Grace Newsletter - October

G.R.A.C.E. News

The Heart(s) of Jesus

From Nancy Stevens

The definition of disciple is “one who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another.” As Disciples of Christ, we are to embrace and assist in the spreading of His teachings. Since His teachings, and His life, were all about love, it seems sensible to expand on the definition and also incorporate it as sharing His heart. As I look around our community of faith here at Fairfax Presbyterian Church, I see and experience so many people who share their hearts, His heart, so freely. But the more time I get to spend with the Grace Youth Fellowship Team (G.Y.F.T. ), “the heart of Jesus” is what I receive.

Since it is the beginning of our 2007-08 year, it seems more than appropriate to attempt to express not only my gratitude for each of their lives, but to try to somehow express the heart of Jesus I experience in each of them. I have had the pleasure of serving with G.Y.F.T. for 17 months now, and in what seems to be a short amount of time in the large scheme of things, I have experienced love like never before. I have had the privilege of sharing with a team who struggles with me with personal issues, as well as issues of daily life, death, family, friends and teenagers, and yet keep their focus on the Christ who binds us all in a love so deeply rooted it cannot be shaken.

They all may start to realize the reality of their time commitment and quit after this next paragraph, and they will probably give me a hard time for actually telling this to the congregation, but when I make a conservative estimate on the time they give FPC and our teenagers every week in youth ministry alone, it exceeds seven hours per week. That does not include retreats, lock-ins, mission trips, or any other outside activity. With the thirty weeks of youth fellowship alone, the hours exceed 210, and when you add in the other yearly commitments, they are well over 500 hours for the year. (I hope they are not reading this). They actually take vacation time from work to do ministry. This is one of the main reasons why I do not refer to them as volunteers, for they are far more.

These are the heroes of our faith. These are several “hearts of Jesus” living out His ministry among us. We all never feel like we give enough, do enough or accomplish enough, because we live in a society that demands performance. My friends, we may never actually do enough to deserve  to be forever in the presence of God, but there is no doubt that Jesus will one day look at the souls of our youth ministry team and say “Well done, good and faithful servant, well done.” Experiencing the presence of Christ through this community encourages us all to realize that when it comes down to it, what matters is Jesus. Our calling is youth ministry, for others it is different ministries inside and outside of our church walls. Yet, the tie that binds us all is Jesus.

There is a song by Starfield titled I Want To Hold The Hand That Holds The World. As our team danced and listened to this at the National Youth Worker’s Convention last year, at the end of the song, we reached out and held each other’s hands, raising them as high as we could as if to combine all of our hands with God’s, who does hold the world. I remember thinking then, and even realizing it more now, by holding hands with those whom I am in the trenches with every day, I am holding hands with the One who holds the world. Maybe it is our passion for Christ, our passion for teens, combined with the ability to really see beauty in the broken that allows us to share our hearts and to attempt every day to let our hearts be the heart of Jesus, Himself.

Those of us who have the chance to share our lives with the amazing teenagers here at FPC are forever blessed because of it. It is our completely whacky, unpredictable moments that we look upon as being exactly as Jesus would want it.

There is a list on the following page of G.Y.F.T. leaders and the small group Bible study they lead. In addition, we list our special events, music and recreation leaders, as it takes all of us to practice our holistic approach to ministry.

This team of faithful followers of Christ are not only disciples, not only friends, but family who all share the blood and resurrection of Jesus-and that, in itself, is the heart of Jesus.

G.Y.F.T. Leaders

October Events

Youth Fellowship every Sunday, 4:30 to 7:00 p.m.

October 28, Encounter service, 8:45 a.m.

October 28, Fourth Sunday Jam, 7:00 p.m.  
 

Every 4th Sunday, excluding

Thanksgiving and Christmas,

we will host a free

4th Sunday concert in the sanctuary

at 7 p.m.

See you there!