LOOKING AHEAD
Spiritual Preparation
Summer has always been the perfect time to regroup and prepare for the next season of youth ministry and this year is no different. We’ve held meetings with our volunteers to look forward and dream about what God might want to do in our ministry this next year and how we might work with Him to accomplish these things.
If you’ve been a part of our church for a while, you might have noticed a change in how we talk about faith. We are developing an increased focus on seeking God’s presence in everything we do, not just doing things in God’s name. I want to invite you to join us in this.
Jesus gave us an example of a life of prayer. He demonstrated that devotion to God means bringing everything to God. This isn’t just a personal or private practice either. Prayer is the lifeblood of a ministry that is bringing the lost to know God. When we ask God to move in my life and in the life of those who need him, he listens and he acts!
With that in mind, would you start praying for this next school year of Youth Group? Would you make it a regular part of your prayer life?
Pray that God would move in the hearts of our students and make them hungry for more of His presence.
Pray that the conversations we have about who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him would sink in to our student’s lives and not just their minds.
Pray that God would bring opportunities to share the hope of Jesus with students who don’t know him yet.
—-Ryan Anfinrud
PRAYER TOOLS
GROWING IN PRAYER
Maybe you aren’t confident in your prayer life. There’s always time to grow! Maybe your pretty confident but your prayer time has gotten stale.
Memorized Prayer
Consider memorizing the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6. Each line reveals ways we relate to God and rely on God for both big and small. Memorizing this is especially helpful for the days that you just can’t think of what to pray for!
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Prayer Resources
Attached here is a resource from “Deep Discipleship” that you can look over and try out for yourself, and consider sharing with your student as you help them follow Jesus.
FINAL NOTE
If there’s anything you or your family needs prayer for, I’d like to know about it to support you and trust God with you. Simply reach out with a message to: [email protected]
