Mid-Atlantic Convocation June/July 2008 Newsletter
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
Empowering your teens to reach out to the world: the great commission needs to become part of the lifestyle in the lives of teens today. The statistics clearly indicate that we, the church, are losing the battle to reach our teens:
EVERY DAY in America:
1,000 unwed teenage girls become mothers
1,106 teenage girls get abortions
4,219 teenagers contract a sexually transmitted disease
500 adolescents begin using drugs
1,000 adolescents begin drinking alcohol
135,000 kids bring a gun or other weapon to school
3,610 teens are assaulted; 80 are raped
2,200 teens drop out of high school
7 kids (ages 10-19) are murdered
7 juveniles (17 and under) are arrested for murder
6 teens commit suicide
Source: The Father Connection, Josh McDowell, 2008
What cannot be measured is the apathy towards the gospel message or the apathy to being involved in a church. The irrelevancy of the Christian message has today’s youth turning to everything else to fulfill their wants out of life. So the question is how to turn this mindset around.
Our first step is to believe that God’s desire is to reach our youth. “God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2: 3-4). Our goal now is to help our young people understand the significance of their role to reach their peers. There is no better person to reach their peers than each young person that steps foot in your youth program. They were created for such a time as this. It doesn’t matter whether your youth program has 5 youth or 125 youth. They need to grasp how relevant is the message of hope in Jesus Christ. The challenge for the church is how to balance an atmosphere spiritual learning with the great social need to enjoy life and have fun.
In addition, it is extremely important for teens to get on the job training. In other words, they need to have opportunities to serve others and to share their faith. The more they practice the better they become at sharing their faith. The more they share their faith then the more the great commission becomes a lifestyle for the rest of their lives. We can look at the statistics and think that it will be impossible to change the world; however, God is not impressed with statistics, and He would have us know that with Him all things are possible!
Mario Sandoval
Youth Pastor
All Saints' Church
Dale City, VA
During the summer the youth of St. George's are offering their time to anyone, especially the senior citizens, who needs help with jobs around the house and yard. From July 20-25, St. George's Youth Ministry is going on a mission trip work camp in Maine. On August 9, the youth will enjoy whitewater rafting in Pennsylvania.
Church of the Holy Spirit, Ashburn, has had a Youth Mission Trip every summer since its inception in 2001. Teams of youth have traveled to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Uganda, Anacostia and Brazil. This year Pastor Clancy Nixon will lead nine youth and one adult on a trip to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, with Reach Workcamps, July 6-12. Reach Workcamp is an evangelical parachurch organization that sponsors weeklong
missions of service to low-income communities. Participants will do home repairs for elderly poor people. Four-hundred Jr. and Sr. high school students from around the country use a public high school as a base to sleep and eat. They work during the day, except for devotions in morning and at noon. There is an awesome time of worship, drama, teaching and small groups in the evening. It's an easy way for a small church to do mission. All the group has to do is show up and work, and they do most of the planning and programming. Check out their website:
www.reachwc.org.
On April 25-26, the youth participated in the 30 hour famine; they did a juice fast for 30 hours to raise money for hungry children around the world. The group raises $1461.00, which with a quadrupling grant, will feed sixteen children for a year!!! They also collected over 200 pounds of nonperishable food items that they took to SERVE. On June 4 the youth have been invited to have youth group with Fireside Church and share their experience with them. Also scheduled is a Youth Mission Trip to St. Augustine.
This summer, the youth at All Saints' are participating in two domestic mission trips. The first is to North Dakota at a Native American Reservation. The youth interact with the families on the reservation by providing worship services, a fun fair, and by doing prayer walks thr
ough the neighborhoods. They will also be volunteering at a youth camp near the reservation. Later in the summer, many of the youth will be traveling to Johnson County, Tennessee to volunteer their time with the JC Youth Alliance, a ministry founded by former parishioners of All Saints' Church. This is a ministry dedicated to bringing the light of Christ to the community through activities focused on providing Christ-centered activities for young people. Details about this ministry are available here:
http://www.jcyouthalliance.org/.
(The Ministry Focus for July will be men's ministry and programs. Please submit information about your church's ministries and events that encourage men to hreichert@acn-mac.org.)
(From the Young Anglicans Project website: http://www.young-anglicans.org/)
We believe that our mission is "to prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ." (Eph. 4:12-13). We hold that Anglican Christians of whatever age are called to lives of discipleship in ways respective of their developmental ages. What we ask of our children should be what we ask of our youth, young adults and older adults, each according to their station in life. We also believe that the most effective and biblical means of cultivating discipleship in young people is through families (Deut. 6:4-8) and that the support of families in their ministry should be one of the top priorities of the Church. As a result, the Young Anglicans Project website is designed to support families, children, youth and young adult workers in their work to affect this call on the lives of young people.
For more information, contact: The Rev. Jack Gabig, Director for Children & Youth, ACN:
jack@acn-us.org.
The Anglican Academy
The Anglican Academy (
www.anglican-academy.org) is part of a family of academies (
www.emergeacademy.net) with about 220 students around the world. The Anglican Academy is specifically for the ACN, though, and has its own curriculum different from the other academies to suit the needs of ACN.
The Academy provides training for anyone who is involved in youth ministry, part-time or volunteer, in the areas of Evangelism and Discipleship, Church Planting, Children’s and Youth Ministry and Mission work. All work is done online and all resources are provided free of charge. A personal tutor is appointed for each learner.
As Rev. Steve Griffiths explains, “ We take learners from the age of 16 upwards. We have learners as young as 16 and the oldest is in their 50s!!”
For more information, contact the Director, Rev. Dr. Steve Griffiths:
steve@youthfocus.biz.
You can also contact the Rev. Jack Gabig who is the local link for Anglican Academy:
jack@acn-us.org
Congregational Revitalization Course
Nashotah House
Nashotah, Wisconsin
July 21-August 1, 2008
Presented by ACTS 29 & Fresh Wind Ministries
This material will be presented this summer at Nashotah House Theological Seminary, July 21 through August 1, 2008. ACTS 29 Ministries will be teaching a course on congregational revitalization. You can get more information by contacting Dr. Carol Klukas, Director of Admissions and Registrar at Nashotah House Seminary,
cklukas@nashotah.edu or call Nashotah House at 262-646-6500.
March 27-29, 2009
Lutheridge Conference Center
Asheville, NC
We all want the young adults in our churches and ministries to be set on fire for MISSIONS, right? Then send them to re:mix! This conference will show young adults (age 14-30) what God is doing in the world and how they are called to take part in the GREAT COMMISSION.
At re:mix, you will be equipped to change the world for Jesus, by doing whatever he asks, wherever he asks, whenever he asks.
If your church is having an event, we would be happy to publish it, not only so that interested people might attend, but so that we can be praying for you. Send information to newsletter@acn-mac.org .
Feel free to forward this newsletter to members of your congregation.
Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody,
I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty
than the person who has nothing to eat.
--Mother Teresa
John Guernsey, Dean | George Beaven, Church Planting Director | Heather Adams, Executive Assistant | Heidi Reichert, Administrative Assistant
Mid-Atlantic Convocation | Anglican Network Communion
c/o All Saints' Church | 5290 Saratoga Lane
Woodbridge, Virginia 22193-3455
Tel: 703-670-0093
www.acn-mac.org