where there are rich & diverse expressions of faith.

The Hive building is an amazing facility, boasting a large meeting room, 2 smaller meeting rooms, large indoor & outdoor sports courts, a kitchen, an arts studio, an office, parking, plenty of outside space, ample storage and space we don’t know what to do with yet! We have an ambitious refurbishment plan as it is planned the facility will be a hub for the whole community including a library. It is situated next door to the (large) primary school, which will provide a useful link. It is set in a strategic location by the entrance of a large council estate and near school bus stops, a playing field & skate park and local amenities.

The project is based in Peasedown St John, a small town in Bath & North East Somerset, just a few miles south of the YFC base in Roundhill, Bath. Originally a mining village on the main road between Bath and Exeter, it grew with social housing units in the mid-20th century and is now a thriving commuter community. In the mid 1990’s, a large development of private homes was built inside the new bypass, which doubled the size of the village transforming into more like a small town.  The population has risen from about 2500 in 1990, to over 7000 at the present time.  The majority of its residents are indigenous (white) working or middle class who are employed in Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Bath or Bristol but parts of the village are marked by above average levels of social deprivation. There are a large number of young people in the village which has a large primary school (about 600 students) and secondary education is in Midsomer Norton, Writhlington and Bath.

The village has a good sense of community with two small supermarkets, petrol station, post office, bakery, hairdressers, pharmacy, charity shop, nail bar, takeaways and play parks. There is also a modern doctors’ surgery/health centre, a private hospital and dental & veterinary practices. Bath Business Park is now located on the edge of the village. The Meeting Place is a Christian coffee shop based in the centre of town and has fantastic ministry.

Good sporting facilities are available including a skatepark, and the village has soccer and cricket teams with their own clubhouses. Various community activities take place in the Churches, The Hive (formerly PSJ Youth Centre) and the Beacon Hall which is situated in the new housing estate.  Buses run from Peasedown to: Bath, Radstock, Midsomer Norton, Frome and Wells. Bath is only a few miles away, which has a vast number of retailers and amenities.

This is a brand-new youth project. There will be 2 evenings of open access youth work which will include a drop-in style approach and planned positive activities. It will also involve detached outreach. It is hoped to make the most of the sporting facilities, as well as opening the space up to work with the primary school, including some mentoring. We would also like to run regular youth discipleship courses through the Hive. Much of what we do will be shaped in consultation with young people and a student will also have the opportunity to help us pioneer as well.

Many of the young people who attended the former Peasedown Youth Club were unchurched and we expect this will be the case with the Hive, which makes for it being an exciting missional opportunity. Peasedown Methodist Church has an active youth group of around 16 young people that meet on Thursdays and Sunday. St John's has a number of Y6 to Y8 coming through. Movement Worship comes to Peasedown 3 times a year, which provides young people with the opportunity to gather with other Christians in the area and have a really great night worshipping the Lord and getting some teaching.