AOL Ministry
Our youth group is reaching out to the community through a program we call ACTS OF LOVE (AOL). The purpose of AOL is to do loving acts that meet needs in the lives of others. 1 John 4:12 says, “but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” We believe that in order to experience the full love of God we all need to be active in serving and loving others. So here are some of the activities we’ve been doing: Playing games with the homeless at Carriage Town Ministries and cooking and serving a meal at My Brother’s Keeper; Serving Widows, Elderly and Shut-ins from Faith Tabernacle; Playing games with the Elderly at Braidwood Retirement Center; Using Prisoneralert.com to write letters and encourage imprisoned believers around the globe. If you want to get involved all you have to do is a get a parent signed permission slip and show up on an AOL night.
Youth Summer Camp
Once a year our high school ministry challenges students to spend 5 days away from home, school and work to go to camp with us and let God speak to them. Through the years we’ve seen students make many life-altering decisions to surrender their life wholly to Christ. Students have testified to feeling closer to God than ever, knowing their calling in life and feeling inspired to keep God first in their life. That’s what camp is all about for us. Now, we also pack the week full of hilarious and fun team activities which bring students together and create awesome memories. Our camp has a beautiful lake and clean, well-kept dorms. If you have never been to summer camp you really need to give it a try.
Quixotic Weekend
(Quixotic; pursuing what seems impossible to others)
Quixotic weekends are weekends where we study specific topics such as serving, evangelism, how to study the Bible and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Other youth ministries join us for this weekend filled with fun, great worship, and in-depth teaching.
AJF Weekends
“Authentic Jesus Followers” weekends. This is for all teenagers that desire a closer walk with God. A few times throughout the year we take the teens on a weekend where we can have an in-depth study on certain topics such as evangelism, serving and gifts of the Holy Spirit. This weekend event is held locally and the cost is usually very low.
Dare2Share
If your student was in a place where they had the opportunity to share their faith, could they? D2S (Dare2Share) is all about equipping your students with the tools they need to tell their friends about Jesus. Last year our students came back really excited not only about what God had spoken to them but what they could share with their friends. We spend Friday and Saturday at the event, and then Sunday we head to downtown Chicago for shopping and fun.
ATF Weekend
“Acquire the Fire” is an intense gathering of thousands of young people and youth leaders in cities all across North America. This event has elements of lighting effects, video, drama, pyrotechnics and an exclusive theatrical production all for the purpose of creatively teaching and equipping teenagers. World-class speakers and bands will be featured. We’ve seen many lives changed when students have an encounter with God at ATF. This is a “Junior High Only”event – no high school students. It is a great opportunity to get away and have a “God Moment”. ATF is an exciting introduction to “big” youth events.