Five Questions With Andy Cook
Andy Cook is the youth and children's worker at St James Clerkenwell, Islington. He's also currently at Oak Hill studying youth ministry. Once at university he made a crossbow that was bigger than his own skinny frame. Not only did it work perfectly, he wasn't arrested for it either.
Top Five All Time Ever Favourite Cakes (In Any Order)?
- Carrot cake.
- Scone with cream and jam (Andy assures me that he's confident it counts as a cake).
- Flapjack.
- His wife's banana brownie.
- Fruitcake.
What's The Best Thing About Supporting Swindon Town Football Club?
Ha ha... Um... ... The best thing... um... It's a conversational point, because people don't know who they are.
What Is The Book That's Affected Your Youth Ministry Most?
The Bible, duh. (I tell him that's cheating.) Hear my Son by Daniel J. Estes. Probably because it's the most biblically influential... I don't know, that's a smart-arse answer isn't it?. In all seriousness it's just the best thing I've read on how the bible does youth ministry. Not youth ministry with "oh I'm going to apply the Bible" but the Bible doing youth ministry sort of thing.
What's The Best Thing About Christian Youth Ministry In The UK Right Now?
Probably our freedom to preach the gospel.
What's The Worst Thing About Christian Youth Ministry In The UK Right Now?
It's the back end of that. Increasing opposition to actually preaching the gospel, because people would rather hear a wishy liberal nonsense. People don't want to hear the gospel they want to hear Jesus loves everyone and you're all going to be saved anyway. And increasingly that is... you know what I mean.