Paideia: A Christian Youth Fellowship

The name’s inspiration came from Matthew 18:3, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Paideia is the Greek word for ‘little children’, as Nikhil says, “those people who are innocent, obedient and dependent on God fully.”

With no fixed address, the vision is to grow Paideia to host 4 events a year across Sydney. Each night could be a little different from the last but could include artist showcases, fashion shows, dance performances, art and more.

Tickets to their events are kept low, ranging between $10-15, with revenue going towards the artists, photographers, event hire and other costs on the night, but there is a committed group of volunteers that help make each night happen. Making money is not the goal here though with Nikhil and Neha working towards acquiring not-for-profit status.

Once again, the stage goes silent. Youth Pastor Elijah Theodore has come up to share the gospel in a simple 'child-like' way for those who have never heard of Jesus and those that need a reminder of his sacrifice on the cross. 

Nikhil explains how Paideia is more than just an accumulation of church people, but also has a mission for outreach too. They are aiming for salvations at tonight’s event.

From this came 'Thoughts of an Absent Mind' Nikhil's testimony EP released later that year and is based on the title of a journal he had been writing into for the 3 years leading up to that point. That release completed the switch, with Nikhil now going by the artist name Ninan, choosing to exclusively make Christian music to glorify Him. Nikhil shares, 

“I finally had words to say and could talk about what God doing in my life.” 

Paideia was birthed at that time too, but soon after that first event in July 2024, Nikhil crashed again. 

“I felt everything was being taken away from me. I realised I had been running mostly on the feeling of God's presence and seeing him tangibly work in my life, rather than his Word”

In response Nikhil began reading the Bible addictively and in his heart received two distinct messages. The first being that ‘God will provide’; the second a bit more confronting, “I felt like God asked me to quit music” Nikhil explains.