Hey there Parents and Volunteers!
This is a very special edition of our update as we are marking the end of a school year, but also the beginning of a whole new era for Youth Ministry at New Hope. Please read through everything below so you can understand more.
After arriving at New Hope last year I spent a significant amount of time talking with the youth volunteers and church elders about our ultimate goal regarding teenagers, and a clear and collective decision was made. It's our desire to make life-long disciples, not just being hearers of God's Word, but doers (James 1:22).
Now that is only the "WHAT" but as for "HOW" is a different question entirely.
New Hope Christian Church holds four values over everything else...
- BIBLICAL AUTHORITY (We look to God's Word as the ultimate source of truth)
- SPIRITUAL GROWTH (We must mature as disciples of Christ)
- HOPE IN JESUS (We want to spread the Good News to those around us)
- HEALTHY FAMILIES (We look to foster Christ-centered families)
As part of my job I knew we needed to include these elements in our Wednesday night program for youth so we...
- Read directly from the Bible each week
- Put teens in small groups with Youth Coaches to discuss real-life applications
- Organize monthly service projects outside of our gathering
- Share review questions and resources with parents so they can be involved as their child's chief spiritual influence
These actions have gone over extremely well this year, and we look forward to seeing the long-term fruit this will bring, but there was one piece left that needed tweaking.
When you have a mission, sometimes it helps to invoke an image or word in order to make it easy for others to know what you are about. Over a decade ago, someone had chosen such a word to name the youth group: Collide. This was fine for the time, but today it isn't something that matches our mission, nor can anyone actually say what it means.
It is for this reason that a small rebranding is happening this summer. Because we want students not only to engage with each other but also God’s Word, their youth coaches, the world around them, and their families, we are now calling our Wednesday program ENGAGE.
It's a small change (a matter more of verbiage and a couple of signs), but we believe it's one that has purpose and will help us lead teens to our goal.
I would also like to clarify that this is just the name of our Wednesday night gathering. New Hope Youth Ministries as a whole contains multiple elements such as a variety of Sunday Schools, summer camps, and obviously our weekly gathering, but the name Engage does not apply to all of them. This is just something we thought best to clarify so when communicating in the future nobody gets confused.
We are really excited about this next phase, but before you start seeing things change we wanted you to know the "WHY" behind it all so you can be excited about it too.
Now let us tell you about our next step at engaging with students...
It's a party to welcome the new incoming 6th graders in the Youth Room!
We will be enjoying Dirk's famous trash-can milkshake show and giving away some new ENGAGE swag for those that complete our lego brick fire walk!
This is our first Wednesday night back from the break we are currently on, so don't miss out on all the fun we are going to have to make up for several weeks off!
For details on all our other summer activities check out this calendar below. You can also grab a copy of the full-sized poster at church down in the Youth Room.
God wanted worship to be at the center of the Israelites’ lives. He provided detailed instructions for constructing the tabernacle and its furnishings. The animal sacrifices performed in the tabernacle pointed to the final sacrifice God would provide to take away sins—Jesus.
Exodus 25:8–9, 27:1–2, 30:17–19, 25:17–18, 28:4, 40:34–38; Hebrews 10:11–14
Students will be able to:
Review Questions
1. What was the place of worship God instructed the Israelites to build in the center of their camp? The tabernacle.
2. How was the tabernacle area “set apart” from the camp? A fence surrounded it.
3. What were animals sacrificed on in the courtyard of the tabernacle? Bronze altar.
4. What other item was in the courtyard so the priests could wash? Bronze basin.
5. What were the two rooms in the tent of meeting called? The holy place and the most holy place.
6. What separated the two rooms? A veil.
7. What item was used for light in the holy place? Golden lampstand.
8. What was placed on the table in the holy place every Sabbath? Twelve loaves of bread.
9. What did the showbread remind the people of? How God had provided manna in the wilderness.
10. What was kept burning on the altar of incense? Sweet-smelling spices.
11. What did God tell Moses to add to furnishings including the altar of incense and the table of showbread to make them easy to carry? Rings for poles.
12. What kind of wood was used for many of the tabernacle’s furnishings? Acacia wood.
13. What special item was in the most holy place? Ark of the covenant.
14. What was carved over the mercy seat on the ark? Cherubim. Angels. Heavenly beings.
15. Who was allowed into the most holy place? The high priest.
16. How often did the high priest enter the most holy place? Once a year.
17. Who was the first high priest? Aaron.
18. The animals sacrificed by the priests were a picture of what final sacrifice God would send? Jesus.
19. What did God send down on the tent of meeting in the tabernacle when the people finished building everything he had commanded them to build? His cloud. His presence. His glory.
For those who have a teen going on our Kansas City trip this summer we have a mandatory meeting (for parents and youth) to cover all our travel plans, expectations, and final details about the trip you may have questions about.
This meeting will likely not last until 8:00.
We hope this update has been helpful. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the information in this newsletter, or how you can become involved.
Thanks for loving our teenagers!
Kyle Creel
Family Pastor
New Hope Christian Church
217-317-0707