Update From Shepherds

In our continuing effort to keep you informed,  we want to update you regarding our current thinking about the congregation’s relationship with our teens and the staffing of that part of our work.  Over the past few years we have emphasized the obvious.  Parents have the primary responsibility for and the overwhelming influence on the spiritual development of young persons.  Thankfully, our teen parents have wholeheartedly agreed.  The congregation does have a role in that process, however. As you know,  one of our overarching hopes for us is that we will become a community with more and more intergenerational relationships.  This is particularly true for our teen members.  Because of the strong tendency of all of us to spend most of our time with others of our own age, however, this requires intentionality and significant staff time and effort.  As this relates to our teens we determined two difficulties this past spring.  First, our staffing plan at that time had not had sufficient time provide adequate mentoring for Jessica Sloan and Scott.  This was unfair to them and adversely affected their experience and effectiveness.  Second, we were unable to recruit a replacement for Jessica.  This possibly in large measure was the result of the sub optimum and undefined mentoring.

Given these difficulties we concluded that a more mature and experienced person who could focus on this area would be of great value.  Because of this, we asked Chris Dell  to consider a staff role focused on this area on a trial basis for a few months at half time status.  As most of you know, Chris has had years of experience in this area, great passion for God and teens, as well as a wonderful testimony to that passion in his children, Carissa, Harrison and Mallory.  This was to be a trial both for him and us.   This trial period is coming to a close at the end of the year as does Scott’s two years with us.

In light of all of this, we, and Chris,  are now in the process of assessment in order to make two  decisions.  First, does Chris want and do we want him  to continue in that role and at what level, that is, half time, full time or something in between?  Second, is their a significant continued need for a younger intern role like that provided by Jessica and Scott?  Ed Miller and Myron Mizell have met with and had other conversations with  Chris as well as the parent leaders,  Josh and Sharon  Zahn, Jeanette Graham and Rob Fridge.  They now, in turn, are seeking input from parents in this regard.  We will be making decisions in these matters over the next few weeks and will inform you promptly as they are made.

Activities

The ES youth group gets together most Sunday and Wednesday nights. On Sundays there is a variety of activities throughout the month...in-home devotionals, areawide events, & lifegroups. 

Lifegroups are made up of teens from the same grade level led by a non-youth group individual or couple (lifeguards). We love the idea of our teens being lead/mentored by a couple (other than me or their parents) all throughout their junior high and high school years. We believe this blesses their spiritual development as well as their experiences in community.  Through worship, personal testimonials, and small group discussion, spiritual formation takes place as they grow in their walk with Christ. 

Once each month we attend an "In-Home Devo" which brings us all to a family's home to eat, worship together, and encourage one another.  Many times this provides an inter-generational opportunity for our teens to learn from older members about life experiences and faith challenges. 

Periodically, we spend our Sundays doing service projects at Ozarks Food Harvest, Kids Against Hunger, or another local service organization.  Learning to give to others is a very important attribute of Jesus, one that we are intentional about in becoming more like Him. 

And did I mention, FUN?  There's no shortage of time to just hang out, spending time with those who care about us and encourage us to be better friends and servants to one another.  Climbing a mountain in CO, whitewater rafting in TN, doing mission work in Nicaragua...all of these opportunities challenge us to grow as individuals and strengthen us as Jesus' church to the next generation.  Come join us! 

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Recommended Links

Center for Parent/Youth Understanding

CPYU is committed to bridging the culture gap between parents and teens. This is an invauable resource for cultural information such as music, movies, tv shows, trends, slang, and much more. They feature book lists, recommended reading, seminars, a seasonal publication, articles compiled from all over the net, and an extensive set of extremely helpful links. MAKE THIS A FAVORITE!

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