FOR OUR ASCEND STUDENT WEBSITE GO TO    www.ascendstudents.com

ASCEND STUDENT MINISTRY – Ascend is our dynamic, energetic, and community-based youth ministry for middle school and high school students to explore faith in Jesus Christ and how to fulfill His will for our life. 

ASCEND 3E VISION – By the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, we (1) Encourage non-believers to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior (John 1:12-13); (2) Equip new believers with God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16), and (3) Empower mature believers to take on Christ’s ministry and succeed (1 Cor. 12:12-31, 2 Tim. 2:1-2).

Confirmation Class       This Sunday  Feb.19  Topic:  You Gotta Have Faith & What Is Baptism?     All Students are welcome to visit!

Our confirmation program is open to all students entering 8th grade or older.  We meet in the classroom at the back of the Church Building (A).  Class times will run in parallel with the second service (10:45 - 12 noon).  The program started on September 11 and students will be celebrated on a Sunday in May 2012.  For registration details, contact us at twest.pray@lgcc2day.com .   Please come and experience it for yourself!   Students are always welcome to come and visit. 

Confirmation students meet every Sunday from 10:45am to noon. Our goal is to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the claims of Christ and Biblical views of the world in order to strengthen their faith so that they might be rooted and grounded in God's Word.  It is also for the purpose of helping them make informed decisions for Jesus Christ (if they have not already done so). Confirmation students also participate in service projects, mission trips, and other experiences that help them see faith in action. 

The word "CONFIRM" means to make firm or to strengthen.   Our theme this year is STAND --Stand up for the truth, Stand out in love, Stand firm in the faith and Stand together in unity.  I Corinithians 16:13-14 says it well: "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  Do everything in love."  Throughout the confirmation year, students are given the opportunity to profess faith in Jesus and they are encouraged to be baptized.   However, completion of this class does not guarantee  that a student is a follower of Jesus Christ.   It is our hope and prayer that they will choose to be, if not already, sometime during the course of the year and this class is just a practical way to equip and empower them to understand what that faith entails and to be able to live that out with the support of a faith community. 

YOUTH Worship Sundays

Once a month our students lead the congregation in Worship during the Contemporary service at 9am in the Community House.  These services also include elements such as video or drama, testimonies and with our Youth & Family Life Pastor preaching on this Sunday.   Youth Worship Sundays are always the second Sunday of the month.  Upcoming dates include March 11, April 22, May 6.   We are starting a new Youth Worship Band/Team this Winter--please contact Drew Van Tiem or Pastor Tony if you are interested in being a part of this. 

EQUIP Sunday Seminars     THIS SUNDAY  Feb.26th at 9am

Once a month our students will have an opportunity to be equipped to think biblically and live out the Word of God in their daily lives.  These seminars are interactive and will focus on relevant topics that students are dealing with in regards to their faith.  These will meet at 9am (in lieu of the worship service) in Classroom A at the back of the Church building.   Our next seminar is Sunday February 26th -the topic is "Pain, Suffering, Evil + an All-Powerful, Loving God = ?"   How do we make sense of this and live with this in our world?  Continental breakfast is included.   

Sunday Evening ASCEND Student Ministry

On Sunday nights from 6-8:15pm, our middle school and high school students have a blast playing games, worshiping, learning and applying God’s Word, and interacting in small groups where we share who we are: our joys, our struggles, our hurts, our questions, and our passions.  We welcome you to come and do life in Christ with us.  We always enjoy dinner together so bring an appetite and feel free to join us at 6pm this Sunday evening.

Special Events

UNITED  Youth Service Wednesday Feb.29th  at Alpine Chapel at 7pm  --  Several churches in our area are uniting to provide a high energy worship service for students that will scream of the reality that we are all one in Christ and the love that God has for us.    We will leave together from LongGroveChurch at 6:45pm and return before 9pm.   It was Jesus’ final prayer in John 17 that all of us believers would be ONE so that the world would know who Christ is and that He is the way to eternal life.   UNITED is the Body of Christ coming together for that purpose.   

 March 2-4th  Winter Xtreme at Camp Timber-Lee    Join us for a fun weekend full of tubing, tobogganing, broom ball, indoor activities, great worship/teaching,  and awesome memories with hundred of other students from across the Midwest.   http://www.timber-lee.com/index.php/youth_weekends/winterxtreme

April 13th-14th  Dare 2 Share Conference at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates   www.dare2share.org

June 12-16  REVOLUTION of LOVE Mission Trip  at Camp Hickory with hundreds of students from Lake County  http://revolutionoflove.net/