Phoebe is serving as an intern with St Michaels over the coming year for some 32 hours a week.  The PCC have paid for her course fees to enable her to receive training in Christian leadership and discipleship - specifically around Youth Work and Worship Leading.  We see this course as an investment in her and in the future of God's kingdom - rather than a paid job. As such, her course fees are covered and she remains living with her parents - but part of her serving this year, is fund-raising for some living expenses. If you felt you could sponsor her that would be wonderful (!) - please do get in touch with Tim.

Phoebe's Story:

Hello! For those of you who don’t already know me, my name is Phoebe Titley and I have been a member of St Michael’s for around 18 years. This year I am going to be studying with South West Youth Ministries (SWYM) with a placement at St Michael’s. During this year I will be training in youth work and worship leading. Whilst on placement, I will be working with the young people at their Friday youth group and on Sunday mornings in the children’s groups. I will also be working alongside Lucy Barbour in Cleeve Secondary school (my old school). In addition to this, I will be leading the worship on Sunday mornings. I’m really looking forward to building good relationships with the young people this year and experiencing what it’s like to work within the church!

I was introduced to SWYM by Tim, he showed me the year-long course called ‘Be Transformed’. This course involves learning about how to serve in youth groups and how to lead worship alongside building a foundation of knowledge to aid me in both. As I explored this course it seemed to include everything I was interested in learning about and had felt an urge to study previously (having looked at doing a joint honours in music and philosophy, when applying to universities). I went to an open day at Lee Abbey in June – I had a very enjoyable time there and met some lovely people and was able to experience how much of the learning happens there. After this open day with much prayer and thought I decided this seemed like the right course for me.

I believe God has given me a gift in my ability to play the piano, and as much as playing in front of people is not where I feel most comfortable, I think it would be wrong of me to not use this gift. I also love to spread the gospel with young people. I had the privilege of teaching in a CofE Primary school this year and it has truly been a joy to hear the children exited to go to church and tell me about their respective churches. I hope the young people in this church can feel the same excitement to meet with God here.

I am excited to see what God has planned for me this year, I hope that my confidence will be built in my ability to lead worship and youth work. During this year I am aiming to foster good relationships with the young people and encourage them in their faith. I hope that they can be excited to meet with the Lord. In addition to this, I hope that God will work through me as I come to lead worship and create a space for everyone to encounter the Holy Spirit. Please do pray for me as I go into this year. Prayer for confidence in myself and my trust in what God can do, prayer for wisdom in making the right decisions in youth and worship and prayer for a deepening relationship with God as I walk with him throughout this year.



This matters enough for me to commit a year to this as I believe it will be a great chance for me to develop my abilities and relationship with God and hopefully see more of how God wants to use me. I think it is so important to spread the word to young people so they can grow up confident in God’s love for them. Through the youth groups they are in together they can encourage each other in their faith. It isn’t always easy to be a Christian in secondary school, so it is important they have a supportive community of people their own age to support them. Furthermore, worship was what reignited my own faith when I was in university, thus I believe it very important to invest in worship so other people can have the same experience. Worship is such an accessible way for people to meet with the Lord, so I think it’s a really key part of church. I’m really looking forward to this year, and I hope that the Lord can use me to serve well during this year at church.