The Cliff College Trek happens annually during Holy Week - in 2024, it took place in Cornwall from 25-28 March.
What is the Trek?
The Trek is a four-day walk, travelling ten miles a day on foot. In 2024, it started on Monday of Holy Week (25 March) and finished on Maundy Thursday. This year we trekked through Cornwall, beginning at Gwenapp Pit and concluding in St Ives, visiting a number of churches on our route. Each evening we hosted a celebration in the local Methodist church.
The Trekkers included a number of students and staff members from Cliff College, and some members of the Methodist Church in the Cornwall district. You can see what they got up to in our review video below.
The Good News
We enjoy walking in God’s beautiful creation. When God created the world, God said that it was good. When God created human beings, God said it was very good.
However, since the beginning of time human beings have chosen to walk away from God, wanting to walk their own path which has separated us from God and meant that we don’t reach our full God-given potential. Christians call this sin.
God continues to love all of creation, and longs for a relationship with every single human being. In order to restore this relationship, so that sin no longer separates human beings and God, God chose to step into the world and walk alongside us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, walked on earth so that we can see and understand who God really is.
Jesus walked on earth in order to pay the price of our sin. Jesus was forced by his creation to walk and carry the cross on which he died, but three days later he rose from the grave and defeated death so that our relationship with God could be restored.
If we believe in Jesus, we can live life in all its God-given fulness and ultimately, we will not die at all but have eternal life.
God the Holy Spirit resides in those who believe, walking with them on their journey – teaching and guiding them along the way.
One day God will make everything new and sin will be defeated once and for all.
It can be easy to lose sight of how God is working in our lives day by day. I can look back over the past year and can see the things that God was doing in my life then - but when I think about right now, it’s harder to see God moving. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’. The same God who was working in my life a year ago is still working in my life now. I’ll be able to look back a year today and see the amazing things God has been doing that I’m just not aware of now, and that’s the same for all of us!
Evie, Cliff College student and Trekker
Prayer
Christians believe that God wants to be in a relationship with everyone and that we’re all able to talk to him in prayer. Jesus’ death on the cross means that we can speak directly to God when we pray. Whenever we pray, we can be assured that God is listening to us. We can invite God into our lives and follow Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.
This is a prayer you might like to pray:
'Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ into the world to help me know you. Thank you, Jesus, for going to the cross to die for my sin. I am sorry for living my life without you in the centre of it. I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that I am forgiven. Holy Spirit help me walk the rest of my life with Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and as a child of God. Amen.'
I’ve been going to church all my life and always respected my parents' Christian faith. When I was 13, I decided to make my own commitment to God. I was baptised and became a member of my church. This was an important step for me in knowing that God accepts me, and I felt a greater sense of belonging to God’s family. Since coming to Cliff College in September, my faith has grown stronger as I’ve grown closer to God. I haven’t just got to know God better, but I have realised that God knows me personally.'
Emma, Fairhaven Methodist Church - part of the Cliff Year 2021-22
Find out more
If you would like to find out more about the Christian faith then this website is a great place to start to find out what Christianity is all about. You can find out the basics of what Christians believe about God and answers to your questions.
Check out this website to find out more about the Methodist Church in Cornwall and find a church near you.