“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
      - Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Youth Ministry at Ferguson Avenue Baptist Church

To often today it seems as though the youth are considered a culture all to themselves separate from the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this thinking has crept widely into the church and youth groups are often considered a separate body within the church, the “them and us” mentality. We believe this to be contrary to the picture that Scripture gives us concerning the unity of the Body of Christ. We do not believe that it is the job of the church or the youth ministry to replace or compete with the parental responsibility to raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. At FABC, we believe in the importance of the family and the importance of assisting the parents in the evangelization and spiritual growth of their teen. For this reason we encourage the parents to take part in any youth function that is planned. We are not interested in behavior modification but true heart change and it is for this reason that we have a strong commitment to truth, the truth of God’s Word. We believe that this heart change will come as a result of God’s grace through the consistent teaching of the Word and Christ centered discipleship.

Opportunities for our youth
We offer Sunday school classes for our students that are separated into Jr. High girls, Jr. High guys, HS girls, and HS guys. In addition to Bible book studies i.e., Acts, James, Proverbs, etc., we will also be doing various series’ on the importance of having and living out a Biblical Christian Worldview, a Survey of the Bible, Comparative religions, Church History, and Creationism.
On Wednesday nights, we join corporately at 5:45 for a meal and then at 6:30, the youth move to the youth house. There we spend time in fellowship and games, worship through song, adult leader led prayer, and Bible study (usually topical). We then end the evening together in age and gender appropriate small groups that are led by adult leaders who then help to cement the application of the lesson to hearts and minds of the youth and well as time together in prayer. It is also the purpose of the small groups to offer the students discipleship with their adult leader outside of the regular activities of the church.

Discipleship
We have a strong commitment to discipleship. We want to teach our students how to imitate Christ in their private life as well as before the watching world. This involves digging deeper into the issues of the heart. As already stated above discipleship happens in the context of the small groups but in addition to that the Jr. High guys meet on Tuesdays for an hour and the HS Guys meet on Thursdays for about an hour. Jr. High girls meet every other Tuesday and HS girls have the opportunity to meet as well on various days as they are available.

Activities
We offer various activities throughout the year. Some include our winter ski trip for our HS students that involve 3 days of intensive Bible Study coupled with fun in the snow and on the slopes. Summer camps, various family outings, youth breakfasts and service opportunities are also part of our ministry. 2006 also included our HS mission trip to the Dominican Republic. We also have a heavy emphasis on serving one another especially within the body here at Ferguson.
Ultimately there is a purpose and reason for everything we do. In today’s pluralistic, relativistic, entertainment driven society our youth are falling prey to the sin of the world’s lures and deceptions. Having opportunities for fun is an important aspect of being a youth, however this should not and can not be what drives the Youth Ministry. We want to see our children walking with the Lord, examining their hearts, applying God’s truth to their lives for His glory so that they will be a useful tool in the Master’s Hands in their families, schools, with their friends, or anywhere the Lord may have them. We hope you share a very similar commitment and look forward to worshiping with you soon.

Recommended Youth Reading List


Girls
“The Look” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
“Girl Talk” by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Mahaney Whitacre, and C. J. Mahaney

Jr. High Girls
“Girl of Beauty” by Carol Fiddler and Elisabeth Elliot

Jr. High
“Little Pilgrims Progress” by Helen Taylor

Guys
“Purity Challenge” by Mike Cleveland w/ Nathan & Jena Wells
“Boy Meets Girl” by Joshua Harris
“Not Even a Hint” by Joshua Harris

Jr. High and Sr. High
“The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis
“Purity Principle” by Randy Alcorn
“I Kissed Dating Goodbye” by Joshua Harris
“New Christians Start Here” by Peter Jeffery
“The Pillars of Christian Character” by John Macarthur
“The Gospel and Personal Evangelism” by Mark Dever

Sr. High
“Pilgrims Progress” by John Bunyan
“A Call to Prayer” by JC Ryle
“The Cross Centered Life” by CJ Mahaney
“Humility” by CJ Mahaney
“The Thought of God” by Maurice Roberts
“Spiritual Leadership” by J. Oswald Sanders
“Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” by Donald Whitney & J.I. Packer
“Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands” by
Paul Tripp
“Welcome to the Family” by John MacArthur “Total Truth” by Nancy Pearcy
“The Holiness of God” by R.C. Sproul
“Don’t Waste your Life” by John Piper

Sr. High Advanced
“The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer”-5 Vol Set