Youth

At Grace Church, we ask parents, who serve as the daily mentors and primary disciplers of their children, to value the importance of family worship as the church comes alongside them to support, encourage, and assist in raising godly young people. When we use the term “Youth Ministry”, we want to draw a distinction from a “youth group.” A “youth group” suggests an isolated collection of young people primarily made up of children of the adult membership who are occupied by activities under the direction of a “Youth Pastor” while the parents do the “real” ministry of the church. By “Youth Ministry”, we mean a focus on the entire family where young adults are an integral part of the life and outreach of the church.

We want to develop leaders, and to do so, youth must be involved in every facet of church ministry if we truly expect to pass the baton of leadership to the next generation. Passing a baton requires both parties traveling at similar speeds in the same direction. This imagery represents well our desire as a church to not only develop teens, but also those who are young in their faith to be mature, Christ-honoring believers.

We refer to our Youth Ministry as “TEAM”, which summarizes the four steps in developing leaders:

• Training – simply watching how a teacher does it.
• Equipping – student assists teacher in practicing some aspect of training
• Action – student takes the lead while the teacher observes, gives advice, and corrects.
• Mentoring – individuals can teach what they have learned to others on their own.

This also highlights the teamwork between adults and students, and church and families, that we believe necessary to grow teens for Christ. TEAM primarily meets on Sunday nights for youth who are 12 years old by September 1 (the beginning of the church educational year). We provide opportunities for service and ministry under the direction of adult leaders, providing a team-based approach to ministry where the older are investing in the younger to practically apply doctrine and Biblical principles with the intent of seeing belief turn into behavior (James 2:26). As part of our vision to be God honoring families in a God honoring church, our youth ministry seeks to make an impact for Christ in our homes, community, and around the world through service and outreach.

Here is a document describing our Philosophy on Youth Ministry.