The year was 1999 (great year, right?!) and not only was I trying to figure out this whole Y2K scare but I was also trying to figure out my identity. I was this dorky 7th grade kid that worried too much about which crowd to hang out with. I had my church friends, my basketball friends and the “cool” kids at school. I really struggled with where I fit in. I remember getting a call after school from our student minister. I highly looked up to this guy. He was funny, loved the same music I did and always took time for me. He was calling to invite me to go see DC Talk’s Supernatural tour! HOW AWESOME! It was on a school night, so I had to beg my mom to let me go, but low and behold she did!
The day of the concert, I ran off the bus to get home and figure out what I was going to wear for the show. Of course, I threw on my DC Talk Jesus Freak shirt and my WWJD bracelet and waited anxiously to be picked up. Now I can remember how awesome the concert was, how loud I yelled during my favorite songs, how crowded that venue was but the most memorable thing was how I felt. I’m well in my 30s now and I can still remember the joy, the acceptance, the influence I felt from my student pastor. After that moment, I vowed to have this same influence on younger students when I got older.
Middle and High School are at crucial ages. Starting in middle school, students feel this tug and pull in several directions on who they need to be. I’m a sports kid, I’m a theater kid, I’m my emotions, my behaviors, my attractions. In High School, students already have those strong connections of self and to others and depending on the last couple years those connections could be positive or negative.
This is why White Oak Student Ministry is so important. In our student ministry, we are dedicated to helping our students find their full life in Jesus. Helping them discover who they are in Christ and that God created them and loves them. We do that by hosting weekly student experiences where they can come as they are, be known, be accepted, hear biblical truths and develop healthy relationships in their life groups. White Oak Student Ministry is not just a fun place for our students to hang out at but it’s a much needed environment where students can cultivate their own faith journeys and find Jesus in a real and mighty way!
White Oak Student Ministry meets every Sunday Morning and Sunday Nights. At both Colerain and Ross campus we host services Sunday mornings at 10:30 for our middle schoolers. And then again at both campuses we have Sunday Nights, from 6:00pm to 8:00 for our middle and high school students. We also have a service that we call Fusion! Fusion is every 3rd Sunday night of the month and we get to hang out and worship together with both campuses.
Come join us and if you have any questions about student ministry feel free to email me (Ross Student Pastor) or Brandon Gilbert (Colerain Student Pastor). If you would like to be included in our Student Ministry communication, click the button below.
Blessings!
Andy Crowl Ross Student Pastor, White Oak Christian Church