When we look at your youth we see endless possibilities. This is also true for our heavenly Father. He has a plan for everyone’s life. However, we must acknowledge that Satan does as well. So we see our youth group as being continually under construction.
We must first lay the foundation. Second we must frame and put up the walls. Third we put on the roof. Finally, we train new builders on the proper way to build a house. We believe that if we succeed in this then Satan will fail and therefore our youth will win through our Lord Jesus Christ!!!
Cookie Crunchers (1 month to 10 years)
We believe the foundation of Christianity is built from the beginning. We want to instill in our children that learning about God’s word is fun, exciting and rewarding! With this age group we teach and work towards the basics.
God created the earth and all that is in it. With this in mind we do routine trips to science museums, zoos, and any other place we can learn about God’s creation. Sometimes this is as simple as going to someone’s house and looking at an aquarium. There are a lot of falsehoods about these matters in the world and we want to address these head on. The Truth will prevail.
Jesus is God’s son. We work towards the children understanding that God is our heavenly father and that he can be seen in everything around us. And just like our earthly daddy’s God has a son. God’s son’s name is Jesus. We strive to teach at every opportunity that we should behave like Jesus.
Heaven is where God and Jesus live and that is where we want to go. It is amazing how easily young children grasp the concept of heaven. They seem to accept this with such powerful faith from a very early age. We try to teach that you get to heaven by doing what God says!
We also have monthly meetings with this group so that the parents and children can get to know each other better. These take place at parent’s houses and focus on fellowship and fun. One bible story is told and then the play is focused around that story.
TWEENS (10 to 15 years old)
This age group is on the verge of that one thing that young teenagers crave so much…the driver’s license. What we often forget is that with this piece of plastic comes a new found independence and therefore unseen temptations. We hope that we built a good foundation and now we focus on wall building. We have to make sure the “house” is structurally sound.
Children of this age group start struggling with their identity and we want them to always know that Jesus Christ is their friend and that he loves them! We want them to identify themselves as Christians. In this age group we start teaching the basics of the Christian faith. This includes the plan of salvation, the way to worship our Lord as he commanded, how to prepare for the temptations of the devil and finally the example of Christ as the way to live.
We hold monthly meetings and “get togethers” with this age group and focus on one of these “walls” each time. With these four “walls” complete our “tweens” will be well prepared for the last part of their journey before full independence is required.
TEENS (15 to 18)
Often seen as the most “active” of the youth group this age group is in the final stage of construction. At this time in their life we have to prepare our children for the storms of life and therefore protect the foundation and walls that have been built. We must put the roof on the building.
This group is years to days away from becoming adults. With this new found independence we strive to give them independence in their faith. We let them decide the subject matters of their classes, devotionals and retreats. This way we address what ever issue is facing them at that time. We also use this as a way to teach them that all answers to their questions are found in the bible.
Classes
The teenage class meets on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. We encourage our kids to invite their friends to all services but especially the Wednesday night class. In this class the subject matter is open forum. We may talk about baptism one night and teen pregnancy the next week. Whatever they need to discuss is discussed. On Sunday mornings, we continue to work on the foundation and walls that were built in the earlier years, but let the teens decide which topics need to be addressed.
Devotionals
We have monthly devotional meetings with both the area churches and our on local youth group. These supply time for the teens to get together with other teenage Christians twice a month. Our teenagers pick the topics for these devotionals and are used as much as possible in the leadership of the devotionals.
Retreats
We have two retreats a year. We do one during the fall and one in the spring. This allows our teens a time to “get away from it all.” We continue to let them decide these subject matters and the parents act as the facilitators of the group. Parents keep them on track, but the teens do the work. Fun, fellowship, and faith are the key themes of these retreats.
College and Young Adults
With so many colleges near by we are lucky to routinely have our college age adults in our church services. At this point in their lives it is time for them to start learning how to aid in the construction of the youth. We use them as examples and encourage them to attend as many of the activities as they can so they can lead these activities. We want them to be most involved with the Cookie Crunchers group. This is because they will soon become parents and it gives them a chance to learn how to interact and work with this group. It also introduces them to the next age group they will be joining. Parenthood!
We try to do most of our work with these adults during the summertime since this is when they are all home. We want them to be instrumental in preparing for our mission trips, retreats and classes. We focus on service with this group.
Missions
We strive to have 1 large mission trip a year. One year this trip will be in country and the next year we aim to go out of country. It is important for our youth to be involved in these as it shows them the blessing which the Lord has laid upon them. It also instills a desire to give back to their neighbors!
Under Construction
Parent’s Night Out. One word describes youth better than anything. ENERGY! We understand that parents need a break too. To put it simply they have more energy than we do! With that in mind, we will start having a night once a month where parents can drop their kids off with other parents and have a “date night.” The father mother relationship is the bedrock on which families are built. In our high paced society is good for spouses to take breaks and devote time to each other.
Lads to Leaders: We are still in the planning phase with this program. However, we plan to implement it to some degree in the fall of 2010. Please check back soon for more developments.
Family Ministry: We realize that our parents need to be ministered as well. We are looking for new and innovative ways to work with this group. We want to focus on the things that our parents and young adults face daily. Financial issues, marital issues, parenting problems, etc…All need to be addressed and all are answered in the bible.