YOUth Groups and YOU

School, peer pressure, problems with friends, difficult teachers… a teen’s life can be pretty challenging.  When Sunday comes around, it’s great to unwind and enjoy a day of rest.  But do you ever wish that your place of worship had sermons in a teenager‘s viewpoint?  Of course, the standard services can teach you a lot, but teenage youth groups provide special services made just for your age group, in ways you can best understand.

At youth groups, you can make new friends that share your points of view and can have fun in a Christian environment.

At youth summer camps you can volunteer for community service, and oftentimes you may get an idea on how you can serve God and others.

East Side Baptist Church

     Each Sunday, East Side offers a very unique youth group, as they have two different age groups.  Junior High students (6th-9th grade) have their service first, followed by the High School students (10th-12th grade)

      “Youth groups should [be able to] help students identify and develop their spiritual gifts and encourage them to begin using those gifts to God’s glory,” says Youth Pastor Phil Hopkins from East Side.

     Teenagers are led in worship with singing, participate in fun games, and hear life-changing messages--all in one service!

     As the pastor for the youth group, Phil clarifies the Word of God in a kind of style that teenagers can understand best.  An excellent speaker, he graduated from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO.

     On Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:00, East Side’s youth group has Bible study connection groups.  These connection groups are divided into boy groups and girl groups, and these groups are a great place to share prayer requests. 

     When asked to explain what the Bible studies offer, Pastor Phil replies, “We try to create an environment where students feel safe and comfortable having spiritual conversation led by an adult leader.  Most [of] the time these conversations are created out of the previous Sunday’s lesson.”

     The most important goal of this youth group is to strengthen spiritual growth in Jesus the Christ.

     If you would like to learn more about East Side, go online and visit: http://www.esbc.com/.

Importance of Joining a Youth Group

     Attending your local youth group is very important, because you need be able to connect with other teenagers that share your faith.

     A youth group’s number one ambition is to guide adolescents through their early-teen years by introducing them to the awesomeness of God, and helping them discover what calling or purpose they may be led to carry out.              

Anny Hiestand, Teen Blogger