CHURCH

Every once in a while I get the question... "is REALife ever going to switch times to meet during the adult services?" This is a great question, and let me let you know my thoughts on this...

Having our high school service along side of our adult weekend services would be like killing two birds with one stone right? I mean that would make things so easy. The adults get their service and the students get their service and there's no more driving back to the church to get kids to REALife. While I understand that simultaneous services would make things easier on family's schedules I believe there is far more benefits to our current situation, and here's a big reason why:

I highly encourage you to attend weekend services as a family. High school students are at a place where they can really relate to adult issues, and those issues are actually a big part of their lives. Just think of the topics pastor Jim covered this past month... anger, patience, perseverance, favoritism, and making our faith a part of our lives. In my opinion every high school student needs to hear about these topics. And it is so highly beneficial for the family to attend together. This allows for faith based conversations to more easily flow through the family and provide more opportunities for family unity (not only attending together, but possibly serving at a service together, eating a meal together before or after the service, etc.).

So what, if any, is the value of students also attending REALife if they already attend an adult weekend service? Great question. There are several aspects to our REALife services that I feel are highly beneficial for the life of a high school student. Let me address a few of them here:

(1) Our content is directly relevant to high school life. All sermons and content of the service is designed with a high school student in mind. We try to get into their world and show them that God can be a part of it.
(2) Our ministry is highly relational. We have 20+ adult leaders who are connecting with students to help them relate faith to their lives, discuss the issues they deal with, and show them God's love. Students thrive on these relationships, and are the way they best grow in their faith.
(3) Our services aim to foster an authentic sense of Christian community among high school students. Students need to know they are not alone. They need to see that there are other high school students who believe in Jesus, who struggle with tough issues, and who are just searching for answers. We hope to provide that community where students can connect with other students in a safe and welcoming environment.
(4) Our REALife service gives the students an avenue to practice outreach on their own. We challenge our students to tell their friend about Jesus and invite them to REALife. This is so beneficial for their faith now, but also helps give them practice for when they move on to college and beyond and need to know what it's like to grow in their faith without parental supervision.

So, I just wanted to put it out there. There is so much value to attending services as a family, and there is so much value in encouraging high school students to attend REALife to better help them learn how to grow in their faith for when they move on to be on their own. Please feel free to email me with any other questions related to this. Have a great day.