Our Story

In 1901, CSSM (Children’s Special Services Mission) started a beach mission in Port St Mary for the holiday makers who flocked to the island’s beaches. Over time the number of holiday makers who attended decreased and the local numbers increased. This led the team (now under the guidance of Scripture Union) to start praying about there being a consistent group of active Christians on the Island running events all year round for those young people who attended and came to faith through the mission. 

 

In the 1980s, a volunteer started running CU groups in the Island’s secondary schools. After a while, this became unsustainable for one person to do by themselves, so they were linked to the group who had been praying for the young people of the Island to come to know God and SUMT was born. This connection with prayer, and a desire to move where God is moving has been with SUMT ever since. 

 

For several years, SUMT was made up of one worker, and the occasional gap year student. In the 2010s this became multiple workers, up to 12 gap year students and admin workers all in a community house in Port St Mary. As a new decade arrived, SUMT moved again to the Pulrose Estate. It has six staff members and no gap year students - for now at least. 

 

The work we do has also changed and adapted over time. We still run CU groups in the secondary schools, but we also are involved in collective worship (assemblies), youth services, residential weekends, clubs outside of schools, curriculum days, lessons, SRE and almost anything else that a school or church ask of us. We connect with almost all primary and secondary schools on the Island and the majority of churches to as we try and bring Faith Within Reach of every child and young person on the Isle of Man.