The River Church Community

Parents,

This last Sunday we went to the Bagel Shop to hang out and check in to see how everyone is doing.  While at the Bagel Shop, David Alvarez brought over two new visitors, Alecia (Middle School) and Becky (High School).  Their family is currently checking out The River.  In addition to new people, Max, cousin of Ted Wang, has also been coming to church on Sunday.  Max is in High School.

Small Group:
This last Sunday, only the guys small group met.  We looked at what happened when Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected.  We also looked at why the cross is important and the power of Jesus dying on the cross and His resurrection.  To begin our conversation, the youth defined sin as bad things we do and breaking the Ten Commandments.  We boiled down the definition to anything that is against God.

We talked about how sin separates us from God, and that Jesus died on the cross for us.  He took our sin on Himself, and if we choose to accept his death in our place and acknowledge him as our Savior, then we can live a fulfilled life now and one day be with God in heaven.  We stressed that it's not only about getting to heaven, but using our gifts now - on earth.  Some of the guys feel like they had no clue what their gifts are while others feel they are being developed.  Some guys shared strengths that they saw in others! 

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:
- Jesse Balch shared this link with me after our conversation about the cross and resurrection.  It's all audio, but very moving.  This young boy understands what Jesus did for us!
- Most of the guys said that they are Christians because their families are and think that following Christ is important.  They said that they enjoy church and would continue coming if their parents did not!  Steve and I shared about experiencing God and church family throughout the week.  We also talked about what it means for us as individuals - apart from our parents/families.
- Many of the guys are wanting to figure out what their spiritual gifts are.

Steve and I  were encouraged by the conversations!  We are very thankful for all of the guys!

Upcoming Events: These dates will also be posted on The River calendar.
- November 30, Family Sunday.  Youth can either sit with you, or with me in the ballroom.  Some youth may be helping out with Advent.

- December 5-6, Advent Retreat, We are doing this retreat with the adults, but will have separate break out and activities for the youth.  To register, please visit The River website.  Scholarships are available.

- December 7, Parent Meeting at 12 after church.  Food will be provided.  Please let me know if you can make it there is enough food.  Meeting will last about one hour.  More details to come.

- December 14, Small Groups, Lunch at the Ministry Center and looking at the topic of "What is Salvation All About?"  (Girls are one week behind on this.)
 
- December 19, Christmas Party, Is this a good weekend?  The students thought it wasn't!

- December 22-31, Kyle on holiday in Minnesota... brrrr.

- December 31, New Years Eve Party, More information to come.

- January 16-17, Snow Activity, More information to come.

- January 11, Youth Lunch and Small Group

Thanks for all your prayers and support

Kyle Guerrero