Children & Students
One of the most frequently asked questions for a church is, “What do you have for my kids?” Yet in spite of our great American efforts at youth ministry, when it comes to young people, churches are hemorrhaging faster than a hemophiliac in a tattoo parlor.
We see children as integral to the church living as an extended family, and we keep it that way throughout adolescence. There is no bells, whistles, and bright lights show to entertain them. We don’t try to compete with the sizzle in the world outside. There is just an ordinary, not very sexy, gospel community of people loving one another and relating to one another. The kids are loved and the young people are discipled. They have people around them who care for them, take an interest in them, bear with them, face up to them, pick them up, and welcome them back when they’ve screwed up.
We don’t separate our young people at all. Instead, we encourage families to attend gatherings of the Rooted together. Additionally, the Bible is clear and we emphasize that it’s the job of parents to raise their kids to love Jesus. The church’s job is to equip the parents to get this done, not do if for them. So we challenge and equip parents to disciple their children at home and to involve them closely in the life and teaching of the church so that they might grow up realizing what real community is and what it truly means to be part of the church.
Seriously, that’s all we do.