Mission Statement

Our mission in youth and family ministry is to provide programming for kids of all ages that promotes family and church community, while guiding, encouraging, and preparing youth for a life of faithful discipleship in Jesus Christ. We believe that youth are vital to the life of our church and invite them to engage fully in all activities as they explore and discover their faith.

Each month, as I write this article, I try to reflect on issues currently facing our youth and society.  Today, I feel deeply inclined to share with you one of our most powerful nights in youth ministry.  Some of you may already be aware that each month we try to bring someone from the community in to share their faith testimony with our youth.  I believe it’s important for them to see how others living in Amery, have come to personally know and follow Christ.  What I’ve discovered is that it isn’t the Billy Grahams of the world that make the greatest difference in the faith life of our youth.  No.  It’s regular people like you and me who have had to climb mountains, endure hardships, discover hope, and rely on faith that speak the truth the loudest.

(continued on Our Family page)

So Glad You Came !
 Youth Programs

Come join our 6-8th High School study group called "Core" at 7a.m. Mondays for hour long Bible Study before school. Contact Kathy at congo_youth@yahoo.com                            

 Club 67: Wednesday evenings from 5-6:30 for 6th and 7th grade youth.

Lava Lounge Youth Group is also Wednesday evenings for youth 8th-12th grade. They are welcome to eat dinner at 6:00. Youth group is from 7:00-8:30.

Sunday School is during the 10:00 worship service and is for all kids K-5th grade. Our program is called Live B.I.G. and all kids join together in one big room.

The youth worship team (open for any youth who are interested in music performance and worship leadership) meets on Sunday evenings at 6:00pm
 

 Come join us at Congo Youth !

   "Click here for Congo Youth calendar"

            
       "Prayer Partners"

W.W.J.D.--  You’ve seen it before.   These four little letters printed on wristbands became a huge craze in Christian culture and posed a question to our society that challenged our daily choices and behaviors.  I was recently at a training retreat near Stevens Point, WI, where the main speaker, Dr. Dick Hardel from Augsburg Youth and Family Institute, rocked the W.W.J.D. boat.  He told us: “The problem with W.W.J.D. is simply that it’s heresy.  In order to understand the question, you have to complete it.  It’s really asking:  What would Jesus do…if he were here?” 

How many times have you walked into a room, closet, cupboard, or food pantry to look for something, and as you search high and low with no avail, you, 20 minutes later, discover the object you were looking for is right in front of your face?  That’s the way it is with Jesus.  We can look for him as much as we want, but in reality, he is right here, right now, all the time.    

It should not be about what Jesus would do if he were here, but about what Jesus is doing because he is here—living in us by power of the Holy Spirit.  As I continued to think about this throughout the next several days, I realized that many of us are trying to do what Jesus would do as if he can’t do it himself.  We are trying to create Christianity in which we become like Christ, when in reality, our desire to be like God is what got us into trouble in the first place.  Jesus, in his earthly ministry, never said, “Be like me, and you’ll go to heaven!”  No, he said, “Follow me.  Believe in me, and you will be saved.” That is why in Romans 5:8 God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  We couldn’t do it for ourselves then, and we cannot do it for ourselves today!  God does not expect us to do what he would do.  He expects us to trust Him to do what he can do! 

Because Jesus is our leader, our Lord, and our Savior, it is good to want to do what he says.  To share the love he gave, to make good and moral decisions, and to treat our brothers and sisters with the same love, patience, kindness, and respect he treated us with.  No matter how hard we try, we will never be like Jesus or be able to do things the way He would do them.  However, we can live as He taught us to live.  We need to be aware of Christ in our lives and open our hearts and minds to the work he is doing through us everyday.  He is alive in us today, and God is still speaking; God is still working! 

See you in Church!  ~Kathy

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