Middle School Ministry (Grades 6–8)

When most people think of Middle School youth ministry, they think of programs. Ours exist only to fulfill our purpose, reach our various audiences and express our values, and for the 2007/2008 school year include the following:

Diverge

(9:15–10:45 a.m. OC Refinery)
Diverge is Sunday School with a new twist and the best place to start your involvement with Shift! Middle School students come together to worship and study the Bible in a fun, challenging and welcoming environment. Diverge starts with a large-group gathering of worship singing, video, drama, storytelling, games, performing arts and more. Following a compelling and student-relevant presentation from God's Word, students then move into small groups of others their same age and gender for an application-oriented discussion.

CREW

(Times and days to be announced)
In order to give students a place to deeply connect with a few of Christ-following friends and adult caregivers, a “CREW” is a group of about 15 students which meets to find support from teens and adult hosts and leaders and to grow closer to God through Bible study, prayer and life-on-life sharing in same-gender small groups of 4 or 5 students.

Middle School Youth Choir

(6–7:30 p.m. Sunday, Church Sanctuary)
This group is for students in grades 7 through 8 and exists to develop and appreciate the instrumental and vocal talents God has given them. They sing occasionally during morning worship and occasionally present musical productions through the year.

Youth Praise Team

(Times and Days to be announced)
The Praise Team is for auditioned teens who desire to lead their peers in worship through music. We sing the latest in modern worship during SMLG each Sunday morning.

Growing University

(Self-directed resources done at home)
“Growing University” is a collection of self-paced, easy-to-use studies to help Middle School students better understand and apply the spiritual disciplines of studying Scripture, having a daily “quiet time” with God, financial giving and telling their friends about Jesus. This resource is intended to help Middle School students develop personal spiritual discipline of their own.

Leadership Training

(Summer)
Applications are received for this program from students moving into grades 7 & 8 who would like to understand and discover their unique place of service within our Student Ministry. The program includes Scripture memorization, Bible study, weekly gatherings, reading assignments, an opening team-building event, a closing celebration event and more.

Other Information

In addition to these ongoing, regularly scheduled offerings, we occasionally hold events for a specific and intentional purpose, such as concerts, movies, get-togethers, trips, amusements, spiritual growth emphasis, service activities and more. We typically announce these special activities on Sunday mornings at SMLG.