Yet, this year in Jr. High has been more than I could have ever expected! Here are some highlights from the year and how Jesus has been guiding Jr. High youth at CrossRoads Church.
Youth Alpha
The year before, God was making it clear that students had many questions and needed an outlet for that. So, we started the year off by engaging in Youth Alpha! This was a great opportunity for students to gradually get into bigger issues without jumping into the deep end. Sometimes the challenge was to fit all of it into a night! I remember the first night was cool when I had several parents come up and say they felt like they should invite their student’s neighbour, not knowing it was Alpha! Seeing how some students were praying for the first time was cool! I also remember one small group telling their leader they wanted to start a bible study. I appreciated how Alpha was able to help us engage with youth who knew nothing about Jesus and a relationship with him; and those who had a relationship but wanted to grow in their faith.
Growth
After the Christmas break, we had our annual Glow Tribes event, where we saw over 70 youth come out! Our next major event was parents vs students. This event was a surprise for us as approximately 30 parents and 50 students came out. It was awesome to have parents have fun, engage with their students and understand a little more about what they do when they come. The parents really got into tug-o-war, and if it hadn’t been for the leader’s help, the parents might have won!
Another great part about this was the connection of parents with other parents. This has been a big struggle in recent years, so we were excited to see families connect and reconnect. Lastly, this event was a great opportunity to answer parents’ questions about the upcoming mission trip.
Next, we had the luau, where we saw 90+ students come, our largest event so far! This growth has greatly encouraged us, and we understand that students invite their friends because they like coming. But it’s not only on event nights where we have seen growth but to our general youth population. Our regular youth nights have grown from an average of 45 to 60+; in a recent week, we had over 80 youth in attendance! Sunday Youth has been growing too; between 60-80 youth are coming between the three services. It is evident that youth want to be here, and we rejoice in that!
Outward Focus & Jr. High Missions Trip
In the New Year, we talked about how the church was so loving to each other and how there was no need among them because they were united in Christ! After this, I was seeking God; what do we do in light of this? I felt that the Spirit led me to talk about stories as an important part of getting to know students and for them to start understanding how they can share the gospel through sharing their lives with others.
One Sunday at youth, we talked about what was one way we wanted to grow in our faith, and many students said they wanted to be bolder. So, we started a series on James that connected these dots on how to be active in our faith. This overlapped with our Jr. High Missions trip to Salem Acres Bible Camp over spring break.
This being the first mission trip I have led, I was asking God for help on what would be the best use of the time we had there. We ran a camp at Salem Acres Bible Camp last year in partnership with them and Delburne Gospel Church for the first time. It was a good experience for the students; they were great to partner with! We noticed while we were there that some projects and updates needed to be done. When I approached them about the idea of coming there to do work projects for our mission trip, they got really excited! We planned on having 12 students, myself and two leaders. Unfortunately, both leaders cancelled at the last minute, and even the backup female chaperone cancelled! In desperation, we reached out to parents a week before and had a mom who agreed to come as our female chaperone. This also turned out to be a blessing because she brought her vehicle, which we packed with bags. We saw God’s provision again and again on the trip!
The students worked really hard. The camp was so impressed with the work that they had done to clear the way for their new archery range. It was so much scrap wood that the director told me the scrap pile had never been so full. On the trip, we also talked about what it meant to be on mission by reading the great commission in Matthew 28:16-20 and listening to a rap song about being on mission as an act of worship. One thing I said again and again to students was that being on mission didn’t end with the trip; it was only the beginning! We talked about how being on mission can be our worship to God and that He will lead us where we are called to serve and care for the world God created.
Gratitude
We are grateful for the support that we receive from the broader CrossRoads community in many ways, which include: prayer, tithes and offerings, people who serve, those who support youth going to camp and many other ways. I want to thank all who help make youth a safe place for students to connect, have fun and walk with God! We know that your support makes a difference, no matter how small or big it may be. We are beyond grateful for the numerical growth we have seen this year, and we ask God that he would continue to work in youth leaders and staff as we pour out the life-giving word of Jesus through the time we are blessed to spend with them.
