Our Blog

Student Ministry - October 2019

Dear Church Family,

The Fall season is officially here. While the days may still be hot, there is an unmistakable change in the weather evidenced by the cool nights, a slight change in the color of the leaves, and the decelerated growth of the lawn. Most people love the Fall. It is a time for friends and families to get out and enjoy the mild atmosphere that the season brings. What with football games, bonfires, hayrides, pumpkin picking, camping, and of course the Fall Festival, there is no shortage of ways for friends to spend time together.

Have you ever wondered why we like to do things with friends? Think about it. None of the fun activities we like to do during the Fall require a friend to go with you. In fact, that is not just true of Fall events, but most events throughout the year. We don’t necessarily NEED other people to enjoy a football game, or a bonfire, or the Fall Festival. So why are those things so much better when we are accompanied by our friends? Why is a hard job more manageable when your co-workers are more like friends? Why is a vacation with others better than one by yourself? Why do we spend time with others on the weekend instead of just spending it alone? Seriously, think about it. Why do we care so much about other people?

The answer is that we are created as relational beings… it’s just a part of our DNA. From a biblical perspective we know that friendship is the foundation of any true relationship (Ecclesiastes 4; John 15). For a marriage to be a good one, the spouses must be friends. To purposefully befriend each other is the only way for siblings to get along. For one to know God, he must call Jesus his Lord and Savior, yes; but he must also call Him his friend. True friends don’t just spend time together. They sacrifice for each other, forgive each other, give accountability to each other, share their struggles with each other, enjoy life with each other, reach out to each other, include each other, pray for each other, correct each other, and are patient with each other. Jesus is the perfect friend. Before we ever cared about Him, He did all these things to and for us. His ultimate act of friendship was exactly what He said it would be, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). He was so committed to his broken, sinful, undeserving friends (that’s you and me too) that He died for them so that they could have life in Him. There is no better friend than Jesus. But all those who are friends with Jesus are becoming more like Him, even in the area of friendship.

All the things that friends do for each other can be done while at a football game, or roasting marshmallows around a campfire, or eating donut burgers at the Fall Fest. The question is, are we choosing to BE a friend, or do we just want others to be friends to us? Will we be like our best friend, Christ, or will we wait for others to reach out first. Be careful… you might end up waiting a long time. Thankfully Christ is always your friend, and He always reaches out to you first. My prayer is that we will be more like Him and intentionally pursue others the way He does!

Sincerely,
Brian Van Doren 

Student Ministry - September 2019

Dear Church Family,

As Pastor Nick recently shared from the pulpit, the gospel is something Christians should always try to give away to others. This is because it is the only source of life. That is what Christian ministry is all about, living according to the gospel and sharing the gospel with others. Ephesians 4:11-12 says, ^“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” We have many wonderful born-again students at our church, and this verse tells us that it is the responsibility of the church to equip them to live out their faith and reach people they know with the gospel. This is not just an adult calling… this is the Christian’s calling.

Therefore, this fall we will be starting a message series called GO! It will be broken into two main series subtitles: GO! Be a Disciple and GO! Make Disciples. These messages will be looking at Jesus’ call to His first disciples: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become    fishers of men.’” (Mark 1:17). We will expand on how the Bible instructs Middle and High Schoolers to follow Jesus in their context as well as how to help others begin to follow Christ. These are the two major aspects of being a Christian, and it is imperative that we help our    students live them out. Students need every encouragement they can get to faithfully follow Christ in a culture that is constantly trying to lure them away. They must see what it looks like to be a true disciple in this generation. They need biblical truth applied to their every-day experiences that will help them continue to keep Christ their priority! But it must not stop there. They also need help to see what it looks like to share their faith with their friends. Many people don’t share their faith because they don’t know how to. They haven’t really thought through what they should say or how to bring it up in a casual conversation. That’s why many students tend to keep their faith segmented from other parts of their lives.

Nowhere is that truer for a student than when they are with their unbelieving peers. In the peer-pressurized culture our students live in, it seems impossible to share your faith. And that is why students need to hear what the Bible has to say about this. If our students buy into the cultural practice of following the crowd and trends of the day, then they will be swayed by anything the world has to offer. But if they are committed to following Christ and being ready to share their faith, then they will be able to sway others to follow Him as well. Instead of trying to find fulfillment in what others have to offer, they will be the ones offering to those in need true fulfillment in the gospel. They will become the dragnet used by God to bring many others to Christ and into the church. Through them, God will “add to their number day by day.”

This is our goal, that our students would follow Christ daily and become “fishers of men” instead of followers of culture. Please pray for the Student Ministry this Fall, that God would use our students to “catch” many more students as they daily live out and share the gospel.

Sincerely,

Brian Van Doren