We're finishing a contemplative and silent worship experience. It's been a great morning. Now off for an afternoon hike!

We made it!

We made it!

And we're off!! Thanks for

And we're off!! Thanks for your prayers for our 29 students and 6 adults who are on the retreat. Check back tonight for an more!

Weekly Update: October 8

Parents,

      Welcome to Week 2 of the Weekly Update! In this week's Update, I want to celebrate our Middle School retreat this weekend, announce our High School escape and reflect on families who eat together.

Celebrate: Middle School Retreat
      We have 30 middle school students and 6 adults traveling to Eagle Eyrie for the Middle School Retreat. We'll be worshipping with hundreds of middle schoolers and youth leaders, digging into Scripture and enjoying the fall, mountain air. Pray for us!
Follow the Middle School Retreat during the weekend on the GBC Blog!

Announce: High School escape
      The Middle School students won't be the only ones "retreating" this fall. November 14-15, our high school students will be spending 24 hours at the river. Stay tuned for sign-up info.

Reflect: "The Family That Eats Together..."
      How often does your family eat together at home? Kara from the Fuller Youth Institute wrote this week about two new studies -- one from Boston College, one from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University -- suggesting that the more teenagers and their families have dinner together, the less likely they are to be involved with drugs, alcohol and risky sexual behavior.

      Because families are such an important part of youth ministry, we will continue to include this regular feature in the Weekly Update.

Until next week...

high school: escape

November 14-15

High schoolers: ready to get away for a night?

24 hours. 4 cabins at the river. Good food. A bonfire. You, friends and God. Ready?

Don't miss it! Sign-up information will be available soon.

Preventing Molehills from Becoming Mountains

There are times when you'll get angry with your teen. That's the nature of this ministry. But here are a few dos and don'ts to help you prevent molehills of frustration from growing into mountains of anger:

Don't...

• Use a sarcastic tone or put kids down.
  
• Quit.
  
• Get into a power struggle.
  
• Humiliate.
  
• Ignore bad behavior.
  
• Be surprised at bad behavior.
  
• Do anything drastic until you listen a lot, think a lot, and pray a lot.
  
• Allow discussions to turn into destructive arguments.
  

Do...

• Pause before taking "official action." Always count to 10. Better yet, try 110.
  
• Admit your anger.
  
• Ask the person to talk with you privately.
  
• Speak firmly.
  
• Make it clear you expect good behavior.
  
• Enlist other adults for advice, help, prayer, and support.
  
• Intervene immediately when violent behavior occurs.
  
• Notice good behavior and tell the person.
  
• Cool off briefly before you discuss the problem with the person.
  
• Be specific about the behavior you object to.
  
• Apologize if you're wrong.
  
• Allow the person to save face.
  
• Demonstrate forgiveness to the person who made you angry.
  
• Share a prayer of thankfulness when the conflict is over and the problem resolved.
  
• Ask the person what course of action they think you should follow. (The "misbehaver" often has a good idea that will take care of the situation.)
  

Read more...

**

Les Christie has spent more than forty years in youth ministry, including more than twenty years in the same church. An energetic speaker, Les also chairs the youth ministry department at William Jessup University. He's the author of more than a dozen books and lives in California with his wife, Gretchen, where he no longer has to discipline his two grown sons, Brent and David.

Learn more about and purchase the book, "When Church Kids Go Bad."

*Save 30% off the retail price of "When Church Kids Go Bad" when you purchase it at the YS Store and use coupon code YPNOT1. This offer expires 10/15/08.

Weekly Update: October 1

Parents,

Thanks for a great welcome to Gayton! I look forward to walking with you and your students along this part of the journey.

This week's update is about staying connected to Gayton Youth events and info in the coming months:

1. E-mail: The Weekly Update will go out weekly to any parent who wishes to receive it. Need to update your info? Just click "reply" and let me know!
2. Website: The youth calendar, forms and other information will be updated on the church website. The youth page also includes updates from our new...
3. Blog: We hope this will become a "hub" for the latest info, stories and media from GBC. We will post youth news (including this Weekly Update), along with pictures and stories from retreats and mission trips, just like YMT '08.
   Middle School Parents: want to know we made it to the retreat next weekend? Check out the blog for travel updates and pictures from the weekend!

Thanks for all that you do to support the youth ministry at Gayton. If you ever have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to e-mail or call!

Until next week...


aaron@gaytonbaptist.org