Oasis Community Church(209) 324-7897

March Parent Newsletter

March Overview
Oh boy, 2023 has been a cold year - and I LOVE it! I hope you do as well. Hopefully there is more snow to come before spring warms everything up. It's already almost shorts weather. Anyway, I hope you are all doing well as we approach the next month of 2023 together.

February Highlights

In the month of February, I (Pastor Sam) was so elated to hear the great work God was doing while we were away in Austria for two weeks. It truly is a testament to our phenomenal leadership team that Sarah and myself were able to get away for a few weeks and rest comfortably knowing that God has placed some of the best youth workers a youth pastor could ask for in the lives of our youths.

We also had a student accept Jesus this past month! What a wonderful testimony to God's goodness, grace, and providence. Thank you so much for your prayers for the youth who attend. God is doing a great thing, and we are blessed immensely when we see visible and tangible progress!

March Prayers

Please join us in prayer through the month of March as we are praying for the following:

Rising Teen Anxiety - I will continue to keep this as a top prayer request. Study after study is showing that teen anxiety levels are dangerously high and common. Conversations with youth about their regular lives fairly often dip into conversations about the pressure and depression they feel in general. While there are several thoughts as to why teen anxiety is rising, we can be certain that prayer is a necessary part of the solution. So let's continue to pray together for the teens in our communities and their anxiety levels.

Lock-In - Be praying for our annual Lock-In event coming up on the 17th (event information is below)! The reason why we do events like this is to encourage our youth to invite their non-Christian friends and have a safe space for non-Christians to realize that our church welcomes them. Our motivation for these events is to further the gospel, and that is my deepest prayer for this event. But also be praying for our leaders - I am not at the age where all-nighters are as fun anymore! :`}
Sunday Morning Middle School
Wisdom from James

We will continuing through the book of James together as a group in Bible Study this month. I want to encourage each middle schooler to bring their own Bible to church on Sundays, so we can help them learn how to open up their Bibles and learn how to read God's Word on their own!

We may be moving from a circle discussion to a normal teaching style this month due to some difficulties in retaining focus, but the content through the book of James will remain consistent!
Youth Group
Decoding Jesus: Uncovering the Profound in the Parables

We are about 39 days until Easter, and in this time, we want to center our attention more on Jesus and His teachings. More specifically, we will be looking at the parables of Jesus throughout the gospels. Our main point in this series is to help students understand that Jesus spoke in parables so that we might think of Him as we think on them. I want to encourage you to read the parables with your kids and dive into the teachings of Jesus together as we approach Easter.

As always, if you are interested in the teaching content or curriculum for this series, reach out and let me know!
Upcoming Events
Lock-In
March 17 - March 189pm - 6amLOCATION: Oasis Community Church
Mark your calendars for our annual lock-in event (time is from 9pm-6am)! As a reminder, all students are required to have a current release form on file to attend. 2023 Release forms are required for students to attend this event. Grab your 2023 Release Forms in the Youth Room, on our website, or ask Pastor Sam for one. If you are interested in helping out at this event, please reach out and let me know. We would love all the help we can get, even if it's just for a few hours!
Middle School Summer Camp
July 10 - July 15LOCATION: Elevate Camp
We are so excited to be going back to Elevate Camp for Middle School this year!! Cost is $390. A $50 non refundable deposit can be turned in starting March 5th. Spots are limited and the camp fills up quick, so the sooner we know how many are going to camp, the more likely we will be to add more campers to our group. Registration is open this Sunday, March 5th. Fundraisers will be announced this month, so stay tuned for more info!
High School Summer Camp
July 24 - July 29LOCATION: Elevate Camp
We are so excited to be going to Elevate Camp for High School this year!! Cost is $390. A $50 non refundable deposit can be turned in starting March 5th. Spots are limited and the camp fills up quick, so the sooner we know how many are going to camp, the more likely we will be to add more campers to our group. Registration is open this Sunday, March 5th. Fundraisers will be announced this month, so stay tuned for more info!
Five Ideas for Communicating Christ to Your Kids
Jim Burns -President of HomeWord and Executive Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University
If you find it challenging to talk with your teen about God and spiritual issues, you are not alone. It's not that parents don't want to talk about faith with their kids, but rather that they don't know how to get started. Here are five practical suggestions to get faith conversations started in your home.

1. Be yourself. You don't need a seminary degree to talk to your kids about God. You don't have to speak like a pastor giving a sermon. Just be yourself in conversations with your teenager. Share your understanding of who God is and why He matters to you in a way that reflects the real you.

2. Don't limit your faith conversations to Sunday mornings. Don't get caught in the trap of compartmentalizing faith issues to certain days or times. Let you kids know that spiritual issues are important in your life all of the time! Don't go overboard, but make faith issues an ongoing discussion with your family.

3. Let your kids catch you in the act of doing something spiritual. Spending time alone with God is great, but how will they know about the value you place on spiritual disciplines if they never see you engaged in them? Let your kids "see" you involved in these disciplines. Your actions teach your teenagers much about your faith, and likely communicate more than your words.

4. Look for natural opportunities to engage in faith conversations. Be on the lookout for opportunities along the road of life where issues almost beg to be discussed in light of your Christian commitment and faith. Try utilizing news items and entertainment media sources as springboards for faith conversations.

5. See yourself as a "fellow-learner" rather than a teacher. Taking the posture of a "fellow-learner" takes much of the pressure off of you and sends the message that you don't claim to know everything about the Christian faith. It's truly healthy when your teen asks a faith question that you need to reply with, "I don't know the answer. Let's figure it out together."

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March Parent Newsletter

March Overview

Sunday Morning Middle School

Youth Group

Upcoming Events

Lock-In

Middle School Summer Camp

High School Summer Camp

Five Ideas for Communicating Christ to Your Kids