While we have loved being able to regale you with adventures in Shanghai and across China these past 3 years, the real heart of why we loved living in China lies here with our youth group à 80-100 students that we really grew to know and love well as we guided them in their faith. God did some amazing things in, through and for the group, especially in a year of big transitions. Let us share just a couple of big picture praises with you and we’d love to tell you more stories in person anytime – just ask! :)
1) A New Location (with a closet!) – being forced out of our old meeting place (where the group had met for years) due to building renovations, we were told at the beginning of the school year we would have to meet somewhere else. We activated our awesome parent support community, looked hard and were hopeful that God would use this time to build our faith as we trusted in Him to continue to do His work and hopefully to provide a place that even better fit our needs! Week after week He provided us “manna” (see Israelites in desert for analogy), delaying the building contract from being signed and allowing us to continue to meet there in the interim. After months of waiting, an even better place had been prepared for us! It was still within walking distance and fit the size of our group perfectly, complete with even a storage room for all our media equipment.
2) Community Building – every week after the meeting, we’d go out and eat together at the best local Chinese restaurant around – cheap, delicious food and great times that really helped us all bond closer together. We also organized Ultimate Frisbee weekly which, needless to say, was always fun. Finally, investing for a full 3 years allowed relationships to run deep between us and the students and we began to really see the fruit of what God was doing in their lives and in the life of the community.
3) Transformation – students were really impacted by the youth retreats and teaching this year, learning much from the framework of C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. We were really excited to be able to share this experience with them and grow together; we heard great testimonies about lives being changed, walking in victory with burdens being lifted, accountability groups being formed and stories of brothers and sisters building one another up in love week after week.
** If you’d like to check out the curriculum that we created for Mere Christianity this year, we’ve provided the links for you below. We did have a couple of guest speakers and last-minute changes, so I can’t say it’s a 100% complete curriculum, but it’s a fairly thorough base from which to work, through which God worked some very good things.
Right & Wrong As a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe | Mr Steve | MC Book 1 | PPT Here
The Shocking Alternative | Mr Mike | MC Book 2, Chapters 1-3 | Handout here.
The Perfect Penitent & The Practical Conclusion | Ms Janai | MC Book 2, Chapters 4-5 | PDF of PPT Here
The Three Parts of Morality | Ms Emily | MC Book 3, Chapter 1 | Prezi Here
The Cardinal Virtues | Mr Steve | MC Book 3, Chapter 2 | PPT Here
Morality | Mr Mike | MC Book 3, Chapter 4 | PPT Here
Forgiveness | MC Book 3 Chapter 7 | Ms Cookie's PPT Here | Mr Steve's Prezi Here
The Great Sin | Ms Emily | Prezi Here
Love | Mr Steve | MC Book 3 Chapter 9 | Prezi Here
Hope | Mr Steve | Prezi Here
Making and Begetting | Ms Emily | Prezi Here
The Trinity | Ms Janai | Presentation Here | Trinity Explained Video
Toy Soldiers | Robb | Presentation Here
Is Christianity Easy or Hard | Mr Korey | Presentation Here
Nice People or New Men | Mr Andrew | Presentation Here
End of Year Bash/ Mere Christianity Wrap-Up | Mr Steve | Prezi Here
Right & Wrong As a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe | Mr Steve | MC Book 1 | PPT Here
The Shocking Alternative | Mr Mike | MC Book 2, Chapters 1-3 | Handout here.
The Perfect Penitent & The Practical Conclusion | Ms Janai | MC Book 2, Chapters 4-5 | PDF of PPT Here
The Three Parts of Morality | Ms Emily | MC Book 3, Chapter 1 | Prezi Here
The Cardinal Virtues | Mr Steve | MC Book 3, Chapter 2 | PPT Here
Morality | Mr Mike | MC Book 3, Chapter 4 | PPT Here
Forgiveness | MC Book 3 Chapter 7 | Ms Cookie's PPT Here | Mr Steve's Prezi Here
The Great Sin | Ms Emily | Prezi Here
Love | Mr Steve | MC Book 3 Chapter 9 | Prezi Here
Hope | Mr Steve | Prezi Here
Making and Begetting | Ms Emily | Prezi Here
The Trinity | Ms Janai | Presentation Here | Trinity Explained Video
Toy Soldiers | Robb | Presentation Here
Is Christianity Easy or Hard | Mr Korey | Presentation Here
Nice People or New Men | Mr Andrew | Presentation Here
End of Year Bash/ Mere Christianity Wrap-Up | Mr Steve | Prezi Here
4) New Leaders – we were very sad to have to leave our group behind, and they were sad to see us go. But leave we must, as Emily’s lungs were going from bad to worse under the worsening smog conditions (see: Airpocalypse, Fall 2013). While our leadership team had been cut in half from the previous year and stress/workload prevented new teachers from jumping on board this year, God increased the number of our adult leaders by 50% in the spring, bringing on an alum from our group as well as the couple who had been hired as youth ministers from the local church and would eventually take our place. We were so glad to be able to leave the group in good hands.
We love our youth and hope to visit them if we can! This youth group really became the reason we were in Shanghai....and the aspect of China that we're the most sorry to leave! Philippians 1:3-11 encompasses our hearts for our students, and are the verses that Em read to the group at our final meeting:
"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ form the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation- the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ- for this will bring much glory and praise to God."
"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ form the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation- the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ- for this will bring much glory and praise to God."