Sermon Tone Analysis

I had requested that our worship team lead us in this song tonight because what we sang is close to what I hope to see happen within our student ministries this year.

That we would seek God’s kingdom before anything, that we hunger and thirst for Him, that He would release captive hearts and that we would allow Him to set us free from our sin, that he would bring peace to those that are hurting and in pain, that he would heal, that he would set our hearts on fire for Him.

That He would build His kingdom here.

Everything we do within this church, whether it’s our student ministries, children’s ministries, or adult ministries is because we hope to see people discover the love of Christ and find life through Him.

The way you’ll usually hear that from stage on a Sunday morning is that we exist to equip people to find life and faith in Christ.

That is the reason we do everything we do; so that people would know Jesus, find freedom in Jesus.

And because that’s the reasons we exist as a church, that’s the reason we exist as a student ministries.

to equip our students to find life and faith in Christ.

We hope to see that happen in 3 ways; for our students connect, grow, and participate.

Some of what we’re doing this year is really similar to what we’ve done in the past, but there’s been a lot of adjustments.

As I mentioned in my first email, the process of making adjustments started roughly 6 months ago at the beginning of March.

On March 3rd, there was a meeting open to all parents to come and give feedback about our student ministries.

It was led by Pastor Nate and the elders without me there so that we could get clear feedback about what’s going well within our student ministries as well as what we need to adjust.

Before I do that

After that meeting happened, I met with Pastor Nate and the elders to receive that feedback.

There were some really easy changes we were able to implement; things like turning down the volume of the music and changing what kind of music is played before service.

There were other things that had got mentioned as well, things like: parents wanting deeper teaching, more accountability to student led teams, and a more strategic plan to transition our 6th graders into our student ministries.

As I received that initial feedback, I began praying as well as reaching out to a group of families to talk through some of that feedback.

Out of the families that I reached out, I ended up meeting with a third of them and received even more detailed feedback about some of the hopes from parents.

Over the course of the summer, I then spent specific chunks of time dedicated to praying about and planning this upcoming school year.

3 of those days made up 20 hours of inviting any board members and our leaders to be a part of the planning.

I ended up spending some of it with Pastor Nate, and some of it with 4 other leaders.

Aside from that, I spent many more hours combing through curriculum, looking at what other youth groups did, and most importantly hearing from God about where I believe He is leading us.

I’ve said this to our leaders many times and I want to say it to our parents and students as well.

I am confident that we listened to God well and that we are making what we believe is the best decisions for our student ministries.

As decisions were made, they were made with our student ministries as a whole in mind.

What I mean by that is that we have 60-80 different teens that will be involved in one way, shape or form throughout the year.

One one spectrum we have kids who don’t know Christ and feel embarrassed walking into a church, and on the other spectrum we have kids who have grown up as Christians and have felt called into ministry.

And then we have everyone in between.

And as we have 60-80 potential teens coming attending at a given point, that means that we have over 100 parents that hope to see their kid grow in their faith.

On one spectrum we have parents of kids I’ve never met or heard from, and other parents that hope to see really specific things happen, and then everything in between.

I can guarantee that everyone isn’t going to love everything.

But the reason I’ve shared this process with you is because I want you to understand that these decisions weren’t taken lightly.

They were made with so much prayer, so many conversations, and based off of a lot of feedback.

And I’m truly excited about what God has planned for us.

3 Ways we’re equipping students to find life and faith in Christ.

Connect.

Grow.

Participate

CONNECT

Small Groups - connect with others by forming authentic relationships

The primary purpose of our small groups is for our students to connect with others by forming authentic relationships.

With the focus of our small groups being on the forming of relationships, the time that our students will spend together will look different for each group.

Whether it’s a serving project, playing board games, watching a football game, doing a Bible study, doing a craft together, or cooking a meal together, the goal will always be for students to connect with others by forming authentic relationships.

When will they meet?

Small groups will meet every other week on Sunday nights at 6:00-7:30 PM.

A schedule is attached to this email with all meeting dates.

How many small groups are there?

4; MS boys, MS girls, HS boys, HS girls.

The goal is for there to be 2 leaders for each group.

Where will they meet?

There will be two locations our small groups will meet at; middle schoolers (7th-8th grade) will meet at one house, while high schoolers (9th-12th grade) will meet at a different house.

Both boys and girls will be meeting at the same house and will split into gender-based groups.

How can I help?

I’m confident this is where God is leading us for small groups.

I’m also confident that we serve an amazing God that provides.

I’m prayerfully expecting the following 2 things to happen as I communicate our needs.

Please reply to this email if you'd like to fill one (or both) of them!

· For 2 more people to co-lead a small group.

We are in need of one leader for MS girls, and one leader for MS boys.

· For 2 families that love hosting people at their house to open their home for our small groups.

While the location is flexible, we’d like to meet within 10 miles of the church.

Hosting a small group doesn't require you to lead one, and there's not an expectation that you would feed them.

It's simply opening your home.

Now, keep in mind that this is just our starting point.

While the purpose is for our students to connect with others by forming authentic relationships, how we do that may transform throughout the year.

If we find that we have more students than space, we’ll find more people to host.

Or, we’ll add additional nights for certain age groups.

We hope to see as many students involved, so don’t be alarmed if we add more throughout the year.

If and when we do add more, it’ll be addition to Sunday nights and not instead of them.

GROW

Our primary goal for Sunday School is for our students to intentionally grow in knowing Christ; both in knowing about Him and knowing Him personally.

As I envision what this looks like, I think about Paul's goal he writes about in ; ”My goal is to know him (Christ) and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead”.

There is an incredible value in knowing Christ, and our desire is for our students to grow in that knowledge.

Phillippians 3:7-14

As I envision what this looks like, I think about Paul's goal he writes about in ; ”My goal is to know him (Christ) and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead”.

There is an incredible value in knowing Christ, and our desire is for our students to grow in that knowledge.

What kind of classes will be available?

Two classes will be offered at the same time on Sunday mornings; one focused on the Bible and one focused on how to practically live out our faith.

Students will get to choose which class to attend.

Bible-focused classes will differ depending on who the teacher is and what they’re passionate about.

The practical-focused classes will focus on helping students live out their faith.

Every other month, the class offered will be specifically focused on servant leadership, geared for current student leaders and those interested in growing in that area of their life.

September 8, 15, 22, 29

Bible Focused - Heart of Worship (Duncan)

Practical Focused - Servant Leadership (Me)

October 6, 13, 20, 27

Bible Focused - What Scripture says about Loving Others (Pastor Lee and myself)

Practical - How to Disciple (North Metro Representative for Fellowship of Christian Athletes - Zach Hansen)

How long are the classes?

While these focuses will remain the same throughout the year, most classes will have a new one starting at the beginning of each month.

There will be instances where the class length will differ based on our calendar.

What time do the classes start and end?

Sunday School officially goes from 9:30-10:45 AM.

For the first 15 minutes, we encourage our students and leaders to connect and catch up from the week.

The class time will take place over the course of the next hour, with the first 45 being material covered and the last 15 allowing time for questions.

That time will also be a good time for students to recite their verses for those who choose to do so.

Who will be teaching the classes?

I will teach the majority of the leadership classes every other month and will teach the Bible-focused classes during the other months.

Teachers for all other classes will include adult leaders, retired pastors, and others that we believe are well-equipped to disciple our teenagers.