NYM Parent blog | June 2023
NYM Parents,
May Recap
In May we were able to dive into exploring how God wants us to honor him within our relationships. I started the series by sharing who God is. God is love, and the only way we are able to love others is by first abiding in Jesus. From there, I followed up with how to love our friends well. Our students were also challenged to think through how to love when friendships are hard by Maddie. We heard from Adam Congdon about how to think Biblically when it comes to marriage. We had a lot of great discussions in our Small Groups and I hope and pray your students felt challenged and encouraged to grow in their relationships. Our theme night on May 24th was Sports and the students had a blast wearing their favorite sports jerseys and eating popcorn. Our students also had a memorable evening on May 31st connecting with their small groups and leaders off-site while they had cooking challenges, games, bonfires and bonding time!
June Schedule
This month we will be exploring a couple of God’s encounters with Moses.
June 7th: God & Moses | 6:30-8:30 | Snack Shack Open
June 14th: God & Moses | 6:30-8:30 | Snack Shack Open
June 21st: God & Moses | 6:30-8:30 |Snack will be provided
June 28th: We will be honoring our Graduating Seniors | 6:30-8:30 | Snack Shack Open
Announcements
On June 21st we will be welcoming our incoming 6th graders. We will also be celebrating theme night that night Hawaiian Style!
We will be meeting for NYM Summer Nights throughout July.
Volunteer Spotlight
Betsy Hennigan and her family have been attending Northridge for 8 years. She has 2 students in NYM. She has been serving in NYM for a year welcoming our New Students. Next year she will be one of our 6th Grade Girls Leaders. In her free time she and her family love to explore. They explore different towns, new restaurants, new places, new hiking trails. They are an adventurous family. A huge thank you to Betsy for the way she loves on our students and makes them feel right at home!
Volunteer Opportunities
June 21st we will have our Next Level Event right before NYM for our incoming 6th graders from 6-8:30. We would love to provide childcare for any family in need of it so they can come to the evening with their incoming 6th grader. If you would be willing to help out with childcare from 6-8:30 please email Jenn at JCongdon@northridgerochester.com
Saranac Summer Camp (Aug 11-14)
Summer Camp Registration is LIVE! You can find it on our website HERE. I have more good news - we have dropped the camp total from $350 to $275. We cannot wait to have your student with us at camp this summer:)
Praise
I'm praising God for the interns that have joined us this summer! We have 3 interns that are here specifically for NYM :
Jakob Macdonald (Roc NYM)
Hannah Lent (Roc NYM)
Liz Phillips (Web NYM)
Prayer Request
Please pray for our incoming 6th graders that will be entering NYM on June 21st. Pray for leaders to lead, for parents to send their kids, and for the 6th graders to get adjusted well.
Please pray for our outgoing seniors. Pray for their summers as they get ready to head off to jobs and college.
Spiritual Encouragement
For the month of May’s blog I shared from Psalm 139:1-4. This Months blog will continue with Psalm 139:5-8. Psalm 139:5-8 says : “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” I find such comfort in being in the presence of God wherever I go. It's something that I can so quickly forget - that my God is always with me. Whether I go up to the highest point, or the lowest darkness he is there. He is there when things are great, and he is there when I'm in the dark night of the soul. In fact, he is always close, laying his hand upon our very shoulders. Like a shepherd guiding sheep through the mud, he guides you and I through life, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. Wherever you are today, remind yourself that there is nowhere you can go, where His spirit is not with you. He is with you, and he goes before you.
Partnering with You,
Conell Christiansen & NYM Team,
NYM Parent Blog | May 2023
NYM Parents,
May is here and summer is only a month away!
April Recap:
We did a lot in April! We finished up our study in the book of Colossians, we had an amazing worship night, we started a series on Relationships, and we ended the month in PJ’s and ate cereal. I love doing Wednesday nights with your students, it's really special!
In May we will continue to focus on talking about Relationships.
May 3rd: Relationships: Friendship | 6:30-8:30 | Snack Shack Open
May 10th: Relationships: Love The Hard People | 6:30-8:30 | Snack Shack Open
May 17th: Relationships: Parents | 6:30-8:30 | Snack Shack Open
May 24th: Relationships: Marriage | 6:30-8:30 | Snack Provided
May 31st: Small Group Night
Announcements:
On “Last” Wednesday, May 24th, our theme for the night will be Favorite Decade Night. Stay tuned for more exciting details!
May 31st our small groups will be able to spend time together off-site making memories and building relationships with their Small Group. We will be giving each Small Group some cash to do an activity of their choosing. We will let you know 2 weeks before where each Small Group will be meeting.
Just a reminder our Snack Shack is open Weeks 1-3 before and after our program. Students are welcome to purchase snacks ranging in price from $1-$3. Each week a different Small Group gets to run the Shack with the leader. On “Last” Wednesday we provide a snack that goes with our theme for the evening.
Volunteer Parent Spotlight:
Brie Tomlinson has 3 children in NYM. She has been serving for 3 years in various roles from getting rooms ready for our teens to vacuuming the auditorium after teaching time to overseeing snacks. Currently Brie volunteers as our Director of Experience. She oversees our Snack Shack, Lobby Activities, and New Student Experience. In her spare time Brie likes to make fun memories with her family. A book she is currently reading is “Mama Bear Apologetics Guide To Sexuality” by Hillary Morgan Ferrer and Amy Davison. One of her favorite snacks is dried mangos. A huge thank you to Brie for all the creativity and fun she brings to NYM each Wednesday!
Volunteer Opportunities:
We are looking for more parents who would be willing to help out at NYM on Wednesday evenings. If you might be interested in helping us out please email Jenn Congdon at JCongdon@Northridgerochester.com for more information. We are looking to involve more parents in Security, Childcare, Prayer Team and more! We would love to have you join us.
Saranac Summer Camp 2023 (Aug 11-14):
We are counting down the days to Summer Camp at Saranac. Last year we made so many memories laughing, playing outrageous camp games and growing deeper in our walk with God.
We will send out Registration Information starting next month so make sure you look for that. The cost for camp this year is $350 per student.
As we mentioned in our last email we are looking for parents to help with our Kitchen Work Crew or helping out with driving our students. It is incredibly difficult to find enough transportation for all our teens at a reasonable price so we are asking for help this year. You will be accommodated with pay for your time and travel! If interested in either of these volunteer opportunities to help out our teens please email Jenn Congdon.
Praise:
We saw a middle schooler come to know Jesus as his personal Savior this month
We are baptizing two middle school ladies on May 24th this month!
Prayer Request:
Please pray for our series on relationships. We want healthy discussion and interaction in small groups as we desire to see students be like Christ in all of their relationships.
Please pray for the WKND summer camp & that we would fill all the volunteer needs that we have.
Please pray for our interns coming in May to help our NYM team.
Please pray for students to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Encouragement:
Recently, I've been working toward memorizing Psalm 139. There is so much power in Scripture Memorization, and to me, it seems like a lost spiritual discipline in our day. I'd love to share the whole Psalm on here with you, but i'll just share the first 4 verses with you for now :
Psalm 139:1-4
“You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
The intimacy of this Psalm speaks so deeply to me. That the God of all creation searches all of me, that he knows my movements, he discerns all that I do, He is familiar with both my strengths, and my weaknesses. Before I say anything He knows it completely. What great comfort that we have a God that knows us in all of our ways. In our trauma, in our success, on the mountain, in the valley. He knows us completely, and he has from the beginning when he knit us together in our mothers womb.
If I can be of any encouragement to you today. God knows you - even the areas that are hidden. Come out of hiding, you are safe with Him.
Partnering with You,
Conell Christiansen & NYM Team
NYM Parent Blog | April 2023
NYM Parents,
April is upon us! We are closing out our series on Colossians. Our journey through the book of Colossians has been great for our students. We have learned a lot about the supremacy and the sufficiency of Jesus in our lives. I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity I have had to teach in this series, and have been most impacted by the call of Paul to focus our hearts and minds on things above. I recall Psalm 19:14 as I write this email to you : “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
This month we will begin a new series on loving the people around us, and what it looks like within the different relationships in our lives. We will first talk about our living God and how He is love. We will then begin talking about how to love our friends, our future spouses, our parents, and the people that are hard to love around us. I am looking forward to looking at the relationships in our lives, and seeing what the Bible has to say about them. Here is our April schedule :
*Yes, we are meeting over spring break!
April 5th : A Study on Colossians | 6:30-8:30pm
April 12th : Worship Night | 6:30-8:30pm
April 19th : Relationships : God is the God of love | 6:30-8:30pm
April 26th : Relationships : Friendships | Slumber Party Night | 6:30-8:30pm
* Have your students come dressed in their best slumber party attire as we celebrate the last Wednesday of the month with our PJ’s and a cereal bar for snack!
Saranac Summer Camp :
The Dates : Friday, August 11th - Monday, August 14th
The Cost : $350
Volunteer Opportunities for Camp :
Parents, I wanted to begin to prepare you with the news of summer camp transportation. Due to the extreme costs of bus transportation, and inability to secure enough 12-15 passenger vans we will be asking people to drive to Saranac this August. With more information to come, I would ask that you begin to pray about serving NYM by driving students to Saranac this year. You will be accommodated with pay for your time and travels. We will begin to start asking for drivers next month. If you are interested in driving, or have any questions, please contact me. Thanks in advance for understanding.
We will also be bringing a kitchen work crew. I have spoken to some of you about coming along and helping but if you are interested, please reach out to me!
Spiritual Encouragement :
The mind can be an intimidating place. In fact, so intimidating that we will do whatever it takes to not encounter what is going on within the deepest parts of our thinking. It's why we will fill our life with noise. From headphones, to media, to work, to school, to constant doing, we would rather do anything under the sun, rather than face the depths of our mind. I am guilty of this. Recently Psalm 16:8 has been a conviction from the Holy Spirit : “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken (ESV).” In the NIV : “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Have I set the Lord always before me? Do I keep my eyes always on the Lord? While i'm working to be this person, It is challenging to say this of my life and of my mind. I am distracted, we are distracted people. In Psalm 16, we learn of the light of God’s teaching - the light of his words. David, the Psalmist, makes it his goal to have the ways and the teachings of Jesus always before his mind. By the meditation of Scripture, by living in God’s presence, by prayer, David keeps his eyes on the Lord. In a life of noise, I want to hear clearly the words of Jesus. That will not come unless I intentionally have time without noise, listening to the good shepherd. John 10:4-6 : “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Do you know the shepherd's voice, amidst the noise of life? I want to know his voice more than any other.
Partnering with you,
Conell Christiansen & NYM Team
Resources :
Hearing God’s Voice : Henry Blackaby
The Great Omission : Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings On Discipleship : Dallas Willard
Psalm 16:8 is other translations with some study
What does it mean that “my sheep hear my voice”?
NYM Parent Blog | March 2023
NYM Parents,
We are excited to start the month of March here at NYM! We will be doing a deep dive into the book of Colossians. Our Student Ministry Coordinator, Maddie Boccacci has also put together a month long reading plan for your student(s) to take home as we walk through the book of Colossians. This will be a great tool for you to check in with your student throughout the month. Your student(s) small group leaders will be checking in on their plans on Wednesdays and throughout the week. HERE is the month's plan.
March 1st : How to Read Your Bible | 6:30-8:30
March 8th : A Study on Colossians (Colossians 1:1-14) | 6:30-8:30
March 15th : A Study on Colossians (Colossians 1:15-23) | 6:30-8:30
March 22nd : A Study on Colossians (Colossians 2:1-10) | 6:30-8:30
March 29th : A Study on Colossians (Colossians 3) | 6:30-8:30
Wanna see how Snow Conference went? Check out THIS video!
126 Students
5 Baptisms | Congrats Leah, Sofia, Mackenzie, Cassidy, and Lucas!
2 Incredible Sermons
2 Engaging Workshops
Worship led by both of our Northridge Campuses
Worship with Mack Brock
A late night party
A life changing day
An update on Summer Camp :
Thank you for your patience with waiting for the dates for summer camp. It took some time to finalize the time with Saranac’s Camp, as well as figure out what costs we could expect for this year. We have finalized the dates for our annual summer camp and hope your student can join us!
The Dates : Friday, August 11th - Monday, August 14th
The Cost : $350
Spiritual Encouragement :
As I have prepared for this Colossians series, hope was a word that I studied a little more in depth for my week 1 talk. The themes in the book of Colossians are the supremacy and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. I studied the word hope to better apply what it means to have our hope in the person and work of Jesus. If you are anything like me, the word hope conveys doubt. When I use the word hope it doesn’t tell you that I am 100% sure. I hope the Bills win tomorrow, I hope it works out, I hope you find what you are looking for, I hope you get the job, I hope it's not a permanent diagnosis. In the English language that we use, hope certainly is not sure. The way we use the word hope is totally opposite of how the Bible uses the word hope. The biblical definition of hope is a confident expectation and assurance based on a firm foundation. Pastor John Piper says it is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. The biblical definition of hope is 100 percent sure. Nothing can take away from the hope that we have in Jesus. It's permanent, it's never changing, it's always sure, it's final. We have hope today, tomorrow, and forever in Christ. The next time you hear or read the truth of the hope you have in Christ, don’t glaze over it or think of it like we use it in our day. Instead, remind yourself of the confident assurance that we have in Christ Jesus. He is where true hope is found.
Partnering with you,
Conell Christiansen & NYM Team
Resources :
NYM Parent Blog | February 2023
Good Afternoon Parents,
We just wrapped up our Created series here at NYM this past week. We had biblical talks around creation, identity, gender, our bodies, and what God has to say about all these things. I believe this series was impactful to our small groups and the lives of your student(s). In a world that is teaching the opposite of what the Bible teaches on creation, identity, gender, and our bodies, our students need to hear the truth of Scripture more than ever. Thanks for getting them here on Wednesdays and for trusting us to teach them the truth of the Scriptures. February is always a great month for our ministry. Let me show you what's coming this month here at NYM.
February 8th : Regular Program Night | 6:30-8:30
February 15th : Student Led Program Night | 6:30-8:30
Some of our students are helping us put on a full program night! They will be leading us in worship, a talk, games, and more!
February 18th : Snow Conference
Our annual Snow Conference is coming up fast! Your student can expect a day of fun with community and be challenged in their faith by this year's theme : Breakthrough: Personal Kingdom vs God’s kingdom. We want all of our lives to be built on the kingdom of God, not on our own lives. Your student(s) will experience 2 sessions from our guest speaker: Mike Thomas, a workshop by a guest speaker, loads of fun, lunch, dinner, baptisms, engaging worship, and a Mack Brock concert. The total cost of the conference is $50. In honor of our parents, guardians, and families, we want to invite you to be a part of the Mack Brock concert experience at 7:30 pm at the end of the night with your student(s). It is free of cost for you and your family to attend the concert. We believe it is going to be a day to remember, a day that will change their lives forever, for the glory of God. If finances are the only thing preventing you from sending your student to our one day conference, please email me at cchristiansen@northridgerochester.com. We will do what we can to help get your student here.
Register your students for Snow Conference : HERE
*REGISTRATION CLOSES ON FEBRUARY 12TH @ MIDNIGHT
February 22nd : NO NYM (Winter Break)
An update on Summer Camp :
Thank you for your patience with waiting for the dates for summer camp. It took some time to finalize the time with Saranac’s Camp, as well as figure out what costs we could expect for this year. We have finalized the dates for our annual summer camp and hope your student can join us!
The Dates : August 11th - August 14th
The Cost : $350
Other Details :
You can expect more information on camp in our parent blog in March and April. For now, please mark your calendars!
Spiritual Encouragement :
My grandmother once told me that she was “falling in love with the Holy Spirit’s conviction.” This statement made me stop pacing in my room as I talked with her on the phone. I don’t think I have ever heard anyone say that they truly loved being convicted by the Holy Spirit. When we are convicted of sin, it can tend to be uncomfortable, tense, awkward, and grueling. The last thing I could think of when thinking of conviction was : love. My grandmother's statement was both different from anything I've heard, but also beautifully true. Isn’t it true that as the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we then can repent and start being obedient to him? It’s at the moment of conviction where we, by the power of God’s spirit within us, can turn, and look more like Jesus. Look at what part of the Greek word for convict is : “to convince someone of the truth.” As scholars put it : “The Holy Spirit acts as a prosecuting attorney who exposes evil, reproves evildoers, and convinces people that they need a Savior.” It's the Holy Spirit's conviction that reminds me of my desperate need for my savior. I need him, and want to look more like him! I'm so thankful for my grandmother's words and for the truth that I have been saved through the mighty grace of God, and that the Holy Spirit is the very seal of my salvation, the advocate in me leading me through life. I pray we all begin to “fall in love with the convictions of the Holy Spirit.” Would we look more like him as he convicts us of our sin, and moves us to dependence, repentance, and to looking more like Christ.
Partnering with you,
Conell Christiansen & NYM Team
Resources for your family :
Why Am I Feeling Like This? : David Murray
NYM Parent Blog | January 2023
NYM Parents,
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year with your families. I have certainly enjoyed this time but have missed being with your student(s). Our NYM team cannot wait to be back with your student(s) on January 11th! We have quite the next few months ahead with some exciting new series, and snow conference. Take a look at what's coming at Northridge Youth Ministry this January :
January 4th : NO NYM (New Years Break)
January 11th: New Series: Created: male and female he created them
January 18th: Week 2: Created: male and female he created them
January 25th: Week 3: Created: male and female he created them
This new series called created will discuss how we are created by God, and created in his image. We will also discuss how important it is that God created us the way he did, specifically and intentionally. This will involve addressing the significance of being created male and female, body and spirit, and what God has to say about our bodies. A resource for this series that I will be teaching, comes from the book: What God Has to Say about Our Bodies. You can find that resource at the end of this email.
February 18th : Snow Conference
We announced on Christmas Eve that Snow Conference registration is OPEN! The cost is $50. Your student can expect a day of fun with community and be challenged in their faith by this year's theme : Breakthrough: Personal Kingdom vs God’s kingdom. We want all of our lives to be built on the kingdom of God, not on our own lives. Your student(s) will experience 2 sessions from our guest speaker: Mike Thomas, a workshop by a guest speaker, loads of fun, lunch, dinner, baptisms, engaging worship, and a Mack Brock concert. In honor of our parents, guardians, and families, we want to invite you to be a part of that experience at 7:30 pm at the end of the night with your student(s). It is free of cost for you and your family to attend the Mack Brock concert at the end of the night. We believe it is going to be a day to remember, a day that will change their lives forever, for the glory of God.
Register your students for Snow Conference : HERE
Spiritual Encouragement :
Alongside my goals for this year, I regularly ask the Lord to give me a word or two for the new year. One of the words I believe God has put in front of me is prayer. What would it look like if my whole life, each day, each moment, was marked by prayer. A deep, consistent communion with God. This is a goal that must be pressed into. With prayer being at the center of my attention for the new year, I have reflected on the prayer life of Jesus. Many theologians refer to the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-56) and the High Priestly Prayer (John 17) when looking at the prayers of Jesus. In these prayers, and all of Jesus’ prayers, we see that Jesus prays from his “bowels” or what the Hebrew would translate as : the deepest part of him. What a challenge and what a goal to pray from the deepest part of our being. As followers of Christ, we ought to be a people that pray from the deepest part of our beings. Whether the prayer is for our lives, or anything in between - would prayer and communion with God be what marks every part of our lives. I pray that you would join me in stretching our prayer life this year. I'm thankful for you and how you are leading your families to do the same.
Partnering with you,
Conell Christiansen & NYM Team
Resource for Created Series :
What God Has to Say about Our Bodies : Sam Allberry