Step 1: “Drive” (Attract a crowd) Wednesdays; 6:30-8:00 in The Attic
This is an exciting entry-level environment to which we want students to be excited and proud to invite their friends. DRIVE is where we change students’ minds about church, and introduce them to the life-transforming Gospel. We will communicate Biblical principles with excellent narratives told through the tools of video vignettes, music, and the spoken Word. Our intention is to attract a crowd (as Jesus did in Mark 2:13, Mark 3:7-9, Mark 3:20, Mark 4:1 etc…) and invite them to take the next step (as Jesus called Levi out of the crowd and said, “Follow me”) toward spiritual maturity (the Core & Student Impact). We want to be intentional about drawing a crowd and equipping teams to execute an irresistible environment so that even if students do not agree with the message, they will want to return because of the great music, videos, facility, speaker, crowd, etc… and this will mean sitting under the instruction of the Word that much more! This environment is a tool used to encourage students to think about God and consider coming to God. Our focus in DRIVE is on those we’re trying to reach, not those we’re trying to keep. Jesus was irresistible and attracted crowds. “Step 1” is to attract a crowd by creating an irresistible environment, but we don’t want to leave them there…

 

This environment builds intentional relationships for the purpose of life transformation. We do this through “Core Groups” (small groups) which meet in homes weekly for Bible study, mutual encouragement, accountability, and prayer. Small groups are led by a mature adult believer and one assistant and require a minimum commitment of one year. Groups will be closed for a “season” because trust and vulnerability take time to develop, and they can easily be compromised with new students dropping in weekly. This means that 2 or 3 times within a school year new students will have the opportunity to jump into an existing group, and every summer students can jump off or jump over to another group if it’s not a good fit. New students have the opportunity to join a “starter” group together and possibly continue in that group the remainder of the year.

 

Students apply to be in groups and sign a covenant committing to regular attendance understanding that they are irreplaceable in their contribution to the group. Staff members will follow up with small group leaders for evaluation, encouragement, and care. Small group leaders are expected to meet minimum monthly contact levels with their students outside of church (i.e. sporting events, recitals, coffee, etc). Developing intentional relationships with and among students is Step 2, but we don’t want to leave them there…

 

Step 3: “Student Impact” (Habitual Service)
This environment builds life-long habits of service. Our goal is to draw students away from the “What’s in it for me?” consumer attitude at church toward a “How can I make an impact?” servant attitude. We do this weekly by plugging students into various service roles during Sunday morning services. A “Step 3” director will work with students interested in regular service in the larger church body. Students must be committed to a small group before taking this step. Many will be encouraged to work within children’s ministry and invest in the next generation. The rest will serve in various roles impacting the lives of visitors through their service. Students will be assimilated into service areas by the leadership already in place in those areas. If it’s not a good fit, they will be encouraged to check out other areas. The “Step 3” director will help students find a good fit and follow-up to make sure they are being trained, used well in their areas, and are not “falling through the cracks”.

 

Too many students graduate from church when they graduate from their youth ministries. In large part, we believe this is due to the youth ministry ‘bubble’ in which students remain during their high school years. Our vision for “Step 3” is that it will reduce “exodus” of students from church after graduation, because after 4 years of regular weekly service in church it will be counter-intuitive to not serve in a church during the college years. . We also do yearly mission trips and have student leadership teams within High School Ministry. Once a month we will pull all our Student Impact students together to debrief, evaluate, encourage, and dig deep into servant-leadership principles from Scripture.