Stillnaz Youth Family Update 7/19
Hey SNY Families,
Thank you for your prayer support over the last weeks! God has been moving powerfully in our youth ministry, and I can sense that is no doubt influenced by the faithful prayer partners we have. I am so grateful to serve a God who can move mountains, than can call dry bones back to life, and with a word spark new things into existence! It is so cool to have a front row seat to see that God at work in your families. Please continue to join me in prayer for our teen camp next week, and for the rest of our summer. The new school year is fast approaching and my prayer as a pastor is that our families would have full buckets of rested children and parents walking joyfully into this next season. Many of our schedules have been full over the past months, so I encourage you to find some special time to slow down and relax as a family, perhaps unplug from the devices and just rest is the presence of our loving Father.
Please check out the dates below with an extra emphasis on the Family Night/Back to School Bash and Fall Retreat to make sure they’re on your radar and calendar! :) We are also starting a new series “Please Explain” where we are talking about some of Jesus’ parables and what they mean for us today.
Grace and Peace,
-Pastor Chris
Upcoming Events
July 24-28: District Teen Camp (Reg Closed)
Teen camp attendees, drop-off is 10am at the back of the church on Monday 7/24. Please pack a lunch or eat prior to arrival as the only meal provided on Monday will be dinner.
July 25: Ignite
Many of our youth and some youth workers will be at teen camp this night, but we will still be hosting our regular youth group at the regular time!
7/30: Family Worship Service- Rise Against Hunger
It’s our family 5th Sunday at the end of the month, so we will not have Sunday School , and we will only have kids ministry for under 2 y/o’s. We will also be hosting another Rise Against Hunger service project, teens who wish to help set up for that can meet during the 10:30 worship service to help set up. Find Pastor Chris for details on how to get involved.
Aug 13: Backpack blessing
We want our teens and kiddos to bring their backpacks to church so that we can bless them as they enter the new school year!
Aug 22: Back to School Bash- Family Night
We will celebrate the end of summer and welcome in the fall semester. It will also be a family night, so plan to bring your elementary aged kiddos for games and for parents to join us for a parent cohort! 7-9pm
Sept 8-10: Fall Retreat
Cost: $50
Includes all meals and a Tshirt
We have a student-supplied snack shack, so bring a case of snacks to share!
Registration Deadline is 8/22
Fall Retreat is an awesome event where we get to stay in cabins, go on hikes, play games, and we even bring in A Day Awaits to lead worship for us that weekend. We ask students to leave their phones at home or with a leader for the weekend (cell service isn't very good there anyway) to unplug from the noise of the world and connect with God and other teens.
Register for Fall Retreat Here
Current Teaching
PLEASE EXPLAIN: A 4-WEEK STUDY FROM THE GOSPELS ON JESUS
SERIES OVERVIEW:
Some things are hard to understand — like chemistry, verb conjugations, the blockchain, or why your friend is mad at you. When we face a problem, situation, or idea we’re struggling to understand, it always helps to know someone we trust can explain it to us. When Jesus was here on earth, he spent a lot of time helping his followers understand some pretty hard-to-understand ideas about God. One of the ways Jesus often made complicated ideas simpler was by explaining them through stories and metaphors, which we call parables. In this four-week series from the Gospels, we’ll explore four of the parables Jesus told his followers to explain four important truths about God. These parables help us see that God's words are a firm foundation, in God’s kingdom, everyone belongs, God’s words invite a response, and that God’s kingdom is always growing.