SOAP • January 19, 2025
Next Gen Ministries at UC: We want to: cultivate a church community where the next generation- from infant to young adult- is known, loved, led, discipled,
and sent to follow Jesus with resilient faith.
| Read Deuteronomy 6 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%206&version=NLT Deuteronomy 6:4-7- “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up." |
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| Even though one of the commandments given by God was to honor the Sabbath, connecting with God on a regular basis was primarily a personal and family responsibility. The people were called by God to worship as a community of faith by withdrawing from regular activity to gather together and intentionally focus on Who God is and their relationship with Him at least once each week. The home and family, however, was the primary place of learning about the goodness of God and everyday life to be lived in the light of eternity. This was to be based on the Word of God as the key incubator for the faith once delivered. Getting together in large group gatherings for worship once a week was considered a vital reminder about how important it was to connect with God, but families, especially children, needed constant and daily reminders about remaining grounded in God's inexhaustible Word. |
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| In 2026 the family still remains the key place where God wants people's faith nurtured. At UC we only get to be with your kids for a short period of time each week. As incredible as our team of staff and volunteers are at serving God and making a difference in the lives of the Next Generation (in our context defined as birth through college and under the leadership and direction of Jamie Deger, Ruth Chilcote, Jesse Bachman, and Pastor Kris Holguin), parents and grandparents and spiritual mentors of all kind need to be repeating God's Word to them "again and again." Let's celebrate the wonderful ways we pour life and love into our kids, but let's always remember that children and youth will spend far more time in other environments. There will always be challenges in every age that make being a community sent to help anyone and everyone become a follower of Jesus more of a reality. As we point to the grace and truth of God's Word and the deep love of Jesus Christ for all people, we get to remember our first mission is with those in family: "Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” |
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| Dear God, thank for all of the great staff, volunteers, college students, youth, and children engaged in ministry and mission at UC. They are serving You so well and making such a difference making Jesus famous and inviting them into new life in Christ. We particularly also lift up our UC families and beyond to Your throne of grace as they seek to lead young people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ. There is a lot of pressure and so many distractions for families to let go of the faith once delivered as a key priority. Strengthen them, lead them, and bless them. Help us as Your Church come alongside them in allowing the Good News to put down deep roots in their families in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. |
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"God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." (Ephesians 1:5), Pastor Jamie P. S. - To find out more about our Vision Team and our Strategic Priorities go to: https://universitycarillon.net/vision/ |
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