About

History and Vision

YouthInc began with a small group of people meeting together to pray for the young people in rural South Cambridgeshire. From this foundation of prayer, the rural youth work initiative ‘YouthInc’ was set up in 2015 as a Granta Deanery project. YouthInc aims to provide the opportunity for young people to know Jesus through connections with their local churches in the Granta Deanery by providing access to a Christian youth worker. YouthInc, in partnership with Cambridge & District Youth for Christ, employ a youth worker, which enables us to work together with rural churches to run youth groups locally for young people aged nine and above.

Who We Are

Hannah

Catalyst Youth Worker

As well as running the youth group sessions in our partner churches, Hannah is involved in developing and growing our projects. In the rest of her working week, Hannah is the Senior Youth Worker at Cambridge & District Youth for Christ working in their Open House project delivering mentoring programmes in secondary schools and their city centre drop-in. Before moving to Cambridge in September 2024, Hannah lived on the Isle of Man for three years where she was a Schools Worker for a local Christian charity. Outside of work, she enjoys jigsaw puzzles and playing the bassoon.

Jenny

Founder, Trustee and Hinkledux Group leader

Jenny is the founder of YouthInc. She lives and worships in Ickleton, the southernmost village in Cambridgeshire, and is on Granta Deanery synod. Inspired by her own children’s encounters with Christian youth leaders, she set up the charity in order to encourage and empower rural churches to work together to make a difference to the next generation living in the surrounding villages.

Cambridge & District Youth for Christ exist to see young people’s lives changed by Jesus and seek to offer every young person in Cambridge & District a pathway to fullness of life in Jesus. As a catalyst partner, they support us to employ Hannah and in the development of our work.

Trustees

Revd Michael Wilcockson (Chair of Trustees) and Rural Dean of Granta

Jenny Duke

Simon Lake (Treasurer)

Bev Mercer

Partner Churches

Hinxton, Ickleton & Duxford

Hinkledux draws together the parish churches of three South Cambridgeshire villages: Hinxton, Ickleton and Duxford, under the leadership of Revd Lydia Smith. The monthly YouthInc group for school years 5 upwards has been running for a number of years and supplements the regular pattern of family services and celebrations. Unlike the other groups, Hinkledux YouthInc group offers a gathering for parents at the same time where they can study the same passage as the young people and enjoy fellowship together.

Sawston

Sawston, which prides itself on being the largest village in South Cambridgeshire, is home to Sawston Village College, which is attended by a number of young people from all of the villages that YouthInc groups run in. St Mary’s church’s youth group began in 2022 with two members but has since grown significantly and has welcomed children from different churches across the village, and now meets in two different age groups in the community hall.

Whittlesford

In Whittlesford, the United Reformed Church and Anglican parish church have formed an ecumenical partnership and began worshipping together in 2023. This, alongside the good relationship with the local Church of England primary school, has led to a very well attended after school drop-in for school years 5 & 6, called The ARK. The ARK enables church leaders and volunteers to establish relationships with the young people. Initially, a YouthInc group, called ARKEXtra, was run on a Sunday evening in the same location but, beginning in September 2025, ARKEXtra is combining with the regular Campfire Church to provide something for these young people and those who are outgrowing the children’s activities within Campfire church.