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Our program is pastor-led and disciples parents, youth mentors, and youth to live in faith and unity under the headship of Christ to the praise of God's glory. The end goal is to proclaim the Gospel with excellence for the salvation of souls, revival of the family, and, most importantly, revival of the church — the eternal family of God. Q&As ............................................. Q. If a child does not have an available parent to accompany them, may they still attend? A. Yes! We will find a mentors to help them master the lessons. ............................................. Q. May I bring my smaller children if I cannot find child care for them? A. Absolutely. We love little children and the more the merrier! ............................................. Q. Can I invite kids from non-Christian families to attend? A. We would hope that you do. ............................................. Want to join? Email us: redemptioncasagrande@gmail.com ............................................. Ages: 8 - 17 Not required to be a member of our Churches to attend
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 Why Redemption Kids Night? You have probably never seen a youth ministry like ours before. There tends to be two ways churches do youth ministry, and neither are the way we do it. These two ways are: Most popular: Parents drop of kids and let volunteers teach the youth or Trending: Some churches remove all youth programs The Result: Both approaches mean that no one is discipling the youth. Why the Popular Approach Fails The first approach fails for two major reasons: First, parents fail to see that they are supposed to be the primary disciplers of the youth. Instead of taking on this responsibility, they abdicate their God-commanded duty and let unqualified and low-impact volunteers disciple their children instead. And because volunteers will never be as influential as parents, they will never have the deep and lasting impacts that believing parents are able to have on their own children. Second, according to Barna, 89 percent of churchgoers lack a biblical worldview. This means that only 11 percent of youth ministry volunteers will have a biblical worldview. This means that your child has about an 11 percent chance of receiving biblical instruction at the hands of volunteers. Third, this model fails to give children both parents and pastors who are called to disciple the children. To summarize, the first approach fails because parents refuse to disciple their own children, pastors neglect their duties in teaching the youth, and the low-impact volunteers they rely on lack a biblical worldview. Why the No-Youth-Ministry Approach Fails The second approach also fails because youth in anti-youth-ministry churches have no one instructing them in the faith. Remember the Barna stats above? If 89 percent of church goers lack a biblical worldview, that means that 89 percent of parents lack the knowledge necessary to disciple their own children. While parents may be the most influential people in the lives of their children, unless they know the Gospel and are able to share it, they will be nothing more than spiritually blind guides leading the blind. And unless pastors take upon themselves the duty of equipping parents, the anti-youth-ministry church is destined to have the same failure rates as the average youth-ministry church. In fact, it may even be worse because parents are high-impact influencers and spiritually dead, high-impact parents are more likely to produce a spiritually dead household than a low-impact volunteer. Finally, in many of these churches, parents come to think that it is wrong for the pastor to teach other people's kids. But thinking this is wrong for at least two reasons. First, Jesus modeled a shepherd directly teaching children (Luke 18:16). For pastors to not teach children directly is to be un-Christlike. Second, pastors are commanded to teach "all the flock" (Acts 20:28). Since children are part of the flock, pastors must necessarily disciple them if they are to be obedient to Paul's command. So the no-youth-ministry approach fails because it removes pastors as shepherds in children's lives and it fails to have pastors equip the 89 percent of parents who lack a biblical worldview. Equipping for ministry, by the way, is one of duties of pastors (Ephesians 4:11-12). Redemption Kids: A Biblical Approach We seek to use a biblical pattern for youth ministry by having pastors (not volunteers) teaching parents how to disciple their own children. Our youth program disciples both parents and youth. And what's so awesome about this approach is that it's actually THE BIBLICAL MODEL for revival. In biblical times of revival, God raised up spiritual leaders (not volunteers) to turn the hearts of parents to their children and children to their parents to prepare children to receive the Lord. Moses taught parents to disciple their own children (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). Joshua exemplified family discipleship (Joshua 24:15). God raised up John the Baptist to turn the hearts of parents to their children and children to the wise (Malachi 4:5-6; Luke 1:16-17). And the apostles commanded parents to teach their own children (Ephesians 6:4). In other words, turning the hearts of parents and children towards each other lays the groundwork for revival. From the time of Moses until the time of Christ's apostles, we see this pattern: Leaders > Parents > Youth This pattern is why Redemption Bible Church has the pastors teaching both parents and the youth. Equipping others for ministry—parents included—is one of duties of pastors (Ephesians 4:11-12) as is teaching all of the flock—children included (Acts 20:28). By having pastors teach both parents and children at the same time, pastors are equipping parents for family discipleship and turning the hearts of children to the wise. They are also following the example of Christ who directly discipled children (Matthew 19:14) and obeying Paul's command to disciple all of the church. Our method of youth ministry is Christlike in practice (Matthew 19:14), faithful to equip parents(Ephesians 4:11-12), and obedient to the command that pastors shepherd all of the church (Acts 20:28). Nowhere did Jesus ever tell his disciples, "When you plant a church, tell the elders to focus on the adults and let any willing volunteer teach the kids." Sadly, this is what most churches do. Scripture warns against having just anyone teach. James 3:1 says, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." And if Barna's findings are included, this means that the volunteer-based model for youth ministry will cause 89 percent of "teaching" volunteers (who lack a biblical worldview) to come under the judgment of God (Matthew 18:6; James 3:1). Therefore, those who are qualified to teach should be those overseeing the discipleship of children. Also, parents are commanded to teach their own children (Ephesians 6:4) but they are often not qualified. Therefore, it is the duty of pastors to equip them (Ephesians 4:11-12) to take on this duty. The fruit of pastors shepherding parents and children together is that pastors become models to parents (2 Thessalonians 3:9; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Peter 5:3) of the ministry of Christ towards children (Matthew 19:14). Second, it fulfills the command Paul gave pastors to shepherd the entire flock (Acts 20:28). Without some youth ministry being done by pastors, a church is disobedient to Paul's commands (Acts 20:28). Third, since the goal of leaders turning the hears of parents to children and children to the wise is intended to make people ready for the Lord (Luke 1:17) and since God's word and ways always accomplish what they were given for (Isaiah 55:11), revival is exactly what you will get. Fourth, pastors shepherding parents and children together role models family discipleship so that parents can observe and learn to imitate this method of discipleship at home. Pastors are commanded to be an example (2 Thessalonians 3:9; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Peter 5:3 ) and Christians are commanded to follow their example (Hebrews 13:7). This is why role modeling must be a part of youth ministry. Our youth ministry program fulfills these pastoral purposes in one place at the same time. Fifth,, having pastors teach children prevents unqualified teachers from being judged by God for misleading children (Matthew 18:6; James 3:1) and puts the most qualified in the position of teaching. In short, we use this method because it is our aim to follow the example of Scripture, turn the hearts of parents towards children, turn the hearts of children towards wise pastors and parents, to equip parents for the ministry of the home, to prepare a future generation for the Lord, and ultimately glorify God by the salvation that comes through Gospel proclamation in the church and home. |
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What Redemption Kids Does Every Week The aim of Redemption Kids is to teach doctrines, survey how Christ is found in all of Scripture (Genesis to Revelation), and disciple families according to their specific needs. How do we teach week-by-week?   1. Both parents and children, ages 8 to 18, receive a handout
that covers 10 truths in 10 Question & Answer formats. This
handout encourages note taking for both parents (or spiritual
mentor) and the child and ensures that both were paying
attention to the lesson.2. Every week, the pastor teaches through the weekly 10 truths (this is the first time the lesson is given). A trained pastor teaches ensuring that the doctrines being taught are sound. 3. Once a week, the parent reads and reviews these weekly 10 truths with their children at home (this is the second time the lesson is given). 4. On the following week, we play a trivia game based on the previous week's 10 questions. Why a weekly trivia game? 1. The game is the third time the lesson is given. Repetition improves memorization.The game format also allows team members to discuss the question among themselves before they give their final answer. In the process of discussing each Q&A before giving their answer, kids participate in peer-to-peer teaching, reminding, and encouragement. Kids receive the opportunity to encourage one another, which is a biblical practice. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." 2. The game is a strong motivation for both parents & kids to study. The idea of leaders and peers strongly motivating others towards good work is a biblical concept. Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Pastors can use the game to encourage study of God's Word and as accountability. 3. The game is a reward for studying well. God Himself rewards us for simply doing what we ought to do. The idea of seeking God through the study of God's Word and being rewarded for it is a biblical idea. Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." 4. The game allows for pastoral observation. The game allows pastors to assess how each family is doing and to offer help and encouragement. It may be that a pastor notes that a particular lesson was harder for some families and may need to be simplified or repeated for their sake. Such oversight of families is a biblical duty for leaders. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account." |
