Journey
The journey of faith relies upon three major trail markers; Worship, Growth and Service. As we pursue an intentional relationship with Jesus it is crucial that these three elements remain constant in our day to day faith walk. Sometimes it can be tempting to focus on one or two of these while neglecting the others, however if we do that we miss out on the life or Journey that Christ intended for us.
Worship: Christian culture has oversimplified worship, we have attempted to make it all about our emotional response of singing praise songs. While it is important to experience this type of praise, it is important to remember that worship is a way of life, not an activity that we take part in. When we
Grow: We have long been told that by praying the “sinner’s prayer” we invite Jesus into our hearts and punch our ticket into heaven. This type of mindset can lead us down a path of apathy and doubt because our faith quickly becomes dry and empty. When we invite Jesus into our lives it is just the beginning of our new journey. Through the use of the gear in our pack, and the partners journeying with us we should strive to grow deeper in love with Him each day.
Serve: When we think about service, we often immediately imagine handing out food at a soup kitchen or going on a build trip to Mexico. While these are valuable service experiences they fall short of Christ Call to his disciples. Instead of serving in these isolated events, we are called to become active servants in our day to day lives. You see service at its core has nothing to do with meeting physical needs, but is instead aimed towards filling spiritual holes. When we serve, our goal is draw those around us into the same lifeLgiving relationship with Christ that we ourselves are experiencing.
In essence, when we worship we experience Christ in a powerful way, when we grow we learn more about him and when we serve we have a chance to invite others into this new way of living.
Included in this study
Trailer Video: This video is a great promo for the upcoming series and a helpful resource to give parents a glimpse at what their students are studying
3 Teaching Videos: These videos teach the bulk of the curriculum content. They can be played in a small group setting on tablets and laptops or upfront in your large group gathering. The content in these videos will give you a starting point for great small group discussion.
3 Devotional Videos: These videos guide students through a time of prayer and allows them to quietly reflect on scripture, themselves and God’s movement in their world. To set these videos up simply invite your group into a time of prayer and then let the video do the rest. They work well in small groups, large group, or as a take home experience for your students.
Small Group Lesson Sheets: Each video (both teach and devotional) is paired with a small group lesson sheet. These sheets will walk your leaders and students through conversations and activities that build off of the accompanying video.
3 slide templates and series artwork to use in your ministry
Experience Prompts: These prompts invite your group to put the lesson into action. They are simple prompts that put the ball in your court to live out “Worship, Growth and Service” Each prompt has reflection questions for your group to go over after taking part in the experience.
About the Authors
Pete Stearns
Pete is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Christ Church just outside of Chicago. He has served in family ministry for the past ten years and he is passionate about equipping students and their families to journey together in a vibrant faith life.
Aaron Foster
Aaron serves in the high school ministry at Christ Church in Oak Brook, Illinois. His passion in ministry is seeing students make decisions and changes in their lives to more closely follow Jesus and to spread His love.