Philosophy of Youth Ministry

The approach to youth ministry that has shaped our practices is reflective of our desire to support the work of dad’s and mom’s in the raising of their family. We believe that it is not the responsibility of the church to raise your children. Rather, we desire to assist you in your work.  The Bible teaches that the responsibility of raising godly children is in the hands of the parents and as a church it is our desire to help in that great endeavor.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deut 6:4-7

We understand that this is not an easy job.  Raising children is a difficult task, especially in the generation in which we live.  Family time is in competition with media, books, internet, friends, and games.  Teenage immorality is rampant, peer-pressure is intense, abortions and suicide are at all-time highs, and obedience to parents is lost.

We believe that, despite the circumstances of our world, there is still hope.  There is hope to raise children who love and obey God.  There is hope to raise children who love and obey their parents.  There is hope to raise children who do not give into worldly pleasures and who flee from youthful lust as instructed in the Bible.

We know that this hope is found in the Lord Jesus Christ and the principles from the Word of God.  We have seen many young people and their parents benefit from the principles that God has given us in His Word.  Many parents have come to CBC and learned these principles and as a result have experienced a closer relationship with their child than they could have ever imagined.

We hope that you will allow us to be a help and a blessing to you in the raising of your family.

Leadership

Jon Stone is one of the pastors of CBC. He and his wife, Dawn, have a desire to serve families who parent young men & women through their teen years. They have invested many years in working with teens and provide leadership to CBC’s ministries helping families with children who are ages 12 through 18.

Component Parts of CBC’s Youth Ministry

1.             Peer Group – families have the opportunity to form the relationships that will impact the development of their own children. Time spent with other families who have teens build a community of faith where the convictions and standards of godly living which each family holds can strengthen one another.

2.             Teaching – young people have the opportunity to study God’s Word together under the supervision of their fathers. The is primarily accomplished on Sunday mornings during Bible Study Fellowship.

3.             Activities – special activity events give families who have teenage children opportunities to build memories together.

4.             Outreach – we encourage young people to be active in the purpose of the church…that being the reaching of people in Northern Virginia with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As such, our youth are encouraged to be active participants in our G.R.O.W. outreach ministry.

Involvement in CBC

Too many youth have been raised in children’s programs and teen programs but have little involvement in the actual life of the church family. Perhaps this partly explains why statistics reveal a high percentage of young adults leaving churches after high school – they’ve not been actively involved in church up to that point so why should they make the jump to “church” after being pushed out of the teen group?

At CBC we encourage youth to get involved in “adult” ministries during there ten years. We see young men and ladies singing in the adult choir, ushering and serving in the nursery and children’s ministries. We are seeing these young men and ladies finding their place in the life of the church throughout their teen years.