We had such an AMAZING time at Friendsgiving. We had over 125 students gathered together sharing a meal with one another. Students did an amazing job inviting friends. If your student missed out, they definitely want to mark their calendars for next years.
No Student Programming on Wednesday December 25 or January 1st we will be Kicking Back off next semester on January 8th.
We are kicking off a Christmas Series December 1st called KING. This series is about the three gifts that the wisemen brought to Jesus and what they represent about his ministry. On December 29th we will be inviting students to engage downstairs with us for service because we are taking over the service. It will be a student/young adult controlled service where our worship team will play and we will engage with the rest of the congregation.
Wednesday, December 18 7:00-8:30 MS and HS students join us for a Christmas Party! We will be playing games, enjoying Christmas treats, and giving out prizes throughout the night. Students can look forward to the Saran Wrap ball of prizes and goodies, hot chocolate, and more!
Snowbound is our middle school winter retreat. Early Bird Pricing is almost over. In order to get early bird pricing sign up and get a $50 deposit by December 9th. The weekend features games, relevant teaching, crazy fun experiences, and amazing worship.This is an event your middle schooler will not want to miss. The theme this year is Samson - discovering God's strength in spite of our weakness. We only have around 35 spots, so you will want to get your middle schooler signed up quickly! This would be an awesome Christmas present or gift for your middle schooler. Our team truly believes this event will impact your student in incredible ways and will be an experience they remember forever. We will be doing and Early Bird pricing, Regular Registration pricing, and Late Registration pricing. $50 deposit guarantees your spot and pricing. Sign up here.
Everyone needs a little help and training! We all can become better. As a student ministry we want to partner with you and resource you in the best way possible in order to meet the needs of your student, help facilitate great conversations with your students, and keep you up to date with culture and what problems and issues your student may be facing. We are starting up parent academy meetings on Jan. 15. These meetings will be training, where even sometimes an expert guest speaker may come in to share about things going on in youth culture to equip you as parents. You definitely do not want to miss these trainings.
Our First Meeting will be January 15th 7:00-8:30 p.m. (same time as Wednesday Night Programming at the church)
From the silly to the sentimental, traditions create meaningful memories for your family. They provide opportunities to build your family legacy as your children grow up. But sometimes, families get in a rut with traditions, never experimenting to see if new traditions might add some new spice to your family life.
Christmas is a great time to try some new ideas. You just may create a new traditions that will continue for generations! Consider the following:
1. Start traditions with Christmas Eve/Christmas Day meals. For example, at the Burns' home, it's always Chinese food on Christmas Eve.
2. Try a family version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. First, decide on a friend, relative, or neighbor who will receive all of the "gifts." Then, create a unique gift for each day of the carol, (example: five golden rings could be five glazed donuts) and place the gifts each day on the recipient's front porch.
3. Visit a Nursing Home. There are typically a lot of lonely people living in nursing homes. These people can be especially lonely during the Christmas season. Prepare some Christmas cookies and take your family to visit nursing home residents -- spreading the love of Jesus to sick or elderly people. (Be sure to check with the nursing home in advance to make sure it is okay to drop by and deliver Christmas cookies.)
4. Celebrate your family's ethnic heritage(s). During the Christmas season, prepare a family meal(s) that celebrate your family's ethnic heritage. This is a great way to expose your kids to your family roots -- especially if you don't regularly focus on this throughout the year.
5. Letters to Jesus. Before opening your Christmas presents, write thank-you letters to Jesus. Collect them and make them available every Christmas. Keep adding new letters annually. Here's one rule to make this tradition work well: family members can only read the thank-you letters they have written.