Hey Friends! Check out everything that is happening this month!
Hey Friends! Check out everything that is happening this month!
SERVICE TIMES
Middle School Wednesday Night Hangouts
Wednesdays 6:30pm-8:00pm
High School Sunday Night Hangouts
Sundays 6pm-8pm
WHAT ARE WE TEACHING?
ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS WE WILL BE IN A SERIES CALLED How to Ruin Your Life.
No one plans for failure, but just in case you’d like your students to do so, here's How to Ruin Your Life. In this series, you’ll ironically explain how wisdom will always fail you by sharing 4 fires you can start from your phone (which is a brilliant message), 6 signs that you found the perfect cellmate, and 7 signs it’s time to say “bye” to bae.
ON SUNDAY NIGHTS WE WILL BE IN A SERIES CALLED Break it Down.
A four-week series on reading the Bible.
WEEK 1: The point of the Bible is to get to know God better.
WEEK 2: When you know the whole story, things make more sense.
WEEK 3: We read the Bible because God is in it.
WEEK 4: The Bible helps us see more clearly.
Events Coming Up
High School students come and hang out with us at ACC house for a bonfire. We will have s'mores and just a good time hanging out and talking, playing spike ball, playing 9-square. Bring your own lawn chair or you will be sitting on the ground!
Middle School students come and hang out with us at ACC house for a bonfire. We will have s'mores and just a good time hanging out and talking, playing spike ball, playing 9-square. Bring your own lawn chair or you will be sitting on the ground!
We all have a purpose in life, but fear often keeps us from fulfilling it. What if we could live as if we were fearless?
Throughout this retreat, students will discover how a personal relationship with Jesus makes this possible. Going through the story of Daniel and his friends, they’ll discover how fear appears in their lives and how God wants them to react to it. Students will be encouraged and challenged to boldly step out in their faith.
Cost is $130
There are many opportunities for your family to be the hands & feet of Jesus, and to get involved in making our city a better place to live.
DRIVE-THRU Clothing & Toiletry Items Drive (ACC Northside Campus)
Items will be donated to Crossfire Ministries and Mercy’s Gate
Saturday, September 19th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am
For Crossfire Ministries: new or gently used coats, hats, gloves, plus new underwear & socks
For Mercy’s Gate: deodorant, shaving stuff (razors, etc.), toothpaste & toothbrushes and diapers (sizes 1 – 4)
And, for the people wo missed the Saturday donation drive, they can drop off items on Sunday September 20th from 7:45 am to 11:00 am in thebins located at the picnic tables outside of the Activity Center doors.
ACC Be the Church EveryDay (BTCE), Friday and Saturday, September 18th & 19th
We will do signups online at this link: https://academychristian.org/btce
The projects will be listed very soon at this link, such as a yard work project, serve at Springs Food Pantry and help at ACC’s drive-thru clothing and toiletry items drive.
COSILoveYou CityServe Day: Saturday, October 3rd
Our ACC family is encouraged to serve at this city-wide outreach.
Sign up at this link: https://volunteer.cosiloveyou.com/communityservice
CityServe Day is a no-strings attached, city-wide day of service where “all are welcome to serve and be served.” The motivation is simple – when a city prospers, so do its people. Serve at schools, parks, local non- profit organizations, and neighborhoods, serving some of the most prominent needs in our city. COVID adjustments have been made.
Last year (2019): 4,100 volunteers served, 12,710 volunteer hours, 66 church partnerships, 186 project sites
3 Practical Tips to Help Care for a Teen with a Crisis of Faith.
Does your teenager suddenly ask questions about everything? Do you constantly hear sighs all around the house, and do you see eye rolls and now, especially, are they beginning to question their faith? If your teenagers are doing this, I want you to know that’s normal.
In adolescence, as the brain begins to change and develop, teenagers are growing and learning and discovering their interests and likes. And they’re also beginning to question everything which is part of how they develop- it’s developmentally appropriate. And so, as they begin to question their faith in particular, sometimes this can make parents feel very uncertain, insecure, and scared. And if so, that’s okay. That’s normal because that’s what every parent goes through as their child goes through adolescence to become the man or the woman God’s called them to be.
So I want to give you three tips today to help you as a parent, as a mom, a dad, a guardian, a caretaker. I want to give you three tips to help you create space and honor the relationship that’s occurring between your son and your daughter as they question, especially as they question the faith that they’ve been taught as a child.
So tip number one is to do something called “hold space.” Hold space is a term that means when your child begins to question something, and they’re asking, whether it be with logic or emotion, you listen without adding your emotion, your fears, your anger, your insecurities, your uncertainty. You hold space for them.
You think about the fact. Here’s a word picture- you’re standing on a big Euro pillow, and across the room is your son or daughter and they’re standing on their own Euro pillow. And what happens is they are learning how to question, because they need to decide for themselves. When the brain begins to change through puberty, they go from being able to understand concrete concepts to now abstract concepts. And so our faith has so many abstract concepts to it that they are beginning to question, to try and understand, and so this is a really good thing if they’re asking questions because they’re trying to discover it for themselves. And so you are able to continue a relationship with them if you hold space.
So let me give you an example. Let’s say you’re climbing into the car one day after church, and Sarah, your teenage daughter, gets in the car. And she says, “I just don’t know that I fully agree with what that pastor or that ministry leader had to say.” And rather than be like, “What are you talking about Sarah?”, or “Sarah!” rather than snapping or discouraging, begin to ask questions back. Like, “Tell me more, Sarah, what are you thinking? What is the part you disagree with? Are there any parts that you do agree with?” and you hold space and listen. That’s tip number one.
Tip number two. After Sarah gets out of the car, go spend some time processing your own feelings and emotions and thoughts and do that talking to God, because He says in Philippians Chapter Four, that, “Hey, when you worry, bring that to me. You don’t have to worry. You can bring it to me, turn it over into prayer request. Tell me what you need. Tell me what you fear. Tell me what you’re unsure about.” He requests that of us. He wants that of us because this is a part of His great love story. And so He wants to hear what’s going on inside of us. We’re not too much of a burden for Him. He wants to hear what we’re afraid of, what we feel uncertain about, so begin to talk to God about it, even if it feels so random. Maybe you’re driving on your commute, or maybe you’ve been working from home. Just take a break and spend some time and say, “Okay, God, I might not have talked to you in a really long time, but I need to tell you I’m afraid. Sarah’s beginning to do this, or she’s beginning to question that, or my son or my daughter is uncertain, and I don’t have the answers. What do I do?” Begin to talk to Him about it.
And the third tip is to find a trusted friend who can hold space for you because we’re not meant to live life alone. It’s very helpful to find someone who can listen to what you’re going through without projecting their emotions, or their thoughts, or their fears, on you. And so with these three practical tips- hold space for your son or daughter as they question, talk to God as you go all throughout your day about your fears and uncertainties, and find a trusted person to hold space for you. As you practice these three tips, you create a safe place, a safe space, for your son or daughter to work out their faith as they begin to make it their own.