Dear Parents,

Every day, your teenagers are bombarded with hundreds of messages about sex: at school, on TV, the internet - sex is everywhere they look.

There are some harmful messages and inaccurate ideas that lead people to make foolish decisions for their life. These bad decisions can result in people carrying around deep wounds, hurts and painful memories.

I wanted to share with you that we will be exploring the sensitive topic of sex over the next four weeks during our Bible Fellowship time (9:30-10:20) with the students. We will be using The Truth About Sex, featuring Biblical teaching from Doug Fields.

Doug Fields has been a pastor to teenagers and ministry leaders for over 30 years including 18 years as youth and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church with Rick Warren. He is the author of over 50 books including, Purpose Driven Youth Ministry.

The Truth About Sex is a candid and up-front study about the topic of sex. We are going to dive into the Biblical purpose of sex and purity while also tackling some of the temptations that are out there in our culture today. We feel it’s better to be straightforward and real so that students can talk honestly about this topic.

In the four video sessions, we will hear students share authentic stories about the struggles they face regarding sex. Doug Fields will offer Biblical insight into how all teens can make right decisions, live within boundaries, and seek God’s forgiveness when needed. After watching the video, we will dig into our Bibles and study Scripture together.

We encourage you to use this time to ask your teenager what they’re learning in the series and to continue the discussions and honest conversations at home. We are committed to partnering with you, as parents of youth, to help your teenager grow in their faith and pursue purity.

If you have any questions or would like to preview this Bible study video, please call or e-mail me. Thank you for the privilege of serving your family. 

-Pastor Jeff 

Summer Camp Info Already?

Believe it or not Summer Camp is just around the corner! Summer Camp inevitably sneaks up on most of us, while we look forward to it every year it's just so hard to plan for and to keep on the radar.  This year we are going to do all that we can to help you not get snuck up on! 

In an attempt to do just that please allow me to give you some important info that will help you in your planning.

Date: July 15-19
Location: Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL) http://www.wheaton.edu/
Speaker: Wade Morris https://twitter.com/WadeSpeaks
Worship Leader: The Museum http://themuseummusic.com/
Theme: The Kingdom -Matthew 6:10 http://bible.us/116/mat.6.10.nlt
Camp Organization: Student Life http://www.studentlife.com/events/3065/mission-camp-faqs
http://www.studentlife.com/about-us/3052/what-we-believe

Let me give you a few more details about the benefits of Summer Camp just incase you were wondering what "the big deal" is; 

In a study done with over 5,000 families, it was found that:

- 96% of campers say they make new friends at camp.
- 94% said they made friends with people different from themselves.
- 92% said camp helped them feel good about themselves.
- 74% said they did things at camp they were afraid to do at first.
Parents agreed:
- 70% said their child gained self-confidence at camp.
- 69% said their child remained in contact with friends made at camp.
- 63% said their child continued to participate in activities learned at camp.

-The amount of Biblical information gained during one week of Summer Camp is equivalent to 3 years worth of traditional Sunday School. 

-2/3 of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior do so before they reach the age of 18. 64% accept Christ before age 18. 43% before age 13. 

My prayer is that you will strongly pray (if you haven't already) about sending your student(s) to camp this summer. I am here to help you every step of the way and am looking forward to partnering with you as you lead your family closer to Jesus Christ.  Feel free to call 309-786-7913 or email youth@edgewoodbaptist.net for more information. 

-Pastor Jeff 

Understanding Their Behavior

If there is one thing parents and youth leaders have in common it is their attempt to understand teenagers. I would submit to you that one of the hardest things to do is attempt to understand a teenager. Their are no guarantees on how a teenager will respond. But there are several things you and I can do to better prepare ourselves. First and foremost it is important that our expectations don't exceed our student's level. By doing this we often set ourselves up for discouragement and then failure.

Students will often have incongruence between what they believe and how they live. This can cause parents and youth leaders alike great discouragement. In order to combat this we must try to understand that living an effective Christian life is difficult for all believers, especially our students. Their culture is very high-risk and we must provide opportunities to keep them focused on a Christ-like walk.

The following is a list of examples of assets or things that keep teens out of high-risk culture:

-Family love and support
-Positive family communication
-Caring relationships with other adults
-Regular involvement in religious, positive, and community service activities
-Reading at least 3 hours per week
-Having boundaries, rules, and consequences
-Telling the truth even when it's costly
-Standing up for what they believe
-Building cross-cultural relationships

By helping students build-in these areas, we will be better equipping them to avoid the potholes of a high risk culture and turning their focus more toward spiritual things. When students build up enough assets, studies show that they are less likely to engage in destructive behaviors that often prevent them from growing spiritually.

These areas take time and cannot be used as a one time check list. We must put forth the effort necessary to continually build these areas in our students life. I would encourage all of us to create time in our schedules for these assets to become a reality in all of our households. Yes we may have to get creative, yes every house will look a little different in their methodology, and yes it may be a little frustrating but the end result far outweighs any amount of frustration we may experience. I have said this before but I believe it bears repeating, you and I are called to raise up the next generation of believers in Jesus Christ, we were never called to raise the next generation of football players, softball players, chess champions or any other activity related superstar.

Understanding teenagers takes time and effort, I hope you will find it a worthwhile adventure.

Pastor Jeff

Bullying 101

Parents,
Bullying has become a hot topic around the news and on the internet lately so I wanted to give us a little information on bullying and help us know what to look for on BOTH sides the issue -a child that is BEING bullied and a child that IS a bully.

The following article was taken from Focus on the Family, it was posted October 5, 2012. You can find it here http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/schooling/bullying/how-to-deal-with-bullying.aspx or read the pasted article below.

How to Deal With Bullying

How to know if your child is being bullied, and what to do if your child is the one bullying others.

from The Complete Guide to Baby & Child Care

Be aware of the following indicators that may indicate a child is being harassed:

• Injuries — unexplained bruises, cuts or scratches
• Torn, damaged or missing clothing or other belongings
• Anxiety, tearfulness, moodiness and resistance to going to school
• Ongoing physical symptoms — especially headaches, stomachaches or fatigue — that are invoked as a reason to stay home

If you are suspicious, ask questions that express your interest and concern: "How are things going at school? Is anything — or anyone — giving you a hard time?" Your child may be reluctant to reveal what has happened, and you may need to exercise some persistence to find out. If bullying has indeed occurred, make sure he understands that you take it very seriously, that you intend to take appropriate action and that keeping silent will only allow the bully to continue what he is doing. You will need to get as much information as possible: who, when, where and what happened. If there have been witnesses to the bullying, gather information from them as well.

Assuming that this has happened at school, make an appointment as soon as possible with the principal or administrator who is designated to handle this type of problem. Most likely this person will be ready and willing to put the heat on anyone who is involved in bullying, but he or she will need specifics. Tell the story but also provide information in writing, and be sure to take note of the response to your concern. You may want to arrange a meeting with the perpetrator and one or both of his parents in a school official's office. Your posture should be calm, but resolute: Look the bully in the eye and make it abundantly clear that even one further episode will bring disastrous consequences and that you expect his parents to cooperate.

If the harassment continues and the principal or parents of the perpetrator appear unwilling to take appropriate action, they should be put on notice that the problem may be taken to a higher level of school administration, an attorney, the police or all of the above. If the problem involves risks of extreme violence or gang activity, you will need to seek advice from law-enforcement personnel. In a worst-case scenario, a change of school (or home schooling) may be necessary to bring your child or adolescent through this situation in one piece. Do whatever it takes (within the bounds of the law) to protect your child's safety and self-respect.

What If Your Child Is Accused of Bullying?

Whatever you do, don't shrug it off (Hey, boys will be boys) or deny that there's a problem. Get the facts. You should get your child's side of the story, but also diligently seek input both from school officials and from whomever else was involved, including the victim(s) of the bullying. If the evidence (or your child's or teen's own admission) points to involvement in bullying, you will need to have a number of serious conversations:

You must make it clear not only that this behavior is unacceptable, but that if continued, it will lead to serious consequences imposed by you, the school and possibly the law.

You will need to contact the parents of the victim(s) involved to apologize and express your determination to prevent further episodes. As a gesture of integrity and courage, you might want to arrange a meeting with the other family at an appropriate location so that a formal apology can be made by your child, as well as an offer of restitution for any expenses (involving medical care or property damage) related to the incident(s).

If others have been involved in bullying — perpetrators often act in groups — you should take the lead in contacting their parents to encourage corrective and restorative action.

If your child or teen has been involved in multiple bullying incidents, you should arrange for him to undergo counseling, both for evaluation and prevention of further episodes. Other issues — depression, drug use, impulse control and even prior victimization (since some bullies have been bullied themselves) — may need to be addressed. This is a family issue, so be prepared to participate in some important discussions in the counselor's office yourself.

-Pastor Jeff 

See You at the Pole 2012: Awaken

See You at the Pole 2012: Awaken

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father… I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts…And I pray that you… grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and…that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…

This theme passage of Paul’s prayer for his friends in Ephesus is one of the most famous prayers in the Bible. He desires so deeply for them to be able to grasp the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love (msg)! He yearns for his friends to awaken in a fresh way to the endless possibilities of what only God can do! He is passionate in his cry for awakening in their inner beings like they’ve never experienced.

Pray for an unusual outpouring of the Spirit of God to awaken the hearts of students on campuses throughout your community… and the world!

See You at the Pole™, the global day of student prayer, began in 1990 as a grass roots movement with ten students praying at their school. More than two decades later, millions around the world pray on their campuses on the fourth Wednesday in September.

SYATP is simply a prayer rally where students meet at the school flagpole before school to lift up their friends, families, teachers, school, and nation to God. SYATP is a student-initiated, student-organized, and student-led event.

One of the amazing aspects of See You at the Pole™ is the spiritual harvest that continues on. After students rally together at their flagpole in September, Bible clubs, prayer groups, and evangelism takes place all year long. Many churches work together to sponsor before and after the Pole rallies for students.

Whether a single student standing alone, two or three huddled together in unity, or hundreds gathered in front of the school, See You at the Pole™ is about students praying for awakening on campuses all over the world.

The 2012 See You at the Pole™ theme is Awaken and the Scripture is Ephesians 3:14–21—“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father… I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts…And I pray that you… grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and…that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…’”

Wednesday,September26

 Wednesday September 26 @ 7:00 a.m.

Parent Discipleship Letter

Dear Parent, Sunday nights at Edgewood are really important dates in the youth ministry.  This weekend we started a 13 week Discipleship Course.  Discipleship centers around a small-group style of learning with the emphasis placed on the Individual students(s) faith.  Each group will have 6 to 10 students and will be chaperoned by an awesome adult leader. 

The course is composed of Bible study, recreation, and relationship-building activities. Each session builds on the previous session, so it is important for students to attend the entire course!  Activities begin Sunday evenings with a rally at 6pm. 

The cost is 0 dollars per person, which should be affordable for all.  We ask that you please make it a priority for your student(s) to have this information as we have noticed that a significant amount of students today don't know why they believe what they believe and often have less than biblical views of world matters.  Our goal is to accommodate all of our students so please make sure you have let us know if there is anyway we can better serve your student(s). You can be a vital part of the course by:

(1) Encouraging your student(s) to attend. 

(2) Make yourself available for discussion with your student(s) following our time together. 

(3) Praying for the course.

Thank you for all you do as a parent! I know you want the best for your student(s), and this course will be the best!  If you have any questions or if you want to help with any part, please call the office at 309-786-7913!

Jeff Miller

Student Pastor

Encouragement

One of the things that the Lord has really put on my heart recently is encouragement. So far, I have realized two things about encouragement: 1) Encouragement is powerful – with just a few words, we are able to affirm, refuel, and inspire others, and 2) encouragement is a gift.  I am blown away by the fact that we have the ability to use our mouths to build each other up.  We can be used by the Lord to communicate His love to His children!  Crazy!

When we encourage others, we are glorifying the Lord.  We are appreciating the unique ways that He has gifted His creation.  We are celebrating the fact that He uses sinners to do incredible things for His Kingdom.  Because encouragement is so important, we need to make sure that we are practicing it in our lives!  In order to make the most with this gift, we should keep a few things in mind when speaking to your student(s):

• Be specific.  Whether you have an incredible or not so incredible student they need you to be specific with them, don’t just say, “You’re doing a great job.”  Let them know WHY they are doing a great job.  Talk to them about the gifts you have seen them use.  Talk to them about the impact they are making in other students’ lives.
• Be authentic.  Don’t say anything you don’t mean!  Giving out insincere encouragement will quickly make your words useless.  Empty words are a waste of the incredible gift that the Lord has given us and can even be damaging to your students growth.
• Be thankful. A great way to encourage is to thank them.  Celebrate the awesome ways that the Lord has used them.  Make sure they know how much of a blessing they have been in your life.
• Be observant.  Capitalize on unique opportunities for encouragement.  Notice the moment when your student steps outside of their comfort zone on a serving trip.  Take the time to write letters of affirmation.  This also means that you are making sure you see those things that don’t often get praise, the actions that wont make them heroes, but matter in the long run of life.

Spend time in prayer about this.  Pray for the ability to look at others in the same way that Jesus looks at them.

I challenge you to spend some time thinking about the student in your life that needs encouragement.  Go out of your way this week to write them a letter or pull them aside for an intentional conversation.

-Pastor Jeff