Youth 2024 Fall Kickoff

Written by: Youth Staff

All summer long our youth staff, volunteers, and students had been excitedly waiting for September 8 for our regular youth season to kickoff, and needless to say, it did not disappoint! We launched into the year with nearly 150 students and volunteers in attendance for dinner, games, silent disco, student-led worship, and the start of our new series based on the book, God’s Big Picture, by Vaughan Roberts. It was a joy-filled night as our existing groups got to reconnect after having the summer months off and our new 6th grade students met their leaders who will be leading them for the next 7 years. 

While planning an event for any group with teenagers typically entails an exciting game or activity, what makes our youth ministry at Gateway Church so effective has less to do with the games and much more to do with the adults who faithfully serve and invest in our students week in and week out. As stated earlier, our leaders typically start with a 6th grade class and stay with that group until they graduate from high school–and many even stay invested in the lives of their students far beyond that! While the games are a fun chance to hang out, it’s our leaders' consistent and caring investment that ultimately draws our kids in, keeps them coming back, and helps them grow deeper in their faith. Our leaders are amazing and sacrifice so much of their time and energy to invest in and disciple our next generation. 

In addition to being a safe, stable person for our students throughout their middle and high school years, our leaders take time to work through scripture with our students and teach and model spiritual disciplines. On our kickoff night, we emphasized getting our students engaged in worship and the word. We were blessed to see the Spirit move as students were empowered to worship passionately. One of the most encouraging pieces of feedback came from one of our Life Group leaders and a few of our parents. They shared that a new sixth grader watching the older students passionately worship with their hands raised and eyes closed helped them also worship with passion and feel more connected to God than they had ever experienced in worship before. Another parent shared that after our kickoff night, a group of 7th grade girls were inspired to start a Bible study with their peers at school. We are overwhelmed with the ways God continues to move in and through Gateway Church youth ministry in our lives, our leaders’ lives, and the lives of our students. With a kickoff this sweet, we’re on the edge of our seats to see what the rest of this year will bring!