516 Youth

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.

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.

One of the things I miss most about childhood is the seemingly daily pickup football games we played in backyards around the neighborhood. There is something about Thanksgiving football in particular that brings back all kinds of good memories.

Because of that, and the fact that the church has a pretty expansive backyard, I thought it would be cool if we started a Turkey Bowl at Community. I was thinking we could organize a flag football game for the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, November 25th). I see it not only being a great time of fellowship for those of us who already attend Community, but also something that might be a fun way to introduce neighbors, friends, and family to the church through a “safe,” non-threatening event.

If you’d be interested in playing (or know someone who would be), let me know, and if we have enough people who want to play, I’ll start organizing the game.

Youth Group
There will be no Youth Group this week due to the Labor Day weekend. Enjoy the time with your family. Our next meeting will be September 11th (at 6 PM).

Youth Conference
The Do Hard Things Tour, which encourages teens to not waste their youth on things that don’t matter, will be at Istrouma Baptist Church on Saturday, October 15th. The cost is $30/person ($27 if we have 10 or more people sign up), and at least one parent is encouraged to attend with their teen. You can find more information about the conference and speakers at www.therebelution.com/conference. If you plan on attending, please let Noah Lang know, along with the total number from your family (teens + parents) by September 15th.

Youth Website
Parents, don’t forget you can download each week’s Youth Group lesson at http://516youth.org to stay up-to-date with what we’re discussing or to initiate conversations with your children at home.

New Youth Website

The youth website received a makeover this week and is now markedly different with a new style, new name, and new logo. You can access it as usual by going to the church website and clicking on “Youth” or directly by going to 516youth.org. I’ll be using the page to post announcements, interesting links, and resources for parents, as well as a pdf of each week’s youth group lesson to help parents know what we’re discussing and hopefully make it easier to initiate conversations at home. We are currently looking at a portion of Sunday morning’s passage in a different way so there should be some common ground between parents and students when it comes to having those discussions.

If you use social media, you can also access church news on Facebook (facebook.com/516church) and Twitter (twitter.com/516church).

Do Hard Things Tour

There is still time to sign up for the Rebelution Youth Conference that will be held at Istrouma Baptist Church on Saturday, October 15th. The cost is $30/person (plus a 10% discount if we have 10 or more people sign up), and at least one parent is encouraged to attend with their teen. You can find more information about the conference and speakers at www.therebelution.com/conference or dohardthings.com. If you plan on attending, please let me know, along with the total number from your family (teens + parents).

Sr. High Feedback

If you are a high schooler or parent of a high schooler, and you would be interested in a separate Sr. High youth group (rather than the joint Jr. & Sr. High one), I’d like to hear from you. I’m considering the possibility of starting one, but want to gauge what interest there is within the church. If you’re interested or have any ideas, email me, call me or talk to me at church on Sunday.

The Do Hard Things Tour is coming to Baton Rouge on Saturday, October 15th. This is a one-day conference that challenges teens to not waste what they have been given but instead to accomplish great things for God. Teens are encouraged to attend with at least one parent. We are interested in organizing a group to go to this event. The cost is $30/person, but there is a 10% group discount if we have 10 or more people. (If the cost is prohibitive, please tell me so we can help.) If you are interested in attending, please let Noah Lang know.