Immersing people in a Christian environment allows individuals to strengthen their faith, be a part of God’s family, and receive the Holy Spirit. Growing up in a Christian home can have a huge impact on one’s entire life. We are able to practice significant values such as simply treating others with respect, forgiving those who have hurt us, and spreading the word of God. However, some of these values may not be practiced as much when an individual matures into an adolescent (Krum 27). At Alderbrook Community Church in Abbotsford, numerous individuals lose their religious belief as they encounter their teenage years. The church needs to involve their youth by producing more local and global missionary trips so that restoration of faith and purpose may re-enter their young minds.
Christian families prioritize bringing their children to church every Sunday so their children can have structure in their religious life and be committed every week. The service starts off with the entire congregation worshipping. Then, the children from the ages one to twelve proceed to Sunday school, and their designated youth groups: however, there is no formative youth group for the teenagers between the ages of fourteen to eighteen. How can one learn about God and focus on their faith if there are no further opportunities to do so? A church census in 2005 indicated that, “many churches have no young people at all in their congregations: around half have no 11- to 14-year-olds attending and well over half have no 15- to 19-year-olds” (Brierley n. pag.) This data depicts that 15-19 year olds are no longer attending, but it is now presenting an example for the 11-14 year olds, that attending church is not a priority anymore. Adolescence is the part of ...
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...they are going to attend, they will be more concentrated on what changes they would like to see in their local community, and how they would be able to do that alongside Christ.
Teenagers do not comprehend how beneficial it is to believe in your faith and keep God in your life. It may not seem important to teenagers as they are constantly distracting themselves with other activities. Maturing and becoming independent gives teenagers the opportunity to rediscover the importance of their values and morals (Krum28). Therefore, by having the local churches engage adolescents in missionary work gives them the amazing opportunity to do so. Overall, as more teenagers become independent and accustomed to acting how an average adolescent would, it is crucial to include a sense of faith in their everyday lives in order to achieve balance and produce adequate young adults.
Parks, S.D.(1986). The Critical Years: Young Adults and the Search for Meaning, Faith and Commitment. (1st ed.) San Francisco, Harper&Row
In my paper I will talk about my visit to The Community Church at Murphy's Landing (CCML). I have chosen this particular Church because it is a family church type and my neighbor goes there and she encouraged me to go with her. I went there with my neighbor on April 6, 2014.This church is an appropriate for this assignment because the people there are welcoming me with an open heart and they are willing to help and provide me with information. When I visit the Church’s site I read these words “We know visiting a new church can be intimidating. But, we want to help you to be as comfortable as possible when and if you join us”. The people gather in the church weekly to glorify God in joyful worship. The expressions of worship on CCML take many forms a prayer, a hymn of reverent awe, a guitar ringing with a chorus of praise, or a warm handshake and a welcoming smile. Their weekly services begin at 9:30 each Sunday at church. Also, they have weekly podcast if anyone wants to listen online. They have many types of services for parents, kids and students. People at CCML were so friendly; they gather around me and start welcoming me, one by one. People there introducing themselves to me, one after another and provide me with their contact information and help. Then we start talking about the church services and Christianity in particular. The mission of CCML was knowing, growing and loving. They seek to live out our mission by worshipping together as a local community of believers, growing in spiritual maturity through discipleship, education, and small groups, caring for one another within the context of the larger church body and small groups, and Communicating the love of Christ to our world, both through local outreach and global mis...
However, I will do some events for the lost. Because those events can help young Christians become comfortable with evangelism. By leading events for non-Christians I can have proper doctrine taught before they come to Christ. I also expect the congregation to be trained in one-on-one evangelism. Focus on teaching the simple doctrine of salvation.
Many people believe that today’s Christians are too sheltered and oblivious to the real world around them. When asked, many outsiders compared today’s Christians to “The Titanic - a ship about to sink, but unaware of its fate” or “a hobby that diverts people’s attention” (Kinnaman 120). It is important Christians to not just stay secluded in one group (church group), but to be talking to others (outsiders) so we are aware of the problems and thing that are going on in the world around us. As Christians we are called to be disciples of Jesus by reaching out to those in need, praying for those around us, and calling people to become the church. In “Unchristian” David Kinnaman outlines three main things we as Christians should include in our lives: accepting responsibility, not being fearful, helping the desperate, being prepared, and keeping a balance.
Crabb’s (1977) model of Christian counseling exemplifies that the ultimate goal is to teach and guide people in harmony with finding their spiritual realm and helping them achieve faith-based maturity. Accomplishing Christian maturity helps a person begin to experience the many joys of a spirit-filled life. When we give our hearts and soul to the Lord God promises many blessings and He will guid...
In an age when culture continues to lower standards of intellect, Marva Dawn makes compelling observations and suggestions for the Church to rethink its strategy on impacting society. How do we evangelize without weakening the message of what we are communicating? The majority of her text focuses on the worship environment generally, but later she focuses on music, preaching, and liturgy specifically. According to Dawn, a gathering of believers should emphasize God as the subject and object of worship, challenge each individual to grow in godly character, and accentuate the community of believers (not only in the room, but throughout history as well). Through this grid, she encourages leaders and participants to evaluate each worship element.
The goal of this book review on Engaging God’s World written by Cornelius Plantinga Jr. is to examine his ideas on redemption, vocation in the Kingdom of God, and to explore his thoughts on Christian education as described in the book’s epilogue. Cornelius Plantinga Jr. discusses several key notes regarding redemption, such as salvation. Vocation in the Kingdom of God is another subject he touches on in relation to the way God works within His Kingdom connecting us to the ‘King of Kings’ as his ambassadors on earth. Lastly, Plantinga explains his view on how Christian education is important to sustain ourselves, earth now, and the New Earth.
and grow in the scope of their experience and understanding of their faith.1 All Christians engage
The desire to be accepted is prevalent among youth today. In a world that is currently suffering from a famine of love that is intended to be given to today’s youth, more and more we see students that desire to be accepted, yet feel accepted by no one. Because of this we see them decide to reach out, and as they do they become accepted into a group that is not a good influence on them, or simply is wasting their time. Here we will look at what exactly the bible tells us in the issue of acceptance, and how it would look in the average youth ministry today. We will then look into how we will follow up with students past their fist visit and finally what utilizing the idea of acceptance to its full potential will do for a ministry.
....” This scripture is consistent with the growing youth movement. Young people are receiving salvation, witnessing and praising God with a passion that has not been seen in the recent past. All of this seems to point to the Second Coming of the Lord, which makes the work of the ministry all the more urgent. Take a look at your own church. Does it have a passion for young people or has it written them of to being a condemned generation? Jesus said in John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Review your every day world and see if there is a young person that you could influence and share the news that Jesus loves them. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 9:37 “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
With this in mind, the following will focus on the spiritual formation process within the Christian community. The concept of Christian community stems from the Bible with the perspective of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is compared to the humane body, a whole comprised of numerous parts; each individual part is required and created by God to form a cohesive whole, no matter believer or non-believer or social status (1 Corinthians 12). Similarly, the spiritual community is also comprised of bountiful parts and can be customized to the individual as the formation. Ashbrook appraises the significance of individuals and community, “Our spiritual formation is designed by God to happen in the context of Christian community, the chu...
Children are loved beyond measure by God, who created them. This is the lesson this book teaches. The author, Max Lucado wrote in the dedication, “God couldn’t love you more than he already does.” This is the lesson of the whole story. The genre of this book is Christian children’s story. I often read stories like this in Sunday school and in my early years attending a private elementary school. In my opinion, this book is appropriate for children aged 4-7, but can be encouraging to children of all ages. The topic of which age group this book fits with will be discussed further on in this paper.
Teens reflect a culture all of their own within American society. The language that they speak, music that they listen to, and many aspects of their lives differ from that of past generations (Linehan 3). Therefore, many people of older generations tend to make judgments and assumptions about teenagers. These assumptions are typically based on the manner in which teenagers speak, dress, and present themselves. Because of these generalizations, faith of many teens is commonly overlooked. In a society where violence seems to be accepted and many teens are lost about who they are, faith can be the one bond interlinking a group of many. Despite occurrences such as the shootings April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School, and other negative aspects surrounding teenagers’ lives, there are still many young people involved and/or seeking a life with faith in Christ.
Jones, Marge, and E. Grant Jones. Psychology of Missionary Adjustment. Springfield, Missouri: Logion Press, 1994.
...have begun the process of becoming a better person. Those who practice Christianity boast of having higher levels of joy and happiness in life no matter what circumstances they may be facing. “A person that is truly Christian, one who studies, practices and teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ on a regular basis, has a fullness of joy regardless the difficult adversities that they may face in their life”(Smith). To help guide many people of the world in finding joy and happiness associated with becoming a christian, churches have worked hard to make it their top priority to “Strive to be an "open-door" church, actively reaching out and welcoming all persons”(NBUMC).