678live’s Blog

During my close to 15 years of ministry at Rolling Hills I’ve come upon numerous parents and students who will ask me a burning question about the Junior High.  They want to know, in a day of limited time and availability, which of the two ministry programs is more important to attend.  That is a hard question to answer since I believe in the merits of both of them.  In fact, it really challenged me to understand what am I doing to help our students become stronger followers of Christ in light of the few programs we provide (which I believe to be a good thing!)  So, here it goes…

Elevation is a vital gathering of our students for corporate worship and challenging teaching for life change.  I love the way our worship draws students into connection with Jesus and focuses their attention on the Lord.  As we give our offerings and promote the many student-led ministry opportunities, our kids learn how this part of God’s family works.  Our teaching gives hard hitting messages with a strong Bible connection, always looking to how it impacts the way we live each day for Christ.  Finally, we personally worship through various stations to give a hands-on experience.

Fusion on the other hand provides other important and complementary benefits to our kids.  They have a much more personal touch with leaders and apprentices who are committed to discipling them in maturity as a follower of Jesus.  They get to process the morning message via the small group since our morning talks are connected to our Fusion group discussions.  Fusion also gives more opportunities for bringing friends who aren’t connected to church activities.  By bringing friends who don’t go to church to a meal night, they get great food, humorous activities, awesome music by our worship band, and a powerful talk that leads to starting a life of faith.

Back to my answer about which is more important?  I would say either and both.  Ultimately, the life of a disciple of Jesus is meant to be lived in community.  Part of any community encompasses the larger gatherings and the smaller gatherings.  We need both.  This isn’t even bringing in the component of disciplemaking as a function of the family too.  We hope that what we provide for ministry programs will help our families feel supported and not be a burdensome stress in terms of schedule.  If a person only participates in Fusion, they may miss the regular large group worship experience that glorifies God.  On the other hand, if a kid only goes to Elevation, they get their tank filled with worship and learning, but miss out on community living with a smaller gathering of like-minded and similar students.  Fusion is where the individual care is going to be the strongest, but Elevation is the place where a person can be more anonymous and take some time to get acclimated to our ministry.

Bottom line, I believe the decision needs to be a family decision.  If you are too busy to regularly participate in both, I would encourage you to be regularly building into your kids at home.  Elevation or Fusion will never be an adequate substitution for the personal spiritual formation that you can do in your family.  You know when your child is feeling isolated and needs to get their spiritual scope expanded.  You know best when your student needs to be built into by another influential adult in their life.  As you choose based on your experience and knowledge of your child and as God leads you, rest confidently that you are being a spiritually-engaged parent.  Way to go!

Pastor Mark