Jr. High Eager to Know God
Jr. High Ministry Highlights 2019-2020
Picture about 100 Jr. High students (Gr. 7 and 8) filling the Chapel and overflowing into the Café area by the gym. This is where our story begins as we kicked off the 2019-2020 school year. With the Youth Centre temporarily set up for Sunday worship gatherings, we gathered for Thursday Youth in the Chapel and Café.
From the get-go, we as an adult team of more than 25 youth leaders noted that this group of Jr. High’s had a lot of life and energy. It was awesome to see, and exciting to think about, what God had planned for the year. Psalm 1:1-3 became our key passage of Scripture; we explored what it looks like to choose Jesus, plant our lives in Him, and live life on His terms. This is the heart of our Youth Ministries - to see students grow to know and experience the love of Jesus.
Once back in the Youth Centre, we formed this new community into 10 smaller groups with a minimum of two adult leaders with each group (5 girls’ groups and 5 boys’ groups). This structure is key as we’ve seen that it helps students get to know each other better and build trust. The adult leaders who disciple the students in these small groups are the Ministry Team and the adult leaders who facilitate the games and food are the Games Team. All together, these adults comprise the Jr. High Youth Team. I was so thankful for the tremendous team of leaders that God raised up to serve together this year. Please, ask a student to tell you more about their small group leaders or to share about “Jokes with Brittney”!
One of these leaders, Josh Schweer, served as our guest speaker at the Jr. High Retreat out at Camp Silversides on Oct. 19-20 and taught from Scripture in relation to the theme of “Freedom” – “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free”, Galatians 5:1. That weekend away is always such a great opportunity for students to pause with Jesus, to build friendships, and for students and leaders to get to know each other better.
Following that weekend, we held “Camp Night” for Youth on Thursday three times. It was so cool to have a team from the CrossRoads Worship Ministry lead us all in song and worship on these nights. Youth Leaders noted, specifically, how loudly our youth kids’ sang and continued to reflect a joy and hunger in the presence of the Lord throughout the year.
In the final week of October, we had the opportunity to host two Jr. High school groups in the Youth Centre for team building – Eastview and Normandeau. It’s always cool to hear about how the schools appreciate that time spent in our facility. I remember students saying how they didn’t expect a church to have a space like the Youth Centre.
Speaking of the Youth Centre, you need to know that there is so much crazy fun and memory-making that went on in that space this past year! Imagine with me…
Toilet paper, rolls and rolls of toilet paper, careening everywhere. No, this was not at a grocery store in the not too distant past. This was the scene on February 13th in the Youth Centre. The Games Team led us in playing “Toilet Paper Games” and it turned out to be one of the most fun of the year! This group of students once again showed that they came to play and play hard. I need to pause there and recognize the Games Team and the excellent leadership of Keegan Poelzer over this team of awesome leaders! Their dedication and creativity is invaluable.
From February, we’ll rewind a bit to January and highlight Jr. High Sunday’s. In January, Youth Ministries collaborated with Children’s Ministries as 56ers and students from Jr. High Sunday’s came together for three weeks of “Foundations.” Together with Pastor Jordan and Pastor Julie Cavanaugh, this was a highlight of the year as we explored things that are foundational to faith in Jesus including baptism, communion, the church in history and the reliability of
God’s word. The atmosphere in the Youth Centre was like a mini-retreat of fun and learning each Sunday. Speaking of baptism, we celebrate the three Jr. High students who were baptized this past November!
Jr. High Sunday’s were rich this year as we dug into God’s word and circled up in the Youth Centre to talk and pray together during the Sunday services. I am thankful for the time that Morgan Bellerive invested in preparing for Sunday’s and leading the community that meets during the 11am service. Morgan is one example of a dedicated group of youth leaders who generously give of their time and serve students in the name of Jesus. Another one of those leaders, Moriah Pilon, invested her time and gifts and teamed up with Morgan to creatively lead Jr. High Sunday at the start of January through an object lesson that collided science and British accents. Something that should, frankly, have been caught on film to share with the masses.
Since the Covid-19 Public Health Order, there are things we grieve and things we celebrate. We have not gathered for Jr. High Sunday’s or Thursday’s. But instead, have focused our attention on providing teaching from Scripture via videos that we prepare and helping leaders connect with students, individually and in small groups, online using Zoom. At the time of this writing, we have been meeting online for about 7 weeks.
Youth Leaders have shown tremendous resilience and flexibility as we moved to this platform. There were stories in the early weeks of students sharing even a bit more in this setting online as they were processing life in isolation. This transition comes at a cost, though, as there is a tangible fatigue associated with meeting online, without the normal and natural in-person interaction. This is a reality that we are navigating with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I celebrate how God is providing in this season. I grieve that we no longer meet in person at the Youth Centre. Because of this, the Games Team is no longer able to connect in person and serve (ie. no food and games onsite). I also grieve that, as a part of the staffing changes, Keegan needed to step away from his role as Student Ministries Activity Coordinator. The Lord has used Keegan over the past 10 years of serving in Youth Ministries with CrossRoads, from volunteer to working on staff, to help shape culture in our youth community. His impact and connection with this community continues. I am excited to see what God has planned for him and his family as his son is stepping into Jr. High next year!
I celebrate the opportunity to see students and their families at the Scavenger Hunt around Red Deer that Pastor Rob designed and we hosted on April 30 for Jr. High Thursday. It was so good to see students and their families and for us to connect while seeking to honour physical distancing boundaries. I celebrate how God is helping families through this season and I know that the Lord is sovereign over all of this. 
In closing, know that there is a group of young people, your younger sisters and brothers in Christ, who are hungry to know who Jesus is. They need us as a church to continue to come alongside of them, to walk with them, to take an honest interest in them, to pray for them, and to show them faith in Jesus. This is the opportunity that the Lord has given us. Please prayerfully consider how the Lord means for you to make a meaningful connection with a child or youth and their family, here, in Central Alberta.
Dave Morin, Pastor of Jr. High Families
Ephesians 3:14-21
