 It was 3am. A young girl was hammering at our front door. 'You have to pray for me!' The father of her baby had just been stabbed by his best friend over some money. Because he was a drug user, the medical staff at the hospital couldn?t stop him bleeding. So he died on the operating table. Nineteen years old.
"Just Walk With Me," published in March 2008, tracks a year in the life of Christian youth project e:merge in Bradford, starting with the arrival of Niki fresh-faced, full of spiritual optimism and an expert in running perky school assemblies. Yan, the project's Director knows that working here will force Niki to abandon or reform nearly all her attitudes to evangelism and quick-fix faith. But he also knows that God's grace can change even the most excluded young person.
 I wrote this book on the basis of interviews with the staff and young people at the youth project "e:merge" in Bradford, helping them tell the story of their project in their own words. It was an amazing challenge and privilege to get in amongst the people and community there and try to get my head round the work they are doing to give young people the best chances to thrive and grow.
As well as being a dynamic resource for youth workers, this book will appeal to all Christians willing to challenge themselves about the realities of poverty, deprivation and God's saving grace.
The main point of writing the book was always to challenge the normal expectations of church, young people and God - and to challenge people's mindset in terms of how to work with needy young people and communities experiencing deprivation. I hope the result is an easy read but one which stirs the mind, asks lots of questions, and provokes thought. The feedback and reviews we've had so far suggest that the book is achieving its aim.
I have delivered talks and seminars about the book and the issues it raises to churches, small groups, both men's and women's networking events, the Greenbelt festival and youthwork events. This has often been in conjunction with staff and/or young people involved with the e:merge project, which has leant a real authenticity, punch and sometimes some surprises to the events!
The events have been of great encouragement to youthworkers or those in similar fields, and have also challenged others to support youthwork, or simply to think about their faith in a different way. If you are interested in us coming to talk to your group or at your event, contact me!
 'A bitingly honest, extremely engaging and at times laugh out loud funny account of no holds barred youth work.' Rachel Gardner, youth worker and presenter of BBC2's Romance Academy
'It pulls no punches I commend it to all who seek to engage with unchurched young people today' - The Rt Revd David James, Bishop of Bradford
'gut-wrenchingly excellent' Andy Flannagan, worship leader and campaigner
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"Just Walk With Me" is pick of the month in Youthwork magazine's August edition. Here is their review of the book:
Can you imagine the surprise you’d get if you bit into a carrot but it tasted like an onion? I think that describes the overwhelming sensation this book left me to deal with – what appears predictable enough from an unpretentious, though clichéd cover and title, turns out to be potent and eye-watering. Just a simple account of an inner city youth ministry? It leaks the humbling kind of theology that comes directly from living a commitment to youth work on the sharp edge.
Perhaps I was expecting a safe, nutritious feed on sound Christian principles: stuff that would touch me comfortably between my head and heart. What I got was life experience that grabbed me by the nose hairs and pulled vigorously. Certain parts, such as one girl’s struggle with recurring domestic violence, had me snivelling into my tea in a way that normally only raw onions or too much introspection would.
Jude Simpson proves herself an expert ghost writer, presenting to us the work of e:merge in inner city Bradford through the eyes of two of its youth workers; Yan, a twelve year BD4 veteran and co-founder of the project; and newly recruited ingredient Niki; typical middle class, “nice” Christian. The cliff hanger is “will she stick it out?” Will she cope with the social deprivation and crimes that are a daily reality to these young people?
To read the rest of the review, you'll need to get hold of a copy of Youthwork magazine - their site is http://www.youthwork.co.uk/magazine/
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This is an extract from a review from the website of Redcliffe College:
In style the book is easy to read; in content it is challenging and emotionally engaging...
I have read too many books tracking Christian mission, from which I come away thinking, "Wow, that sounds really impressive...if only I could be someone like that and do something like that!" And though I may come away with a particular high regard for that person or organisation or work, the main result is that mission becomes something more removed from me in my mind – something that super-holy people who know all the answers do – not people, like me, who have questions and struggle.
Just Walk With Me is not one of those books. It is impossible not to be drawn into engaging with the issues and situations that it presents because it honestly presents real people, struggling with real life. Its writers talk openly about mistakes they have made, questions they have and don't know the answer to, but equally how they have grown and what they have found helpful...
Some of the questions asked in this book are difficult. And I didn't always agree with the solutions or suggestions that its writers had offered. But if nothing else, it broke my heart for people that God is broken-hearted for, and that, in my mind, can only be a good thing.
To read the full review, go to http://www.redcliffe.org/standard.asp?id=4981
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"Just Walk With Me" is published by Authentic Media and can be ordered through their website by clicking HERE, or through Amazon, or from me at a gig, or send a cheque for £7 plus 90p postage and packing to: Jude Simpson, c/o L.G. City Church, Icknield Way East, Letchworth Garden City, Herts, SG6 1EU.
If you are buying my CD (see homepage) at the same time as the book, you get a discount on both - send a cheque for £16.20 to the address above.
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