Youth: Who We Are
Our World
Technology/Media/Entertainment: Students live in a world that is saturated in technology/media/entertainment, more so than ever before. The images and sounds that accompany this dimension of our world has become one of the most influential forces in youth culture today.
Consumerism: Gadgets, clothes/accessories, and brand name stuff all make empty promises about what these things offer (i.e. experiences and acceptance that one can't live without). When a person buys into those empty promises they are entering into a story/lifestyle of never being satisfied with what they have or who they are.
Desire for Acceptance: In our world today, technology/media/entertainment and consumerism are the two prominent means that youth use to gain love and acceptance from friends and family.
God's Story and Our Story
Stories have tremendous power to shape our lives. Every day students are faced with the choice of which story they will enter in order to guide their lives. Will it be the story of consumerism, pleasure, or status, etc...?
As members of God's family we have entered into a story that governs our lives. The plot of that story is as follows:
Creation (Genesis 1-2, John 1): The Father, Son and Holy Spirit worked together to create the universe. In that creation there was universal flourishing of things and relationships (relationships of humans to God, one human to another and humans to creation). In creation God created humankind in His image.
Fall (Genesis 3, Romans 3:9-20): The first humans, Adam and Eve, were deceived into thinking that they could rule their lives apart from God. This deception brought with it an inappropriate desire to be their own God. By acting upon that desire Adam and Eve rebelled against God and entered into a life colored by sin and deception. Since then all relationships have been broken and all of creation has lived in bondage to sin.
Redemption (Exodus 12-14, John 19): We have been rescued from the bondage and destruction of sin through faith in the Grace of God, demonstrated in Jesus Christ's death on the cross. His life and death have changed the course of history as we know it, and have become the center-piece of our faith and lives.
Restoration (John 20, Romans 8:18-39, Revelation 21-22): As the people of God, we are awaiting the return of our savior. When Christ returns He will restore all of creation to the way He intended it to be when He first created all things; universal flourishing for everything and all relationships. This restoration will be the Kingdom of God fully come to earth.
Our Identity
When humankind was led astray from God, sin, deception, death and desire to find love in inappropriate places characterized/summarized our lives.
In Jesus Christ our lives are characterized by an undeserved love from the Father and the righteousness of Jesus Christ that allows us to be called children of the Almighty God.
We are a community of people who are...
- Atempting to form Christ in us
- Being guided by God's Story
- Learning how our story fits into God's Story
- Exploring where our world and culture intersect with the Kingdom of God
- Learning how we are to live at that intersection
