“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 ESV)
These are not only words that Jesus spoke to his disciples almost 2000 years ago but truth that informs our student ministry (called "15:5") at SGC in the 21st century! The primary aim of 15:5 is to glorify God by making disciples who daily depend on Christ for their greatest joy and satisfaction, who abide in Him, and who make his fame known everywhere they go.
The 15:5 youth ministry* strives to hold to three commitments:
- Our first commitment is to build students into Christ. We will do all in our power to help them know Jesus Christ, love Him, and live for Him.
- Our second commitment is to build students into their parents. We strive for this by asking parents to attend main meetings, retreats, missions trips, and other events with their teens to promote interaction and fellowship between one another.
- Our third commitment is to build students into the church. Our hope and prayer is that these young adults will be functioning and fruitful members of the local church by the time they graduate from high school.
It's our intention that during these teen years there will be an overlapping parental-pastoral responsibility for their teens. We desire to prepare parents and teens for this transition, that it might be as smooth and natural as possible, and that the resulting structure of pastoral authority and parental influence might be as healthy as can be.
Part of that transition also involves teens developing relationships with other godly, mature men and women at SGC who can be intentional to build the teens into a deeper relationship with God, with parents, and with the church.
* 15:5 is the youth ministry of SGC and includes students who have just completed their 6th grade of school and are entering 7th grade in the fall through seniors in high school who have just graduated. 15:5 events will include parents of the above-mentioned students but not younger siblings.
Contact the 15:5 Leadership Team HERE for more information.