Dear Parent,
We are so excited and humbled at the opportunity to disciple your student and take them through our student leadership program this year. We truly believe this will be a transformational experience that will prayerfully prepare them for their journey of life as a disciple of Jesus in high school and beyond. We want you to be informed of what we are doing for two reasons:
First, we see you as the primary spiritual leader in the home and want you to be aware of and connected to what we are doing.
Second, as this is a significant commitment, we want to make sure you are in agreement with your student's participation.
Over the course of the year some of these details may change, but if they do, we will keep the lines of communication open and adjust as necessary. It may require some flexibility. :)
Please review the details below and indicate your agreement with your student's participation.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact me at rick@lccredding.org or 530-949-5115.
Our mission for student leadership is threefold:
1) Discipleship – Teaching students to live more and more like Jesus.
2) Ownership – Challenging students to take ownership of their relationships, giftings and influence in their communities.
3) Leadership – Showing students what it means to lead and providing them opportunities to do so.
The program will consist primarily of two elements:
1. Weekly Student Leadership roles during HighSight services:
- Students will be required to fulfill a number of roles during HighSight services on Sundays and Wednesdays. Responsibilities include room set-up and teardown, planning and running games/activities, running ProPresenter/media during services, greeting and welcoming students, and helping to shape the ministry in HighSight to accomplish our mission and vision.
2. Weekly Meetings:
- We’ll meet for 1.5 hours each Sunday after 2nd service (1:00- 2:30pm) to debrief the services that week, discuss our reading, dream and plan HighSight events/activities, minister to one another, etc.
As with anything in life, you get out what you put in...you reap what you sow. In order for this to be effective, it's going to take some work and time. On top of the weekly meetings and weekly commitments to serve in HighSight during service, students should anticipate an extra 1-2 hours a week of additional time to do the required reading, activities, and communication.
All said, it is anticipated that this will require approximately 6-8 hrs of time investment per week.
Days/Times:
Wednesdays: Arrive at 5:30pm to set-up and prepare for service, activities, etc. Accommodations should be made to stay 30 minutes after service to help with tear down and debrief the service.
Sundays: Attend one service either in HighSight (Arriving at 8:30 or 10:30 am to set up and prepare for HighSight service), or in the Worship Center with your family. Student Leadership meetings will be every Sunday after 2nd service from 1:00-2:30.
There will also be various other events and activities throughout the year that students will be expected to attend and assist with where possible.
Student Leadership will run through the school year (September-June).
Commitment is crucial in any form of leadership. In order to grow together and be effective in leading, students must have a strong commitment to each other and to their responsibilities in leading. Thus, except for family vacations, emergencies, sickness, etc., it is expected that students attend all meeting days and times. "I got a better offer" or "I didn't feel like it" are acceptable and understandble feelings, but not excuses to break this commitment. See FAQs below for questions regarding sports, performances, and work.
If, at some point, a student can no longer commit to being a student leader, it is expected that it be communicated with Pastor Rick in advance. If meetings are often missed or the reading/activities not accomplished, it will be addressed by adult leadership and hopefully remedied. If not, that student will be asked to step down from student leadership until they can demonstrate that they are ready and capable of committing.
As this is a position of leadership, it is important that students demonstrate a life of integrity and godliness so as not to undermine one's witness or authority. Obviously, this does not mean one must be perfect, but that one's life demonstrates a genuine pursuit of God and openness to what He is wanting to do.
DEVOTIONS:
- It is expected that each student leader commit to and practice 15 minutes of personal devotion time each day. What this looks like can be flexible in terms of scripture reading, prayer, meditation, etc. , but it needs to be a consistent, intentional time each day. We'll regularly check-in on and discuss this in our meetings.
FAQs:
What if my student is playing a sport or is in the school play or something? Can they still be in Student Leadership?
First, I think it is important to evaluate whether or not your student actually has the time and space for this. We can't do everything. That's not failure, it's REALITY! :) That being said, I don't want to exclude athletes or performers. Attendance at Sunday meetings and doing the readings/acitivities are MANDATORY aside from the occasional exceptions of sickness, family matters, etc., as indicated above. If your student needs to miss the midweek meeting due to practice/rehearsal for a season (6-10 weeks), that will be permissible so long as it's discussed in advanced and communicated about. If you have specific questions, talk with Pastor Rick prior to committing.
What if my student has a job and sometimes gets scheduled on Sundays or Fridays?
If they can't commit to our Sunday and midweek times, then Student Leadership isn't for them right now. It wouldn't be valuable for them or the team to be a part of Student Leadership. Again, there is no judgment, punishment, or disapointment in them, it's just necessary to be able to lead with us and grow together effectively.
Communication is critical to leadership, both to those we're leading, and those we're leading with. Thus, it is expected that regular communication be maintained amongst the team for scheduling and planning. We'll plan to primarily use the FREE GroupMe messaging app for this purpose. A computer with an internet connection or a smartphone will be required.
It is expected that any absences or issues affecting your student's ability to lead be communicated with the team in advance.
The cost of involvement in student leadership will be $35. This will be to cover the reading resources, materials, personality tests/resources, etc.
Reading will be required! If reading "isn't your student's thing"...no judgment, but this isn't for them. :)
We'll work through the following books/resources throughout the course of the year:
Help! Im a Student Leader:Practical Ideas and Guidance on Leadership (Youth Specialties) – Doug Fields
Spiritual Leadership -
J. Oswald Sanders.
In addition, your student have an opportunity to shape some of the content for events as well as weekly discipleship opportunities this year as we progress and identify areas where we need growth or focus.
We'll have a kickoff informational meeting for student leaders on Sunday, September 11th, from 12:30-2pm. Lunch will be provided. We'll meet at LCC in Room C6.
A student leader retreat will be held Friday Sept 16 - Sunday September 18th. This will officially kick off your student's leader commitment
