Dear Parents,

First I want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of your kids lives. It is such a huge honor to be called to youth ministry at the church that I grew up in. Thank you for the trust and partnership you’ve given me and my incredible staff in Sr. High Connect.

As we continue to move the ministry forward here at ABT by changing the service times on June 6, the youth department will once again be at the forefront of that change. I truly believe that teenagers can make the biggest impact on our world and are the trend setters. As part of setting that trend for ABT, we are going to take this opportunity to change our youth department schedule for, what I believe will be, the better.

Since I started in Connect, discipleship has been that one missing piece of the puzzle. For one reason or another it just never happened. That is about to change.

Beginning June 6, we will have a specific, set-aside time to begin this very important part of a student’s spiritual growth. From 9:00am to 10:30am Sr. High Connect and The Hub will be open and available for students to begin a one-on-one or even small group discipleship program. Our youth leadership staff will be available to help or lead a group through the first 8 week study. It will take each student through the fundamentals of the faith in a way that is geared specifically for students. This will take some commitment on the students part, but that is part of growing up and learning responsibility.

During that first hour there will also be plenty of service opportunities available. Everything from the cafe’s to children’s ministries, media and first impressions team. The students can take that time be a part of helping first hour run smoothly. Then at 10:45am they can go to The Bridge Service.

Let me be the first to say that this DOES NOT mean that there is “nothing for students on Sunday morning”. That could not be further from the truth. Discipleship and Service opportunities are just as important as having a teaching time. Our goal in Sr. High Connect is not to enable students to become “spoon fed” spiritually. If they can’t feed themselves, then we aren’t doing our job as student leaders.

Wednesday night will become the “big night” for student ministries in Sr. High Connect. In a lot of ways, it already is. Wednesday’s from 6:30pm to 8:30pm will be our student focused worship services. I will continue my teaching series, we will have praise & worship time, small group time, as well as all of the other bells and whistles like food, Gladiator Games (spring & fall), etc.

We will continue to have activities and events that bring the students together. That will never change. Things like mission trips, camp, youth conferences, concerts and other activities just for fun will remain a solid part of our strategy.

I am so excited about this new format change! I know God is going to use it to make our student ministry even better! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Jason Knight
Youth Pastor
e: jk@abt316.com