First, we believe the “good news” of the Bible is that Jesus made it possible for us to have a relationship with God by paying the penalty for our sin through being judged in our place on the cross.  This is our hope and the center of our joy!  Therefore, we recognize that when teenagers value what Jesus Christ has done for them they make honoring Him a priority.

Second, we are not scared of hard questions. At Grace Fellowship we believe that the Bible is our source of spiritual authority. This gives us a tremendous confidence that there are answers to every question that life will throw at a teenager. Also, we do not “dumb down” teaching simply because some may think that students can’t “get” the “deeper” teachings of Scripture. We think that students, when taught at an appropriate level and style, can—and should—work through challenging themes in the Bible.

Find tools below under the Resources button.

Third, we also see students as young adults, and we treat them as such. Some of the greatest examples we have in the history of Christianity (most if not all of the Apostles, King David, Charles Spurgeon, etc.) are of teenagers who had a burning passion to follow and spread God’s fame and we believe that the standard should not be lowered to meet the culture. As a student matures in their faith, we seek to develop their leadership qualities. It is our desire to see teenagers who are God-centered, confident, and passionate about living a life of disciple-making.

Fourth, we believe the parents are the primary “movers and shakers” in the lives of their teenager(s) and we consider it a privilege to join with them in shaping their teen to spread the fame of God. Therefore, we encourage parents to be involved in our student ministry in a variety of ways. Whether it is serving on the Student Ministry Team, helping to plan retreats, attending events, or just providing transportation, we believe that parental involvement is critical. We simply do not follow the belief that teens need to get away from their parents in order to develop.

The student ministry of Grace Fellowship has taken the name WIRED. This name was chosen because it is the goal of the ministry to connect each student to God’s life-giving Word as well as to the body of Christ, the local church. We believe that God’s Word contains everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3) and present it to the students as one grand story of the revelation of God’s glory and beauty to His creation through the themes of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. 

In addition, we hold out the church as Christ’s beautiful body in which each Christian, even teenagers, should be an active part. It is the church that gathers to worship Christ and it is the church that loves one another, encourages one another, bears one another’s burden, and even rebukes and corrects one another. We believe that our students should be active and contributing participants in carrying out that reality and teach and train them to do so. 

Our foundational weekly activity is our Sunday evening gathering which is also called WIRED. It is a high-energy event where the students gather for a time of fun, activities, and worshiping the one true God.  As partners with parents, who are the primary shepherds in the spiritual lives of their children, the small group leaders have a significant impact in the lives of the students as they seek to connect the truths taught to the lives of the students.  Additionally, fellow students can partner with one another on their spiritual journeys as together they seek to grow in grace and holiness by savoring Christ.

Within the WIRED Student Ministry we seek to teach a full-orbed view of our great God as the fuel to stoke the flames of the student’s affections towards Jesus.  The reason for this is found in Acts 26:26-27.

Speaking to the elders in Ephesus Paul said, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” Like Paul, our goal is to stand innocent in front of our mighty God because we too taught His entire counsel to the students during their seven-year time within the ministry.  Thus, we look at what we teach the students in each of the different venues we have with them to ensure we are fully displaying the grandeur and beauty of our glorious God to them. 

What is the whole counsel of God? We think there are six main areas that must regularly be taught to the students in order for them to properly understand the whole counsel of God.  They are:¹

• Bible Surveys and Book Overviews: an introduction to key themes, people, places, and events with an emphasis on God’s sovereign superintending of all things; 
• Biblical Theology: the overarching storyline of Scripture whereby God progressively reveals His redemptive purposes which come to their complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ; 
• Systematic Theology: a topical approach to teaching core doctrines of the Christian faith; 
• Gospel Proclamation: an explicit and comprehensive presentation of the essential truths of the Gospel; 
• Moral and Ethical Instruction: acquainting the students with the nature, role, importance and beauty of God’s laws, commands, the wisdom literature and the ethical teachings of Jesus and His apostles; 
• Apologetics: a defense of what the Bible teaches and why we believe it and an explanation for the hope we have as Christians.

Our goal is that over the seven years we have the students they are taught an even portion of each of these six categories so that their view of and love for God can be as high as possible upon graduation.

_¹ Categories 1-5 were taken from Point 3 from the book Zealous: 7 Commitments for the Discipleship of the Next Generation by David Michael.

The goal within the WIRED Student Ministry is that after seven years with a student we hope to produce a student who is discipled as much as possible. Goals are good but without some form of measuring stick it can be hard to tell if progress is being made. Thus we have a Description of a Discipled Student which is used to help ensure progress is being made.

We believe there are four broad areas that can be used in describing what a discipled student looks like. They are the student’s relationship to the Word, the student’s relationship to the church, the student’s relationship to other people, and the student’s relationship to the world.

Description of a Discipled Student¹

1. Relationship to the Word
   1. Has a God-centered vision for their life (1 Cor 10:31; Ps 86:12)
   2. Is firmly established in the faith and in doctrine (2 Tim 3:14-17)
   3. Clearly understands and embraces the Gospel (2 Cor 4:3-4; 2 Cor 5:21; Eph 2:8-9)
   4. Clearly understands and embraces a Biblical worldview (2 Cor 10:5; Eph 4:22-25)
   5. Firmly grasps what Biblical manhood and womanhood is (Gen 2:15; Eph 5:22-33)
2. Relationship to the church
   1. Is fully integrated into the life and ministry of the church (Eph 4:11-14)
   2. Understands and fruitfully uses their gifts within the church (1 Cor 12:4-26; Rom 12:3-8)
3. Relationship to people
   1. Has a balanced and healthy relationship with parents (Eph 6:1-3; Lev 19:3; Prov 20:20)
   2. Has a balanced and healthy relationship with peers (Prov 18:24; 27:9; 17:17)
   3. Has a balanced and healthy relationship with other adults
4. Relationship to the world
   1. Lives courageously in the world (2 Tim 1:7; 1 Jn 4:18; Ps 119:80; Rom 1:16)
   2. Seeks to deliberately engage others within their sphere with the Gospel (Matt 28:18-20)
   3. Is informed about and invested in proclaiming Christ to the nations (Acts 1:8)

¹ This content was largely drawn from a document shared  by David Michael from Truth78.

We believe that having fun is wrong… just kidding! We have a blast at all of our events! Whether it’s Capture the Flag, Game Night, retreats, or mission trips, we always have a good time! Is it all about fun? It can’t be… that’s not the fundamental identity of the church. Often a youth group is measured by whether or not a student had “fun.” That is a tragic measuring stick to use in how teens (or adults) relate to attending church. Why? Because we have been called to spread God’s fame by making disciples of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-20). Since Jesus is our hope AND our joy having a blast together is the response of our emotions as we obey what Jesus told us to do! So, we define “fun” as pursuing lives that radiate doing what Jesus wants us to do for His glory and our good. Everything else is centered on how something pleases us. Bottom line? When we measure things (even church) in how they please or fulfill us, we make having “fun” our god and that is wrong.

Within the WIRED Student Ministry we love questions! No question is too hard because all truth is God’s truth!  We know that during this time in a young person’s life there are plenty of questions and we know that in His kindness, God has provided many excellent resources to help young people get good, solid answers to those questions. Below is a curated list of books and resources loosely arranged by topic to help in answering your questions.

If you don’t find what you are looking for, let us know so we can try to help.

Apologetics

• Christian Apologetics by Douglas Groothius
• The Big Book of Christian Apologetics: An A to Z Guide (A to Z Guides) by Norman Geisler
• Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kraft and Ronald K. Tacelli
• I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek
• Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, Philosophy, and Science by William A. Dembski and Michael R. Licona

Bible

• Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung
• The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate by Michael J. Kruger
• Know How We Got Our Bible by Ryan Matthew Reeves and Charles E.  Hill

Heading Off to College / Leaving Home

• How To Stay Christian In College by J. Budziszewski
• Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
• Surviving Religion 101 by Michael Kruger
• Welcome to College: A Christ-follower’s Guide for the Journey by Jonathan Morrow

Evolution/Creation

• Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique by JP Moreland, Stephen C. Meyer, Christopher Shaw, Ann K. Gauger, & Wayne Grudem
• Darwin on Trial by Phillip E. Johnson
• Darwin’s Black Box: The Biomechanics Challenge to Evolution by Michael J. Behe
• Signature In the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design by Stephen C. Meyer
• The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel

Other Religions

• The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How to Respond by Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett
• Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found our Way Out of the Mormon Church by Lynn K. Wilder

Worldview

• The Story of Reality by Greg Koukl
• What’s Your Worldview? An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions by James N. Anderson

Sexuality and Gender Issues

• A Field Guide On Gender and Sexuality by Ligonier Ministries
• What Does The Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
• God and The Transgender Debate by Andrew Walker
• Holy Sexuality and the Gospel by Christopher Yuan
• Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction by Kevin DeYoung
• Redeeming Sex in Marriage: How the Gospel Rescues Sex, Transforms Marriage, and Reveals the Glory of God by Scott Mehl

Specific Topics

• The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
• The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel
• The Case for Heaven by Lee Strobel
• The Case for Miracles by Lee Strobel
• The Case for Easter by Lee Strobel
• The Case for the Resurrection by Gary Habermas and Michael R. Licona
• The Truth War by John MacArthur