By Robert Brazile
Youth Pastor, Shepherd’s Grove
2017 is going to be a big year for Shepherd’s Grove Student Ministries! The main goal we have as a student ministry this year is to get more involved with both the local community and the local junior high and high schools. We know that ministries can often get too caught up in the “number game,” where it’s all about the quantity of people that attend their youth group. Rather than drawing in students to benefit our own number game, we’d like to reach as many students as possible with the gospel. Through reaching out to the community and local schools, we hope we can draw more students into our church, and in turn, draw more students into our Christian family!
But how are we going to do that? Well, we’re glad you asked! We have three BIG things we are planning for 2017, and they’re going to be good.
1. Camping, Winter-Style
This year, in addition to our usual summer camp, we are adding a winter retreat! In February, we will embark on a weekend camping trip to allow students to escape from reality, enter God’s amazing creation, and spend some down time reflecting on what God’s doing in their lives. We’re really excited to see what God will do here!
2. A New Summer Camp
After looking into some different summer camps, we think we’ve found a really great camp option. Different from our past camps, this one will allow us to take even more students. Last year we took four leaders and 26 students to stay on houseboats in the Sacramento River Delta and it was a blast. But this year, we hope to take a total of 40 people to camp!
3. Fun Outreach Events
We also have smaller events planned to reach the students in our community. We’re planning bowling nights, game nights, movie nights, and beach days. We want to provide a fun opportunity for students — who may even be new to church — to spend time with people their age and to enjoy themselves in a completely positive environment. Sometimes church can be intimidating, but we want to eliminate all the intimidation in our student ministry.
Be on the look out for God to move in BIG ways here at Shepherd’s Grove in our student ministry!