Dear Parent(s) and Teen, Let me take this opportunity and welcome you to the 4.12 Youth Ministry program. I also wanted to take this opportunity to give you some information about 4.12 Ministries and our activities. Along with this letter, the welcome packet should include a Things You Should Know info sheet, information concerning the ministry leaders of 4.12 Ministries, my philosophy of ministry, a 4.12 decal, and more. Many exciting things lie ahead for you and your teen in the coming years as you travel together down the bumpy road of adolescence. We want to assist in any way we can to nurture the spiritual, emotional, and mental growth of your teen. Please do not hesitate to come to me with any questions, problems, or concerns that you may have. Together as a team, we work towards the common goal of developing a faithful teenage Christian who will continue his/her walk with the Lord throughout their life. If you have any questions about this packet or if I can be of assistance in any way, please feel free to give me a call. Once again, welcome to 4.12 Youth Ministries and may God bless you and your family! In His Service, Bruce Beaver
Overview of 4.12 Ministries Youth Program What is 4.12 Ministries? 4.12 Ministries is the name of the youth program at Pine Tree Church of Christ. It has a look and name that the teens can identify with, get excited about, and promote with their friends. Why is it called 4.12 Ministries? The name 4.12 Ministries is based upon the mission verse the youth group selected themselves. That verse is 1 Timothy 4:12 which says, Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. What do you do in 4.12 Ministries? We have Sunday AM & Wednesday PM Bible classes, devotionals (during the school year) every month, Small Groups, Jr. High & High School retreats, special events & parties, Mission Trips, and more. What grade levels are involved in 4.12 Ministries? The grade levels involved in the youth program are 6 th -12 th. Once a child has completed the summer after their 5 th grade year, they officially become part of the youth program, come to class, and become eligible to go to devos, retreats, trips, etc. This enables our teens to have 7 summers in the youth group & our graduated seniors to have one last summer to go on trips. Where do you meet? 4.12 Ministries meets in the youth building, a.k.a. the Hub. It serves as our general meeting space as well as our classrooms. It is called the Hub because it also serves as the center of the youth ministry program it s where we come together and from where we go out into the world. Is 4.12 Ministries separate from the rest of the congregation? 4.12 Ministries is simply an identity for the youth program and does not promote a separation of any kind from the rest of the congregation. Rather, the youth are encouraged to get involved in the other aspects of church as well as teen activities. An important part of our philosophy is that the teens are members and assets of the church NOW and need to be willing to take an active role.
4.12 Ministries Philosophy of Youth & Family Ministry "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6 An important facet of the Pine Tree congregation is its dedication to Youth & Family Ministry. Pine Tree Youth Ministries are devoted to encouraging young people to become strong Christians and have a living, working faith. My philosophy of Youth & Family Ministry can be illustrated in my personal mission statement: "Utilizing myself, parents, and the church, I hope to instill and establish into the young people a firm foundation in Jesus Christ that will produce mature Christians who are ready to take on the world." To put into simpler terms, my philosophy can be said in three words: encourage, equip, establish. We want to encourage the youth. Every day, young people deal with very serious issues. Whether it is sex, drugs, peer pressure, whatever, it is important for adolescents to know that the church is the place they can turn to for help. We want to encourage them to take refuge in Christ and His body, the church. Also, it is important to encourage the youth to know that they are part of the church right now and they do not have to wait until they are adults to serve. We see in 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 that we are a body made up of many different parts. It is crucial for teenagers to realize that they can worship and serve Christ right now. We want to equip the youth. I firmly believe that adolescents need to be equipped with the tools of a solid faith, a servant's heart, and a working knowledge of the Bible. These are the things that will ignite a fire that will help them their entire spiritual lives. We develop a solid faith through heart-searching devotionals, thought-provoking retreats, and unselfish worship times. We develop a sense of being a servant by helping our neighbor and each other. Finally, we develop a working knowledge of the Bible by spending time in the Word. That is the only true way to know what it really says. We want to establish the youth. We want to establish the youth into Christ giving them a firm foundation for their lives. Because of the many snares and temptations that will be thrown at them, it is essential that they have a sense of spiritual integrity founded in Jesus Christ. This foundation comes from knowing the Bible, having spiritual role models, and maintaining a passion for our Savior. Overall, we want to interweave the youth into the church while building spiritual relationships with God and thus creating mature, knowledgeable Christians. And perhaps most importantly, we believe it is important to assist parents in raising their teenagers in Christ. 4.12 Ministries cannot compete with school, the many extracurricular activities, and other things that take up today's teenager's time. So we strive to give both teen and parents the tools, the questions, and the answers that they need to grow in the Lord. All efforts we make, we make as a team toward the common goal: A faithful teenage Christian who will continue his/her walk with the Lord throughout their life. -Bruce D. Beaver, Youth & Family Minister If you would like more information about Pine Tree Youth Ministries, please feel free to send an email to our Youth Minister.
Things You Should Know... Jr. High School activities are indicated with the letters JH & High School Activities are indicated with the letters HS. The following is an example of a High School Christmas Party: HS XMAS Party, Dec. 15th There are certain activities that are designated solely for Jr. High or High School students. However, if this is NOT indicated by the calendar or the bulletin, then the event is open for everyone to attend/participate. Activities/events such as this might include Six Flags or a Texas Rangers Game. We will have a big Parent Meeting one time a year and several mini-meetings planned for the 2nd Sunday of every other month. It s important that you attend these meetings for several reasons. First, you ll get a glance of the coming events/activities/devos. Second, there is an opportunity to sign up as a sponsor for 4.12 activities/events. Third, you can take the opportunity to ask any questions you might have. And finally, we give out door prizes (like a free HS retreat) to those who attend. Be sure to go by the youth board on a regular basis because there s often information for you, signups for your teen(s), and updated calendars. Also, be sure to check out our website at www.inthehub.org for news updates, calendars, maps, and other information. We also have our permission forms and medical release forms in a printer friendly form so you can print it directly off the website. In order to maintain a safe environment, we have a child/safety policy. It entails all adults who work with our teens to have a criminal background check done. If you wish to serve as a sponsor, you will need to have this done as well.
Be sure to visit www.inthehub.org to get the latest announcements and information regarding what is going on in the youth ministry program. For More Information, contact our Youth & Family Minister, Bruce Beaver. bbeaver@pinetreechurch.org 903-759-9562 Pine Tree Church of Christ 3221 Dundee Rd. Longview, TX 903-759-9562 www.pinetreechurch.org Pine Tree Church of Christ Youth Ministry Seeking God Serving Others Growing Together
ENCOURAGE, EQUIP, ESTABLISH in CHRIST The philosophy behind 4.12 Ministries is based upon encouraging, equipping, & establishing teens in Christ. ENCOURAGE - Every day, young people deal with very serious issues. Whether it is sex, drugs, peer pressure, whatever, it is important for adolescents to know that the church is the place they can turn to for help. We want to encourage them to take refuge in Christ and His body, the church. EQUIP- We firmly believe that adolescents need to be equipped with the tools of a solid faith, a servant's heart, and a working knowledge of the Bible. We develop a solid faith through heart-searching devotionals, thought-provoking retreats, and unselfish worship times. We develop a sense of being a servant by helping our neighbor and each other. Finally, we develop a working knowledge of the Bible by spending time in the Word. That is the only true way to know what it really says. ESTABLISH - We establish the youth into Christ by giving them a firm foundation for their lives. Because of the many snares and temptations that will be thrown at them, it is essential that they have a sense of spiritual integrity founded in Jesus Christ. This foundation comes from knowing the Bible, having spiritual role models, and maintaining a passion for our Savior. Seeking God We spend time every class, retreat, and devotional discovering what God s Word says and how it applies to us today. Serving Others It s easy to get self-centered and caught up in our own lives. We do our best to instill a servant s heart in our teens by giving many opportunities to serve someone other than themselves. Growing Together Rather than just being a group that gets together regularly and does fun stuff, our goal is to grow together in our faith. Our journey in faith was never meant to be done alone. So we, as a collection of different people from different backgrounds with different talents & interests, come together for a common purpose to develop our relationship with the Lord. ACTIVITIES & OPPORTUNITIES There are many activities and opportunities for our teens to get involved. Here s just a few of them: - Sunday AM & Wed. PM class - Monthly Devotionals - Summer Mission Trips - Wilderness Trek - Retreats (Spring & Fall) - Service Projects - Six Flags Trip - Rangers Games