We are an accepting and welcoming space for young people.

GRIP (God Real In People) is the Youth Ministry of AACC.

The beating heart of this ministry is our youth group which desires to see young people passionate for God, knowing Him deeper and living in the fullness of His love! We meet every Friday of the school term from 7.30-10pm for games, worship, a message, connect groups, discussion, supper and much more!

Our team of friendly, passionate leaders are here to welcome and help all who walk through our doors. We'd love to meet you and have you join us on a Friday night!

If you’d like to find out more, come and join us one Friday night, reach out to our Associate Pastor for Youth, Jo Paynter, at jo@aacc.com.au or check out our socials.

GRIP live

service with worship and supper

camps

GRIP camp is a highlight of the year!

For 3 days and nights, our young people come together to go deeper in community in expectation of meeting God in a powerful way! Camp is full of fun, brilliant food, family, workshops, messages and ministry time.

In 2025 GRIP camp will be from April 24-27, with camp speaker Dave Begley. For more information and a registration link, please reach out to Jo Paynter at jo@aacc.com.au.

If you're a young person in years 7-12, looking for community and wanting to discover who God is, GRIP camp is the place to do it!

retreats

GRIP Retreats are in the September holidays and are a time for girls and guys to gather separately, to 'slow down' from the busyness of life, allowing space for God to speak to us through His Word. We have time to just hang out as well as enjoying games, worship, messages and great food!

We find that young people come home from GRIP Retreats refreshed in their faith, and cemented in friendships.

SOCIALS

Once a term our GRIP Connect Groups host social activities - on or offsite - an opportunity to deepen friendships and connections within the small group. We also run social nights across all of GRIP a couple of times each year, eg. a Summer Fiesta or Chinese New Year celebration.

EYU (East Youth united)

Twice a year, youth groups in the Eastern suburbs come together, united, to worship and to pray for our schools and suburbs to come to know God. Our heart is to build connections between various local youth groups so that we can encourage each other and work together across denominations. Through united prayer, we have seen:

young people realise that they aren't alone in their schools as Christians;
Christian groups begin in schools;
increased opportunities for networking between Pastoral Care Workers, young people and pastors;
young people finding inspiration and courage to share their faith in their spheres of influence.

We see these gatherings as a vital witness to Jesus, and a great opportunity to meet new friends as well!

BWO (Big Week Out)

Our young people have a history of faithfully serving missionally - and we continue to do this by encouraging our young people and leaders to sign up to Big Week Out (run through Scripture Union). We find that as our young people serve practically, they are greatly encouraged to realise that they can serve God in new ways, often finding that they can do things beyond what they originally thought possible.

Big Week Out is a great way to serve and make friends, demonstrating the love of Jesus through various local service projects. It’s a key fixture of our calendar with more than half of our young people getting involved each year.

All our youth leaders have undergone Working with Children Checks and certified Child Protection Training. You can view our policy here.