28 June 2017
You are linking generations of youth with hope
Posted in Our heritage / Supporter
A chain is only as strong as its individual links.
For 150 years Scripture Union has been blessed with so many vital links – pioneers, financial supporters, volunteers, prayer partners and more.
SU QLD Bequests Manager, Yvette Atkins, knows the critical role friends like you have played (and continue to play) in building this ministry and bringing God’s love, hope and good news to children and young people.
“When I started with SU QLD in 1990 we had just five chaplains. The organisation was very lean. We had no air conditioning. We even had times we didn’t know if we’d get paid,” recalls Yvette.
At the time, few would have dreamt this rag-tag organisation would grow into such a movement.
SU QLD now provides school chaplains for 815 Queensland school communities and runs over 100 camps every year. We are also blessed with over 5,000 amazing volunteers.
This phenomenal growth is testament to God’s favour and the strong links He has provided through supporters like you.
“I remember this one dedicated supporter who had such a heart for prayer. She organised prayer groups and they faithfully prayed for our schools. Many people say her prayer groups helped pave the way for school chaplaincy,” Yvette says.
This group of ‘prayer warriors’ was one vital link in the SU QLD story. Over the past 27 years, Yvette has seen State Directors and CEOs come and go, but each have skillsets that were perfectly suited for their time – further proof of God’s provision.
“When I consider that Peter James, a former lawyer, stepped into the role of CEO just before the High Court challenge; I’m just amazed by how God works,” she says.
It’s this sense that God continues to work through SU QLD and to bring hope to more and more people that keeps Yvette serving.
“I love hearing about what God is doing. It still excites me today as much as it did back when I first started,” Yvette says.
It’s why she accepted the Bequests Manager role earlier this year.
“It’s an opportunity to partner with supporters to help realise their vision for SU QLD for future generations of children to benefit.
“We often say that we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. We may just be a link in a chain that has grown over 150 years, but without each link, the strength of the chain is compromised,” says Yvette.
You too are a vital link in this chain. None of this work is possible without you.
If you’d like to find out more about leaving a gift in your Will to SU QLD, contact Yvette at bequests@suqld.org.au or phone 07 3112 6402.
