NCBC YM The W.A.Y. Newsletter Issue 5 (02.02.14) > 나눔

We are called "The WAY (We Are Youth in Christ)".

To see the youth generation in the Bay Area believing and following Jesus Christ

"Prepare the WAY of the Risen Lord"

Train Ourselves in God's Word (Joshua 1:8)

Train Ourselves in God's Way (2 Timothy 2:22)

Train Ourselves in God's Work (Matthew 28:18-20)

What a great year is ahead of us in 2014!  

We can only be so sure of and eagerly looking forward to what's ahead of us as we look back all the blessings God graciously poured over us last year in His faithfulness.  And, 2013 was a tremendous blessing to our NCBC YM The WAY.

By the grace of God, we were able to finish 2013 with a strong conviction for our youth ministry.  Our 2013 The WAY Winter Retreat, "Lost & Found" was a huge blessing to all of us and a great way to wrap up the year.  God amazed us in so many different ways than we could imagine.  One of the highlights from the retreat was the taste of unity among our students.  As soon as we got to the retreat center God just broke down the walls between our students and brought us together as one big and happy family.  Unity wasn't really our focus for the retreat but God knew better and had a very special favor upon our youth ministry.  Many students couldn't stop sharing about how awesome and valuable it was for them to get to know and bond with one another at the retreat.  After having tasted and witnessed how sweet it is for us to come together as one our students have been more intentional about maintaining and fighting for this unity among them.

Please continue to pray for our students and for us, for we know this is only the beginning and we have still a long journey together ahead of us.  We would also like to ask all the parents to ENCOURAGE your children to build a loving and lasting relationship with other members of The WAY (Hebrews 10:24-25).  One way to teach your children this is to PRIORITIZE the church family and fellowship.

Another positive outcome of the retreat was the rise of the student leadership.  Praise the Lord for our student leaders.  Our student leaders did an admirable job of planning, preparing, and serving for the retreat from start to finish.  In spite of their busy schedule due to their finals and despite having to give up some of their winter break, our student leaders truly exemplified what it means to serve others as a "servant leader" without any complaints or disputes.  It was quite amazing to witness our student leaders to take ownership over our ministry and humbly sacrifice their time, talents, and efforts for other students.  

What's even more encouraging about our student leaders is what's been happening after the retreat.  Our student leaders were also deeply convicted by the power of unity among the believers.  In hopes to continue and cultivate what God has started at the retreat, they have decided to come together as one and build this unity among them in God's word and prayer.  Since the beginning of this year, the student leaders and us pastors have been doing QT together using "Living Life (English edition of 생명의 삶)" and posting our reflection on our Facebook page everyday except Sundays.  Not only it is true joy to see our students spend and grow in God's word, some of the reflections by our student leaders have been so profound and inspiring to both of us that sometimes it humbles us as their spiritual leaders.  God is ever so evidently fulfilling our 1st mission "Train Ourselves in God's Word" starting with our leadership.  We are hoping to expand this amazing work of God to other students of The WAY.  

The timing of all this happening is so reassuring that God is with us as we are about to launch our new Sunday small group curriculum, "The Story."  This year we are going to read, explore, examine, learn, and share the word of God (the Bible) as one big story of God.  Each student will be given a copy of the main textbook, "The Story," which is a best-selling abridged chronological Bible.  (There are no verse references in the text, and the segments of scripture are woven together with transition text written to connect the storyline so it reads like a seamless story.)  The book is divided into 31 chapters which we will be teaching and learning in a very friendly and creative way using videos, audios, skits, drawings, discussions, and sermons.  Your child will not be left too far behind if he or she doesn't keep up with the reading, but we highly recommend you to keep your child accountable with their reading and check with them weekly.  Learning God's word is just as important (if not more) as your child's education at school.  So, please show your same zeal for your child's spiritual advance as you would with the academic advance.  It is our sincere prayer and hope that our youths would return to God's Word where they might find their faith in Christ.

Thank you.

Please pray:

1) for our Sunday worship service to be holy and authentic;

2) for us to grow more in our understanding and appreciation of God's Word through the new curriculum, "The Story";

3) for all the leaders to be more Christ-like in their serving and leading;

4) for the pastors, teachers, and especially the student leaders;

5) that God would save and transform our students who are yet to follow Jesus

6) for number of our students who are struggling in their faith because of doubts, hypocrisy, and hardships in life