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.