A&M Youth
September 14, 2024 Parent Update
Hey Parents - Hope everyone has had a good week. This week's update is quick. Enjoy!
In this week's update:
1) One Prayer a Day
2) Sunday Morning Schedule
3) Sunday Night Small Groups
4) Wednesday Night Midweek
5) Middle School Fall Retreat
6) Phase Cards Coming
1) One Prayer a Day
-
All month long, we are encouraging students (and parents) to think about their prayer life and either:
- begin praying daily if you are not already doing so
or
-become more focused in your daily prayer life -
Prayer is not something which is easy for most people, but praying to God each day is life-changing.
-
If you are not already praying each day and spending time with the Lord, we encourage you to make a plan to start doing this each day this month. Here are some ways you can do this: Wake up a few minutes earlier; pull over in a parking lot for a few minutes after dropping off the kids or after leaving work; pray together as a family before you eat supper or before everyone goes to bed; use the YouVersion Bible app to go through the verse of the day or the daily prayer prompts on the homescreen.
2) Sunday Morning Schedule
-
Worship at 8:30 in the chapel and at 10:30 in the worship center. It's the last Sunday with our torn pews in the worship center.
-
Bible classes at 9:40. MS in the MS room, HS in the HS room. Heather and Monty will teach MS. Mark Hutchinson is teaching the HS class.
-
To go along with our "One Prayer a Day" in September, our lessons for this month are focusing on Prayer.
3) Sunday Night Small Groups
-
It's week two of small group Bible studies.
-
All groups begin at 7:00 and end at 8:00.
-
We will have a few snacks afterward in the youth cafe, so all students can come back together for a snack/supper before they head home.
-
MS Group leaders are Seth and Samantha Williams. HS Group leaders are Adrie Gruis, Tori Grant, Joseph Knox, and Miles Huffhines.
-
The small group lessons will focus on parables for September and October. Last week's lesson was from Luke 12:13-21. This week is Luke 8:4-15.
AM.YOUTH Small Groups: community, friendship, connection, faith. We hope your son/daughter will join us!
4) Wednesday Night Midweek
-
Get here on Wednesday nights!
-
7pm
-
We begin together with all MS & HS students before splitting up into separate MS/HS classes.
-
Classes for parents also happen on Wednesday nights
-
We've got a great group of students coming each week. Keep it up. And if you son/daughter has not been here, it's a great time to start coming.
5) Middle School Fall Retreat
-
Next weekend, for our 7th & 8th grade students.
-
We have posted everything you need to know here: MS Retreat Packing List and Travel Details
-
Parents, please make sure you see this info about writing a letter to your son/daughter for the retreat: Parent Letter Page
6) Phase Cards are Coming
-
We mailed out Phase cards to families on Thursday. These cards contain some of the best research out there regarding mental and emotional development of kids, and they have tips to help your son/daughter grow in their faith.
-
A Phase is a timeframe in a kid/teens life when we can leverage distinctive opportunities to influence their future. That means the whining toddler, the dramatic fifth grader, the stressed-out tenth grader, and the independently minded twelfth grader are not just “going through a phase” that should be wished away; rather, they are transitioning through critical periods that we are called to discover, celebrate, and navigate strategically with them.
-
Sending out letters and cards to around 135 families takes a bit of work. And in the midst of getting specific grade cards to each K-12 family, some of the MS and HS families got a letter with a typo in it. We do know the difference between you're and your, (and ur, lol) but a few of the typo-d letters still made it into envelopes. Sorry.
-
We hope the Phase cards are helpful to your family.
-
And remember, it's just a phase, so don't miss it!
We hope you and your family have a great weekend. So glad your family is a part of our church.
With joy!
- monty & heather
Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. - Proverbs 12:18 (NLT)
September 7, 2024 Parent Update
Hey Youth Parents -
Happy beginning of September to everyone. Here is your weekly dose of awesome: the AM.YOUTH Parent Update!
In this week's update:
1) One Prayer a Day
2) Sunday Morning Schedule
3) New Small Groups
4) Wednesday Night Midweek
5) Middle School Fall Retreat
1) One Prayer a Day
-
We kicked this off last Sunday...in September we are encouraging all students (and parents) to think about their prayer life and either:
- begin praying daily if you are not already doing so
or
-become more focused in your daily prayer life -
Prayer is not something which is easy for most people, but praying to God each day is life-changing.
-
Students who were in Bible class last Sunday received a calendar with a lot of prayer ideas on it.
-
We will continue to encourage students throughout the month.
-
If you are not already praying each day and spending time with the Lord, we encourage you to make a plan to start doing this each day this month. Here are some ways you can do this: Wake up a few minutes earlier; pull over in a parking lot for a few minutes after dropping off the kids or after leaving work; pray together as a family before you eat supper or before everyone goes to bed; use the YouVersion Bible app to go through the verse of the day or the daily prayer prompts on the homescreen.
2) Sunday Morning Schedule
-
Worship at 8:30 in the chapel and at 10:30 in the worship center.
-
Bible classes at 9:40. Tomorrow is our first day to be into our normal fall schedule: MS in the MS room, HS in the HS room. Heather nad Monty will teach MS. Miles Huffhines (along with other interns and Mark Hutchinson) will be teaching the HS class.
-
To go along with our "One Prayer a Day" in September, our lessons for this month are focusing on Prayer.
3) New Small Groups
-
Starting this Sunday night we will have small groups for our MS and HS students. We hope this will be a great encouragement to all of our students.
-
All groups begin at 7:00 and end at 8:00.
-
We will have pizza afterward in the youth cafe, so all students can come back together for a snack/supper before they head home.
-
MS Group leaders are Seth and Samantha Williams. HS Group leaders are Adrie Gruis, Tori Grant, Joseph Knox, and Miles Huffhines.
-
The small group lessons will focus on parables for September and October. This week's lesson is from Luke 12:13-21
AM.YOUTH Small Groups: community, friendship, connection, faith.
We hope your son/daughter will join us!
4) Wednesday Night Midweek
-
Get here on Wednesday nights!
-
7pm
-
We begin together with all MS & HS students before splitting up into separate MS/HS classes.
-
Classes for parents also happen on Wednesday nights
-
We've got a great group of students coming each week. Keep it up. And if you son/daughter has not been here, it's a great time to start coming.
5) Middle School Fall Retreat
-
Faith, friendship, and fun.
-
September 20-22.
-
Sign-up deadline is this Wednesday, September 11
-
Cost is $60 per student. Scholarships available.
- Sign-ups are available here: MS Retreat Webpage
-
We do one retreat a year for our MS students and one per year for our HS students. So, middle school families, if your son/daughter wants to go to a church retreat this year, this is the weekend.
We hope you and your family have had a great weekend. We love your kids and we love your family.
With joy!
- monty & heather
So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. Romans 14:19
Awards from Cardboard Boat Race - Given out this past Wednesday night
1st Place - Kate and Clara S
Best Looking Boat - Honour and Emily
Most Like a Real Boat - Mila
Judge's Choice - Katherine
Best Boat Design - Kate and Clara S
Most Creative Boat - Honour and Emily
Most Surprising Performance -
Aiden, Max, Koen and Case
Most Enthusiastic Drivers -
Connor, Jackson, Luke
Most Duct Tape Award - Luke
August 31, 2024 Parent Update
Hey Youth Parents -
Remember when you woke up this morning? And you were thinking: "Wow, I wish it was Parent Email Update Day." Well...surprise, it is! Yep, it's the AM.YOUTH Update, winner of the "Best Parent Email Update of the Week, Within a 1.8 Square Mile Radius of the Pond at our Church Building," (The award is much more prestigious than it sounds. Much more. Very much more.) This update has all the info you need to help your son/daughter be connected to others at church and all the info you need to make your weekend awesome. Enjoy!
In this week's update:
1) One Prayer a Day
2) Youth Movie Day - Tomorrow
3) Sunday's Schedule
4) Wednesday Night Midweek
5) Middle School Fall Retreat
6) Cardboard Boats Wrap-Up
7) High School Fantasy Football
8) Daniel - Sight & Sound Production
9) End of Summer AM.YOUTH Video
1) One Prayer a Day
-
Starting, September 1, we are encouraging all students (and parents) to think about their prayer life and either:
- begin praying daily if you are not already doing so
or
-become more focused in your daily prayer life -
Prayer is not something which is easy for most people, but praying to God each day is life-changing.
-
We will give students tips, ideas, and help to be able to be successful at this.
-
We will continue to encourage students throughout the month.
-
If you are not already praying each day and spending time with the Lord, we encourage you to make a plan to start doing this each day this month. Here are some ways you can do this: Wake up a few minutes earlier; pull over in a parking lot for a few minutes after dropping off the kids or after leaving work; pray together as a family before you eat supper or before everyone goes to bed; use the YouVersion Bible app to go through the verse of the day or the daily prayer prompts on the homescreen.
2) Youth Movie Day - Tomorrow (no Intersection this week)
Because of the holiday weekend, we are planning something different in place of Intersection. Here are the details:
-
The Forge movie, at Bryan Premiere
-
3:45pm (we'll meet at 3:40 at the theater to pass out tickets)
-
Cost is $6
-
We have a block of tickets. We have NO IDEA how many students will want to come. But if we sell all of our block, we'll try to get more.
-
The movie is 2 hours long, so we assume we'll be done around 6:00pm. (because of previews at the beginning)
-
Friends are welcome.
-
RSVP as soon as possible if you want to come. Click here to RSVP: https://amchurch.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/928/responses/new
-
We think this will be an encouraging movie to our students. We love helping our students find entertainment which helps them grow in their relationship with God.
See the trailer for The Forge by clicking on the video below.
3) Sunday's Schedule
-
Worship at 8:30 in the chapel and at 10:30 in the worship center.
-
Bible classes at 9:40. MS & HS class will focus on prayer. After we talk about some different Bible verses, we'll introduce One Prayer a Day and encourage students to pray every day this coming month.
-
Cardboard Boat Race Awards will be presented at the beginning of class.
-
The Forge movie, at 3:45 at Bryan Premiere. Cost is $6. Scholarships available (talk to Monty - we're glad to help - and we want all students to be able to come to this movie if they are willing.)
4) Wednesday Night Midweek
-
7pm on Wednesday nights
-
We begin together with all MS & HS students before splitting up into separate MS/HS classes.
-
Classes for parents are also available
-
We've had a large number of students coming each week so far this semester. It's been great and we encourage students to keep coming, even though schedules get busy as the semester goes on.
5) Middle School Fall Retreat
-
September 20-22.
-
Camp Pineywoods
-
We'll meet on Friday evening to leave. We'll be back on Sunday after morning worship.
-
Cost is $60 per student. Scholarships available.
- Sign-ups are available here: MS Retreat Webpage
-
We do one retreat a year for our MS students and one per year for our HS students. So, middle school families, if your son/daughter wants to go to a church retreat this year, this is the weekend.
_edited.jpg)
6) Cardboard Boats Wrap-Up
-
Last Sunday night was great. Thanks to everyone who came out to Lake Bryan for the cookout and cardboard boat race.
-
Thanks also to everyone who made a cardboard boat.
- You can see pictures here: https://amyouth.smugmug.com/Cardboard-Boat-Race-2024
_edited.jpg)
7) High School - Fantasy Football
We have a fantasy football league for our HS students. If they would like to be a part and have not yet let us know, tell them to let us know.
Fantasy football takes real NFL players and puts them on "fantasy" teams. Students can manage their teams and switch players in and out each week, make trades, etc. Or they can just set their team up and let it go for the season and see how they do each week. We'll announce scores each week at Midweek.
8) Daniel - Sight & Sound Production
This weekend, Sight & Sound's production of Daniel is in theaters. Sight & Sound is a theater company in Branson and Pennsylvania which does world-class Biblical on-stage productions. We took our HS students to see their production of Jesus in 2022 and to see Esther this past summer. We wish you could have heard the cheers in the bus when we pulled up to the theater earlier this month at HS Week. To have HS students excited about a Biblical on-stage production...well, you know it must be good.
If you have never seen a Sight & Sound show, we encourage you to check them out. If you need something to do today or Monday, this would be a fun thing to do.
9) End of Summer AM.YOUTH Video
-
If you missed the End of Summer video at the Back to School Family Fellowship - or if you want to see it again - you can see it here: https://youtu.be/CiqyvTzHEdw
-
And pics from the summer can be found here: https://amyouth.smugmug.com/
Hope you've had a great weekend. Hope the Aggies can pull out a win tonight. Hope to see you tomorrow. And hope your son/daughter can join us in Bible class tomorrow. Remember to RSVP for The Forge if your son/daughter can go. We love your kids and we love your family.
Put God First!
- monty & heather
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many. - Matthew 20:28
