|
 The
District Youth Disciple Commission is composed of the following members:
Pastor Matt Vogt, Chairman
Staff Minister Michael Mundstock
Pastor Gary Pufahl
Pastor Lyle Sonntag
Mr. Jacob Rhodes
The commission exists to assist congregations of the district
with materials and information relating to youth outreach and ministry services.
For information on the winter ski retreat, click the button in
the sidebar.
Notes and News from District Commission
on Youth Discipleship:
June 2006
Camps/Retreats/Rallies Held
-
White Mountain Christian Camp will be held June 18-23, 2006 at Camp Grace in
Lakeside, AZ. (Contact: Staff Minister Mike Mundstock.)
- Tree
of Life Bible Camp will be held July 30th-August 5th at Capitol Mountain
(Colfax, CA). (Contact: Pastor Paul Mueller.)
- Good
Shepherd Bible Camp will be held. July 16th-22nd at Camp Morning Star
(Angeles Oaks, CA) under the theme: “Run with Jesus.” (Contact: Pastor
John Moll.)
- The
2006 AZ/CA District Youth Rally will be held July 13-16th at Whispering
Pines Camp (elevation: 5600 feet) near Prescott, AZ (about one hour north
of Phoenix). The theme will be: “The Amazing Grace” (styled in part on the
hit reality TV series “The Amazing Race”). For further information and
online registration forms, go to www.welsrally.net.
- The
2007 WELS International Youth Rally will be held July 4th-7th at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel in Dallas, Texas under the theme “LOL - Laugh Out Loud!”
3,5000 participants are planned for – an increase of 500 over 2005.
WELS Youth Ministry
Conference
The 2nd
Biennial WELS Youth Ministry Conference, “Building from the Ground Up,” is
happening at Chaparral Suites Resort in Scottsdale, AZ on September 15-17,
2006. Three keynotes: The Family Is Foundational, Parents Are Primary, Youth
Matter. Sectionals will be offered on a variety of parenting and youth ministry
topics. Watch for registration details this month.
Why Youth Leave
WELS Study
A two year
independent research process netted findings and recommendations about the role
parents, congregational leaders, worship, WELS attitude, approach to college
age, and value of Lutheran education factor into youth leaving WELS or moving
from one WELS church to another. The full 112 page study and a 13 page
executive summary can be found at www.wels.net/jumpword/youthstudy.
Ongoing
We are
continuing to update the lending library with the latest Christ-Light items and
more children resources.
We encourage
joint projects and activities of different teen groups within geographic areas.
We continue to
create and share Creation for Kids, Christmas for Kids, and other "Kids" stuff
materials (e.g., one day VBS’s – six titles currently), to encourage use of
Strong Roots for Tender Shoots, to offer parenting workshops, Sunday School and
VBS workshops and other services to district congregations.
In the Works
A youth
ministry conference on the district level is being planned for next spring.
This conference will cover several different areas of youth ministry.
Practical, how-to presentations will be offered by those who are doing it
effectively in their congregations.
We are working
on updating the Youth Discipleship page on the District website. Plans include
inventorying worthwhile, copyright-free resources for youth ministry (Bible
studies, Christmas for Kids materials, etc.).
Parents Crosslink
The new WELS
Web site for parents called Parents Crosslink. The web site (www.parentscrosslink.net)
is live. The site includes many helpful resources for Christian parenting,
including a Q&A page and a discussion board! Check it out today and see how
Parents Crosslink and parentscrosslink.net will link parents to each other and
the cross.
Check out
- The
AZ-CA District website – www.az-cadistrict.org
- The
WELS CYD website - www.wels.net/youthdiscipleship
-
Parents Crosslink
website – parentscrosslink.net
- The
LivingBold website for teens - www.livingbold.net
-
WELS Kids Connection
website – www.kidsconnection.tv
Little This . . .
Little That
350
congregations have purchased the four episode Walk in My World 1 video
magazine format of Bible studies for teens and adults. The episodes chronicle
WELS teens and families dealing with real world issues: living your faith, sex
and dating, divorce and serious illness. Walk in My World 2 with four
more episodes (eating disorders, death, violence/murder, and witnessing) is now
available.
The
Confirmation Ministry Task Force will finalize its work and present it to the
CYD this fall. A confirmation evaluation tool kit could be available soon.
How can we assist you
in ministering to your youth?
The members of
our commission stand ready to serve. We have a host of materials, many of which
may be copied and adapted for use in your congregation without copyright
restrictions. We are eager to conduct seminars or retreats in the areas of
Sunday School, VBS and one day VBS programs (e.g., Creation for Kids), parenting
and teen ministry. These are not cookie cutter seminars. Rather we are
prepared to adapt our presentation to meet your congregation’s interests and
needs. We will provide the inserts and posters you may want to use to promote
the event. You may use these seminars to assist your congregational leaders in
brainstorming for ideas for ministry (e.g., starting a Mom’s Club or adapting
your formal Sunday School to a more whole family oriented Bible education hour
or mid-week educational hour), for use among the members of your congregation,
or as an outreach tool – publicizing and inviting the community.
Our financial
resources are limited, so please talk to us soon about setting something up.
Give us a call
and we can talk specifics. Again, we have many tools at our disposal, the
assignment to focus on this area of ministry, along with the heart to
passionately present Christ’s love and wisdom to the Lord’s little ones.
May the Lord
bless all of us in this ministry to our and his children!
Pastor Matthew Vogt,
coordinator
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