Student Ministries (6th-12th Grade) Overview
TEENS FOR CHRIST
We realize the choices students make will shape the direction of their lives. The majority of teens make two major choices during these years that directly affect everything else they do: First, they choose who their friends are. Second, they decide what role God will play in their lives.
We believe God cares about teenagers and wants them to make wise choices in all areas of their lives. We are committed to connecting teens with other Christian teens and helping them understand God’s desire to be involved in every facet of their lives. Our goal is to meet each student where they are at in their spiritual journey and encourage them to move one step closer to Christ.
In order to accomplish this we have designed a ministry with teens in mind. It is our prayer that God uses this ministry to reach teens with the gospel, connect them to other believing teens, help them grow in Christ, and equip them to serve the Body all to bring glory to our God.
What is its Purpose?
TBC Student Ministry exists to reach out to non-believers, connect students with other Christians, help them grow in their faith, and equip them to serve God with their lives.
There are four key words in this purpose: Reach, Connect, Grow, and Equip them to serve:
• Reach – Matthew 9:12-13 says “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick… for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Evangelism is not a program, it is a process – a process of a person modeling his or her transformed life to someone in need of God’s transformational grace.
• Connect – God desires for believers to be nurtured. Nurturing students means faithfully helping them grow in their relationship with God. The most substantial and measurable spiritual growth happens among students who have trustworthy, accountable, and healthy relationships with either an adult leader or a peer. Connectedness happens when students are known, cared for, held accountable, and encouraged in their spiritual journey.
• Grow – We encourage our students to develop habits that will prepare them for their long-term journey in the Christian faith. Our desire is to help students develop the habits, or spiritual disciplines, necessary to grow on their own when they are no longer in the youth ministry.
• Equip to Serve – Students can play a vital role in the body of Christ. Those who say “Our students are the church of tomorrow” are wrong. Our students are as much the church of today as anyone else. God does not put any age requirements on serving Him! Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us, “It is He who gave some to be apostles…some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Our students need to be serving in the body and using their gifts and abilities for God. A student who serves God in ministry will become an adult who serves God in ministry.