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OCF Church@yoyoyocf
MSM - September 2022
Letter from MSM
Dear MSM Parents,
Welcome to our September Newsletter! In the beginning of each month we send out all the information that is going on within YOCF. Make sure to stay connected to our instagram @yoyoyocf for updates! Check out down below our plans for the coming weeks and the ways we will be connecting with each other, daily, weekly, and upcoming events!
Our Middle School students meet together during our second service. They will start over in the main service for the first set of worship, but will head on out at the end to the youth room for their own message. Our teaching lines up with the same passages that are being taught in the main service. Starting Sept 18th we will be teaching on Matthew. On Communion Sunday (4th Sunday of the month) we do not have youth group & we encourage families to sit and enjoy Communion together. Students will be in service Sept 11th and there will be no yocf that Sunday morning.
Wednesday night youth group is back starting September 7th! We start at 6pm with games followed by a message, small group time, and wrap up at 7:30pm.
For this year our focus will be on Worship. Please join me in praying for students to cultivate hearts of worship as they continue to grow into the followers that Christ has called them to be. "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name" (Hebrews 13:15).
With Much Love,
YOCF Staff
SCHEDULE & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Fall Calendar
September
4th: Fall Kickoff @5pm-7pm
7th: Youth Group Starts @6pm-7:30pm (Word, Worship, One Another, Others series starts)
11th: No YOCF (Middle school in for Service on Worship)
18th: Matthew Series Start Sunday Mornings
25th: No YOCF (Communion Sunday)
October
5th: One Off Teaching (SOAP, FIRE, ACTS: Developing a healthy spiritual life)
12th: I Wonder Series Starts
23rd: No YOCF (Communion Sunday)
November
2nd: One Off Teaching (A Conversation About Bullying)
13th: No YOCF (Haven Sunday)
16th: Fall Event (More info to come)
23rd: No YOCF (Thanksgiving Break)
27th: No YOCF (Communion Sunday/ Advent Series Starts)
30th: Messy Christmas Series Starts
December
14th: Christmas Party (Last YOCF of the year)
21st: No YOCF (Christmas Break)
25th: No YOCF (Christmas)
28th: No YOCF (Christmas Break)
We had our first student lead worship night of the year & our last summer event. Worship will be our focus for the year with more student led worship nights to come!- Come join us to hear the vision for YOCF in this next school year. This is a great opportunity for students to meet one another, meet their leaders, and for parents to meet one another. Dinner will be served.
Sunday Morning Youth Group
Every Sunday morning during the 10:45am service we will have a youth service during the teaching portion of the service. Middle school students will start in the main service through the first set of worship. Once worship ends and during announcements they will come over to the youth room for their own teaching of the same series. Through the Fall we will be going through Matthew.
On the 4th Sunday of the month is Communion Sunday meaning no YOCF
Students will be in service for September 11th, there will be no YOCF that morning
Wednesday Night Youth Group
Every Wednesday night starting on September 7th we will be having our mid-week youth group program at 6pm at OCF. We will start off with games followed by a message, break off into small groups, and pick up is at 7:30pm. We will be going through a series on Word, Worship, One Another, Others this month.
3 Simple Parenting Tips You Don't Typically Hear
Jonathan McKee -at TheSource4Parents.comAs a parenting author, I've seen hundreds of parenting books and read countless articles. Often, they are echoing the same principles. I'm not knocking it... I've written numerous articles about the biggies that parents often neglect, like spending more time with your kids. But here are 3 tips you don't typically hear:
1. Wanna be a good dad? Then be a good husband first.
Want your kids to feel safe, loved and valued? Then work on your marriage. We're seeing more research emerging about one of the best predictors of cognitive success being emotional stability of the home environment. Bioengineering expert Dr. John Medina said it like this, "Do you want to know how to get your kid into Harvard? Go home and love your wife."
It's this simple. When our kids are young, they are searching for clues in their home to see if they are safe. "Children look to their parents and the relationship they have with each other to assess whether that's true or not," Medina says.
2. No Rules by 17 1/2
Most people would agree toddlers need a lot of guidance. If your 2-year-old starts heading for the road when a semi-truck is coming... not many dads would say, "Leave him be. He'll learn!" At the opposite end of the spectrum, everyone knows when our teens turn 18, they can legally move out and do whatever they want. The tricky part for parents is that time in between. How much guidance and control do we assert, especially in those teenage years?
The answer is "a segue." Start with heavy guidance and slowly segue towards less control, with a goal of "no rules by 17 1/2." Sure, you could wait until 18... but why? Why not have them totally free while still under the safety of your shadow?
I tried this principle with my oldest daughter, starting with realistic guardrails, then giving more trust over the years, and eventually parenting our 17-year-old like an 18-year-old. She is 18-years-old and on her own now... and it's really no big deal. She's been making decisions for a while now.
3. Real Life Reality Shows
Parents are always looking for teaching moments. When real life hardships appear, don't be scared to talk about what you experienced. If your sister is getting a divorce, ask your teenagers what they think. What can they learn from the situation?
Real life isn't always a huge crisis. Yesterday I was driving down the road and came upon a lady trying to back her boat into a driveway... and it became quickly and painfully obvious she didn't know how to back a trailer. Cars began lining up and honking. I pulled over, walked over to her with a smile and asked, "Would you like some help?" She happily got out of the car and let me take a crack at it. Moments like these are fun to dialogue about with your kids. Don't lecture, just ask questions: "Why do you think people were so upset with her?" "How should people respond when they see someone struggling like that?" "What are ways we can show love to people in stressful situations?" "How could you help someone in need?"
Look for these real life discussion moments, or even watch entertainment together that springboards discussion about real life.