As adult leaders we want to partner with you, the parents to help model what life as a Christian is all about. We have a real desire for each of your kids to grow over the next Four years toward accomplishing these things:
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1. Develop a deeply personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

2. Glorify God through serving Christ fully in their daily lives.

3. Spread the gospel message to those around them through action and words.

4. Develop a heart for cross-cultural missions and the local church.

If they make good progress in these areas as their "main thing" in life, they will be prepared to move into life beyond high school. One thing you will see is that we as a ministry team emphasize to the kids is "Don't play the Christian game!" They all have friends who play this game well. They put on their Sunday face when at church and act totally differently the rest of the week. We stress to them over and over that this is not what Christ had in mind when He died for them on the cross. He has a much bigger and better plan for them than to settle with "playing the game". There are 5 places that we try to accomplish ministry with your kids:

1. Sunday School - A consistent study of God's word that allows us to teach and gives them the opportunity to discuss what the scripture means. We use a variety of resources to create a good learning environment where the students can discover truth through God's Word.

2. Wednesday Night Youth Group - This is a vital part of their week since it allows them time to connect with their youth group, hang out and relax together. During the summer, we are going to try make Wednesday night a time of outreach and service for the youth. We will be doing a mixture of fun things and a couple of service projects. A couple of nights in June we may be preparing for the mission trip on Wednesdays. If your student isn't going on the trip, still encourage them to come and be a part of the prep. During the school year, we will have some different topical series for the group to go through during the school year. We will still sprinkle in a fun night along with some service projects.

3. Discipleship Group - This is the "nuts and bolts" of the high school ministry. Each student has the opportunity to get involved in a small group where they can get real with one another about their faith. These groups are guys or girls only. Currently, these meet every other Wednesday night, but at times we have met during other times of the week.

4. Special Occasions - Mission Trips, retreats, service projects, lock-in's, etc. - Focused times together that really nurtures and fosters spiritual growth in the teens.

5. Individual Relationships - Our goal is that each youth develop a solid relationship with one or more of the adult leaders, while developing other relationships within the youth group. As adult leaders we make ourselves available to our youth not only at church but in all areas of their life.

6. Corporate Worship - Regular participation in worship of our God in the context of the local church is stressed. When the youth gather with the rest of the church body, they learn that they are connected to a larger group than themselves. The time together to worship the Lord and receive the teaching through the preaching time is important, along with the weekly communion time.

We encourage you to allow your student to be involved in #1 - #6 above as much as possible. We understand that their school life is busy and demanding. School studies and activities are an important part of their life and we know they can't be at everything all the time. That is not what is expected. But, if being a part of the youth group is a priority, I truly believe you will see that blossom out into their lives in the form of Christian maturity. They will develop more fully as Christian leaders in their school activities and commitments. Ultimately, our prayer is that they will leave this youth ministry as fully devoted followers of Christ in every aspect of their life.