To some, the idea of
”
Bible study
”
might not jibe with their notion of fun or excitement. Perhaps
the words bring to mind images of folks gathered in a dusty room to
pour over familiar, or obscure, Bible passages.
To some, the idea of “Bible study” might not jibe with their notion of fun or excitement. Perhaps the words bring to mind images of folks gathered in a dusty room to pour over familiar, or obscure, Bible passages.
For youth at South Valley Community Church, however, the Bible and the Christian faith come alive when they gather once, twice, even three times a week. The highly popular, non-denominational Christian church is thriving, and its youth ministries are growing along with it.
The church’s three youth pastors create a web of support for groups of elementary, middle school and high school students, generating fun and meaningful programs for each stage of life.
“Fun” is particularly key for the elementary-age group, called Break Out. Youth Pastor Terri Edwards uses entertaining activities to teach her students the basics of Christianity while igniting a spark of interest in the church that will, hopefully, continue to grow and bring them back.
One Friday each month, South Valley Community Church hosts “Fridaze” for the youngsters, an evening event that includes dinner, games and activities like skateboarding.
Edwards focuses on helping the children create a support group, too, by developing coping strategies that become so vital within the youth group and the church. The elementary children break into small groups during Wednesday night sessions to discuss what’s going on in their lives.
“They can start sharing some of their problems,” Edwards said. “They’re young kids, so they’re just initially learning how to talk about problems and getting support from their friends.
“It’s just learning how to talk, so when they start going through bigger struggles, that they know they have a place to come to on Sundays,” she said.
And by getting the kids interested in coming to South Valley Community Church, the parents might come back, too.
As the children get older and move into the junior high group – sixth-graders tend to stay with the elementary group – they learn to become more comfortable with their faith in order to build their self-esteem and inspire others.
“The key, really, is to set an example for others,” said Mark Turner, the youth pastor who leads the junior high group. “Not to the point that it’s fake, but … so that they’re seeing for themselves the difference that Christ has made in their lives.”
The group focuses on two Bible verses that encourage standing up for one’s faith and defending the hope inside one’s heart.
“It’s to help them understand what it’s like to be a good Christian, how to be able to defend their faith,” Turner said. “The Bible says to do that in a gentle and effective way. Really, we try to have them live their life in a way that people will take notice of that.”
The kids get to have their fun, too. The weekend of March 12, a group of 54 went on an annual retreat to Hume Lake Christian Camp. Broom-hockey and paintball also are popular draws.
Another team-building activity, called “The Great Race,” is a combination scavenger hunt and relay race. For example, teams might have to buy and eat an ice cream sundae as a group before returning to the church.
“The message there could be team building, team work. At the end of that day, obviously, we have them come back to our church, and we do try to tell them about running the good race (in life),” Turner said. “A lot of it is getting out there and having fun.”
It’s also about building relationships that will help buoy the pre-teens through some of life’s critical changes.
“Junior high is a difficult age because kids are lacking confidence and self-esteem … so we try to bring those walls down,” Turner said.
By the time kids are in the high school group, they can draw from those life and relationship skills as they deal with more serious issues, not the least of which is sexuality.
“There’s tons of issues that kids have with sex and how their sexuality is affecting their identity,” said Mike Zukowski, who leads SVCC’s high school and college-age groups.
For the past eight years, Zukowski has taught the True Love Waits program to South Valley Community Church’s teenagers. The program is used by churches nationwide to encourage high school and college students to abstain from sexual intercourse until marriage.
“It’s beyond just, ‘don’t do it,’ ” Zukowski said. “The goal really is trying to get kids to make the pledge of abstinence.”
The pledge is usually made at the junior high level and the high school and college groups focus on supporting that decision. Parents also are encouraged to get involved, and some present their children with rings symbolizing their promise of abstinence.
Other religious and social issues – from drugs and alcohol to domestic abuse – are discussed on a personal level during Wednesday night meetings, when the crowd of more than 75 high schoolers breaks up into smaller same-sex groups.
“We really try to create that as a safe place, and that’s why we break them up,” Zukowski said.
Music, prayer and meditation are incorporated into Sunday meetings to help the teens reflect on their own spirituality.
By creating a program that moves beyond Bible study and supports youth as a whole, South Valley Community Church’s youth pastors hope to sustain their members’ families and, in turn, the community.
“We really believe that the family is the principle caregiver and connector, and we try to support that,” Zukowski said.
“We try to get them to live their lives in a way that can be seen,” Turner said. “At a junior high age, especially, this is a time when they’re coming into their own and challenging authority.”
Turner stresses the fact that, sometimes, children will have to agree to disagree with their parents and follow the rules that are set for them.
The church’s youth are encouraged to give back to the community. The high school group travels to Mexico each summer to visit an orphanage, and the church regularly holds concerts that involve local Christian and secular bands so kids will have a “place to hang out.”
But beyond the mission trips and volunteering, the pastors want their youth to question how they approach each day.
“How can I give back to those around me?’ or … ‘How can I give support to those who don’t have support?’ ” Zukowski said. “It’s living a sacrificial life.”
These guys should know: Edwards has been a youth pastor at SVCC for 12 years and Zukowski has 10 years behind him. Turner, the relative “new kid on the block,” as they call him, has held his spot for more than a year but worked with the group on a volunteer basis before that and has been with the church since it opened.
As the church nears its 20th anniversary this fall, the prospect of continuing to reach more Gilroy kids excites the youth pastors. The only drawback is that they’ve already outgrown their current facility on Kelton Drive, and it will be years before the new, expanded one is built on Westwood Drive.
“We’re building that facility with a vision that families would be able to come and see that as a resource,” Zukowski said, “for building spiritual growth, providing recreation, sharing the message of hope that Christ brings into our lives.”
