The plan is to hold a game every Wednesday night that is open to those who brought friends with them.  Those eligible will compete in the game.  The winner of that game has to pass a final test, which could result in a cash prize!  We will put $20 into the prize each week.  If a week goes by that someone doesn’t win, the amount will increase by $20 the following week.  The results could be very rewarding!

While some may feel that our goal is to “buy” friends, that is not the case.  Our real goal is to show just how important we believe it is to invite others to church and share the Gospel with them.  The friend incentive is open to middle and high school youth and is occurring on a trial basis this fall.  After that we will decide whether or not to continue beyond.  In the mean time, be sure to find some friends to invite!

Middle School. Our younger youth will be going through a brand new series called “Grapple“.  This material is designed to help middle

schoolers with specific questions they wrestle with on a daily basis.  The curriculum is put out by Group Publishing, and, while we are trying it out for this quarter, if all goes well it could earn a more permanent status as middle school Wednesday night lesson material.

Aside from tackling Jr. High questions head-on, this material also comes with a website.  Each middle schooler will be receiving a username and password to access a website just for them – think of this as a group page for their Bible study.  Giving middle schoolers access to a website may raise several questions.  Please take a look at some of the information below about this site.

• Usernames and passwords will be distributed to youth AND their parents, meaning you will be allowed access to the same site if you choose.
• The purpose of the site is to keep students interacting with the lesson material.  They can even post prayer requests.
• Youth may make posts and contributions to the site, but it is a closed circuit – it’s only open to members of our specific group.
• Our adult teachers will also have access to the site and will act as moderators.
• Group has an information page for parents.  You can access it by clicking here.  *Note*  Group puts this material out as Sunday School curriculum, so if you come across references to Sunday School, just know that it is actually being taught on Wednesdays.
• If you have other questions about this material and accompanying website, please contact Kevin

We’re excited about these coming changes to the youth ministry.  Please be in prayer with us as we continue to influence youth for the cause of Christ!

First off, Core Beliefs begin September 5 and continue through October 3.  Twice a year we teach on the Core Beliefs – key doctrines that we hold to as Bible-believing Christians.  There are 6 such Core Beliefs that have been formulated, and this month we will teach 3 of them:

• Creation (September 5) – God is our creator, and we are accountable to Him.
• Salvation (September 12) – Salvation is by faith in Christ Jesus.
• Uniqueness of Jesus (September 19) – No other person/religion compares to Jesus.

September 26 is a special week, followed by October 3, which will be our Bible Answer Man – a time when students get to ask any question they may have, and our panel of teachers answers them.  Most of these questions center upon the Core Beliefs we just studied.

On October 10, the youth ministry will be changing its Sunday School curriculum.  After spending a year with FaithWeaver, we have decided that we can more effectively impact students with a new curriculum series called Student Life Bible Study.  This study is a comprehensive 6-year plan through the Bible.  Though we regret that there isn’t an adult companion class for parents who want to go through the same lessons as their children (like FaithWeaver has), we are very excited about the possibilities of this curriculum and its ability to get on the youth level.

Also, we will still be able to provide Family Devotion sheets for you.  View this Sample Parent Page.  The pages will be posted/sent to you by either Bobby or Kevin.  Our goal in all of this is to be more effective in the way we train our students in understanding the truths of God’s Word.

What is the conference all about?  It is a call to action – for teens to rebel against society’s low expectations by living a radical life for Christ.  Alex and Brett Harris are the founders of the conference and it all started from their book, Do Hard Things, which they wrote at the age of only 19 years!  Since then, the message of the Rebelution has been to “Do Hard Things” to honor God.

Permission slips are available on the ‘Forms & Files‘ page.  The event cost is $35 per person, and we need a form and/or money by Sunday, September 19.  If funds are an issue, please see Kevin – we want everyone to be able to go to this event.

Parents, you are encouraged to read a letter about the conference from the father of the Harris boys.  You can find it by clicking here.

We hope to see you there!  In the mean time, check out a video about the conference below:

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Abort73.com is filled with great information on abortion and the pro-life stance.

Jason Lovins is a part of a great worship band (youth will actually have the opportunity to hear him soon!).  This interview is long, but skip to the 4 minute mark to hear his story about abortion.

Dear Parents,

As you have already noticed, spring is in the air!  This letter, however, is going to skip right over spring and discuss summer.  Opportunities for growth abound for youth during the summer months.  I would like to remind you of what our summer plans are, including some preliminary details on our mission trip to Connecticut.

This summer promises to be full of activities and mission projects organized around one central theme:  SUBMERGE:  Go beneath the surface of your faith.  We will be challenging youth to dig deep and take ownership of their relationship with Christ.  Here are some of the ways we hope to achieve this goal:

• Weekly Fuel meetings – Fuel will continue throughout the summer, and we are challenging students to lead the lessons.  Each week a youth will lead a 10-15 minute devotional for the lesson.
• Weekly mission projects – Each week will include a different project geared toward helping youth see a different way to serve Christ.  I believe firmly that one of the best ways to go deeper in one’s faith is to serve.  This will help youth invest in and take ownership of their faith.
• Regular activities – Miniature golf, games in the park, paintball, water tubing trips, and more will pack a powerful punch for the youth.  It’s going to be an exciting summer of events!
• Guys and Girls Bible studies – This is not definite, but we are working to put together some separated guys/girls  Bible studies (preferably at a pool) to draw youth even deeper into the Word.
• Summer Trip to Connecticut – see the info below!

Our main summer trip this year is to Oakdale, Connecticut, teaming up with the church-wide trip there to help Pastor Brian Hart with his church plant there.  The trip will be July 24-31 and will cost $250 per person.  Parents are invited to be part of this trip, too!  The youth will serve alongside the rest of the team doing construction, painting, yard work, backyard Bible studies, and other tasks.  At the same time, there will be opportunities for the youth to separate and have some fun just by themselves as a group.  To secure you or your youth’s spot, please turn in a $100 deposit, due May 2.  More trip details will be available in May.

I hope you will plan now to be part of the summer opportunities.  A full, detailed schedule of every summer activity for youth will be available in early May.  Although school schedules tend to encroach into June and August, we will plan our events in the beginning of June through the end of August, working around school schedules.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

Your partner in ministry,

Kevin Freeman