Okay, so this is about 48 hours later than I intended it to be … oops!  My mom was in town for the weekend, which was good, but it meant I wasn’t around my computer much!

There is a level of excitement in the student ministry that is hard to explain – with only three more Sundays left at Pilot School before we get to reoccupy the gym, there is an energy that is building!  Personally, I can’t wait – the only time I ever got to teach in the gym on a Sunday morning with the student ministry was when I was candidating!  The entire time I’ve been on staff the construction project has been happening and I’ve been leading a Sunday morning student program off property.  October 25th is going to be an exciting Sunday for all of us!

This past Sunday attendance was down a bit.  Nothing too surprising considering the weather – on the rainy days some teens tend to stay in the service with their parents rather than walk across the parking lot, through the soccer field and over to Pilot School.  Makes sense to me – I didn’t walk, either!  I drove!  Jeff M. started a series with the senior high while I launched the same series with the middle school students.  The topic is stewardship, and one of the questions is how are the students going to be involved in the upcoming capital campaign at the church.  It’s actually a good question, and one of the things we talked about is how the students ARE the church, and NOT the future church.  Yes, they are the future leadership of the church – many of those kids will be the future committee members, deacons, even Pastors and staff, but that doesn’t take away from their current role as part of the church now at all.  And as the church we play a role in the campaign as well.

Follow up discussion ideas for parents would be:

• What role do you and your children play in the body of the church?
• Does your child see themselves as a valuable part of the church, like God does?
• As a parent, what strengths, gifts and abilities do you see in your child that God has given him or her?
• In what ways can we pray for the church during this campaign?

Next week we’ll be continuing the discussion on stewardship with the students.  George F. will be teaching the senior high, I will be teaching the middle schoolers.