Riverside Youth Group
What a privilege it is to belong to Christ! As Youth Minister here at Riverside Church of Christ, for the past 5 years, I want to be the first to welcome you and encourage you to consider becoming a part of our teen family.
Youth ministry has been a tremendous blessing in my life becuase of the transformation that is so easily and obviously seen in the lives of teens when they turn their life over to Jesus Christ. Teens are searching for meaning and purpose in their lives. This is the central struggle of adolescence where the two most essential question of life are continuously asked: "Who am I?" and "Why am I here?"
Important RYG Summer Dates
June 1 Graduation Sunday
June 15-20: Camp Texoma "Readers of the Lost Ark"
June 28- July 4: Mission in Mexico "The Amazing Spidermen"
July 5-12: Middle School Mission San Antonio "Handicap"
July 20-25: 9th Grade Mystery Trip
July 25- August 1: High School Colorado Wilderness Trek
In spite of all man's advances in medicine, technology, communication, space exploration, etc., these questions have yet to be adequately answered by man's wisdom. The Lord tells us through the apostle Paul, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God stronger than man's strength." (I Corinthians 1:25)
The Lord also answers these two basic questions of existence in one verse of Scripture: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who belong to God. . . ." (I Peter 2:9a) According to Peter, this is who we are to be as Christian children of God. We are chosen by God, given royal status in His kingdom as evidenced by the manifold blessings found only in Christ, ascribed holiness because He is holy, and are a people who belong to Him. What a privilege! What a blessing!
So, why are we here? ". . . that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." (I Peter 2:9b). We were created for the chief purposes of worshiping and declaring the praises of God. In a world of darkness, violence, evil, prejudice, divisiveness, loneliness, and depression, God desires more than anything that we know through the sacrifice of His Son that He has chosen us, that He freely ascribes value (royalty) to us, that He loveingly makes us holy in spite of our unholiness, and that He gives us a reason and an invitation to belong to Him and His family.
At Riverside, it is our goal to help teens come to know these wonderful truths, discover Jesus, and form an eternal bond with Him. If you are interested in following Jesus, or if you have quesitons and just want to talk, give me a call (972-462-8759) or send me an e-mail (Riversideyouthministry@hotmail.com).
