Monday Night Discipleship Home Group

This year we have instituted a Monday night discipleship group. This is a by-invitation-only meeting just for students that we feel are really have a hunger and desire for God based on their words and deeds. We felt we should have a separate group for them so they could have more one-on-one attention from staff.

The environment is different. Instead of meeting at “The Kennel”, we are meeting at the staff house (Derek’s house) just around the corner from “The Kennel”. We felt this would be a more intimate setting than the youth center and it would not hold all the distractions that the youth center sometimes has. The agenda is similar to a Bible study: two staff members share a lesson from Jesus’ teachings. The goal is to learn about the life of Christ and to learn the “culture of the Kingdom” that He taught (Sermon on the Mount). Also, Marissa is cooking dinner for the kids too (yikes!), as it runs from 7-9pm.

Next, we have a discussion time where the teens’ can bring forward any questions or thoughts they may have. Here, we have more time to discuss and more time to delve into the depths of Scripture. We encourage the kids to share what’s going on in their lives (what they’re struggling with), so we may break into small groups. Also, in this environment, we can also provide some individual counseling time, if needed.

Lastly, we also have more in depth prayer time and teach them about the different ways they can connect with the heart of God through prayer. Here we would like the students to pray for each other, instead of just the staff members praying over all of their prayer requests. We hope to continue to teach them that God hears them and they can go before His throne boldly. Overall, we just want to better mentor and disciple these particular kids.