GSUS GOES LIVE!
by Don MacGregor
IMAGINE you are 13 years old at school. For your RE lesson, you are going on board the GSUS Live trailer that you’ve seen outside the school. After being welcomed and given some 3D glasses, you excitedly enter the darkened trailer to the eerie thud of a heartbeat. On with the 3D glasses and a fast-paced video introduces the three issues – fear, rejection and forgiveness.
Boy steals £60
The presenter explains that there are three characters, Ben, Kylie and Jack, and that you have to pick one of them to work with at your computer. Ben has an issue with forgiveness, as his brother has stolen £60 from his mum. Kylie is fearful – her best friend is seriously ill and she fears the worst. Jack is feeling rejected by his name-calling friends. You have to pick one of them to work with. They send you an email asking for help. To assist you in choosing how to respond, you look at a Christian video clip, music clip, some verses from the bible, and hear about how some famous people dealt with the issue. Then you choose which message to send back to your person. They send you another email and the story progresses. At the end, the presenter sums up and tells you that Christians believe that God understands our problems as he experienced life and death in Jesus Christ.
Fantastic hit
The GSUS Live trailer was a fantastic hit in the secondary schools of Pembrokeshire during September and October. Aimed ages 12-14, it still worked with those aged 10 and even 18. The teachers were amazed at how quiet the classes went for 25 minutes as they engaged with the characters on their computers, and the pupils loved it. I overheard comments like “This is good fun, innit!” On the way out, one lad said to me “That was awesome!” One later comment passed on was from someone feeling rejected and bullied who said, “I feel much more confident now. Next time that happens, I’m going to tell them they are the cowards.”
Big difference
The GSUS Live trailers (there are two) are financed by the John Laing Trust and are touring secondary schools across the whole of Britain. They help the students to see that Christian teaching can guide a person through life, help with problems, and gets across the message that prayer and turning to God can make a big difference. We hope they will be back in Pembrokeshire again in three years' time.