I thought Winter Camp at Hume Lake was an amazing experience.
It was just good to be together with each other and with other churches from the Fresno area to worship, learn and play together as the body of Christ.
Here’s a recap video from the weekend:
Remember, you can check out all of the VIDEOS from the weekend and you can hear all four of the MESSAGES from our speaker JR Coleman by clicking on the links. A lot happened during this past weekend and if you were there, then you know what I mean when I say it’s good for us to just let it marinate.
What did you guys think? How was your experience of the weekend?
If you’re reading this post then that means that you and/or your child have successfully survived the start of another year of school. Here in the Knudson household we now have two children in school. With Jeremiah in 2nd grade, Samuel in Kindergarten and Alexandra still at home, we recognize the challenges of families that are stretched by conflicting schedules and seem to be moving in different directions at the same time.
Here at Hope Lutheran, our goal is to offer a program of Youth and Family Ministry that is a tool and a resource first for parents and second for youth. Our goal is to serve and support parents as they strive in their roles of providing for the spiritual and emotional health and well-being of their children. We provide youth with classes, retreats, opportunities to serve and chances to grow, but all of these offerings are most effective when incorporated within the life of a Christian family. In addition to these specific events, programs or classes, our youth ministry strives to create and promote an environment and a community where families are able to mutually support and encourage one another. More often than not, the struggles and challenges that we face as families are not unique, but there are others who have walked this road before us and more that are yet to follow. As the body of Christ, we gain much as we live our lives of faith within a community where we can be supported and where our children are supported and accepted.
To this end, Hope Lutheran Church continues to make youth and family ministry a priority. With a Pastor for Youth and Family Ministry, a (full-time) Director of Children’s Ministry and an Assistant for Youth Ministry alongside countless other gifted and talented adults who love and care for kids, our congregation is well positioned to offer quality opportunities for youth and families to grow in faith together.
As we start off the 2011-2012 school year, there is lots of information to be aware of.
1.We continue to offer Sunday School on Sunday mornings (9:45-10:45AM) for children 2 years – 6th grade. Classes are meeting weekly and children can be registered using this FORM. We also have a class for 7th & 8th graders, which will follow this SCHEDULE.
2.We also offer classes on Wednesday nights for Kindergartners through adult as part of our Primetime Program. Our schedule on Wednesday nights includes dinner at 5:30PM and classes from 6:15-7:45PM.
3.We also have a range of special offerings for our youth and families. We program these opportunities according to age groups called “the way” (4th-6th grade), “the truth” (7th-8th grade) and “the Life” (9th-12th grade). You can learn about our special events HERE or by view the CALENDAR on this website.
*** An additional opportunity that we are excited to offer as part of our Primetime schedule is a PARENTING SKILLS SEMINAR which will be led by Jennifer Toler Smith. Jennifer is a long-time member of Hope with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. This class will run from 6:30-7:45PM on September 14, 21 and 28. Topics for the class will include: A Grace-Based Approach to Parenting, Discipline Strategies for Children & Teens, and Relationship Enhancement: Parent, Child and Adult Relationships. We are pleased to offer this great resource for families and we hope you will be able to join us. (Childcare is available every Wednesday evening)
4.Our Confirmation program is one component of our Youth and Family ministry program. Youth typically participate in Confirmation beginning in 7th grade and conclude with Confirmation on Reformation Sunday (the last Sunday in October) of their 9th grade year. This year, our youth will be Confirmed at the 11:00AM service on Sunday, October 30. If you have a child in Confirmation, you should read THIS and if your child is a 9th grader who will be confirmed this year, you should read about our MENTOR PROGRAM and plan to attend our “Confirmation ’10 Class Orientation” meeting at 6:15PM on Wednesday, September 7 in the Community Center.
5. This year our High School youth have the opportunity to plan, prepare and participate in the National Youth Gathering of the ELCA (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). The Gathering will be held in New Orleans, LA in July 2012. Here at Hope we are already working to raise funds and build our team. Any interested youth should contact Pastor Adam ASAP for more information. You can start the process by printing this FORM, completing it and returning it to Pastor Adam.
Whether your (grand)child will be attending Sunday School or Primetime on an occasional basis or actively participating in one of other ministry offerings, we try to have accurate information on hand to make sure we can respond effectively in case of emergency. Make sure to fill out our CONSENT FORM and return it, or you can print it out yourself and return it. Thanks for your interest and involvement in our youth and family ministry program here at Hope and please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions. You can call me at the church or email me (adam@hopelutheranfresno.org).
January 26, 2012 
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