Youth Parents Meeting Minutes

Hello parents!! Thank you very much to those of you who attended the Youth Parents Meeting!! Your input is very much appreciated in helping Pastor David and the Youth Leaders to better facilitate the Youth Ministry. Here is just a recap of many things that were discussed!

Sunday, October 27 - Youth Parents Meeting Minutes

David and Shaula's House

7:00 p.m.

- Fundraising event for a mission trip! It would be nice to see the youth get a little bit more involved in events such as mission trips. An example, the Winter Olympics 2010?

- Get youth more involved in ministries at the church, such as ushering, caroling, singing or playing in the band, etc.

- Keep praying for our own building... the youth group is growing bigger and bigger and soon there won't be enough space to hold Bible Studies at houses!

- Also with the growing number of youth, some ideas suggested is if parents can help with driving the youth to Bible Studies? There are not enough drivers/space for all the youth to be transported! Some ideas suggested were getting a church bus, or assigning certain drivers each week for certain areas of the city (ie. NE, NW drivers)

- We would like for parents to see what YC is like if possible!

- An idea for a parent/youth combined event is to go BOWLING! This will most likely be on a saturday for the best convenience, and David will give parents/youth notice before the event, which is TBA

- www.bridgecalgary.ca/youth --> The new youth website is more parent friendly! Everything is on one page, all you have to do is scroll down to see everything! Parents, please feel free to make comments underneath each blog posting (click on "comments"), or leave comments in the guestbook! We are always thinking of ways to make the website more interactive and easy to use. There will soon be some links to good websites regarding families and youth! Soon to come.

- Parents, your website is www.bridgecalgary.ca/youthparents (this one!) if you would like to bookmark it!

- Some fundraising ideas that we are thinking about are:

- Dinner theatre fundraiser

- Fashion show fundraiser

- Bottle drives, housework, etc.

- Thinking of doing something during Spring Break!

- Parent meetings will be held quarterly (every 3 months) for now. Another idea is every 2 months.

Thanks again parents!!

Senior High Ministry

Hey Parents!! Here is a great article for you to read!!! Very interesting article on Senior High teens. This section of the article was taken from the "Fuller Youth Institute" website. To view the entire article, please click on the link.

http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/2005/09/youth-ministry-in-an-age-of-delayed-adulthood/

Middle Adolescence (Senior High Ministry)

1. The importance of friendships. They've always been an important aspect of the high school world. But for middle adolescents—who live in a culture where adult systems have abandoned them to discover rules, norms, values, and lifestyle choices on their own—friends play a far more significant role in their lives than in previous decades. This is no longer about "cliques"—it's about tribal-like clusters of four to eight friends who're almost like family in each other's eyes. To attempt to break down a student's tribe is to misunderstand how important it is to that student. We must understand and honor the sociological reality of clusters. The days when friendships were simply cliques are long gone.

2. Family still matters, but in a different way. A common myth in youth ministry is that teenagers want to "separate" from their families during adolescence. This is an incomplete and possibly dangerous point of view. Kids don't want to leave their families behind, even if they sometimes say it. They long to find themselves and make their own decisions while still being connected to their families! This balance is delicate for the healthiest of families, and youth workers must work to help families during these times of struggle.

3. Huge swings in commitment levels are normal. Thirty years ago, when high school students made a commitment—to Christ, to friends, to church—that meant they could be trusted to at least attempt to fulfill the terms of that commitment. But today commitment is filled with exceptions, excuses, reasons, and blaming. It's not the idea of commitment that's changed—studies show that kids still know the basic definition of commitment—it's the application of commitment that's become extremely difficult for middle adolescents to handle.

This new phase of the adolescent journey is perhaps the most difficult, for the push and pull of being stuck between child and adult with no light at the end of the tunnel creates a moral desert for someone still so far removed from a clear sense of who they are. This is a time to learn from the swings—in emotion, in loyalties, and in commitments. Youth workers must allow middle adolescents to be middle adolescents, and not try to force them into superficial or feigned levels of premature commitment and responsibility.

4. The need for immediate perceived relevance in all aspects of the program. Because they are "middle," abstract teaching and concepts must be grounded in perceived reality and everyday experience. Teaching on sexuality, for instance, cannot only focus on the "wait" idea but also on the immediate consequences of violating God's plan for human sexuality. Practicing the essence of the Christian faith is the name of the game for this stage. Loving relationships, experiencing God through spiritual disciplines, serving the poor and oppressed—these are the most helpful ways to communicate the gospel to the middle adolescent.

5. Every kid needs an older friend/mentor. Because many kids today feel abandoned by adult systems and relationships, they need older friends. They do need guides, coaches, and teachers, but they need mentors without an agenda even more. They need people on whom they can rely, adults they can trust. Postmodern youth ministry must be marked by a vast number of adults who love kids one at a time!

Junior High Ministry

Hello Parents!! Here is part of an interesting article on "Youth Ministry in an age of Delayed Adulthood". The entire article can be read at the "Fuller Youth Institute" website. Maybe this can help out somehow!

http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/2005/09/youth-ministry-in-an-age-of-delayed-adulthood/

Early Adolescence (Junior High Ministry)

1. The importance of family. Because an early adolescent is more a child than an adult, the family still plays the major role of identification and security. Thus early adolescents are usually far more willing to participate in family-based activities and parent-child discussions than their older siblings—they even have parents (their own and others) as youth leaders. To the seasoned youth worker, this may not seem to be the case, but look deeper: Junior high has always been a tough time for kids, but today it's so threatening that adult presence and support is a godsend to kids. (And for the most part, they even recognize it.)

2. Safety, Priority #1. Ford Motor Company's slogan from a few years back absolutely defines the most vital need and desire of early adolescents. Youth ministry at this stage has less to do with how much fun the program is than how safe they feel. How we treat them from up front, what skits we use, how we choose small groups, how we handle rude outbursts or physical play—these are among the most important factors in creating a safe place to engage in the group experience.

3. Fitting in. Early adolescents have always been more concrete thinkers than their high school counterparts, but don't be hung up on this fact when it comes to teaching. To most early adolescents, the only thing that really matters is how they perceive themselves fitting in. This idea goes beyond safety to kids' sense of self in a strange and unfamiliar relational setting (the same goes for school, by the way). For example, when you teach about God's love one day, and the next sternly warn kids that they're not welcome if they can't behave, the message is lost.

come and join us!!!

Youth Rally Today!!!!

7:30 p.m.

Calgary Chinese Baptist Church

3907 44 Avenue NE

Come for an amazing experience!!

just a thought

Hello parents!! I found an interesting article on adolescent spirituality. Maybe it'll help provide insight! The entire article is actually REALLY long. This was taken from Youth Specialties (http://www.youthspecialties.com/). Enjoy!

To read the entire article, just visit:

www.youthspecialties.com/freeresources/articles/getting_results/adolescent.php

"Adolescent Spirituality, What Can We Expect?"

Expect spiritual starts and stops.

Spiritual development does not progress at a steady direction toward a pinnacle of maturity. Feelings of emptiness are a part of human existence, even on the spiritual journey. A young person may experience an emotional rush during the days, weeks, or even months following a new spiritual commitment, but eventually this energy dissipates and questions arise that may cause doubt. This process is natural. It is endemic to spiritual growth. A strong faith is not the result of avoiding questions, but of working with doubt.

Expect the need for healthy models.

Teenagers need models of vibrant spirituality whom they respect and in whom they have confidence. They need to see faith lived out in peers as well as in adults. Unhealthy models as spiritual authorities only compound the struggle. If young people lack a formative community of friends who share a common faith, they may have a difficult time developing a religious commitment.

Expect idealistic thinking that leads to criticism.
Because adolescents are so strongly idealistic, they easily suffer disillusion with and disappointment in the church. Yet no church can adequately fulfill every ideal of every person. Disappointed young people are bound to be critical of their religiously committed parents, their youth pastor, and their church. Their own difficulty in coping with temptations further contributes to their disillusionment. They may begin to think that the Christian life is impossible.

Expect a commitment to Christian community.
Teenagers have a powerful psychological need to belong—a longing that, for adolescents with a developing faith, can be channeled into the church. While all sorts of demands compete for teenagers' time, they respect a call of commitment to a group. Being held accountable by a group of caring peers, in fact, is exactly what many teens are looking for. A structure that is explicit and even costly (meaning that other activities may be missed) only adds to their desire to be part of something that really matters.

Expect a Christ-centered lifestyle.
We must be clear about one thing: adolescents can make a genuine and meaningful decision to accept Christ. While the ways in which they think and feel about their faith may be different than in an adult faith—and while they are inclined to live out the principles of faith differently—there is no need to doubt that adolescents can make a decision to live a Christ-centered life.