FRIDAY NIGHT CYBER CAFÉ (FRNCC) (pronounced FRENZ (Friends!)
During late 1990’s Hinckley churches youth leaders under the name ‘HALO’ met to exchange information and organise joint events as a way of getting young people to mix.
From this group many youth workers had a vision to set up a café as a means of getting young people off the streets, particularly on a Friday night and to offer an alternative to going into Pubs and Night clubs.
Computers at FRNCC Cyber-Cafe
FRNCC was originally set up in a café at the top of Castle Street, then known as Lynn’s Café, now known as the Art Café. It was a meeting place for young people to socialise in a safe environment and to keep them off the streets on a Friday night. When Lynn’s Café closed down we moved premises to a more central location to Sidders (now Praha). With larger premises we were able to offer more activities and a growing number of young people attended. It was not a viable venture for the owners who were looking to move on, so in 2000 we re-located to Hinckley Baptist Church, believing this to be a short-term solution. We are still here and since that time we have seen a steady growth in young people attending, many who have little or no church connection. It was originally a vision amongst youth leaders in the town, known as Y-Net but it has been solely run and organised by people from within HBC.
A grant was awarded to us at that time which enabled us to make improvements to the premises and buy computers, snooker table, table tennis tables and other equipment of interest to the young people.
We carry out a variety of activities throughout the evening such as football, table tennis, board games, snooker, TV, music and of course the cyber café. We also run a tuck shop, which is always very tempting.
Over the years we have seen a huge number of young people come through the church doors. Many of these are ‘unchurched’ and we hope that in some small way we have touched their lives and shown a little of Christ through what we have said and done.
Our aims are:
- To provide a safe and supervised environment for 11- 18 year olds
- To provide a structured and supervised cyber café
- To develop young people’s life skills through good practice of behaviour, conduct and socialisation
- To enable young people to enjoy themselves
We are not openly evangelistic but see our main aim at relationship building and talking about our faith on a one-to-one basis.
Numbers have fluctuated over the years, starting off with a handful and at one time reaching to more than 90. When the church building project commenced and some helpers stepped down we had to however re-think our setup. Originally we had 11-14 year olds attending from 7-9pm and 14-18 year olds from 7 – 10pm. Currently we run from 7-9pm only for all age groups.
Time: Friday Night from 7 – 9 pm
Age: Young People aged between 11 – 18 years of age
Rules:
- no smoking or taking of any substances
- no leaving of premises unless to go home
- no abuse of equipment or any person at the youth club
- no bad language.
Cost: 50p entrance plus money for tuck
Contact: Elaine Stock 611128 Leader
Sue Bates Secretary
Paul Dexter Treasurer
Quotes:
‘I really like coming to see all my friends and have a laugh. The facilities are also good’
‘I really enjoy coming every week, it’s a chance to have a laugh with my mates’
‘Better than hanging around Mcdonalds all the time’
‘Fun and a very good laugh. Excellent place to see your friends’.
‘Love coming to see my friends and to meet new ones’.