Reaching Our Youth in a Positive and Uplifting Way
To the Editor:
Self-esteem is vital throughout one’s life and is usually rocked during the teen years. As we all know, our youth are our future leaders and although some of them are connected to either the Quest or Bucktail youth group, yet they all struggle with low self-esteem, peer pressure, broken families, absentee parenting and many temptations that can negatively impact their lives and their futures.
No single church or organization can adequately address these challenges during the most crucial time in their lives … and without the spiritual moorings that Jesus Christ provides, they may make unwise decisions during these tumultuous teen years.
Many communities have the same dilemma – how to reach their youth in a positive and uplifting way so that they make wise decisions and entrust their lives to the Lord who created each one of them with specific purpose, passion and a life-long mission.
One of our Pennsylvania communities discovered that although no one church or organization could address all youth’s challenges … but together as a community, a very vital and positive difference could be accomplished in the lives of their youth. To that end, seven years ago, community and church leaders and concerned parents, grandparents and other family members met and established a mission to reach their youth. They began by inviting the youth (7th through 12th graders) to a fun-filled event just after the school year began … and the rest, as they say, is history. A very positive history that now involves over 90 youth – nine of them recently chose to be baptized as a public declaration of their faith in Jesus Christ.
Within the past year, we were invited by Paul Rishel (a former Renovo resident) to consider establishing the same type of outreach to our area youth. To that end, a plan is already in place to have a R.O.C.C. (Reaching Our Children for Christ) event at Bucktail High School on Saturday, September 19th. Paul and his team will be orchestrating the entire event and many volunteers are needed to assure its success. We anticipate great attendance by both the youth and their families … but it is our hope that this is just the beginning of events that will draw our youth into community and purpose so that their future is bright, no matter where the Lord calls them.
To that end, we are inviting you to join us for a planning meeting with Paul and his team on Friday, July 3rd at 6:30PM in Christian Community Church’s Fellowship Hall. We hope that you can attend and your RSVP will assure that adequate seating is provided. However, if that date conflicts with your schedule and you still wish to be involved, please contact us.
We look forward to working with you as, together, we support and energize our youth to make a huge difference in this world, beginning right here in Western Clinton County.
Warmest Blessings,
Pastor Rich and Denise Colvin
Christian Community Church
South Renovo
