River Rock Youth Ministry 

Vision:

We dream of thousands of Junior High and High School students becoming passionate followers of Jesus through the ministry of River Rock Church.

Goal:

-To stir a passion for God among Junior High and High School age students.

-To help Junior High and High School students develop life-giving friendships. 

-To give students opportunity to renew the world by participating in the mission of God. 

Mission:

More disciples, better disciples, in missional community, for the renewal of the world.

We plan to accomplish this mission through a youth ministry that we hope will:

- Help students understand their God-given identity as image bearers of Christ.

- Encourage both youth and youth leaders to be respond to God passionately

- Be concerned with the spiritual formation of youth and adult servant leaders.

- Expose youth and youth servant leaders to the practices and sensibilities of classical   forms of Christian spiritual formation.

- Inspire parents, as the primary faith-formers, to practice God-centered parenting

- Encourage a deeper understanding of adolescent spirituality.

- Be educationally informative as well as spiritually formative.

- Be life-giving and nurturing for all involved.

- Lovingly make room for those students and their parents who do not yet follow Jesus.

- Help students engage their world faithfully

- Grounded in partnership with River Rock Church and promotes the involvement of River Rock partners. 

Contemporary youth programs rely on charismatic leaders, entertaining programs and "hot topics" for discussion.  Unfortunately, these programs are difficult for churches to produce, tend to be theologically shallow and spiritually negligent, and often result in the youth and youth leaders becoming alienated from congregations and from their own lives of faith.  Using classical methods of spiritual formation, River Rock's youth ministry will nurture young people and youth leaders in the practices, exercises, and disciplines of the spiritual life.  This approach encourages youth and youth leaders to be attentive to the movement of God, both in their personal lives, in the life of River Rock and in the community. (School, play, clubs, etc.)  Through this youth ministry young people and youth leaders will not only acquire a greater passion for God, but will also learn life-long skills in "practicing the presence of God."