Author: Gateway Student Ministry

The following is from Jen Kughn, who is overseeing LTC:

March 8th:  Registration deadline (let me know what your kiddo wants to do); $20 registration fee is due at that time (checks made out to Gateway)

March 19th: Pre-convention events are due (see website for a list of those)

April 7-9th- Convention- Marriott Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel

Please go ahead and visit seltc.org and research what events your child wants to do. They can do as many or as little as they want. I will register all the students. Please let me know (via email), no later than March 8th.  

You can access the Bible Bowl questions there and fun games to help with learning the book of Matthew. 

For many years now, several of us have stayed at the Marriott Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel for the Friday night.  The Bible Bowl usually doesn’t end until 9:30pm, so it is nice not having to take a long trip home.  We also usually enjoy a late pizza & pool party.  It is so much fun.  

The room cost went slightly up this year.  It is $122 plus tax. Please let me know if you are planning on staying at the hotel, and I will add you to that list. 

Just an important reminder, this is a parent lead event.  It is a great opportunity to dig deep in the Word with your kids and learn together (they even offer a Family Bible Bowl).  Although the kids need to be working at home, I do know from experience, the kids love getting to have practice time together. Both Liz and Seth are teaching their classes on the book of Matthew, so this will make this learning so much richer. 

Please let me know if you would be willing to work with the kids on a Wednesday night to either practice Bible bowl questions; sign language; chorus; drama…etc. There are so many areas we really could have a lot of fun with.  

On January 1st, we will be beginning a new series entitled “Renovations of the Heart: A study in Christian Character Formation”.

On January 8th, we will begin our Life Group (5:30 p.m. at the building every other week) where we will dive deeper into discussions on “Renovations of the Heart”.

On January 4th, we will resume our Wednesday night bible classes at 6:00 p.m, studying the book of Matthew in conjunction with LTC.

I want to take a moment and put some emphasis on these times of teaching, gathering, worship and learning. We tend to naturally focus on the large events and the large gatherings. Retreats, camps, trips, etc. These mountain top moments are essential and vastly important. But true, sustainable growth happens in the “mundane”, “ordinary” moments of life. And this is where our regular times of meeting come in.

We don’t come together for bible class because we “have to” or because we are “required”. We come together to learn and grow because life happens in the quiet moments of our day to day lives. It happens in our text message conversations and our social media presence. It comes in how we treat each other and talk to each other. It comes in our personal times of reading the Word, being in prayer and our personal spiritual growth. Our bible classes and life groups are times that we sharpen that, refine that, challenge ourselves and each other and work towards growth.

I ask that you consider that, not only in your teens lives, but in YOUR lives. Spiritual growth will begin in the home based on what is prioritized and what is modeled.

We begin a new year soon and this is as good a time as any to begin focusing in on these moments. See you soon!