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Love God. Love Each Other. Love the World.
Jesus calls us to be authentic worshipers of our Lord. Why is it then that the following statistic is a reality in today’s culture: 75-80% of kids growing up in church are leaving the church by their freshman year in college. As a youth leader who will disciple many of these youth, my desire is to create a movement of students who desire to walk by faith their entire lives, hungering and thirsting for more of Christ. I hope that the following vision defines the youth group at Westminster: to be a youth ministry that passionately seeks the gospel, trains students to live missionally, and creates real authentic community among its members through corporate worship, discipleship, and student leadership.
To passionately seek the gospel. Matthew 22:37 states, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”
My hope is that the students of this ministry begin to live out this verse by embracing Christ through regular time with Him and a lifestyle that reflects growth in repentance, humility, joy, and thanksgiving. As students grow in their passionate pursuit of the Lord, embracing his character and becoming enraptured in his love, my hope is that Christ is exalted here in Gainesville and throughout the world.
To train students to live missionally. Acts 1:8 states, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
My prayer is that students are equipped through dynamic discipleship relationships to express their love of Christ through answering his call to be witnesses. As the youth group grows in its pursuit of Christ, students will not be able to deny his call to outwardly focus on sharing the love he has filled them with. As the youth each have different avenues of involvement, such as school, sports, music bands, clubs, jobs, and other extra-curricular activities, my desire is that they learn to express the Gospel in all areas of their life: where they live, work, and play.
To create authentic community. John 13:34 states, “A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
In order to create an authentic community, my hope is that the love in this verse becomes apparent in the student’s lives. Through being actively involved in each other’s lives, I pray that the students have a genuine love and concern for each other. Student leadership will be instrumental in teaching students the value of life-on-life relationships where they will be walking through the highs and lows together, learning to love as Jesus has commanded us to.
High School youth group meets on Sunday Nights at 6:30 and the Middle School group meets on Wednesday nights at 6:30. There are also Discipleship groups that meet weekly that I would love for everyone to be involved in as well as occasional fun and crazy events. Come check us out on a Sunday or a Wednesday.
Andy Nelson
Youth Pastor
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