HISTORY
Bridge Builders was established in Stevenage during the 1990s. The first project was a primary school assembly tour which presented the exciting message of the Bible stories in a real and relevant way to the young audiences. As Bridge Builders began to partner with volunteers from local churches, after school clubs were added to the projects.
In 2001, charity status was achieved and a board of Trustees and a core team were recruited who worked together to establish a strong vision, identity and purpose. Bridge Builders was providing opportunities for children to hear about the Christian faith but there was urgent need for more practical expressions of pastoral support and this led to the launch of the MAPS Project (Mentoring and Pastoral Support) for individual pupils and small groups in 3 local primary schools, and also the Whale Tales project which uses the biblical story of Jonah to explain the principles of Protective Behaviours.
It was back in 2010 when The Easter Journey project was piloted in one local church. The interest was so great that two years later, seven churches were opening their doors to welcome over 1000 Year 5/6 pupils from 29 schools. This was a significant development for the churches in the town but for Bridge Builders there was also the astonishing realisation that they had led the training for over 100 local volunteers of the event.
Following the popularity and success of The Easter Journey, another interactive themed event hosted by local churches was introduced – The Christmas Journey. The original script was written by a local minister and has now developed into another key event in the schools’ calendar.
The next development for Bridge Builders was establishing the ExploRE project, which brought together all aspects of the work that supports teachers deliver the Christian part of the Hertfordshire agreed Religious Education (RE) Curriculum. The project includes the interactive Journeys, assemblies and more recently RE lessons and it has Learning about Christianity, Learning from Christianity as the project strap line.
With schools shut or not accepting visitors during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2021, it was time to innovate. So, The Christmas Journey was recorded and became the Virtual Christmas Journey, assemblies were recorded too. Life may have changed but the mission had not.
There are some very familiar faces in today's Throwback Thursday photograph from The Christmas Journey in 2018. Are you a regular volunteer at The Christmas Journey? How long have you been volunteering for? If you haven't helped at one of our Journeys you're missing out!
If you have any memories of The Christmas Journey we would love to hear from you. Which role is your favourite and do you have any special memories? We'd love to know - comment below or email us with your memories anniversary@bridgebuilderstrust.org.uk 
Gemma joined the team two years ago in order to lead our assemblies and lessons in schools. She has cemented relationships with teachers and schools beautifully and we are very encouraged by the interest she has managed to drum up for assemblies and lessons. Outside of Bridge Builders Gemma is a nurse and spends a lot of time and energy helping with youth and community events at Longmeadow and other churches in Stevenage. 
It's time for another Throwback Thursday! This time we have a photograph to share with you from a Bridge Builders garden party in 2017. Do you remember this day? It looks like everyone is having a lot of fun!
If you were at the party and have any memories of the afternoon we would love to hear from you. What other events do you remember over the years? Do you have a favourite? We'd love to know - comment below or email us with your memories anniversary@bridgebuilderstrust.org.uk 
