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Parkside Blog

What We Didn't Expect About Serving

  • Posted on Fri 23, July 2010

We're about to begin a new year of youth ministry at PKS. We're looking for new leaders to join our ranks this year to make this a great year for our students! We asked AMT members Kurt and Ashley Ingersoll to summarize their experience with high school youth ministry.

Meet Kurt and Ashley

When Ashley and I were newly married, we looked for an opportunity to serve together. Because we both enjoy spending time with high school age students, the Senior High Adult Ministry Team (AMT) was a natural fit for us. In addition to attending Student Impact (SI) on Thursday nights, Ashley started leading a small group for the girls of the class of 2012, and I began co-leading the guys class of 2010 with Brian Pentsa.

The experience has been far greater than either of us could have anticipated. Our original decision to serve was based on a desire to do God’s work and benefit others, and the results over the past two years have been phenomenal. Our students have grown so much as individuals and in their walks with Christ. Many have stepped up to be leaders in student ministry.
While these things are outstanding, the aspect that we did not anticipate was the benefits we would receive in our own lives. While we lead our groups, we have also learned so much in our own walks with God, both by teaching the material and by learning from the group’s insights. Although our role is to teach and guide the students, we certainly count them also as friends. We have also found many of our best friends in the other AMT members and spend a significant amount of our social time with them. The AMT is a fantastic and fun way to get involved at Parkside, meet new people, and strengthen your relationship with Christ.

Would you be interested in serving?

We are looking for people who are willing to invest themselves in the lives of middle school and high school students (1 Thess. 2:8). AMT members are involved in middle school and high school ministry in these way and have the following attributes:

  • Faithful involvement in small groups, midweek groups, retreats and activities
  • Relationship building with students: encouraging and challenging them in their faith
  • Service to the ministry: planning, set-up, clean-up, tear down
  • Teachable attitude: willing to learn together about how best to minister

A Significant Time Commitment

Relationships take time to develop, especially with students. We have found that though the time commitment is significant that it often reaps great rewards as time goes by.

  • Midweek Meeting: 6:30pm – 9:15pm on a Tuesday or Thursday
  • Small Group Meeting: once or twice a month
  • Adult Ministry Team Meeting: once a month
  • One retreat/event per month

If you would like to learn more contact Dan Southam, the high school youth pastor, at dsoutham@parksidechurch.com or Jon Cameron, the middle school youth pastor, at jcameron@parksidechurch.com. For more information about youth ministry at PKS, visit www.parksideyouth.org.


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