Dear Parents and Students,
We want your students to thrive in their relationship with the Lord and in their relationships with others. We want to bring hope to students and families through the love of Jesus Christ! Our goal is to partner with students, parents, and families to continue to disciple believers in Christ. We want you to know you are not alone!
In-Person Ministry
Our plans for in-person ministry have had to adapt and in doing so our ministry may not look the same as it has in the past. However, I am excited about this because it is going to push us into practicing the discipleship in new and exciting ways.
Along with my ministry team, we have decided that the focus of our “in-person ministry” should be L.I.F.E. Groups (small groups) in homes. This will give us the opportunity to keep groups small (6-8 students) and still foster a discipleship relationship.
The team has been more than willing to adapt to a different way of ministry during this season. Our leaders are already making plans for hosting these groups in their homes, public places, outside (weather permitting), or even via Zoom or another medium if necessary. The goal is going to be to have the groups meet weekly and faithfully. Even if that means they cannot always be in person.
These groups will have a lot of flexibility and can be on any night of the week that fits the schedule of the group and their leader. This means that our ministry will not just happen on one night, but multiple nights of the week.
We will continue to have Sunday night student ministry once per month. The second Sunday night of the month will be a night focused on worship, community, fellowship, and the Word. This will give our students an opportunity to still meet together and worship and grow together. We will have a social distancing guideline in place and make masks optional. We have also begun thinking of how to make the most of our spaces and what that will look like within social distancing guidelines.
We will also be planning some special events for the fall that will also foster spiritual growth including a fall retreat and other fun events. More will be decided on those items in the coming weeks.
A typical month will look like this:
● Week 1- L.I.F.E. Groups throughout the week
● Week 2: Second Sunday worship, fellowship and teaching together at the Loft. (L.I.F.E. Groups will meet only if the group and leader decide to.)
● Week 3: L.I.F.E. Groups throughout the week
● Week 4: L.I.F.E. Groups throughout the week (and possible fun outings)
Online Ministry
In addition to our in-person ministry, because we know that not everyone will be ready to come back to in-person gatherings, we will continue to invest in our online presence as well. Social media is a huge part of our online ministry, but not the only part. We will supplement our in-person ministry with weekly video teachings. Whether it is one of our youth ministry team, or someone else, there will be a pre-recorded video teaching that will be posted on Sunday nights. This will be the source for the growth and discipleship that will take place in the L.I.F.E. Groups throughout the week. These videos will be posted on social media platforms and the GLCC Students Youtube page. This will also allow students and parents, or even entire families, to watch the video together and then discuss it as a family.
We are very excited about what God is going to do this fall and this year as we trust and know that He is still in control. We want to bring hope and joy to our students and especially parents and let you know that we are with you and you are not alone!
Under His Mercy,
Chris Collins and the Youth Leadership Team
