ThePARENTLink - Dalton Gardens Church of Christ

March 2013
The
PARENTLink
helping parents better connect with their teens
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
THE VIEW
Since emerging about 40 years ago, the field of youth ministry has touched
many lives. Yet as the wider church slowly fades into the cultural background,
youth ministry’s future is at risk. What does that mean for you and your kids?
Four out of five Americans say
they’re sure there’s a God, and
they identify with a faith group.
But only half (or less) of them
actually attend a church.
Participants at Group Publishing’s first-ever Future of the Church Summit explored this question. Neil Howe, author of several generational biographies,
emphasized that the millennial generation is looking for environments that:




Emphasize a sense of authentic community.
Offer a variety of ministry growth experiences.
Give people opportunities to do good deeds together.
Use a student-centered rather than a teacher-focused learning approach.
When summit participants crafted a vision for the church’s next decade, five
transformative themes emerged:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
An emphasis on relationships.
A return to Jesus—as opposed to attendance, buildings, and cash.
A focus on community and the needs of the community.
An atmosphere infused with conversation.
More reliance on lay leadership, or “the priesthood of all believers.”
Today’s young people are dynamically shaping this church of the future.
Although 40% of Americans
say they attend church every
week, the actual number is more
like 20%.
In just the last five years, the
percentage of teenagers attending church every week has
dropped from 20% to 15%.
About 4,000 churches
down every year.
shut
- Hartford Institute
PONDER THIS...
Group magazine editor, Rick Lawrence, who participated in the
Future of the Church Summit, offers this take on what’s ahead:
 The rise in “unaffiliated” Christians.
If nothing cataclysmic happens to reverse the trend, more and more young
people will abandon traditional church
structures in favor of organizations and
gatherings that offer “ownership” roles
and experiential relationships with others.
 The need to do good deeds. Kids want
tures the consuming focus of effective
ministries in the future: “Get to know
Jesus well, because the more you know
him, the more you’ll love him, and the
more you love him, the more you’ll
want to follow him, and the more you
follow him, the more you’ll become like
him, and the more you become like him,
the more you become yourself.
opportunities to live out their faith by  The need for converstaion. Our famidoing, not by pondering, great truths.
lies and churches should promote twoTheir faith language is action, not conway conversation instead of one-way
lecturing. Create an expectation every
templation.
time you get together that conversation
 A focus on Jesus. Ned Erickson shares
will be a big part of what you’re doing.
“The Progression,” which perfectly cap-
 What changes do you predict for
the future of the church and
youth ministry? How do you think
they’ll affect you and your family?
 What do you look for in a church,
and how does that differ from
what your kids look for?
 What are some ways you can
help your kids take ownership of
their role in the church?
A Peek Into the Future
Expert Insights for Parents of Teenagers
By Josh Griffin
Although we can’t predict the future,
here are some thoughts to ponder
about what we know will happen to
the whole church in a few years:
Kids currently in youth ministry will
be the parents at church in 10 years.
So teach them well. Seek role models
if you’re in a single-parent home.
Nudge kids to show honor and love,
knowing that they’ll be in the parent
role in the not-so-distant future. And
help kids stay pure in the meantime
so parenthood doesn’t happen earlier
than it should.
Kids currently in youth ministry will
be the missionaries of the world in 12
years. Young people will be taking the
gospel to the last people groups who
haven’t heard it and will be translating
the Bible into the final, most obscure
languages. So encourage kids to experience missions opportunities. Seek
scholarship money, if necessary, so
they can go on trips. And faithfully
model servanthood.
Kids currently in youth ministry will
run the church in 15 years. Teenagers
will eventually be the pastors, elders,
and deacons of the church. They’ll be
making game-changing decisions
about the standards of the church and
the interpretation of the Bible. Kids
will be hit with myriad huge decisions—including ones that our generation wrestles with but leaves largely to
them. So make sure your kids are
grounded in the Word. Entrust them
RESOURCE SOURCE
The Simple Truth Bible (Simply Youth Ministry) offers 366 daily devotionals to help
young people become rooted in God’s
Word. They’ll find perspective on how each
day’s passage fits into the big picture of the
Bible—and their lives.
Group Publishing (January 2013); 400 pages
$9.99 at Amazon
with leadership responsibilities. And
partner with your church and youth
ministry to make sure kids are disciple
well.
As evangelist Greg Stier points out,
“The more spiritually mature adults
who are willing to mentor their teens
and other teens, the better!” By integrating the power of parents with the
power of the church and youth ministry, we ensure a bright future for our
teenagers—and for the entire church.
— SimplyYouthMinistry.com
BIBLE FOCUS
You are no longer foreigners and aliens,
but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus
himself as the chief cornerstone. ...And in him
you too are being built together to become a
dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
- Ephesians 2:19-20, 22
This page is designed to inform and educate parents and isn’t meant to endorse any music, movie, or video game.
Our prayer is that you will make informed decisions on what your kids listen to, watch, and play.
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
MAINSTREAM MUSIC
POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE MUSIC
MOVIES
Movie: The Host
Genre: Suspense, Thriller
Rating: PG-13 (for some sensuality and violence)
SKRILLEX
PLUMB
Background: This 25-year-old electronic musician and DJ got his start
in the rock band From First to Last,
under his real name, Sonny Moore.
He left in 2007 and went solo, playing electronic music under the name
Skrillex. He’s released numerous EPs
and is also in demand as a producer.
Skrillex has won three Grammy
Awards and an MTV Video Music
Award. Unfortunately, his songs
often include cursing.
Background: Plumb is the stage
name of Tiffany Lee, whose first
album came out 15 years ago. Her
sound varies from alt-rock to contemporary to pop, with some dance
and electronic remixes. Plumb was
about to retire in 2000 when she
received a grateful fan letter regarding “Damaged,” her song about a
girl coping with abuse. Realizing the
effect her music had on real people,
she decided to keep singing.
Albums: Leaving (2013), Bangarang
(2011), Scary Monsters and Nice
Sprites (2010)
Albums: Need You Now (2013),
Blink (2007), candycoatedwaterdrops (1999)
What Skrillex Says: When talking
about his newfound fame, he says,
“Well, I don’t want to sound overly
humble because that’s almost egotistical in its own right, but I feel like
I’m not trying to do anything. I’m
just existing and making the music I
want to make”
What Plumb Says: About her new
single, “Need You Now,” she says,
“It took me a long time to realize
that putting all of my faith and hope
and trust in God and not myself is
where I find true peace.”
Explore: Skrillex has entire albums
available to listen to on YouTube
and Spotify.
Explore: You can check out Plumb
on Spotify and other music services.
Synopsis: In this new franchise from Twilight creator
Stephanie Meyer, an unseen
enemy threatens mankind by
taking over their bodies and
erasing their memories. A
young woman must risk her life to save loved
ones.
Our Take: Like Twilight, this is a love story, so
expect teen girls to flock to it. But if it has the
same kind of unhealthy viewpoints about love
that Twilight did, be sure to debrief.
Movie: The Incredible Burt
Wonderstone
Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content, dangerous stunts, and language)
Synopsis: A successful Vegas
magic due (Steve Carell and
Steve Buscemi) secretly despise each other. But they
must learn to reconcile if they’re going to hold
off an up-and-coming street magician (Jim Carrey).
Our Take: The three stars have serious comedy
chops, but we just don’t know yet if the positives will outweigh the negatives.
Check out www.pluggedin.com for detailed
movie, music, TV, and video game reviews!
VIDEO GAMES
Tomb Raider (Rated M) — Crystal Dynamics is rebooting the wildly popular adventures
of Lara Croft, this time returning to her early days of adventuring in somewhat of an origin story. Stranded on an island, Lara has to do a lot more people-killing and a lot less
tomb-raiding than past editions. The amazing visual quality really pulls the player in to
experience the graphic violence and beatings that Lara endures. (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Gears of War: Judgment (Rated M) — This is a prequel for the incredibly successful
“Gear of War” franchise. In this third-person shooter, players fight against the alien onslaught, so expect plenty of alien gore. Foul language can also be expected. (Xbox 360)
www.esrb.org for details on game ratings.
Dalton Gardens Youth Ministry
News & Events
Rock & Worship Roadshow
All teens and parents are are invited to join us in Spokane for a night of great music, worship, and fellowship. We will
leave the church parking lot at 4:00pm and return home around midnight. The cost is $10 which is a great deal to
see all of these Christian artists (MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, Tedashi, Kutless, Family Force 5 and more!). Bring extra
money for any food or merchandise you may want to pick up.
LTC
Leadership Training for Christ is in high gear! We’ll spend most Sunday afternoons between now and convention
time at the church building getting our team events in shape. The schedule will usually look like this: Chorus at
1:00pm, Puppets at 2:00pm, Drama at 3:00pm, and a short Devotional at 4:00pm. We’ll also use some of that time
to work with other events like Song Leading, Sign Language, and Bible Readers Theater. Check the Family News bulletin at church each week for any last minute changes to the schedule.
Bible Readers Breakfast
All High School students are encouraged to come start your morning off with some meat from God’s word… and
bacon or sausage too! We’ll meet on Mondays at 7:00am at the McDonalds on Hanley for a time of Bible reading
before heading off to school. You’ll be responsible for your own breakfast if you’re hungry.
Hang Time
All 6th-12th graders are invited to come hang out together in the Youth Barn after school on Tuesdays until 5:00pm.
There are snacks and sodas, video games, card games, board games… and once the weather gets a little warmer
we’ll start playing outside too! It’s a great way to introduce your friends to the youth group.
Bible Bowl Practice
Our Bible Bowl group will continue to meet on Wednesday evenings before our regular Bible classes. We’ll begin
promptly at 5:30pm each week as we continue to work our way through the gospel of Matthew.
MIQVAH
Our annual Youth Rally is here! The theme for MIQVAH this year is ACTIVATE! In Philemon 1:6 Paul says, “I pray that
you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in
Christ.” Our prayer for MIQVAH this year is the same as Paul’s was for Philemon… That everyone who attends will be
challenged to be more active in sharing their faith in big and small ways, and that we can all have a better understanding of the good things we have in Christ. Geoff Dunn is our guest speaker this year! He is an incredible man of
God with a passion for building up faith in the lives of teenagers. He is a graduate of AIM and the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, Texas, and is currently serving as a minister at the Meadowlark Church of Christ in
Fort Collins, Colorado.
We need everyone’s involvement to make MIQVAH a success! You can help out by hosting teens and chaperones in
your home, setting up and serving at meal times, or transporting kids to some service projects on Saturday afternoon. Check the sign up lists on the Welcome Desk for more information. It’s going to be a wonderful weekend that I
know you will be blessed by.
Guys Night Out
All 6th-12th grade guys are invited to join us for a fun-filled night out. We’ll eat dinner together someplace cheap
and fast, go watch the new G.I. Joe flick, then hang out at the Youth Barn with some video games. You’ll need $15 to
$20 depending on how much you eat and whether or not you want snacks at the movie theater. Brothers unite!
EASTER
We’ll need lots of volunteers to help with our Great Egg Hunt! Make plans to be there early to throw out eggs! Then
join us for a sunrise service in the Prayer Garden on Easter Sunday with breakfast to be provided during class time.
Happy
Birthday!
March 3
Ryan Davis
March 5
Mylea Harlan