CSM PARENTS!!  

It is so nice to have started the school year! It is wonderful getting back into the groove of our fall calendar. It is awesome seeing all of the new sixth graders become part of the group. The students seem excited and there is a buzz on Sunday mornings in small groups and Wednesdays at Evening Worship. We have also seen an increase in our attendance each week, which is positive.
 
We have started a new "weekly recap" piece on concordstudentministry.com where you can find information on topics covered on Wednesdays and Sundays. Hopefully this will give you brief insight into what we are teaching your children and what we want them to take home. I hope to hear from you on how those are encouraging you and your family.

In this issue you will read a recap of the Parent Meeting, September Teaching Schedule, Photo Scavenger Hunt, Family Fall Festival and Big Chill.  Click on any of those to skip ahead to that piece of information and enjoy reading!
 
parent
PARENT MEETING RECAP
It was awesome seeing the majority of you at our parent meeting in August! It was a wonderful time of discussion and ­looking ahead to what God is going to do in our lives. In case you missed it, there were a bunch of things we covered. All you have to do is click on the item below to get a recap of what we went over. Enjoy!
 
Parenting Tips: 5 Teen Trends

september
SEPTEMBER TEACHING SCHEDULE
This week we are starting our first normal series of the fall, "How To Read The Bible". I am excited to go through this with the students. Often, I hear our students talking more about why they aren't in the Bible than why they are. Most of the time they don't know what to read, how to read it, or where to start. I believe this series will give us a good step in helping our students get in the Word. Our goal is to see at least two students in each small group get connected with God by reading His Word regularly. I know that with your encouragement we can see great strides in this area of our students' spiritual walk. Below is our teaching schedule for the month. 

MORNINGS (Sundays from 11am-Noon)
     6 - Why Read the Bible (Psalm 119)
     13 - Meditation and Journaling (Psalm 1)
     20 - Memorization
     27 - Listening to the Word


EVENINGS (Wednesdays from 6:30-8pm)
     9 - Why So Many Translations?
     16 - Cultural Awareness
     23 - Bible Reading Strategies
     30 - Photo Scavenger Hunt (6:30-8:30p)


photo
PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT | INVITE NIGHT
The Photo Scavenger Hunt is September 30th from 6:30-8:30pm. This event is our first invite night of the fall. Our invite nights are an opportunity for our students to bring their non-churched friends to church. We purposefully make the invite nights fun and, well inviting, especially for someone who has never been to church or has felt burned by the church.
 
For the Photo Scavenger Hunt, we will have drivers take students around the south county area to snap pictures of them doing random things (e.g. giving CPR outside St. Anthony's). The night will be a total blast so please continue encouraging your teens to invite their friends that do not know Christ - you know exactly which friends those are. Get your teens thinking about inviting them to church for the first time. We will present the Gospel clearly that evening after we finish up.
festival
FAMILY FALL FESTIVAL
Every year our church hosts a Family Fall Festival. This year it is happening on Saturday, September 19th from 2-6pm. We want to encourage you to invite as many neighbors, friends, co-workers and what not. There will be tons of exciting things happening such as live music, food, games, prizes, petting zoo, dog trick show, and much more! If you have any questions on what is happening or how you can get involved be sure to email Debbie Elder at [email protected]. Look forward to seeing you and your family there!


chill
BIG CHILL (LOOKING AHEAD)
As I mentioned during the Parent Meeting, we want to keep you posted well ahead of time for big-ticket events like Mission Trips, Big Chill and Breakaway. Big Chill is going to be January 29-31st, 2016. We are excited to announce that we will be back at Pinecrest Camp in Fredericktown. Their camp is the perfect size for our youth group and they allow us to have a lot of freedom with our schedule - which is perfect! The cost for the trip, as of now, is $130. I do not foresee that going up anymore than that. In October you will be able to catch a sign up, so be sure to look for those then!  

CLOSING
Thank you parents for all you do in your children's lives. Take a quick moment and give yourself a pat on the back. Seriously, do it. You are great and you deserve to be noticed for what a great job you are doing and how you love your teens. We know they can be difficult at times, but don't give up! Don't forget that you are in our prayers. We love each of you! "We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." -1 Thessalonians 1:2-3


Blessings, 
 
Ben Wahlman
Concord Church

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