MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLERS

Middle and high school years come with a unique set of challenges and hardships. They are also a season of bold dreams and courageous action. Our ministry seeks to specialize in nurturing 6th-12th graders through the distinct challenges of these stages, as well as mobilizing and empowering them so they can reach their full potential in the world and in the Kingdom of God.

 

All people are made in the image of God. This includes teens, even those who seem to others to be "lost causes." We treat every teen with dignity and optimism because we believe they are precious to God, valuable and vitally useful to this world and capable of great things for God's Kingdom, regardless of background, failures, hurts, habits or hang-ups,

 

ALL are welcome...just as they are.

 

CREATE DISCIPLES

Everything we do--from Bible studies to small groups to Capture the Flag--is strategic with a single goal in mind: DISCIPLESHIP.

Jesus commissioned His followers, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

 

Statistically, the teen years are when people are most likely to surrender to Christ as their Lord and become His disciples. So by Jesus' power, the staff and leaders of GRYM seek to instill faith and love for Jesus in the students so they will be baptized into a life of forgiveness and devotion to Him.

 

We also partner with parents and other influential family and mentors in the teens' lives to equip them for the vital role they play in leading the teens to Christ.

 

CULTIVATE DISCIPLES

Baptism is not the end goal. The second part of the Great Commission tells us that, after acceptance and baptism, we must learn obedience. Thus, the GRYM staff and leaders do not merely create disciples, but cultivate them, as well. We do this by modeling, teaching and counseling what discipleship and devotion look like.

 

We consider it a profound privilege to walk the discipleship journey with the teens, offering grace and guidance and encouragement where needed.

 

And we know we're not alone in this. Parents and other mentors have a tremendous impact on the development of teens' faith, so we continue to assist and equip and encourage the teens' families and mentors to contribute to their discipleship.

 

LIFE-LONG

GRYM measures success, NOT by not in how many students are in our ministry, but by how many students who graduate from our ministry go on to live lives of faithfulness and discipleship beyond their high school years.

 

College and young adulthood can be times when those who accepted Christ in middle or high school walk away from that relationship with Jesus. Our goal is to prepare them during the school years for active, thriving discipleship as college students, young professionals, husbands and wives, parents, and as leaders in the church, business, or wherever their journey takes them.

 

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

Christian and expert in Jewish culture, Ray Vander Laan, describes the difference between a "student" and a "disciple" in this way: "A student aims to know what the teacher knows. A disciples aims to be who the teacher is."

 

Unfortunately, the term "Christian" has lost much of its distinctiveness. It can mean someone who merely aims to know the Bible (a hearer, but not a doer). It could be someone who treats their Christianity as only an accessory in their life rather than the core of who they are and the motivation for what they do. A person can claim to be a Christian without any distinct lifestyle of purity, righteousness, grace, peace, joy or faith.

 

GRYM most often uses the term "disciple" rather than Christian because it still carries the connotation of truly seeking to imitate Jesus, to be who our Teacher is. Our goal is to create and cultivate lifelong DISCIPLES of Christ who will stand out in the world and bring glory to God.