If you’re a high school student or parent of a high school student, we have started a new 12-week class designed to help students understand what it means to be involved in the life of the wider Church. Students will attend 6 classes, spend 4 weeks visiting various ministries at Parkside, then finish with a final student and parent meeting to discuss their plans for being involved at Parkside. 

Our hope is that students would regularly participate in corporate worship, have meaningful relationships with a variety of believers in the church community, and discern and use their gifts to serve others. 

Parents and students are invited to join us for the first meeting on Sunday January 9th at 10:30am in the Venue.

Register for the class here

Why Church 101?

While we do see the immense benefit of high schoolers being in fellowship with one another, particularly in our midweek meetings, we want our students to have an understanding of how God intended believers to be involved in the larger Church community, regardless of age. 

If we look at Romans 12, the picture we see of the Church is a body: a living, breathing, organism made up of different body parts that work together, according to God's design and function. These members and individuals depend on one another, are responsible to and for one another, and they live out their diversity in a community of unity. Recently, Alistair preached on Colossians 3:18, in which we see another picture of the Church: as a family. 

In both pictures, being part of the Church means we primarily gather together to give God the worship he deserves and use our gifts to serve others, to build each other up, and to live out our role as a member of the church family, regardless of age. And high schoolers have a part to play! Our goal is to help them grow in their understanding of this Biblical picture now, so that as they transition to adulthood, they might be committed followers of Jesus, worshipping and serving for the flourishing of Christ's Church and the glory of God.  

What topics will be covered? (Click the topic to view last semester's teaching).

• The Gospel as the Center
• The Church as the Body
• Corporate Worship as the Heartbeat
• Ordinances as Pictures
• Serving as Stewardship
• Discipleship as the Mission

Where can high school students serve on a Sunday?

• Children's Ministry (AM and PM)
• Nursery (AM and PM)
• Greeters
• Ushers
• Faithful Friends, Jr
• Praise Team (particularly on Thursday Nights)
• Nursing Home Ministry

*Note: these are a just a few of the many places students can serve and ways they can use their gifts.