Youth Ministry: September News
Even though it’s still so hot and humid outside right now (the weather was actually nicer in Mexico than it is here!), the leaves will soon be changing colours to signal the coming of Fall. And with that, it’ll be time to begin a brand new school year. This is the season of transitions.
So as we head into those transitions, let me take this opportunity to root us back into the foundations of how we want to see our youth ministry developed. A few months ago, I introduced the five goals of our youth ministry and in this issue today, I want to elaborate on the first goal.
- To expose youth to the wonders of the Gospel
- To anchor youth in the their relationship with Christ
- To connect youth into the life of the church
- To prepare youth for adulthood and the world
- To partner with parents in all of the above
So what does it mean to expose youth to the wonders of the Gospel? When you talk to youth about the idea of “being exposed,” it’s always said with a negative connotation. “Being exposed” is where they have their moments of embarrassment brought to light and exposed by another.
But here’s the difference with what we’re trying to do. When God’s being exposed, there’s nothing but goodness to be revealed. Everything about God — his love, his justice, his grace, his mercy, his faithfulness, and so on — is good. And so, God actually wants us to expose him! (This is what evangelism essentially is!).
However, it’s a different issue when it comes to whether or not we notice his attributes and whether we notice it as being for our good. Nonetheless, God is always all around us. As such, part of what we’re trying to do here is bring his presence to light for all to experience. And again, this is accomplished through our own life’s witness of the goodness that we’ve personally seen.
Further, God also reveals himself to us through his Word. This is why Scripture is so important and why we take the time to carefully and continually study the Bible regularly. This is the clearest revelation of who God is to us.
So as God reveals himself to us and we’re changed, our task is to then share that with others!
TRANSITIONS
New Grade 7’s: Starting this Sunday, September 2, we’ll be welcoming the new Grade 7’s to joining our English Worship service. For fellowship, they’ll be joining 412 starting Friday, September 14 from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
New Grade 9’s: For the new high school students, you’ll be joining Themelios starting Friday, September 7 at the usual time.
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⚠ CHANGES TO 412 One of the changes ahead, is that we sadly have to say goodbye to Jackie from being a counsellor for 412. She’ll be exploring some other ministry opportunities in the days ahead. Please feel free to talk to her further about it. But we pray for her as she transitions to new opportunities! As a result, this means that we’re short-staffed for 412. This means that I’ll be more involved in this fellowship but it also means that we unfortunately have to switch back to a bi-weekly model. Please pray that God would send us new leaders. So moving forward, 412 will only be on the 2nd and 4th weeks of each month. |
For everything else, here’s what’s coming up in September
| Date | 412 Fellowship | Themelios |
| Sep 7 | — | Welcome Night |
| Sep 14 | Welcome Night | A-Group Battles |
| Sep 21 | — | Drinks & Talks |
| Sep 28 | TBD | What is the Gospel? |
| Oct 5 | — | Bible Study |
YOUTH NEWS
Ontario University Fair – September 28-30 @ Metro Toronto Convention Centre
For all high school students, if you’re planning to go to university in the near future, this is the event for you! Check out this event to learn more about the various universities and their programs. For those interested in college, the equivalent college fair will be coming up in October, I’ll post more info then. For details, go to ouf.ca and ocif.ca, respectively.
Change Conference – October 12-13 @ Church on the Queensway, Toronto
“For 14 years the Change Conference has been INSPIRING and EMPOWERING young people to engage in a relationship with Jesus Christ in order to transform their life and their world.” While we won’t be going as a fellowship on the Friday night, we do plan to go together if there’s enough interest for the Saturday conference. The Saturday conference runs from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm. Send me a message if you’re interested. See full details here, changeconference.com.
Mexico STM – We’re Back!
Thank you all for all your kind support and prayers as we went to Mexico last week. We’re all back safe and sound now and we have lots to share with you all. Stay tuned for more information on when that’ll happen! In the meantime, you can continue to check our website at mexico.ccac.church for updates and some of our sharings. Here’s mine!
CHURCH NEWS
Plant Swap – Saturday, September 8, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm @ CCAC
Love plants? Want to swap them for others with other plant-loving people? We’re hosting our second ever plant swap next weekend. Whether you have plants or not, all are welcome to come check it out. For more info, go to our Facebook event page.
Blessings,
Pastor Darren