Syracuse Tour 2015

This Friday, October 2, is the Syracuse Tour at Destiny USA. This is a very exciting event and we are in a really unique situation this year as it falls right in the middle of our Missions Conference. We will be meeting at the church at 8:30pm where we will hear a little bit from our visiting international workers, have some pre-event snacks, talk about the night ahead and play some games together. Around 9:30pm we will leave for Destiny USA where we will spend the rest of the night going from site to site. Whether its 5Wits or Wonderworks we will have plenty to do through out the night. We will then return to the church around 6:30am. Make sure you have your updated health forms and payment the night of the event. It is $35 for each student. If you invite a friend who has never been to youth group you and your friend you invite only have to pay $17.50 each instead of the normal $35. It’s going to be a great night, rest up, stock up on energy drinks and candy, and get ready for a great all-nighter.

What Remains of Summer

Summer is slipping away from us, autumn and the start of the new school year are right around the corner! This summer has been great we have had many successful youth events and there are still more to come. Below you will find a list of the remaining events this summer:

Beach Day: August 5^th, 8:30am-5pm

We will be meeting up at Fair Haven beach for a day of sun and swimming. We encourage families to come on out. If you and your family will be joining us please let me (Pastor Tyler) know. If you are interested in bringing a snack or refreshment that is welcome. If your child would like to attend, but needs a ride, that can be arranged by emailing at pastortyler@fultonalliance.org.

Burdick’s Picnic: August 9^th, 2:00pm-5:00pm

We will me invading Tim and Janet Burdick’s home with cars full of teenagers for a picnic and water games.

Seabreeze: August 19^th, 9:30am-5:00pm

We will be making our annual trip to Seabreeze. The trip will cost $20 per student (this will be for admission, gas, and group snacks). Reserve your spot in a car today by letting me know that you are planning on attending. Payment will be collected the day of the trip.

Pizza Night: August 28^th, 7-9pm

We will be meeting up at Pastor J and Karen’s home for a night of fun, games, and yes pizza.

Looking Ahead to the Fall

I am very excited for this upcoming school year. We are making some very positive changes to the way that we minister to and through out teens. I would just like to point out a few big changes coming up this fall, more information will be making it’s way to parents and students in the next few weeks.

A New Vision: We as a church have a vision that was discerned after much time in prayer and is directly inspired by God’s commands to His Church it is, “We will build relationships, share Christ, and grow together as we walk the bridges of Fulton”. Everything (and that means everything) we do will either work towards the realization of this vision or it will not be done. This means that many things may have to change if they do not help accomplish the commands that God has given to His church.

A New Ministry Approach and Format: With this in mind and over two years of involvement in and observation of our youth programs it has becomes clear that we are not intentionally fulfilling our vision within the teen community of Fulton. Thankfully, we are not compelled to hold onto our programs as idols, and when the containers for ministry are no longer viable we are excited to try something new. What does this look like for our youth ministry.

·      IT MEANS… age-group specific programs to better minister to youth in our church and reach out to youth in our community.

·      IT MEANS… a movement towards smaller and more intimate times of conversation and worship.

·      IT MEANS…taking steps to build a community where the faith of our students can grow and be practiced.

·      IT MEANS…being more visible and accessible to the lost teens in our community.

With our new approach to and format of our youth ministry we will have a new name.

A New Name. We will be announcing our new name this month that will help us mark our transition to a new season of ministry.

New Teams. I have also asked a group of parents to come around me to support our students through fundraising, advising, and prayer. I am also developing a Teen Leadership Council (or TLC) that will consist of sr. high students who are ready and willing to take a more active role in the ministry, my hope is that by the New Year we will be ready to open this team up to any sr. high student to apply to be apart of it.

I know that change can be scary, but as I look at this list of things that are in the works and will be implemented in the fall I get very excited for what God is going to be doing through our community as we build relationships, share Christ, and grow together as a team.

I’m sure there are many questions and would be happy to answer all of them, please feel free to contact me or set up a meeting with me at anytime, you can do this by emailing me at pastortyler@fultonalliance.org. But I would also ask for patience as myself and the youth leaders develop these changes and communicate them to you all.

A Letter To Our Parents Concerning Summer 2015

Dear Parents of Youth,

I am writing you to let you know where we are heading this summer and into the fall. As we leave May and enter June, it seems time has sped up and the end of the school year is here and summer is going to be over before it began. I am very excited for this summer.  We are trying something new by asking families in the church to open up their homes and hearts to our youth and host us for special get “togethers” throughout the summer. 

I am also excited for this summer for another reason.  Youth ministry cannot be a solo act.  I cannot do this alone and so I have a team of youth leaders to help me out.  After much prayer and many conversations, I really see the need to take this summer to develop and pour into the leaders that I have.  If I were to position myself to bear the weight of the youth ministry on my shoulders alone, I would be placing myself and our community at great risk of becoming ineffective for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  An often over looked part of a youth pastor’s role is the development (the encouraging and equipping) of other youth leaders.  This is just as much youth ministry as running a Bible study or planning an outreach event. 

The purpose of our events this summer (you will find the summer schedule below) is to stay in contact with our students throughout the summer.  My focus will be on developing our leaders and redeveloping our ministry.  With our new vision in place, there are many good changes that need to be made.  The old "tried and true" methods and programs of youth ministry are quickly becoming more and more irrelevant to a post-Christian world.  The leaders, a select group of students, and I will be endeavoring to ask how can we build relationships, share Christ, and grow together with the lost and found teens of our community at this point in God's grand narrative of redemption.  This means come the fall our ministry will have a new direction, new programs, new values, and a new name to mark our transition into this new season God is calling us to.  Along with this new season will come many opportunities for you to be involved in what we are doing. 

What is this going to look like? I have ideas and dreams, but this summer will be the time to develop those ideas and dreams with our leadership team.  Before we re-launch in the fall, I want to meet with all interested parents to explain where we've been, where we are, and where we are going as a community of Christ-followers to see lost students found and the found students grow  in Him who is the head, Christ.  I need your prayers, your youth leaders need your prayers, and our students need your prayer, but I am confident that come the fall, we will be in a better position to see the Kingdom advance in the heart and lives of teens in Fulton, NY and the surrounding communities.  In the next week you will be receiving a schedule of our summer events, the dates are all but confirmed, but with weather and other considerations they may be subject to change and we will keep you apprised of all changes and further details.

In His Service, 

Pastor Tyler

Event	Date	Place	Time	Host	Details
Last Sunday Night CRAZE	June 14th	Fulton Alliance
Youth Service	June 21st	Fulton Alliance			No CRAZE
Chicken Night	June 28th	New Hope	6-8pm	New Hope	Drop of 5:30pm FAC Pick Up 8:30pm FAC
Bonfire Kickoff	July 1st	Fulton Alliance	7-9pm	FAC	Families welcomed to join!
Movie Night	July 7th		7-9pm	Joe and Kara Kule	Drop of and Pick up at location.
Curtis House Hang Out	July 19th		2-7pm	Mike and Shelly Curtis	Bring swimming clothing.  Drop of and Pick up at location.
Whiffle Ball Picnic	July 26th		2-4pm	Mike and Sue Malizewski	Hot Dogs and Salad will be available for a late lunch.  Drop of and Pick up at location.
Beach Day	Aug. 5th	Fair Haven	8:30am-5pm	FAC	Leaving FAC 8:30am, Returning to FAC 3:30pm. Families welcome to join. See Dress Code next page.
Burdick’s	Aug. 9th		TBD	Tim & Jan Burdick	TBD.  Drop of and Pick up at location.
Seabreeze	Aug. 19th	Seabreeze	9:30am-5pm	FAC	More details to come. See Dress Code next page.
Pizza Night	Aug. 28th		7-9pm	J and Karen Spurling	Drop of and Pick up at location.