WaterShed Youth

VISION	To Relationally Lead students into an Honest, Free and Dependent Relationship with Jesus.
What Makes us Unique?	1 - Adult leaders who are not only deep in the love of Jesus but also real-life sinners who can transparently (and appropriately) relate to students while at the same time showing them incredible hope, freedom, forgiveness and security of the Love of Christ. 2 - We do not have a huge number of programs but rather try to do what we do with excellence and be in students’ lives where they are, in their world. 3 – We keep as far away from “behavioral management” as we can. We are not here to make students more moral but to share the love of Christ with them and praying that the Holy Spirit changes hearts. In turn, as the heart is changed, behavior will also slowly change as a fruit of the gospel.
MINISTRY MAP	2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, `17` encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. To strengthen and encourage an adult leadership team who will relationally, through discipleship, lead students into an Honest, Freeing, Dependent relationship with Jesus. • Strengthen In Christ – Pour into their hearts of faith the Gospel of Jesus. In Ministry – Train them in the skills and logistics of ministry. • Encourage Consistently nurturing the individual minister.
LEADERSHIP	Generally speaking it is our job to help leaders Find their Spiritual Gifts - that special, God-Given ability made to build the church Sharpen their Spiritual Gifts - receive the training and encouragement to build their gifts. Use their Spiritual Gift - Actually, in the midst of student ministry, use their gifts to build up.
CORE VALUES	Biblical Truth – The Truth of the Word of God permeates, defines and speaks into every essence of our being and lives, telling us Who we are, Who God is and the hopeful solution of Jesus Christ to bridge the gap between us and Him. Broken Lives – We are all, believers and non believers, broken people living broken lives in a broken world. Hope Offered – The only healing, hope and solution to our brokenness is an honest, freeing, dependent relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. Relational Catalyst – Relationships are the means to share the Hope of Christ with one another. Family Foundation – Students are not their own entities within a vacuum but parts of a larger family structure which needs to be built up alongside and underneath the students. Community Strength – We are not alone in our messes and madness but part of a larger church and youth community, calling us to regularly come together to build up and celebrate our Hope and Life in Christ.
ADULT LEADERSHIP	With the above foundation, we seek to "recruit, train and use" adults from college on up in as many different ways as the Lord sees fit. All the way from 1) Small Group Disciplers who are in students' lives on an ongoing, personal basis. Gifts and Passions - Enjoy personal relationship with a broad variety of students and willing to be invested personally and consistently in their lives at programs but also through phone calls, emails and personal "hang out" times. Be able to teach and train students in the gospel (not looking for doctoral candidates but a willingness to speak Truth into their lives as an imperfect discipler). Commitment - 2 leader meetings a month (1 sunday lunch, 1 sunday dinner), weekly small group leadership on Wed night and/or Sun morning. Minimum 1 year commitment. 2) Large Group Leaders who come to youth group and invest in their lives in a group setting. Gifts & Passions - Enjoy students but not necessarily comfortable or sure about too much one-on-one time at this point. Willing to be consistently at youth group not as a parental authority figure but as a loving, humble, non-controlling adult who is willing to laugh, play, pray and lead by example. Commitment - 1 or 2 leader meetings a month (1 sunday lunch, 1 sunday dinner), every Sunday Morning 9:30-10:30. Minimum 1 semester commitment. 3) Worship Team - draw in potential student worship leaders and form a working worship team. Gifts & Passions - Able to lead and train others to lead student-style and creative worship. Commitment - 1 or 2 leader meetings a month (1 sunday lunch, 1 sunday dinner), every Sunday Morning 9:30-10:30. Minimum 1 semester commitment. 4) Logistics Leaders who help from the outside with food, hospitality and the like. Commitment - Welcome to but not required to attend Leader meetings on Sunday. Used on an as-needed basis for special events, setup, cleanup, prep etc. Gifts & Passions - behind the scenes helper to keep the Student Ministry flowing without getting up front praise. A servants heart. 5) Prayer team who lifts up the students and the leaders before the Throne of Grace. Commitment - Welcome to but not required to attend Leader meetings on Sunday. Start a weekly prayer team involving parents, students, leaders and whoever else feels called to pray for the Student Ministry. 6) Photography Team Commitment - Welcome to but not required to attend Leader meetings on Sunday. Come to most programs/meetings/events. Able to take, edit and burn pictures for the newsletter and website. 7) Audio/Video/Computer Tech Team for Sunday Mornings and other events Commitment - Welcome to but not required to attend Leader meetings on Sunday. Needed to recruit and train students in how to run audio/video and powerpoint. 8) Drama Team - create, cultivate and lead an student artistic team Commitment - Welcome to but not required to attend Leader meetings on Sunday. Needed to build from scratch a creative arts team who will be able to share their gifts are art at Sunday Morning youth group and other events/times/places.
Student Ministry Adult Volunteer Requirements	Each leader must have attended Grace for at least 6 months. Each leader needs to fill out a standard Grace Worker Application (this is required for anybody in the church working with minors, we aren't picking on you or trying to make you jump through hoops...just doing our best to keep our student's safe.)
STUDENT LEADERSHIP	Another key component of leadership is the training and utlizing of student leaders. They are the future elders, pastors, parents, teachers and volunteers. They are, even at their young age, a part of the "priesthood of believers" and it is our desire to give them an opportunity to learn what leadership from a Christ and Grace perspective looks and feels like. This is going to be done through the various leadership positions seen above, not in a "regular weekly meeting" as it has been done before. Students are encouraged to join with adult leaders as they are involved in their specific ministry activities.
2007/2008 GOALS	1) Build, disciple and equip a unified team of 18 committed volunteers and 3 staff (one being an RTS intern) who are relationally and individually pointing students to Jesus on a regular basis. 2) Divide the ministry in two: a Middle School and High School ministry so we can customize our teaching and ability to reach individual students. 3) Develop a cooperative internship ministry within the church. 4) Develop and begin to distribute Gospel-Based youth ministry curriculum and training materials. 5) Create a worship team of adults and students. 6) Make new and old students feel comfortable, valued and part of a unified community. 7) Offer various deeper ministry opportunities for students who are ready to take their faith to the next step, whether that next step is starting consistent prayer times, leading bible studies or going on a mission trip. 8) Create new experiences, vision, excitement and identity within the student ministry.
SHORT-RANGE GOALS	1) Relationship building with the church, leaders, students and community. 2) Begin developing new and old adult leaders 3) Develop unity in and around the student ministry 4) Create new experiences, vision and excitement within the student ministry
LONG-RANGE GOALS	1) Have an adult leadership team that becomes a unified, excited community that loves the Lord, each other and the students. It is a small group of its own. 2) Incorporate students into the life of the church 3) Support the family as a whole 4) Have a place for future student ministry directors to be trained in the Gospel and how it is is manifest in student ministries.
NEEDS	Student Ministry bills can add up like mad. Here are some specific ways you can contribute financially or with supplies. -- Summer 2008 Mission Trip -- Summer 2008 Interns We can always use extra 12-packs of sodas, snacks, meals for meetings, pens and such.