Did you know that more than 80% of Christ followers make the decision to follow Jesus between the ages of 4-14?
This is huge! Heaven is full of people who took that big first step of faith as kids and teenagers. They are there because people like you decided to invest in a relationship with a child or teenager.
Despite these exciting beginnings, studies across the nation are agreeing that 50-80% of students are walking away from their faith when they leave high school.
What are the primary influences on those who stay? People willing to walk with kids through the challenges of living out faith as they grow up – parents and mentors.
At Gateway Church, we recognize that we have a unique opportunity to change the trajectory of a child’s life forever.
Our strategy is pretty simple, really.
We have two goals:
- We want to create fun, engaging environments for kids and teens to connect to a God who loves them and has a plan for them.
- We are working to put a consistent weekly small group leader in the life of every child at Gateway. Our small group leaders are the mentors critical to the development of a child’s faith. All volunteer weekly, and many move up from year-to-year with their group of kids.
NextGen volunteers are just everyday people like you – doctors, stay-at-home-moms, business executives and shift workers – trying to live out their own faith and encourage the next generation in the process.
They have seen firsthand the difference their consistent investment is making in the lives of kids at our church. They are on the frontlines of helping kids walk away from a life of addiction, pain and destruction, and choose to embrace a full life in Christ. It happens every week here in NextGen.
In the process, our volunteers find that serving provides a hands-on learning opportunity to grow in their own faith and connect with other team members, building lifelong memories and friendships.
Are you ready for an adventure? We’d love to have you join our team!
To get started, simply join us at Starting Gate after any Sunday service at each of our locations to let us know of your interest and then plan to attend an upcoming orientation.
If you have more questions, contact us here. Someone will get back to you soon.