September on My Mind- Youth Movement

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”- 1 Timothy 4:12

I know that we are in the middle of summer, but part of me is gearing up for the fall season. September has become VISION MONTH at the Shepherd's House. We are less than two months away from launching into a NEW and FRUITFUL season of doing "faith and life" together while also reaching our community with the love of Jesus! Each week leading up to September, I will be sharing about something stirring, to focus on and to get excited about. Today, I want to talk about one of my greatest passions: YOUNG PEOPLE. My very first role serving at church and being called into ministry was working with junior highers. I am so thankful to have served the same youth group for twelve years! I would always encourage the students to not be limited by their age, but to see the Lord’s hand of purpose and strength upon them. To cement that truth we used the words of Jesus in John 14:12 as our theme verse, “Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Although the seasons of life and my ministry assignment have changed, my passion for young people has only become greater emphasized and focused as a senior pastor. Jesus loves kids and so do we! One of our greatest commitments and investments must be in reaching, engaging, and shaping every age group on a Sunday morning. It is from this pursuit that I am excited to announce a new season for our CROSSCULTURE YOUTH MINISTRY! Beginning this Sunday (July 14th) our youth group (Grades 7-12) will be meeting during the 10:45 am service. The youth will start in the main sanctuary for worship then move to the youth room for games, snacks, Bible teaching, and small group discussion. We believe this time change will help us in connecting with the teens who are already with us, transitioning students who are graduating from Kids Church (Grades 1-6), and reaching new families who are looking for something for their teens on a Sunday morning.

I am also pleased to announce that Chris and Haven MacIntyre are the new Youth Leaders for Crossculture. Chris and haven have been serving in our youth group for around a year (under Pastor Othniel and Pastor Scott). In fact, Haven was in my youth group, so I am overjoyed to see a former student serving Jesus in such a manner. We are so thankful for all Pastor Scott Bland gave over the last 18 months in leading our youth. With the recent leadership transitions we have asked Scott to focus on his role as Kids Church Pastor and assist with pastoral duties in the Sunday services. We are believing for great things as we look to see each teenager following God, the youth group growing, and a generation being won for Christ!