Making Disciples in Church of the Holy Cross

Welcome

We are a group of parents who serve and support all families with middle school and high school students at Church of the Holy Cross. We aspire to challenge and encourage each other as we grow in our own faith and as we disciple and equip our teens to lead Spirit filled lives of faith in Jesus Christ. Our mission is to be an inviting and welcoming ministry that will attract other teens and their families to our church by ministering to the whole family. We believe our teens need plenty of opportunities to spend time and have fun with their peers, but we also want to help them form relationships with other age groups in the church, especially with their rector and the parents and siblings of their peers.

We intend to accomplish our mission in the following ways:

• by offering relevant, Biblical teaching to middle and high school students;
• by encouraging and maintaining a healthy bond between parents and their teens;
• by creating opportunities for teens to form authentic friendships with their peers;
• by developing mentor relationships between teens and adults in the church;
• by providing teen fellowship events that include all family members;
• by helping in the sponsorship of church wide events that include all ages.

We plan to disciple our teens by offering them opportunities to worship, grow, and serve.

Worship

We encourage all teens to be active participants in regular Sunday worship and special services. We recognize that in order for teens to understand, appreciate, and fully engage in the adult worship services, we must accomplish the following goals:

• educate the teens in the Anglican liturgy;
• work with the rector to help develop sermon series that are challenging and relevant to teens;
• create opportunities for teens to serve in the various aspects of worship.

Grow

We want to offer a variety of opportunities for growth through classes and fellowship events throughout the year.

• Bible Study and Spiritual Instruction
  
  A weekly Youth Bible Study is currently available to all middle and high school students during the traditional school year. We hope that as the ministry grows, we will be able to provide more than one offering concurrently. For example, we might offer separate classes oriented to middle school and high school students, or for boys and girls. We would like to develop a base of foundational classes to be offered on a regular cycle which would include:
  
  
  • Confirmation/Anglican Liturgy
  • Christian World View
  • Financial Stewardship
  • Discovery of Spiritual Gifts
  
  
• Fellowship Events
  
  
  • We hold a monthly lunch gathering for all families with teens.
  • We plan quarterly events and activities for teens, including a Fall Kick-Off event and a New Year's Day gathering

Serve

We expect all teens to discover and develop the gifts God has given them to build up the Church. With the discernment and guidance of their parents and other adult leaders, we want to empower our teens to release their gifts for ministry.

Opportunities for Service include:

• assisting in the Children's Ministry and Vacation Bible School;
• participating in outreach and missions projects;
• learning to organize and serve at church wide events;
• serving in the various aspects of Sunday worship as acolytes, readers, greeters and ushers;
• participating in music ministry.