Leaders

Tonight is our last night of Lifeline for the 23-24 school year! We have learned and experienced a lot together over the course of the school year and tonight we will dedicate time to reflection, sharing, and clarifying the ways we want to grow in our faith over the summer.

Tonight is our Lifeline baptism event! We will celebrate the next steps of the people at each campus who made the decision to get baptized by listening to their faith stories and cheering them on in their obedience to Jesus!

A question that all of us ask at some point is, “what difference can I make?” It’s a key question for each of us to ask as we look at the world around us, and notice the effect that we can personally have upon it. Paul argues in 2 Corinthians 5:20, that the key mission of the believer is to be an ambassador for Christ. Which means that the biggest difference that we can make in this world is to help those around us be reconciled to God.

Where do I fit in? This is a big question that everyone wrestles with and if we are not careful, we can allow our desire to fit in to lead us to making decisions that we regret. If the crowd around us often values the things that we should avoid, what other options do we have? We can find our true belonging in relationship with God and His church.

Two students from the same small group and school grow up, graduate high school, go to college, and transition into adulthood; one of the students has a vibrant faith, a steady confidence, and a love for life while the other student has none of those things: What is the difference? The difference is found in how they answer three big questions. During this series, we will explore three big questions that can set the trajectory for our life and our faith: Who am I? Where do I fit in? & What difference can I make?

Tonight is our panel night! During teaching time, we will go through questions that are often asked by middle school students about love, relationships, and sexuality. We have prayerfully considered which questions to tackle and want to give our students Biblically-informed wisdom to help them navigate life as a middle school student! 

Weddings are often a time for us to think about the topic of LOVE! And at many wedding ceremonies, the “love chapter” from 1 Corinthians 13 is read. When we understand the cultural context to this famous chapter of our Bible, we discover that Paul’s letter about what love looks like was not addressed to newlyweds, but rather, to a church community. While most students may not be thinking much of marriage at this age, what they can (and should) do is consider the type of person they are becoming today. The question is not "Will I be a great boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse someday?”, but rather, “Am I becoming a more loving person today?”

What does the Bible say about relationships and love? More importantly, what does any of it have to do with how you live your life as a sixth, seventh, or eighth-grade student? When we explore what God’s Word says about love and relationships, we don’t just see commands and truths to apply when we start dating or get married, we see the beautiful ways that God calls us to live right here and now!

We have the opportunity to serve our community this week by packing weekend food bags in partnership with hand2hand! Hand2hand assists students in West Michigan who are experiencing food insecurity and we are excited to serve alongside this great organization doing important work in West Michigan!

As we enter into two weeks of intentional focus on serving others, we will be reminded of the important truth that each of us are created, called, and gifted to serve. So we are going to take a week to focus our attention on why serving is important and then take a week to serve the greater community through our partnership with hand to hand!

In Scripture, we see story after story of God using people to bless others! That plan of creating, calling, and gifting people to serve continues today as we see the people in our lives who need help! During this teaching, we will look at these three powerful truths about serving others and be reminded that the lifestyle of serving others that God calls us to and that Jesus modeled on earth is possible.

It’s obvious that we are supposed to read the Bible, but what exactly do we do with it? When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, He prayed for His disciples saying, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” As we conclude our series about the Bible, we will dig into what Jesus’ prayer means for us today: That God’s truth is meant to be learned and lived.