PURPOSE - It is our goal to teach our teens to worship and honor Christ in all aspects of their lives (Adore), to walk in truth and obedience to the Bible (Grow), then for them to demonstrate a willingness and an attitude for work in the ministry of Christ (Acts of Service), which will then lead to an outward difference in their lives and the active sharing of their faith (Pursue) , and finally this will come full circle by welcoming more teens into Christian fellowship and discipleship (Engage / Encourage).
CORE BELIEFS -
· Our youth are not only the future of the church, they are an integral part of this church today = NOW
· We need to foster a Youth Ministry where a teen can relax and relate but still maintain an environment that is conducive to our purpose
· Church and service to the Lord are fun and fulfilling
· It is our responsibility to aid in raising young people to continue their growth and discipleship as Christians and to see their lives blessed by their faith in God
DELIVERABLES - All of our activities will follow these purposes and core beliefs so that God will be honored. 1) Our focus will be to train and equip; we will not be happy to maintain the status quo but to gain ground in the Lord 2) We want to serve the core group that is dedicated to Christ and 3)to reach the many of our community that are wavering in their faith or currently have no relationship with Christ. 4) We will have regular games, events, and functions that will be driven by our purpose and guiding principles.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES – (A.G.A.P.E. love)
· Adore - Worship is a true believer’s best possible mortal response with of all their being to God’s everlasting call through all He is, says and does! It is important to balance our other service to be certain to take time to serve Christ through worship. We need to make sure our youth understand this; that participating in worship is more important than being “busy”. The Psalmist said, “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalms 29:2 NKJV)
· Grow – The Bible commands us to teach those that are younger; that might mean younger in age, experience or in their Christian walk. We need to purposefully teach our teens to walk in the truth, to willingly be set apart, and to display obedience to God not just at Church or home but in every aspect of their life. Jesus tells us, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 NLT)
· Acts of Service - We should train our teens how to serve here at First Wesleyan Church, as well as encourage them in this service for Christ. By teaching them to walk according to the Scriptures and to do all things to glorify God, we will be creating an “I desire/I want to serve” spirit in them! Teaching them to serve gives them ownership in our Church and ownership makes it a joy to serve. Jesus again commands his disciples, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
· Pursue the lost - It is important to not only train and encourage our teens to have a bold and open witness but even more to teach that our actions speak very loudly (if not louder) and this shows our true desire for lost souls. If we witness with our mouth but do not show a difference in our behavior we are false witnesses, and our actions need to glorify Christ. The Apostle Peter wrote, “ I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. (Philemon 1:6 NIV)
· Encourage / Engage one another - We must have a purpose to bring in other teens to nurture their growth and service in the Lord. But this is not our primary purpose but an important part that completes the circle of all the previous purposes. We must welcome other teens to a fun and relaxing environment created for discipleship. I believe the Lord will bless us with more teens if we focus on building this group around the four previous points. Paul writes, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:14, 17 NIV)