516 Youth

This is part 3 of a 3-part series on helping the younger and older generations form relationships within the church. For why these relationships are needed and who they should be formed with, read Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.

Forming new relationships can be intimidating, especially for those of us who aren’t very outgoing (I, for one, am extremely introverted). There is always a risk of rejection (or just plain awkwardness) when you put yourself out there. But hopefully these tips for forming relationships between teens/young adults and those who are middle-aged or AARP members will be simple enough to avoid some of that awkwardness. For those of you who are outgoing and have no problem just walking up to someone and starting a relationship, feel free to jump right in and let us know how it goes.

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(Source: pastornoah.com)

Youth Christmas Party

Our youth group Christmas party will be next Sunday, December 11th, at the Fosters’ house during our regular youth group time (6:00-7:30). We’ll play some games and have dessert together. Each student should bring a $5 grab-bag-type gift.

Setting an example in purity…

At youth group this Sunday, we’ll conclude our series on 1 Timothy 4:12 as we talk about setting an example in purity. The word for “purity” has 2 main meanings, to be morally blameless or clean (more general) and to be chaste (more specific). Because of how young most of our youth group is, I’ll be sticking mainly to the more general meaning of being morally blameless or clean. I encourage parents, however, to take the opportunity provided by this verse in 1 Timothy as well as Pastor Steve’s messages on marriage (last week) and singleness (this week) to have conversations with your children about sex and sexual purity. The average American male sees pornography for the first time at age 12, usually on the internet or through a friend. If your child goes online or watches TV and movies, chances are they are exposed to some level of sexuality or sexual themes. It’s important that their view on this subject be molded by parents rather than media or friends. If you’ve already had the “birds and bees” talk with them, this might be a good time to revisit the issue and ask if they have any questions since your last talk or to extend the issue to the importance of purity (especially if they’ve hit puberty since you last talked and hormones are starting to kick in). If you haven’t had “the talk” with them yet, this might be a good time to address that.

In my previous post, I detailed why it is important for young people to form relationships with older believers in the church. Today I want to briefly describe who they should form relationships with. Because of the subject matter, instead of addressing parents, I’d like to directly address those who will be used by God to speak into the lives of our youth.

I suspect that one of the reasons why older people fail to mentor or shepherd the younger generation is because they feel like they don’t have much to offer or that the younger generation wouldn’t be interested in what they have to offer. While this is an understandable fear, the fact remains that whether the older generation wants to mentor the younger one or not, today’s young people need to be mentored (reread part 1 of this series if you need a reminder why). And it doesn’t need to be done by some super saint, corporate CEO, or athletic superstar. It just needs to be done, by anyone who is willing.

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(Source: pastornoah.com)

Youth Game Time

For any youth-group-aged kids (6th-12th grade) who have off from school today, we’ll be hanging out at the church from 1:00-4:00 pm. I’ll have the Wii, ping-pong table, and air hockey table set up, and we might do some games outside too. There’s no need to bring anything (except maybe Wii remotes if you have them), but if you would want drinks or snacks during that time, you should plan on bringing them with you.

No Youth Group Next Week

There will be no youth group next Sunday, November 27th due to it being Thanksgiving weekend. We’ll pick back up on Sunday, December 4th.

Flag Football

Don’t forget that this Friday we’ll be having a Flag Football game followed up by pizza and the LSU-Arkansas game. The flag football game will start at 11:30 so arrive before then to warm up and so we can form teams. This isn’t limited to just youth so all ages are welcome to come out, even if you just want to cheer us (and LSU) on instead of playing.

Earlier today I posted a link to an article in Leadership Journal on how intergenerational connections help young people develop a faith that endures the transition from living at home to going to college or entering the workforce. Because this is something I would love to see characterize our church, I thought it might be helpful for me to elaborate on the subject. So over the next few days, I’m going to write up a 3-part series looking at why we should help our children build these connections, who we should help them connect with, and finally, how we go about initiating those connections.

I know how important connecting with other generations can be because I benefited from those types of relationships when I was a teenager and young adult. I love my parents, and I had (and still have) a good relationship with them, but as important as that relationship was in terms of helping me come to and mature in my faith, my relationships with other adults were also a vital part of that process.

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(Source: pastornoah.com)