Welcome!
On behalf of Calvary Chapel, I would like to welcome you to our senior high youth group. We are very glad you are here. Our desire is to do all we can to help you grow in your personal relationship with Jesus. Our philosophy, “TO KNOW, TO SERVE, TO SHARE” is guided by a couple of verses that might help you get a better sense of what we are all about.

TO KNOW...

We have found that the pattern of the early church serves us well in teaching us how to love and grow in Jesus. Our youth services and events will always revolve around the verse found in Acts 2:42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” 

1. They continued in the apostles’ doctrine...

This means they studied and taught the Word of God. Here at Calvary, we believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God (2 Tim 3:16).  It is our practice to teach through the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse so that we are teaching the youth the whole counsel of God as Paul did (Acts 20:27).  We also teach topically in between the books of the Bible or special events which address relevant youth topics (Heb 4:12). We want you to know what the Bible says, not our opinions. We will always point the youth to the Word of God and teach them what God has revealed through His word (Rom 1:16).

2. They fellowshipped…

We see that the early church fellowshipped together, and we are still instructed to keep having fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ (Heb 10:25). Friendship is important to everyone, and we encourage the youth to form close relationships that build them up in faith, as the Scripture says in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Here in youth group, we encourage the youth to get involved with other believers—by attending youth events, joining a discipleship group, serving with one another, and spending time building one another up outside of church activities. We also try to discourage cliques by helping and teaching the youth to befriend those outside of their direct circle of friends (Rom 12:5).

3. They broke bread…

This can be both eating in one another’s homes and enjoying fellowship. Three times a year, the senior high will be participating in youth Koinonia groups. These groups will be hosted in the homes of various youth leaders. The youth will break into groups and spend an evening eating and having fellowship together with other youth and leaders. These evenings are intended to allow the youth to form closer relationships with other believers and their leaders outside of the church.

“They broke bread,” also refers to taking communion to remember the work of Jesus on the cross for us. We recognize that this is not necessary for our salvation, but it is out of obedience to Jesus and remembrance of the amazing sacrifice He gave (1 Cor 11:26).  We take communion together on the first Sunday of the month. We feel this is important to remind us of the wonderful work of
the cross in cleansing us of our sins and breaking the power of sin in our lives (2 Cor 5:21).

4. They prayed together…

Prayer is an area of priority for the senior high youth group (1 Thes 5:17). We devote the end of each Sunday morning service specifically to prayer and worship. The youth are greatly encouraged to spend this time in prayer privately or with a youth leader (Phil 4:6) Our Wednesday night services also provide students with an opportunity to pray for each other as they break into their small groups at the end of each service. We have a loving and powerful God who we are called to go to when we are in need, and He promises to hear and answer us (John 14:13-14). Youth are always encouraged to pray with youth leaders any time they have a need—whether it means staying after church or calling them at home throughout the week—we are always available.

TO SERVE...

Ministry itself is the act of serving one another, which exactly what we encourage all the youth to do in love. Jesus set the perfect example of what a servant looks like, and we are called to have the same heart as our Lord (Phil 2:5). The youth are given many different opportunities to serve throughout their years in high school. The servant leadership team was created specifically to give senior high youth an opportunity to be used for this purpose.

We also believe that God has given each person unique gifts that should be used to serve others and bring glory to Him (1 Cor 12:11-12). As the youth grow in their relationships with God, they are greatly encouraged to use these gifts, whatever they may be, for the Lord. As the Bible says in Col 3:17, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

TO SHARE...

We believe that we have been called to go out into the whole world and share the Gospel. Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you shall be witness to Me in Jerusalem, and all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth.” The apostle Paul said that we should never be ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16). It is for this reason that we stress the importance of sharing our faith on an individual basis with those around us (1 Peter 3:15).

We encourage the youth to be a witness to the world around them in many different ways. In the senior high group, we plan many activities that allow the youth to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world around them. These include summer missions trips, 30 Hour Famine, and Vacation Bible School in the summers. We also have our Outreach Team that meets throughout the year. This group of students meets with the intention of serving and sharing with our community. As a youth group, we also support a foreign missionary each month as well as a Compassion child with the offerings given by the youth. We believe that God has called us to meet the Spiritual needs as well as the physical needs of the lost (Jam 2:15).