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Reach
Connect Study
Serve Celebrate
Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry
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Our
youth ministry at the First Presbyterian Church exists to reach non-believing
students, to connect with fellow Christians, and to help each other study
God's Word, serve God's Work, and celebrate God's Love. We accomplish this
by pursuing and reflecting
the five purposes of the church that were commanded by Jesus Christ in the Great
Commandment (Matthew 22: 37-39) and the Great Commission
(Matthew 28: 18-20) - evangelism, fellowship,
discipleship, ministry, and worship. Our goal is to
reach all students, nurture them through meaningful relationships,
and equip them to become disciples of Jesus Christ. |
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Youth
Activities
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Reach |
Evangelism can be the
most difficult or even the most frightening purpose to face as Christians.
This is especially true for youth, but it can be a little easier when we possess
the right attitude and heart to reach out to our lost friends. There must
be ways to make this process simpler. We accomplish this with the Friendship Evangelism Challenge and Servant
Evangelism.
The Friendship Evangelism Challenge is simply
a five-step process for sharing one's faith. We ask each student to pray
for his or her non-Christian friends and ask God to provide the opportunity and
courage to take those steps. We don't pressure our youth, but encourage
them to make the effort.
Servant Evangelism is a way we serve the people
of our community and show God's love to all of His people. We do this
through free car washes, giveaways, and other "random acts of
kindness". We ask for nothing in return, but simply try to demonstrate God's
love in practical ways. The effect is usually very powerful and meaningful
for our students and the recipients. |
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Youth
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Connect
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"Nurturing students means faithfully helping them grow in their
relationship with God. The most substantial and measurable spiritual
growth happens among students who have trustworthy, accountable and healthy
relationships with either an adult leader or a peer. These relationships
are attainable for students through fellowship." (Purpose Driven
Youth Ministry, Doug Fields.)
The most effective way to produce
"biblical" fellowship in the lives of our youth is through their
participation in small groups. Our Small Group Bible Studies allows
our youth to be known, cared for, held accountable, and encouraged in their
spiritual journey. Consider joining a small group today!
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Youth
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Youth ministries are filled with Bible-literate students who bear no fruit.
These students have all the right answers (the knowledge), but lack the skills
to make the right daily choices. At some point students must be weaned
from depending on the flesh (that is, our programs and adult leaders) and begin
walking in the spirit.
Discipleship Tools help our
students develop the spiritual "habits" necessary to grow on their own
and no longer part of our youth ministry. These "habits"
include having a consistent time with God through prayer and devotion,
maintaining an accountable relationship with another Christian student, committing to
the entire Church body (not just youth group), understanding and
participating in giving and tithing, memorization of key scripture, and
independent bible
study.
Discipleship Tools is a self-initiated
program by the student and supervised by our adult leadership team.
Students work on one "habit" at a time and at his or her own pace, and
our adult leaders constantly urge our students to develop these "habits"
and provide them with encouragement in their development.
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Youth
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Dedicated
Christians are the ones who have developed a heart for ministry and find
opportunities to serve, no matter where life leads them. Everyone has the
ability to serve regardless of where they are in their walk with Christ. We
challenge our students to actively participate in the faith today instead of
sitting back and waiting until adulthood. We aim to have our students
understand that have been created to do the work of the ministry and we provide
opportunities for our youth to take part in it. Hopefully, along the way,
they will discover their spiritual gifts.
One of these is the Soup Kitchen Service
Project. Every third Saturday of each month, our youth are
responsible for feeding the hungry at the Cornelia Soup Kitchen located on our
Church property. Students are asked to serve with their assigned team. This provides them a great opportunity to serve our God, our
Church and our community. The results are very rewarding! Consider
joining a Service Team yourself!
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Youth
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Celebrate
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Worship is
expressing our love to God. We can fulfill the purpose of worship by
communicating our love through praying, giving, testifying, thanking and
listening to God's Word. We encourage all of our youth to actively
participate in one of our Sunday morning worship services, as well as provide
other "unique" worship experiences throughout the year, including the Youth
Worship Service where our youth plan and participate in a worship service
for our congregation.
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