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TBC Family/Youth Ministry
A Word to Parents about our Ministry
…present every man complete in Christ – Col 1:28-29
A Ministry to Adults
- We consider Sr High students to be YOUNG ADULTS, and Jr High students to be transitioning into adulthood.
- We believe that a diligent parent will begin to train their child for adulthood from the moment of birth, not train them to be a lifelong teenager.
- Our goal is the same – build into them and set the expectation for adult behavior even while they are still in transition and are learning what that means. (A master carpenter trains his apprentice to do master-level work, not apprentice-level work.)
- We still have fun, laugh, relax, etc. together with the students, because all Christians do that when they get together (right!?). This is part of life – to enjoy each other and the world God gave us while we go about accomplishing the mission of the Church.
- BECAUSE THEY ARE ADULTS,
The same Scriptures apply to them as do the rest of the church…
The same disciplines are required out of them as are out of all Christians…
- BECAUSE THEY ARE YOUNG ADULTS,
They are immature in their knowledge, strength, will, discipline, etc. and still under their parent’s authority.
Therefore we must act as guides and teachers (older brothers and sisters in the faith) to challenge and encourage them and show them in all areas what it means to live out Gal 2:20 and 2 Cor 5:17,18
- We must both teach AND model this (Phil 4:9)
A Ministry of Shepherding
- Our calling is to guide young souls in their relationship and walk with Jesus Christ according to the biblical model of shepherding and show them what it means to function within the Church.
- Our goal is not to “get them through” or to entertain them, but to train them to be able to be useful servants of Jesus Christ throughout the rest of their lives.
- We assign a volunteer Youth Shepherd to each student to connect with them via our various programs to encourage them in their personal spiritual walk.
A Ministry of Cooperation
- Because these young adults are still under the authority and responsibility of their parents, we must partner with and assist the parents in their primary shepherding role.
- Our goal is cooperation, not competition. Though we will attempt to encourage and motivate the students toward ministry and involvement in the Church, the parent always retains the absolute right and authority to direct their child’s activity.
- In order to fulfill our role of equipping and shepherding such a large and diverse group of students, we will initiate and plan a variety of venues and events in which to accomplish various aspects of ministry. The parent must act as the “governor” on their particular child’s level of involvement. Though we attempt not to “overload” the schedule with youth events, we realize that if a student attempted to participate in every youth event available, it would have a detrimental effect on his/her involvement in family, school, and other ministries. Knowing this, we attempt to keep the “all youth” events to just once per month.
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