Watching God Change Lives

THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND SECOND PARTY SITE LINKS.

It never gets old. In fact every time it happens, I am reminded just how big, and good, and patient, and faithful God is. Even after almost 30 years working with students, serving in multiple churches, and ministering to families I still stand in awe of God.

This past week has been simply amazing. Check that, these last couple of months have been amazing. God has been moving among our student ministry in such a powerful way.  Let me try to share some of what He's doing in our ministry.

This year we added some new discipleship groups to our student ministry. We sensed a growing desire from the students for something more. Coming out of the pandemic, our students had been craving connection. They wanted to be together. They couldn't wait to get together.

We saw this in how our weekly attendance continued to be not only consistent, but growing. Each week, another student would show up. Then we started seeing their friends. It was great! But it was more than just an increasing attendance. As the students reconnected with our leaders and each other, I began noticing that their commitment to be at our student ministry was more than just mom or dad dropping them off at the church. The students were truly excited to be there. But not just to be there, they were looking forward to participating in what we were doing.

I first noticed it after our Fall Retreat in October 2021. The retreat was awesome. It was the first retreat and "big" event since Covid-19 hit. We took just over 20 students and about 12 adult leaders and helpers. It was mixed group of middle and high school students, and I wondered how everyone would get along after the pandemic kept us apart for so long. 

It didn't take long to get my answer. By the time we were heading to bed on Friday night, I could see that the students were beginning to reconnect and come together. By the time we left for home, we were one student ministry!

But it was on the first Tuesday night, that's when we meet as a student ministry, that I really saw it, or heard it. As we gathered for a time of worship and a message, we piled into a little room. There were about 30 of us, students and adults, and we started to sing. I paused for a few minutes while we were singing. I was moved by the lyrics and I took a moment to reflect on what I was singing, then I heard it. They were singing. Our students were singing, loudly. And as I looked around the room, I saw that they weren't just singing, they were worshipping!

That continued through the end of our 2021 calendar. The students were engaging, having fun, and beginning to grow. We rolled into the holidays, and as our custom, we slowed our student ministry to join in with what the larger church was doing during the Christmas season.

The new year, however, brought a delayed start to our season as a number of snow and ice storms impacted our area, causing ministry cancelations, including our Winter Retreat. We were scheduled to take over 30 students and 15 leaders and adults away for what we believed would have been an incredible weekend. But God had other plans.

The cancelations were frustrating, and I was concerned that we might give up some of the momentum we had built up. February came and we were finally able to start gathering again. It was a slower than expected start. But we programmed and promoted and reached out like crazy and slowly the students started returning.

When we ended 2021, we were on a high. I saw the excitement and the interest from the students to do more. So I made the commitment to focus a little more on Discipleship, and created new ways for the students who were looking to go a little deeper to connect and grow.

We launched a series of "classes" that would help students who were new to the church or their faith, begin to build a foundation while answering any questions they might have about the church. So far we've only met once, but I am excited to see how this will grow and help students connect with each other and the ministries that our church offers.

The second discipleship program we started was a 4-hour, intensive Bible study. The group meets once a month and focuses on helping students grow in the Bible literacy and their theological depth. We started by answering the question, what is a disciple, then jumped right into Genesis chapter 1. It was incredible. Not only did students show up, but they were fully engaged with the study and the conversation.  I was amazed. We recently met for our second session where we looked at Genesis 2. It was awesome! The students were again fully engaged.

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What is a Disciple?

To help us understand what the Bible has to say about being a disciple, we watch this video message from JT English, then one of the pastors at the Village Church. It was super helpful, and we had an incredible discussion.

Watch the Video Here

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In the weeks that have passed, our numbers are holding, even growing a little. But as with any student ministry, we know that students and parents juggle busy schedules, and so numbers sometime fluctuate. But more than just the numbers, we are seeing our students growing. That desire and want for more that I mentioned earlier, it's Jesus that they are want. They might not be able to always communicate that fact, but I recognize it. They want Jesus.

I see that as I watch how they worship; engaged and in the moment. Hands raised, eyes closed, hearts moving upward in praise. It's in the questions they're asking. It's their participation in our weekly Bible studies and discipleship groups. It's how they listen during our messages. It's in the conversations we're having outside of our student gatherings. It's in how they look forward to being together again. God is changing their lives, and it's amazing!

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We are currently using Every Young Man, God's Man, with our High School Guy's Discipleship Group. It's a classic, but still super relevant for High School guys!

Every Young Man God's Man

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This past Tuesday night, we started a new series that we're calling DEVOTED. We're leading our students through Acts 2:42-47. It's in these verses we see a snapshot of how the church responded to the gospel and the Apostle's teaching in the early days, weeks, months, and years. Our goal is to look at what it means to be DEVOTED, as we commit to Learning God's Word, Serving Others, Worshipping Together, and Connecting to One Another!

We've also started a podcast for our students as a way to help them continue to grow on their own. There aren't many podcasts for students, so our hope is that we might not just reach our students by offers some encouragement and hope to any student who might be looking to take their next steps of faith in Jesus Christ.

It's still in it's early stages, by if you would like to listen, you can find the audio podcast here: The C3Students Podcast. If you would like to watch the video version of the podcast you can do so here: C3Students Video Podcast. You can subscribe, follow, and share as you'd like!

God is still changing lives. It's an amazing blessing to be one who gets to watch as God moves into someone's life and completely changes them for his purposes and glory.

On a side note, parents, I can't begin to tell you how important it is that you are encouraging your teens to be exploring their faith. As both a parent (remember we have 5 kids) and as a pastor (though I might not have the title) let me encourage you, pray for you, and offer whatever help I might be to you as you endeavor to train up your child/teenager. And if we can help you in any way, please, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can leave a comment below, and we'll reach out to you!

​- jay

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