The Promise of Partnership
Exekiel 22:30
This message was presented by Kevin King and Jody Maddy.
I. Introduction to Partnership with God
The triune God’s method of operation is PARTNERSHIP!
God doesn’t have to partner with anyone, He’s all powerful, all knowing & always present. So why does God choose PARTNERSHIP to accomplish His will?
For our NextGen Ministries we have chosen to follow this example of partnership. By the way, NextGen = Children & Youth. Our children & Youth are not the church of tomorrow. Once they have accepted Christ as Savior & Lord, they are the church of today!
God was looking for someone to partner with – but didn’t find anyone…
For our ministries with children & youth, we have chosen to use the Orange Model. We desire to bring the church and the home together and work as partners to see kids & teens coming to Christ!
This is outside of school! It includes all kind of media (TV, billboards, advertising, phones, etc.)
If they were to spend every available hour at church that they can, they still get only 140 hour per year! But very few teens do this…
The average FAITH EXPOSURE for a young person is really only about 40 HOURS PER YEAR – TOTAL!
[Ping Pong Ball demonstration comparing HOME 3,000 hours with CHURCH 140 hours]
Parents must be modeling Christ at home for their kids, otherwise church has little chance of getting through to them.
II. Jody Maddy, FBC Children’s Director
Our VISION is that every child will come to know, love and serve Jesus Christ.
Our MISSION is to partner with parents to build a strong Biblical foundation in every child.
Mark 10:13-16 (NLT)
13 They brought little children to Jesus that He might put His hand on them. The followers spoke sharp words to those who brought them. 14 Jesus saw this and was angry with the followers. He said, “Let the little children come to Me. Do not stop them. The holy nation of God is made up of ones like these. 15 For sure, I tell you, whoever does not receive the holy nation of God as a little child does not go into it.” 16 He took the children in His arms. He put His hands on them and prayed that good would come to them.
Jesus was rarely angry in the Bible, but this is one of those times and He was angry with His disciples. He cares about children and all through the Bible we see examples where God cares for children – and so do we! That is why we do what we do.
We use the GROW CURRICULUM in our time with the kids. Be sure to get the handout that gives the parents several tools to use with their kids during the week. The 5th and 6th Graders (and a few older ones) are under Dr. & Mrs. McAllister. They lead the kids through a book of the Bible verse by verse. Their current study is in the book of Job.
AWANA is a big part of our working with the kids. Each meeting includes Book Time, Lesson Time, Game Time and Book at home. Please work with them at home whenever possible.
Please give us your kids/teens’ schedules. We want to show up and support them in their activities/sports whenever possible.
III. Kevin King, FBC Youth Director
Kevin began volunteering in Youth Ministry in 2003. He served as a Youth Pastor in Virginia from 2008-2013 and in North Carolina from 2013-2017. He came to New Castle and has served since 2018.
We named our Youth Ministry at FBC “DtL” or “Death to Life Student Ministry”
Ephesians 2:4-5 (CSB) tells us:
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
God didn’t come to earth and die on a cross to make bad people good or good people better. He died on a cross and rose from the dead to transform us from death to life! And if that’s not what you have then you don’t have it! We want to transform teenagers from death to life!
Our ministry is two-fold as you can see above. I preached on
1 Timothy 4:12 (CSB) a few years back:
12 Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.
Jody comments on a recent DtL Café that Kevin held with a Sci-fi theme.
Beyond services & events we offer are involved in counseling, visits, 1 on 1 discipleship and attending youth games, recitals & other extra-curricular activities. We offer and are involved in Dive at local Elementary schools, Wyld Dive and Young Life in the community.
God wants to partner with us so that we can share in the joy of partnering with Him!
IV. In Conclusion
If you are missing out… If you feel like something is missing in your life, maybe it’s because you are not partnering with Christ. Maybe if you are not enjoying the Christian walk, perhaps you are not partnering with Him to bless other people. I encourage you to make a change!
That brings us back to Ezekiel 22:30:
30 I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.
Sometimes God searches for someone to partner with and finds no one! Don’t let that happen!
Is God searching for you? Is He looking to partner with Him?
How does God want you to partner with Him to share the Gospel?
You can listen to this message from Kevin & Jody here:
Or you can watch the video by clicking Here.
