Soul Action: The Noise

east2west was established in 1996 by a chap called Steve Holloway. Since then it has changed from a one-man operation to a team of over 40 highly committed, passionate and skilled Christian youth workers. Based in Staines (Middx) UK, east2west works in a variety of ways ranging from school’s work to community service; running prayer, discipleship and leadership initiatives to presenting national events, festivals and programs.

Every year as part of the wider commitments of the team, east2west organise some pretty impressive Noise initiatives.

On Friday the 24th and Saturday 25th of March 2006 50 volunteers of all ages made a loud NOISE by showing the community of Englefield Green that actions speak louder than words. We pitched a few questins to Noise coordinator Nate Polsfut and here are his responses!

What did you do as part of your Noise project?
The Noise 06 started off on the Friday evening with 45 volunteers meeting for a pizza party. The volunteers were divided into working groups in which they discussed the projects for Saturday. Some of the projects undertaken over the weekend were:

Cleaning up and repainting a disued police station, litterpicking and clearing up tow paths and estates, and a gardening rennovation project.

The press were involved in the day and local Police representative Officer Tom Kimnell was over the moon about the project - he even went around and encouraged the teams using his loud speaker!!

The day ended with a free community BBQ at a local day center and a team even entertained those who attended with dance, drama and a brief gospel presentation.

How did you get started and what did you do?
I have always had a strong passion for servant evangelism and random acts of kindness. The first Noise project I organized was in 2003, I had only recently come to England and my boss Steve first told me about the initiative.

I chose to do a project on an estate I was already working in and I knew would benefit from this. I was already in contact with the community police officer so, I started with him. We walked around the estate and he told me the problem areas etc.

Who did you get involved?
Loads of people got on board with this years Noise. The Police, the local council (including the refuse deptartment and the highway and safety agency), the local Mayor, several local churches, businesses, youth clubs and a few students too.

In fact, we were really lucky, as east2west is a registered charity we already had relationships (lots of coffee and time) with our Mayor and the local police. Therefore we didn't have to work too hard to get them on board again.

How did you get your young people fired up about it?
Well I pitched it to them in a number of ways. The Noise is all about the young people getting out to serve the community so we had to ensure they wanted to be involved!

We told them this was an opportunity that for young people to really show some care for the community and to challenge the stereotypes that the youth are all bad.

With my Christian young people I encouraged them that our actions can be loud and that they can make a real difference; that we should preach the gospel at all times and if nessassary use words.

What would you have done differently?
So far nothing to major… maybe advertise more for the free BBQ to get a few more residents along. Generally though we were pleased with this years events and projects.

What problems did you encounter?
Well, I have done this 3 times. The first time was a bit harder because we had never done this before and learning how to go about organising an event with projects across a large area was quite difficult. But during the most recent projects I've been overwhelmed by all the support I've had.

What advice would you have for someone wanting to start up a Noise project?
Get involved, I think it’s a great discipleship tool.
Get the young people to work in their own community.
Open it to believers as well as non- believers!

Thanks to Nate and Louise for giving up some time to answer our questions. If you want to find out more about East2West then check out their website:
www.e2w.org.uk








	Stories: east2west in Staines east2west was established in 1996 by a chap called Steve Holloway. Since then it has changed from a one-man operation to a team of over 40 highly committed, passionate and skilled Christian youth workers. Based in Staines (Middx) UK, east2west works in a variety of ways ranging from school’s work to community service; running prayer, discipleship and leadership initiatives to presenting national events, festivals and programs. Every year as part of the wider commitments of the team, east2west organise some pretty impressive Noise initiatives. On Friday the 24th and Saturday 25th of March 2006 50 volunteers of all ages made a loud NOISE by showing the community of Englefield Green that actions speak louder than words. We pitched a few questins to Noise coordinator Nate Polsfut and here are his responses! What did you do as part of your Noise project? The Noise 06 started off on the Friday evening with 45 volunteers meeting for a pizza party. The volunteers were divided into working groups in which they discussed the projects for Saturday. Some of the projects undertaken over the weekend were: Cleaning up and repainting a disued police station, litterpicking and clearing up tow paths and estates, and a gardening rennovation project. The press were involved in the day and local Police representative Officer Tom Kimnell was over the moon about the project - he even went around and encouraged the teams using his loud speaker!! The day ended with a free community BBQ at a local day center and a team even entertained those who attended with dance, drama and a brief gospel presentation. How did you get started and what did you do? I have always had a strong passion for servant evangelism and random acts of kindness. The first Noise project I organized was in 2003, I had only recently come to England and my boss Steve first told me about the initiative. I chose to do a project on an estate I was already working in and I knew would benefit from this. I was already in contact with the community police officer so, I started with him. We walked around the estate and he told me the problem areas etc. Who did you get involved? Loads of people got on board with this years Noise. The Police, the local council (including the refuse deptartment and the highway and safety agency), the local Mayor, several local churches, businesses, youth clubs and a few students too. In fact, we were really lucky, as east2west is a registered charity we already had relationships (lots of coffee and time) with our Mayor and the local police. Therefore we didn't have to work too hard to get them on board again. How did you get your young people fired up about it? Well I pitched it to them in a number of ways. The Noise is all about the young people getting out to serve the community so we had to ensure they wanted to be involved! We told them this was an opportunity that for young people to really show some care for the community and to challenge the stereotypes that the youth are all bad. With my Christian young people I encouraged them that our actions can be loud and that they can make a real difference; that we should preach the gospel at all times and if nessassary use words. What would you have done differently? So far nothing to major… maybe advertise more for the free BBQ to get a few more residents along. Generally though we were pleased with this years events and projects. What problems did you encounter? Well, I have done this 3 times. The first time was a bit harder because we had never done this before and learning how to go about organising an event with projects across a large area was quite difficult. But during the most recent projects I've been overwhelmed by all the support I've had. What advice would you have for someone wanting to start up a Noise project? Get involved, I think it’s a great discipleship tool. Get the young people to work in their own community. Open it to believers as well as non- believers! Thanks to Nate and Louise for giving up some time to answer our questions. If you want to find out more about East2West then check out their website: www.e2w.org.uk