Mission … JEN ROZEMA why we gather, grow, and go We’ve talked a lot this year about living “on mission” … we’ve hammered the mission statement as much as possible, encouraging the students to memorize it, and rewarding them when they do … mostly with good prizes but sometimes not so good (if you see bacon flavored chocolate at Trader Joe’s let me save you a dollar: apparently it’s horrible). In talking so much about our mission statement we’re trying to do two things: one, we want our students and leaders to be constantly reminded that our stories are a little bit about us but mostly about God; two, we know that groups who gather on purpose and for a purpose become closer communities and go farther in reaching God’s kingdom with the news of His goodness and grace. One of the renewal lab books we read had a great statement on mission that I wanted to share with you: Believers who clearly understand and accept their mission when they walk out of church are the same believers who find their greatest joy and anticipation in gathering for worship again. That’s because their mission mind-set gives them many opportunities to see God work, and they are eager to meet again with others who share their commitment. Scattering and gathering compliment the life of the church. Without intentional and mission- oriented scattering, the gathering simply becomes a weekly worship and teaching session. I know that springtime is coming, and busyness is ramping up. We as leaders feel it, too! Thank you for continuing to encourage your sons and daughters to be active participants in Park Student Ministry. Together, we’re growing … and together, we’re ministering … and it’s an awesome privilege! The month of March is upon us, which means we have just two months left of regular schedules. Here’s to a strong finish, pressing on toward the mission to which God has called us! Same Page Newsletter Page 1 THIS MONTH AT A GLANCE: MARCH 6 HSM meeting MARCH 13 HSM meeting MARCH 20 HSM @ Dégagé MARCH 27 Easter Break a glance ahead … APRIL 3 Spring Break APRIL 4 Stay-Cationers Lunch as we gather together MARCH 2016 www.parkchurchholland.org/#/students Same Page PARK STUDENT MINISTRIES PARENT NEWSLETTER and go build His Kingdom. bring glory to God to grow in our faith Park Student Ministries exists to … #3G4G Park Church Holland
Transcript
Mission …J E N R O Z E M A
why we gather, grow, and go
We’ve talked a lot this year about living “on mission” … we’ve hammered the mission statement as much as possible, encouraging the students to memorize it, and rewarding them when they do … most ly with good pr izes but sometimes not so good (if you see bacon flavored chocolate at Trader Joe’s let me save you a dollar: apparently it’s horrible). In talking so much about our mission statement we’re trying to do two things: one, we want our students and leaders to be constantly reminded that our stories are a little bit about us but mostly about God; two, we know that groups who gather on purpose and for a purpose become closer communities and go farther in reaching God’s kingdom with the news of His goodness and grace. One of the renewal lab books we read had a great statement on
mission that I wanted to share with you: Believers who clearly understand and accept their mission when they walk out of church are the same believers who find their greatest joy and anticipation in gathering for worship again. That’s because their mission mind-set gives them many opportunities to see God work, and they are eager to meet again w i t h o t h e r s w h o s h a r e t h e i r commitment. Scattering and gathering compliment the life of the church. Without intentional and mission-oriented scattering, the gathering simply becomes a weekly worship and teaching session. I know that springtime is coming, and busyness is ramping up. We as leaders feel it, too! Thank you for continuing to encourage your sons and daughters to be active participants in Park Student Ministry. Together, we’re growing … and together, we’re ministering … and it’s an awesome privilege! The month of March is upon us, which means we have just two months left of regular schedules. Here’s to a strong finish, pressing on toward the mission to which God has called us!
Our gather n ights are fellowship-builders, a time for us to function as a smaller group within the larger Body of Belivers. Even though it might seem like these nights are just fun and games, we’re actua l l y be ing church together, on purpose, for the almost 2 hours that we spend in the activity center at Park. Tonight we’ll eat together (like the early church), pray together (like the early church), and spend time in community together (like the early church). We’ll also play games together … not the kind that the early church played, but it’s still a lot of fun (because Dick’s planning tonight’s game, which means it will be a rowdy good time)! If you haven’t had a chance to check out the s i gn-up sheet for bringing something to our meal or helping serve/cleanup, please get in touch with me. We could use just a few more items, and a few sets of hands! If this month doesn’t work, please volunteer for part of next month’s meal. Thanks!
Sunday, March 13: grow
“ G r o w ” n i g h t s a r e opportunities for us to spend time in song, in Scripture, and in small groups. Ton ight we’re taking on the third section of the book of Jude, and will talk about “Keeping the Faith.” In particular, we’ll be talking about two things: false teachings (how can we tell the difference between a Christian who disagrees with some of our beliefs and an apostate who should be actively opposed? how is criticism and complaining harmful to the church? is there a false teaching today that you think is especially harmful to Christians or the church?) and living with an eternal mindset (how can we orient our lives toward the future of God’s plan? how does the truth about the future def ine the present (or how should it)? what is the relationship between past truth, present truth, and revealed truth?). Our worship this evening will be student-led, which a l w a y s b u i l d s a v e r y meaningful and close-knit experience. Please pray for us before & during our time spent “GROWing” together!
Sunday, March 20: go
W e ’ v e h a d t w o opportunities to head to Dégagé Ministries together, and tonight will be our third time leading activities for the men and women who seek shelter within the walls of this building d o w n t o w n . To n i g h t ’s activities are planned and let by the 11th Grade small group! Please pray that our enthusiasm to serve will be well-received and that we will have opportunities to engage in mean ingfu l conversations with the Dégagé patrons. We’ll be g o i n g i n t h e e a r l i e r timeslot again (meeting at church at 2:15pm), and will have dinner together as a group after we serve at Dégagé. This should put us back to church around 7:00; since it’s hard to pinpoint an exact pick-up time, we will bring home any student w h o d i d n o t d r i v e themselves to church. Students do not need to bring any money along with them to this event unless they would like to purchase vouchers ($2 each) to give away as game/activity prizes.
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Activities & Events … Park Ranger applications Park Ranger applications will be handed out at youth group on Sunday evening, March 6. The Park Rangers are a student-led crew that helps the SERVE host team carry out various HollandSERVE tasks and responsibilities, especially related to hospitality and helping the students and leaders from other churches build relationships with each other and feel like Park becomes a “home away from home” for the time they spend here. Take a look at the application with your son/daughter, and please let Jen or Dick know if you have any questions. This role is open to 11th and 12th grade students as well as to college students — if your college aged son or daughter might be interested in joining the Park Ranger team, please let us know as soon as possible so we can make sure they’ve received an application.
brighton serve 2016 While at the SERVE Summit a couple weekends ago (a time for all of the host teams across the US and Canada to come together for training, brainstorming, and support), we had an opportunity to spend time with the Brighton Host Team, and it makes us even more excited to head there and see what God’s going to do through us and in us! Just a few SERVE-related reminders …
— we will be leaving Holland on Friday, July 8. We will likely leave mid-late morning, so please plan accordingly.
— we plan to drive all the way to the Niagara Falls area on Friday, July 8, spend time at the Falls in the morning on Saturday, July 9, and arrive at our SERVE site shortly after lunch. For planning purposes regarding our return, we will likely arrive home mid-late afternoon on Saturday, July 16.
— all students will need a passport, passport card, or enhanced driver’s license to cross the border with us. Unfortunately, birth certificates just don’t cut it any more! Please apply for one of these items by the end of March to ensure that it gets back to you on time.
— it’s almost time to register students online! Watch for an email next week with information on how to register your son/daughter on Youth Unlimited’s website. Just a reminder, they’ll need to have had a tetanus shot, so check in with your Dr’s office if you’re not sure when the last shot was received.
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student ministry Leadership team
Dick Bouman
Mike Buikema
Dar Koops
Jen Rozema
Jill Schrotenboer
SLT INTERN Jess VanBrocklin
✴ Brighton SERVE host team, as they prepare for our youth group and other church youth groups to come to their SERVE site. They ask specifically for prayers as they line up worksites.
✴ Abby Dykema, and Jen Rozema as they represent Park Student Ministries at the Renewal Lab on Saturday, March 12.
✴ Fellowship with the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ in each of our homes and in each of our students’ hearts this Easter.
✴ Students involved in theatre and music programs at school, as they prepare for showcases, concerts, plays, and other large-scale second semester performances.
✴ Renewal on a church-wide level.
✴ Our semester-long partnership with Dégagé Ministries.
✴ Students who are considering making Public Profession of Faith, and who are currently working through our Profession of Faith classes/program.
✴ Your son/daughter’s mentor.
Prayer requests …
“the lord bless you and keep you; the lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you; the lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
