The church I had the privilege of attending as a youth had a wonderful ministry to children and youth. What made the church a wonderful place for me was that as a youth I could call the church my “home away from home.” I can recall on several occasions walking to church, anxiously waiting for the youth leaders to arrive for that next awesome youth group event. As a youth group we went to the beach every Tuesday during the summer months. I remember attending a Christian camp called Forest Home with my youth group and friends from church during the summer and winter months. It was at Forest Home Winter Camp, while in Jr. High, that I gave my life to Christ and to serving his church. It was also in the youth group that I learned the importance of mission, by regularly attending a youth group mission project to Tijuana, Mexico, one Saturday a month, throughout most of Jr. High. We learned the importance of what Jesus meant by saying in Matthew 28, “go out into all the world and make disciples of all nations.”Children, youth, and families. Did you know that your session, the elders you elected to help lead and govern the church under the authority of Christ have been called to provide for the Christian Education and nurture of all those who attend our church, especially children, youth, and families? And did you know this can’t happen if we don’t have Sunday School teachers and volunteers who are ready to give of their time and their heart to teaching our children and youth what it means to be a follower of Jesus? As we come up to the summer months, we have a couple of challenges ahead of us as a church, for the future. We need to pray about and plan to make sure that our church is offering regular Sunday morning opportunities for children, youth, and families. We already have a wonderful Sunday morning Bible Study led by Rick Whitehouse. We still are lacking in having the help we need to support Annie Kahramanian in Children’s ministry and Caleb Whitehouse in youth ministry (Saturday night and Sunday morning). I also have a desire as your pastor to make sure that families with babies and toddlers have a place to be cared for here at our church, while parents with children are in Bible study and Sunday morning worship. In the months to come I want us to ask a few questions as a church, “how do we effectively teach our children and youth what it means to follow Jesus with the current ministries we have on Saturday nights for the youth, and on Sunday mornings for the children?” How do they defend their faith and still model Jesus? And most of all, how do we equip our families to help raise their own kids and prepare them for imitating the love of Christ? We desire that our kids, from day one, begin to learn the basics of the Christian faith. We want our kids once they enter college or the employment world to know how to face the challenges they will encounter in their walk with Christ.

If you are interested and would like to prayerfully consider helping volunteer in our ministries to children, youth, and families please let me know. We still currently need extra volunteers for Vacation Bible School which is July 16-20 this Summer ,and help on Sunday mornings. Again, pray for our kids and the kids of Littlerock and the Antelope Valley. Would it not be a cool thing if the church, of all places, could be called a home away from home by our children and youth? I certainly don’t know where I’d be if the church weren’t that place for me while growing up. Finally, the apostle Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only gospel of God, but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” People who love Christ, have time, and care about modeling Jesus, YOU are who we NEED. If you just can’t help for whatever reasons, I ask that you’d pray for God to raise up new leaders to help us with this challenge.