Student Leadership this Sunday

In High School Ministries, we have a core group of students who desire to be leaders among their peers. The group is open to anyone who applies. Last month we began our year in training on how we can not only act as leaders on the outside, but also be leaders on the inside.

It all begins and ends with an intimate relationship with God. As a part of our monthly gatherings, our students are working through Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God. They're learning a series of realities about knowing the will of God. These realities are:

1. God is always at work around me.
2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with me that is real and personal.
3. God invites me to become involved with Him in His work.
4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes and His ways.
5. God’s invitation for me to work with Him always leads me to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
6. I must make major adjustments in my life to join God in what He is doing.
7. I come to know God by experience as I obey Him and He accomplishes His work through me.

Pray for us this Sunday as we will be meeting at 4 and talking more about what it means to be a leader. If you're a high school student who is looking for more in your walk with Jesus Christ, come out to Student Leadership.

~ Ben

Excited about what God is doing!

by: Rachel J. Snyder

I was sitting out in the Student Ministries Center this week with a high school girl. We were drinking a cup of cappuccino and talking about life and quite frankly how it's way too much fun sometimes and how it really isn't fun other times. She was pouring out her life story....all of her struggles....all of her family's struggles and just a heap of other stuff that life has thrown her way in just 17 years of life. After we talked for almost an hour...I asked her a simple question...."What does Student Ministries at Wooster Grace mean to you?" At first she didn't quite understand the question, but after thinking for just a minute she said something that I won't easily forget. She said:

"Student Ministries at Grace is somewhere that I fit in. Where people are welcoming and nice and friendly. I've made more friends here than anywhere else, real friends...that care about me."

All I could think was "Wow, I hope that's what Student Ministries at Grace is for every student that walks in our doors!" I'm so thankful to be a part of a church that values students enough to build a Student Ministries Center where students feel welcome and loved. Thank you for making an eternal impact by praying for our students and our ministry in their lives. We couldn't do it without you.

A Different Kind of Hero

We just heard about how to be a Different Kind of Hero and maybe you were one of the people who said that they would pray for us in Student Ministries. If so, first of all, THANK YOU! Working with students, we need all the prayer we can get. : ) And to help you pray for us, here are some specific ways that you can be praying for Student Ministries.

- Middle School Fall House Party - It's going to be October 24th at the Roseler's house and will be a chance for 7th and 8th grade students to bring their friends that need to hear about Jesus. It is on a Saturday night so that hopefully a student can say, "Hey, why don't you come to church with me tomorrow" and there's a natural way to invite them to our service. Pray for new faces, a good turnout, and sunshine. For more details, click here.

- High School Postgame - This is our High School Ministry's BIG outreach for the Fall. They have put a lot of work into it already and are excited about the chance to use the building that we've been blessed with to reach local high school students. You can pray about possibly promoting the postgame at the school you're most affiliated with. You can pray for boldness for students to invite their unsaved friends. And overall pray for a GREAT night where students who don't know Jesus can come and spend time with people who do. For more details, click here, or just scroll down this blog a little bit.

There are plenty of other ways to pray, but here are the MAJOR things coming up in the Student Ministries world. Thanks for being a part of a GREAT morning, and thank you SO MUCH for committing to praying with us and for us.

- Josh

Today's the day!

Today is the day! It's Student Ministries Sunday. You may be a new visitor to our blog or a regular viewer. Either way, we're glad you're here and are so grateful for your prayers and support. Stop by the blog all this week to learn new things about Student Ministries. 

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Student Ministries Weekend

T-minus 10 hours and 45 minutes.

I absolutely LOVE Student Ministries Weekend. Here is an easy-on-the-eyes list of reasons why I can't wait until tomorrow.

- High School Praise Band - Students using their gifts to lead adults, other students, me, in worship is a sweet sight. I got to sit in on their practice last Sunday and it was a great time watching them laugh and have a great time singing, playing their instruments, and worshiping God together. Mike Lee, the Praise Band coordinator, has done a GREAT job with the students and I know they'll do a great job tomorrow.

- Pastor Bob Doerr (RAD) speaking - Being in meetings and listening to RAD talk about the the message for tomorrow, I know it's going to be good. He's been working out some sweet details with us as a Student Ministries team and rest assured you're not going to want to miss it.

- Just a Glimpse - For the rest of the church, this is one weekend a year where they get to experience what those of us who work in Student Ministries get to experience EVERY DAY. Students finding Jesus for the first time. Students using their gifts to glorify God. Adults loving students and helping them along in their faith journey. There's NOTHING like working with students. And for one morning, the rest of the church gets just a glimpse.

Can't wait.

T-minus 10 hours and 12 minutes.

- Josh

Wooster Football

This coming Thursday, we have the awesome privilege of feeding the Wooster Football Team. Since, I've attended a lot of their Friday night games by now, it's cool to finally serve them.

When was the last time you gave back to your community in a significant way? Everyone has the ability to start somewhere and do something special and show the love of Jesus. You could throw an open house at your home for the people on your street or rake all the leaves on your block one Saturday. You could visit a local nursing home and just sit and listen to people's stories. The sky's the limit in how you can be like Jesus.

Wooster Grace Students sure isn't perfect and we're conscious of how many needs there are in our community, many of which we're unable to meet. But we realize that we need to start somewhere, and then maybe...maybe we can change something for the cause of Christ.

- Ben

Post Game

In High School Ministries, we're ramping up to throw a county wide "shin-dig" called THE POST GAME. We're getting excited about it in the student ministry office as we plan and prepare for it. I can only imagine what it's going to be like, because to us, it's unlike anything we've really done. We're advertising for it through families tailgating at local schools and spreading the word and at the party, the whole entire student center's going to be transformed.

What I'm most proud of is how our student leaders have taken ownership of this event. On Sunday, 30 or so students met in the side room after the HSM service and took letters to give to local businesses asking if they'd donate some free stuff for prizes at the party. I believe with their hard work, it won't be the "HSM Team's" party, but "OUR" party (students and adults alike). This has the potential to be a super sweet time!

Alright, it's 5:10pm on a Friday and everyone's leaving the office. Better jet. Later!

Ben

Small Groups

This afternoon, I spent the whole time working on small group curriculum. Currently we're working through the book of Ephesians in High School Ministries. Students have learned by studying chapters 1 through 3 of who they are in Christ. God has given them an incredible identity.

Maybe you're a student and you're reading this blog. Do you ever leave school some days thinking "I don't even know who I am..." It's tough sometimes when everyone else seems to fit into some group or clique. I remember when I was middle school questioning who I was.

If you're an adult, do you remember feeling this way? Ephesians 1, 2, and 3 all answer this pressing question that everyone has asked: Who am I?

This week, High School Ministries is embarking on Ephesians 4, which answers the question "Alright, now that I know who I am, what do I do?" The answer? Behave and act like the person God created you to be. Ephesians 4 stresses two things in order to begin - pursue unity and live a holy life.

In your pursuit of unity, how have you treated those at Wooster Grace? Is there someone who you've wronged? Is there someone who has wronged you? If so, it's your calling from God to gain unity back and seek reconciliation.

It's exciting to see Students secure their identity in Christ. By doing this, they're in the process of becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

If you listen to the group "Casting Crowns" you may know one of their songs "If we are the body." It talks about the church's responsibility to be united in love for the sake of bringing Jesus to others. Watch the video below.