Parents!
I hope that you are all enjoying this amazing weather God has given us this past week! I got so excited I pulled the road bike out, fixed it up and rode to work. I am having a hard time realizing that I am not in California anymore! Haha! I hope that this past month has been fruitful for you and your families. One thing that has been challenging for me is through my new reading plan. I am making the attempt to read through the Bible in 90 days, which means I should be about a third of the way through by now. Though it has been challenging to be intentional about reading such large chunks of Scripture at once, it has been completely worthwhile. God has definitely been speaking to me in these times of reading, and I can see the difference. I want to challenge you as parents of teens to really get motivated about being in the Word. Now I do not expect you to be spending hours at a time in the word, but meaningful moments daily. This is our best opportunity to hear from God. Your, being in the Word daily will have a direct influence on the lives of your children and those you work with on a daily basis.
LOOKING BACK
This past month in CSM, we have been breaking apart the nine different fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I hope you have had opportunities to speak to your children about these areas of growth in their faith. I want to remind you that I write these emails not only to communicate what we are doing, but also to give you the opportunity to have at least one spiritual conversation with your teenager a week. We know that students are not always the best conversationalists with adults (especially their parents), but we want to offer you subjects that will be a catalyst for spiritual conversation in the home.
LOOKING FOWARD
February Series
As stated in the January Newsletter, we are going to be doing a series on Relationships during the month of February (Valentine’s Day anyone?!). My vision for this series is to challenge students to live out Godly relationships. The statistics of students that are in sexual relationships by middle school is staggering and heart breaking. The worst of it being that our students in our church are not immune to this fact either, and that is even more saddening. The truth is that sex is not quietly hidden anymore but rather public and part of everyday conversation. My messages for this series are geared toward helping students understand that they are called to a higher standard by God. I will be sharing some of the ideas I have been taught and found to be the best for how teens should date and what staying pure looks like in the 21st Century. Here is what the weekly breakdown looks like:
SUNDAY MORNINGS
5th – Today vs. Yesterday (Looking at how dating has changed, really asking the students why they date and helping steer them to understand what the purpose of dating is)
12th – Big Chill (We will not be doing our regular morning groups. Instead we will have a video message and discussion afterward for those that are not able to attend Big Chill)
19th – Courtship (Bringing up the idea of Courtship, pointing to the mid week service on setting boundaries in their dating life)
26th – Bible and the Media (Looking at how the media has influenced our thoughts and judgments about dating and relationships)
SUNDAY EVENINGS/WEDNESDAY EVENINGS
(High school will be combined with Middle school on the 8th and 15th for Superbowl and Big Chill)
8th – Guys and Dolls (Guest Speakers: Massey’s. I will be interviewing Don and Kay on what a Godly relationship looks like and what it was like for them)
15th – When Do I Date? (This will be a night where I will bring up my strategy on what it looks like to date, how we should begin, so that there is less heartache and a greater chance of staying pure)
19th/22nd – Purity (Guest Speaker: Jason Todd. My good friend will be walking students through what it looks like to set boundaries and stick to them)
26th/29th – Sex and Fire (Really helping students understand what God’s purpose is for sex in the confines of a marriage relationship. THIS IS YOUR DECISION FOR THEM TO COME. As the parents I give you full right to withhold your child from attending that evening if you feel they are not ready)
If you have any questions on any of these subjects please feel free to call me.
February Events
This month we have two events I want to make sure you are aware about: Superbowl Party and Big Chill.
This coming Sunday, the Howards are going to be hosting our
CSM Superbowl Party. On Superbowl Sunday, we will be meeting at their house at 5 pm till the game is over. For those of you that do not feel like driving out to Pevely, we understand, that is why we are offering a shuttle to and from the Howard’s house. The shuttle crew will meet at the church at 4:30 pm to leave. We will arrive back at the church 40 mins after the game. Hopefully, that will help you schedule your Superbowl evening and take the pressure off being a chauffer. If you would like directions to the Howard’s, there are flyers up in the Rafters that have directions.
As many of you are well aware, Big Chill is coming very soon!! We will be leaving on Feb. 10th, and returning Feb. 12th. If you could pray for the leadership, the worship band, the speaker (Will Snipes) and most importantly, the hearts of our students! We know that God does great things when people pray and trust Him to move, so we hope that you will partner alongside us through prayer. I will be updating the youth website daily (as long as I have coverage) to keep you posted on how everything is going. So make sure to check up on how everything is going at
www.concordstudentministry.com.
Lastly, I want to let you know about our biggest fundraising event! The Trivia Night is going to be March 3rd, from 6-9 pm. If you have not signed up for this event, make sure to do so at the front office at church. The costs are $15 for a seat, and $120 for a table. Make sure to reserve your spot before its too late! If any of you are interested in getting involved and helping with making baskets for the silent auction, make sure to call Melissa Luther at 314-517-5129.
I hope that this helps, and I want to thank you all for your help and support! I pray that God will continue to bless you and your families, and most importantly, that you will continue to grow and live out your faith!
God Bless,
Ben Wahlman
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