YOUTH GROUP UPDATE: Summer, 2021
Hello, I‘m Ashley Dowell I hope that all of your families are having a nice summer! On the youth side, I have seen many of them involved in jobs, sports, physics classes(?, haha) and just being super active or plain lazy during this free time. I wanted to give the church an update on how the youth group is doing and some planning stuff we are considering over the summer. We have not been meeting on Zoom for classes over the summer due to a natural decline in the participation.
Please continue to keep us in prayer as we contemplate the questions and considerations below:
When should the Youth Group meet? – There seems to be differences of opinions about when the youth should meet. This is because the parents in our church, along with the youth leadership, agree that the young people should spend a healthy amount of time in the main service. We are still in the process of working meeting times out. While we are still meeting at the temporary place I am planning to try and meet up after church for 10-15 minutes for fellowship and prayer time together.
How can we serve the church body? –Several opportunities have been brought to my attention for the youth get involved which we will be discussing during our after church sessions. A few of the youth are already involved in the worship service, and some have come to me about assisting in Godly Play with the children. Since the Lord is bringing St. Auggie’s new visitors on a regular basis, forming a welcome team is also something the youth will talk about. Lastly, some of these girls can sing! Maybe I can nudge a few to participate in the music ministry on occasion! I am sure all of you would love that!
What is our space going to look like at the church?
I am hopeful that there will be a room at the new church for the youth group to meet. We like to be outside (based on the consensus I have received) and when we can I would like to have our youth time out in the fresh air. Should we have a designated meeting room, we will soon have fun together planning, designing, painting and establishing ourselves as a family there.
What will the youth lessons look like in the fall? This is still something I am considering. The Mere Christianity study group on Zoom was going very well! We have postposed the study until we get to the new building. Our young people are so bright and are capable of understanding the deep truths of Scripture and Christianity. The leadership is also looking for lessons and activities to help them apply the knowledge that they gain from our study time. It is one thing to know the truth, its anther thing to reflect on and believe the truth, and quite other to apply or live out what we believe to be true.
Will we do any fun stuff or just talk/study time?
You know, I like to play. I am sure the youth like to play. I am sure you like to play! There will be times we just get together to play. What that looks like I’m not sure yet, but how better to get to know someone when you are serving up a volleyball, teaming up in laser tag, or kicking their can in UNO?
I am so excited about the possibilities for the young people in the church to grow together in the Lord and become one with the adult congregation. Your encouragement as a church family is crucial to them as they continue to find their specific gifts and talents to use for the Kingdom. Please keep us all in your prayers as we try our best to start up a consistent schedule. If I haven’t heard from you and you would like to know how you can get involved with the youth (teaching, playing, planning, or otherwise), shoot me a quick email at [email protected].