Core Values

What H20 Student Ministries is all about!

The Authority of the Bible: God is the trustworthy author of the Bible Who worked through human men to write down His perfect words that are authoritative and should be obeyed by young people today (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).

The Relevance of the Bible: The Bible is not disconnected from our modern day, but rather is living and speaks in principle to all issues young people face from day to day. It's needed for successful living in all areas of life: social, spiritual, physical, and intellectual (1 Pet. 1:3).

A Relationship with God: God desires a personal and intimate relationship with every young person. This comes by turning from sin, and trusting in Jesus God's Son as personal Savior (John 17:3; 20:31; Rom. 3:10; 6:23; 5:8; John 3:16; Rom. 10:8-9, 13).

Partnering with Parents: We desire to honor and serve parents when ministering to their young person (s). Parents are God's authority, and have the deepest insight into the hearts of their young person (s). For this reason we will strive to be learners of, and allies with the parents of young people (Eph. 6:1-3).

Mentoring Frendships¹: A mentor offers unconditional love, listens to, sometimes shares struggles with, supports through consistent encouragement, and continually prays for the befriended teen. First Baptist youth leaders seek to mentor teens in all aspects of life (1 Thess. 2:8).

Purpose-filled Youth Events: We are committed to providing youth activities to meet the deep needs of young-people, and not simply to provide "something for them to do." Kids don't just need something to do but rather direction in life. Friendship² events will emphasize helping teens grow closer to each other. Growth events will emphasize helping teens grow closer to God. Outreach events will help teens share the love of Jesus with others outside the group (Rom. 8:28 - becoming a part of God's process with teens).

Trained Leadership: We are committed to training our youth leaders through seminars, and real life experiences so each may grow in their effectiveness to better care for the needs of teens (2 Tim. 2:2).

Small Group Interaction: In small groups teens can more easily gain a sense of real community. Real community leads to good discussion, deeper levels of friendship, and ultimately changed lives. Jesus the Mater teacher modeled this strategy as He led 12 men in a small group for three years (Mt. 20:17).

Personal Growth: There are 5 main areas of life all young people need to grow in:

• Physically-care for their bodies: general health and hygiene, exercise, and safety.
• Emotionally-care for feelings: stability and balance for coping with life.
• Intellectually-processing and using helpful information.
• Relationally-building positive dynamic relationships with others.
• Spiritually-building a strong vibrant day to day relationship with God.

Other-centeredness: Young people must be committed to serving each other and those in their community. God didn't make the world only made for themselves but others as well. Teambuilding activities such as "The Human Knot" will aid our teens in understanding this biblical concept. In this activity teens have to work together in order to "untangle" themselves (Phil. 2:3-11).

Team: The church is a "team" with Jesus as the coach. Undershepherds, or pastors, are assistant-coaches who facilitate and play in the game. It is important for young people to learn how to work together in order to fulfill God's mission. A strong focus will be placed on the "love one another" command. By keeping this command Jesus said all men will know that you are my disciples.

^{1 - This is actually discipleship. It is important to remove "barrier" words from the ears of the lost who have no Holy Spirit residing in them, but possibly have misconceptions. In time It's important to teach the Biblical richness of words like "discipleship."}

^{2 - I.e. Fellowship}

As youth workers our 3 general objectives in the friendships we build are:

• Love the young person as Jesus does.
• Provide an environment for each young person to build healthy dynamic relationships with others.
• Provide solid answers for living from the bible.