God has been doing a mighty work in and through our youth here at Good News, and if you weren’t there to see it, I wanted to be sure to share with you a little summary of this past year, so you can celebrate with us!
“Come and see the wonders of God; His acts for humanity are awe-inspiring.” (Psalm 66:5)
Good News Youth is for students 6th-12th grade. We meet on most Wednesday nights during the school year for snacks, games, worship songs led by our own youth band, a time of Bible teaching, and then breaking out into age groups for discussion and prayer. This past semester we have been in a deep study of the book of James. Our students have learned about the value of not just hearing God’s Word, but doing what it says. We learned how to face trials and temptations, how our faith is evident in how we live our lives, and how important it is to tame the tongue. We studied submission to God’s will and how to seek out what His will is. We talked about how to resist the devil, how to ask God for wisdom, how to pray with faith and trust God to answer our prayers according to His will.
One amazing part of our study in James was a weekly challenge to memorize each upcoming section of verses. We had two young ladies who memorized nearly the entire book of James, reciting it to the group section by section each week. We had t-shirts made for them and celebrated this accomplishment at the end of the semester.
Another favorite thing we do at Good News Youth is Senior Night. On the last regular night of the semester, we invite all graduating seniors to participate in a Q&A panel to share their experiences/wisdom/encouragement with their friends. They answered questions like what are your plans for the future, how can we continue to pray for you, and what one thing would you tell your friends here before you exit out of youth group? Then we all gathered around the seniors to pray for them, in the New Testament way of sending them out.
These prayers were precious and powerful! And here are some of the encouraging things shared by our seniors that night:
One amazing part of our study in James was a weekly challenge to memorize each upcoming section of verses. We had two young ladies who memorized nearly the entire book of James, reciting it to the group section by section each week. We had t-shirts made for them and celebrated this accomplishment at the end of the semester.
Another favorite thing we do at Good News Youth is Senior Night. On the last regular night of the semester, we invite all graduating seniors to participate in a Q&A panel to share their experiences/wisdom/encouragement with their friends. They answered questions like what are your plans for the future, how can we continue to pray for you, and what one thing would you tell your friends here before you exit out of youth group? Then we all gathered around the seniors to pray for them, in the New Testament way of sending them out.
These prayers were precious and powerful! And here are some of the encouraging things shared by our seniors that night:
- “You’re never going to be less busy than you are right now, so make sure you make time for Jesus now.”
- “The Lord has shown me He is the only One I really need.”
- “I know that no matter what I choose, God has me.”
- “There’s no relationship without communication, and prayer is your communication. [God] wants to hear from you.”
- “Make sure you don’t grow lukewarm in your faith.”
- “Doing the right thing is going to be hard. But you can do it, and with God you WILL do it.”
- “Confide in your parents. Trust your parents, that they have your best interest at heart. It’s a lifesaver.”
- “I should be building my value off of what God thinks of me.”
- “Our God is so good, and He can rescue you from whatever you struggle with.”
I am so thankful to be a part of a church that allows so many opportunities for teenagers to learn and to serve. On any given Sunday, there are teenagers serving in KidZone, coffee corner, or as door greeters, or in the sound booth and on stage playing an instrument or singing, not to mention all the many things they do to serve and lead their friends at youth on Wednesday nights. What a beautiful picture of the whole family of God serving one another.
Please continue praying for our students, and especially our graduates, that they all may continue to follow God with their whole lives. It has been an absolute blessing to see God at work in the hearts and lives of our young people, and we want to share this good news with the whole church.
“Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!” (Psalm 107:8)
