1. We share the good news that Jesus Christ is the only way to have a relationship with God and the only way a person can find freedom from the chains of sin. We want students to be reached with the love of Christ. We want them to know that Jesus came to bring them life overflowing and eternal life starts now. Our purpose is "Reaching students to discover life in Christ."
2. We teach the Bible.
Each week we share a Bible study or message with the students. We spend about an hour in Bible study and small groups learning God's word and teaching how to apply it in their lives today. We pray and hope that Christian parents will follow up with their teen and find out what they are learning and launch some good family discussion based on what God's word teaches. A student, just like an adult can read the Bible through 50 times, have all kinds of "knowledge" but if they aren't applying what they are reading what's the point?
3. We want to equip students to own their faith.
Discipleship is all about following Jesus Christ, this is a lifelong journey. Students need to learn to read the Bible on their own, study God's word, pray, serve, share their faith. We often teach on discipleship, we drop it in our lessons and messages as much as possible. We offer resources for students to use, we challenge them to be active in their faith journey.
4. Youth Group is Church.
Youth group, at NHC, is not a social club, it's not a youth rec center. The church is the body of Christ. So when the youth of NHC get together the church is gathering together. This is why it is vital for every student in our youth group to be here when we meet. If someone is missing then we are missing a "body part".
5. We have fun and build friendships.
Relationships is the glue that keep students connected to the church. Fun is, for many, what keeps them coming back for more and opens the door for inviting friends. I can't imagine a youth ministry functioning without some sort of fun planned into their strategy. We promote the fun. Who wants to go somewhere that's boring?
6. We serve as a team.
"Lone Ranger" youth ministry is just plain crazy and not effective. We have an awesome team of caring adults who love to invest into the lives of students. Students leave the youth ministry when they graduate and for many their youth leaders become friends for life, mentors they can go to when they are adults. I once read a study that stated, "Students who have relationships with 5 or more caring adults in their church are more likely to continue in the faith after graduation than students who do not." Personally I think this is the biggie. Students don't remember how awesome our messages were. They remember their friends in youth group and the leaders who showed them the love of Jesus Christ. This is why I think it's crazy to be a Christian parent but not have your son or daughter involved in your church's children's and youth ministries.
Questions about what we do and why we do it? Leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.
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