Monday, November 2, 2009

Why we do our student gathering MID-WEEK

When I am hanging out with student or children's pastors I always have 100 why questions for them. In every ministry setting there are are cultural and strategic influences that guide what we do. This week I want to do a few WHY posts about our ministry here at Grace Community here on the blog. Our WHY issue today is one that we really struggled with. We really worked hard to think through when we would do our weekly gathering for teens. We tried Sunday for one year and then moved to mid-week on Wednesday night from 7-8:30. Why mid-week? Here goes...
  • Mid-week gave us a 2nd time each week to connect with teens since Sunday is such a big day for us at GCC.
  • Mid-week allowed teens to invite and bring friends. We see first time guests every week that get invited to come on Wednesdays.
  • Mid-week gives teens more time to hang with family on Sunday's. Sunday was a big family day in Clarksville and the service seemed to be getting in the way of that.
  • Mid-week allowed our teens and small group leaders to focus on serving on Sunday morning.
  • Mid-week allowed us to partner with our school system since Wednesdays are not busy days for sports.
There ya have it! That is why we do our student gathering on Wednesdays. We know a weekend service can work and will work for our middle school ministry in the future, but for us Wednesday night has helped us connect with more students.
Posted by Unknown at 9:17 PM
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2 comments:

  1. Ben ReedNovember 3, 2009 at 8:59 AM

    I love that you give teens a chance to serve on Sundays. Growing up in church, that wasn't really an option. Well, once/year we had that awkward, Sunday night service where a few of the youth led. But besides that, there weren't a lot of opportunities to serve.

    I think it's a huge deal that we can help teens realize that they're a vital part of GCC, and that they don't have to wait until they're an adult to make a difference in the kingdom.

    Thanks for the post, Michael.

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  2. Nate EdmondsonNovember 3, 2009 at 11:15 AM

    Seconding Ben's post, I agree the opportunity GCC gives teens to serve is the greatest aspect of the family ministry. I would not be nearly as mature in Christ if it were not for you allowing me to serve in all the areas you did. If there's one thing other student ministries are missing, this is it.

    Thanks for investing in teens dude! The strategy at Grace may conflict with other strategies at times, but I'm fully convinced that Relevant's is just as Biblically sound as anyone's, and honestly I think it's way more effective!

    Looking forward to the next posts on WHY Relevant! Plus, CRAVE09!!!

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