Our Leaders: Joel Shah (Youth Intern)

My name is Joel Vishwas Bhavin Shah, and I have come to The City Church in Canterbury and Whitstable to serve the youth here.

I was born in New Delhi and moved to Cambridge when I was very young. When I was nine, I moved back to Delhi as my parents were part of church plant there and I came back to Cambridge again when I was sixteen.

Though I was part of Christian family when I was around fourteen I lost my faith. When I came back to the UK I joined a youth group and they loved me and in a few months I experienced the love of God and became a Christian. This is one of the reasons I want to help out in the youth ministry here in Canterbury and Whitstable because I know the difference a good youth ministry can make in someone’s life.

I am currently doing the Intentional Discipleship programme here at the church. So alongside my ministry working with the youth spend my time working through the ID study programme.  I really enjoy doing this as it allows me to spend time going deep into questions that I would not have the time to ask otherwise. It also involves going up to my previous church in Cambridge every few months to receive teaching and fellowship with the other people on the course.

In my spare time I like to practise maths by solving some difficult problems and reading some books about maths. Because of the appreciation I have for maths following this year I am going to study maths at Cambridge. I also enjoy rock climbing, reading books and listening to podcasts.

My hope for this year is that I can really support some youth, especially the younger boys, helping them to grow in their love for Christ and to help them mature as a follower of Christ.

About the author

Joel is the youth ID intern from Cambridge. He enjoys rock climbing, reading and maths.