Student Ministry Update

A lot has happened since I joined Generation LINK staff at Crosspoint in August, and it's been great to see God working even in these past 2 months. I am one of 3 G-Linkers working specifically with 6th - 12th grade students under our Student Minister, Josh Jones. I've had the privilege of serving with this ministry for the past 2 years as a small group leader and a SummerLINKer for 2 summers, and now, I am in this new position of leading these students, specifically middle schoolers, in a greater capacity than when I was only a small group leader for some of the middle school guys, and God is continually sanctifying me and helping me grow as a teacher, mentor, and leader.

We kicked off the school year with our weekly Sunday night meeting that we call "Awaken." This is more of a large-group teaching time in which we worship together, and then usually split into middle school and high school to have our lesson in order to tailor the message to the students' age. I am one of the teachers for middle school, along with a few other leaders, and I've seen a lot of these students really get involved in the discussion questions and dive deeper than I thought was possible for that age group. We're going through a new curriculum called "The Gospel Project" which is basically going over the Bible as a whole and showing how it all points towards Christ and the Gospel. We want the students to see God's Word as a meta-narrative - 1 book instead of 66 separate books, and how it all fits together, has authority, meaning, and purpose. Please pray that the students would continue to be more and more receptive to the teaching and that they would continue growing spiritually.

We've also been meeting on Wednesday nights which we call "Equip." We meet in host homes - high school at one house and middle school at another, and the format is based more on small groups and Bible study in a more casual atmosphere. The high schoolers are going through the sermons that we hear on Sundays and dissecting the Scripture further and discussing application of it to their lives. The middle schoolers are studying "The Life" which is a study of who God is. It's been good to give them this basic foundation of our faith and to help them learn more about topics such as the Trinity, why Jesus had to die, how we have the Holy Spirit, etc. Discussion has been great, and I pray that it will continue to get even better.

We also took a trip on Labor Day this year to go tubing down a river in Helen, GA. This was a great time of fellowship for our whole youth group, and also was great for our 6th graders to get to know other students in the group since this was one of their first opportunities to go on a trip with the student ministry, and they had not been with us very long.

Also, we are about to go on our annual Student Ministry Fall Retreat to Camp McCall in Sunset, SC. We have more than 50 students and leaders going, and it will be a great time of worship and teaching under our guest speaker, Tracy Turner. He is teaching off of the theme of the weekend, "SIMPLE."

The theme is designed to show that the command God gives us to make disciples is simple; it's just a matter of obedience. Other topics will also be discussed and the Gospel will be preached. We put a lot of finishing touches on the planning of the weekend today, and we are all pumped for this weekend and praying that our students take this weekend seriously and seek after God. 

Please pray for this weekend and our students - that God would take hold of their hearts and that they would truly be His disciples and find their identity in Him alone.

Posted by: Josh Dorrity

Serving with the Student Ministry.

Over the next few weeks I will be part of a team that teaches our youth about biblical relationships.  This is somewhat overwhelming and certainly humbling.  I am grateful for the opportunity to speak truth into the lives of teenagers at Crosspoint Church through Generation Link.  Take a look at the post from the Crosspoint student ministry blog about the upcoming series.

The past few weeks have been busy for the student ministry as well.  During their spring break Caroline Cole and myself were able to get out of the office to invest in students while they were out of school for the week.  Ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and an orphanage outreach kept us busy.  That week proved very valuable in deepening of relationships with our students.

post by Will Jackson

Fall Getaway and Christian Leadership

Fall is the season of harvest.  We have been able to see God move in big ways already this semester.  A few weeks ago we ventured to Camp McCall with college, high school, and middle school students for Fall Getaway.  It was a great time of worship, sound biblical teaching, and community.  My favorite aspect was perhaps the first partnership between Crosspoint Church’s college and youth ministries for Fall Getaway.  It was such a beautiful picture of the church. Different walks of life were present and interacting with one another.  Yet the common denominator is Christ.  I look back on when I was in middle school and remember how having the Godly example of older students was such a motivation. 

 

I hope our younger students came back feeling encouraged and empowered to hit their schools with the gospel.  We can celebrate in seeing God work in the lives of the students as a result of the weekend.  One student came back saying, “For the first time, I trusted in Jesus.”  Praise be to Him.

            Another highlight of the fall semester for our team has taken place in the classroom.  On Tuesday mornings we meet for seminary training led by our pastors and other leaders in the church.  We are studying the principles of Christian leadership.  Most of our discussion is focused on figures in Scripture who provide great examples of biblical leadership.  So far we have looked at Hezekiah, who returned the focus and priority of Israel to God, Jeremiah, who led in spite of his self proclaimed inadequacy, David, who turned to God amidst trials and suffering, and Paul, who gained the respect of those who were imprisoning him by standing firm in times of fear.  This class has been both encouraging and challenging.  We are all leaders in some capacity at Crosspoint, and will most likely continue to lead in other areas of life in the future. I am looking forward to being challenged and stretched further in my understanding of what it means to be a leader.

Written by Will Jackson

Student Ministry Mother-Daughter Tea

A few weeks ago, the student ministry hosted a mother-daughter tea.  Jane Herlong, former Ms. South Carolina and motivational humorist, entertained us to begin the brunch.  Ashley Jones ended our time by speaking about what God’s Word says about conflict and popular issues in a mother-daughter relationship.  It was a sweet time of fellowship and good teaching!

Student Ministry Girls' Lock-In

Posted by: Caroline

This past weekend, the student ministry held a girls lock-in at the church. Overall, it was a great night with little sleep! Amy Chasteen was able to share her testimony along with a clear presentation of the Gospel. The girls also had the chance to hear the testimonies of Leslie Mansfield, Lauren Pippen, and Savannah Stone as well. They were challenged to place their identity in Christ and to find their worth and beauty reflected from God’s word, not the world. We also had fun times playing sardines in the dark around the church, having a Project Runway competition, dancing, and decorating journals.

I was reminded at the beginning of the semester that the last thing we desire as a student ministry is to be a social club for the students. While that seems obvious, it can be easy to get caught up in making sure that the students are having fun, while failing to be intentional with the gospel at every event. Therefore, when planning the lock in, I wanted to make sure it was more than just a night of fun activities. The ladies who spoke throughout the night were faithful to proclaim God’s truth and point the girls to Christ as they testified of God’s grace in their lives. I’m so thankful for the speakers and their willingness to sacrifice a little sleep because I know that the Lord used them in a big way!

Thanks to everyone for your continual prayers for the students at CrossPoint and the work we do with the student ministry!

Enjoy some pictures from the night…

 

Student Ministry Fall Retreat

A few weeks ago, our student ministry had a fall retreat that was also at Camp McCall. We took around 45 students and 15 leaders. The weekend included three sessions of teaching, low ropes activities with small groups, capture the flag (along with other games), and a bon fire with smores to end the weekend. We had so much fun!
It was a great time of fellowship and learning for everyone. It’s trips like these where relationships between leaders and students are strengthened which is huge when it comes to our small group times on Sunday nights, and the level of impact we will have as we pour into them and point them to the Word. These trips are also extremely beneficial for the students as they make new friends to feel more included in the youth group, and grow closer to each other. When they grow closer as friends it’s also very beneficial to the effectiveness of their small group times as they hopefully feel more comfortable sharing with one another what’s going on in their lives.
Doug Hunt taught on authentic faith and what that looks like lived out in our lives. The sessions were a great reminder of the beauty of the Gospel. One student confessed to his leader his brokenness over his sinful state, and they got to go through the gospel together. Afterwards, he prayed to surrender his life to Christ. That is why we do what we do as a student ministry, so it makes all the planning and serving for the weekend even that much sweeter!
Overall, it was a great trip! Enjoy a few pictures!