July 2008 Youth PresbyNotes

Unity of the Youth Group

Summer has come and is heating up! It has been exciting thus far as we find ourselves taking more and more steps towards authentic community. Knowing that there are many more steps to take, we have continued to dedicate ourselves to one another. With this said this a perfect time in the life of the youth group to step out and evaluate who we are, what we do and why we do it. That’s right, its time for us to begin to ask the tough questions.

Starting next week, July 8th, we will be meeting on Tuesday nights from 6:45-8:00 pm in the youth room where we will begin the discussion of what youth group is. We will gather around those elements that bring the church whole together the table, bath, our common story and time. These traditions will aid us and be our blue print for encountering and embracing Christ in our youth ministry. We will begin to learn and eventually base our youth ministry around these holy things: bath (Baptism), book (Bible), table (Eucharist) and time (Liturgical Calendar). Doing this will allow us to draw closer together and more importantly, draw nearer to God and gain better understanding of our baptismal vocations and how we should share life together.

Each week we will look at what is the foundation for our church, the 6 Great Ends of the Church. We will learn what each of them are and what they all represent. Once we have a better understanding, we will attempt to define for ourselves what our 6 Great Ends, or pillars, are for our youth ministry. Thus this study will shape our youth Sunday when we lead worship for our church on August 24th.

After four or five weeks of studying what these 6 Great Ends of the Church are, we are going to have a 24 hour get together where we then work together coming up with a new youth group name, purpose and vision. Why is this all so important you ask? Almost all organizations have a mission statement to express purpose and vision and it is time that we come up with one for our youth group. We will be discerning what we think the foundational purposes are for our group and know what it is we are called to do. To be the body of Christ is what we must learn to be, to function as a whole and to learn to love one another. For if we can’t love and welcome each other, how then can we welcome and love those who are strangers? Community centered on Christ while practicing the liturgical holy things; bath, book, table and time, will bring transformation, a radical transformation that can make a difference in the world. That is what we will learn to do.

Included in the New Testament are letters from the Apostle Paul to some of the early churches. Often times Paul was writing because the churches had wandered away from why the church was started. Paul would hand write letters to these churches and ask them what is happening to their church, reminding them of where they came from and aiding them in love to get back on the right path. May this opportunity for us be the same. May we begin to be vulnerable with each other, not being afraid of looking across the table to a fellow brother and sister and sharing our concerns and joys. As we embark on this journey together, may we hold tightly to Paul’s words to the church in Corinth, “Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done with love.”

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
My love to all of you in Christ Jesus!