Next Few Months

Check out the calendar for the next few months! I am really exicited about the series coming up, awesome things are in store!

Also, remember the Edge is not meeting this week (December 28th)!

December 28th

Just a reminder that we will have no Edge on December 28th! Enjoy the break as a family!

See you back for the Edge on January 4th!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Unwrapping Christmas

1. Be a Student of What They are Learning

Christmas is that feel-good time of year when the lights are up, the holiday music is flowing and the cheer is palpable in the air. It’s also the time of year when we go through the same Christmas routine as always and pass another holiday season without necessarily thinking through how the story of Christmas is meant to change us, not just be a backdrop to two weeks off from school. So, this Christmas we’re going to take a fresh look at the Christmas story with some new insights to help us understand how revolutionary Jesus’ arrival on Earth really was. When we think of the Christmas story this year, let’s be reminded that Jesus is more than we need during the holiday season, and for the rest of the year too.

2. Be a Student of Your Student

What was it that used to make the holidays special when you were a kid? Was it the chill in the air signaling that Christmas break was right around the corner? Baking and decorating ginger bread cookies with a sibling or your mom or dad? Or, maybe it was that feeling you got on Christmas Eve as you waited for the morning when you could finally tear into those beautifully wrapped packages underneath your tree. Whatever may have made the holidays a special time for you, there is one thing that tends to define the Christmas season for most of us: family. When we are young, our families define what Christmas looks like from the traditions they keep to the way they express the story of Jesus to those around them. And, for those of us who are now leading families of our own, we are now defining Christmas for our families. It can feel a bit overwhelming establishing the values, traditions and attitudes that revolve around this idea of Jesus’ arrival on this Earth.  

While most students may be able to tell us the “real” meaning of the season, they aren’t necessarily connecting it to the value of the Christmas story. Developmentally, our students are in a place where it is difficult to think outside of their own world and their own lives. They may have head knowledge of the Christmas story, but in order to take that and bring it down to heart level, there has to be an experience that they can call their own. This is especially important for those of us with middle school students who are still in the developmental stage of egocentric abstraction. During this stage, your student is the center of his or her own world and is not easily able to identify with ideas and concepts that are not personally connected to their own feelings. However, when they have the chance to experience the joy of reaching out to others in the midst of other’s true needs, they can personally identify with the value of the Christmas story.

For those of us with older students, now is the time when they are beginning to widen their worldview and understand the world outside as more than the sum of their own feelings and experiences. For them, the experience of reaching out to others is a chance to put legs to the social and global concerns that are already stirring in their hearts. Once the meaning of the Christmas story is tangible through personal experience, it isn’t easily forgotten in the mind of your teen. Another thing to remember is that though developmentally your students are in a place where they may not fully “get” the meaning of the Christmas story, we as the adults in their lives are. It is necessary for us to set the example and show them the importance of the Christmas story. So, we may need to take some time on our own to reflect on the value of Jesus’ arrival on Earth before we can begin to define that for our students.

3. Action Point

This Action Point is where, as parents, you can start to define what Christmas is truly about through the traditions we establish and the way we express the Christmas story—in our homes, in our schools, in our churches, in our neighborhoods and to the world at large. This is not just an exercise for the Christmas season, but rather a great time to start refocusing our family’s attention on putting Christ back into His rightful place. So, this Christmas as you and your family settle into the usual gate of the holiday season, take a moment to pray, reflect and search your heart for how you want to represent the Christmas story to your family. And then, do something together as a family that will allow those values to be expressed in a way that will forever shape the way they “do” Christmas.

Here are some ideas for ways you and your family can connect to and define the Christmas story together:

• Adopt a family for Christmas through the Salvation Army: Salvationarmyusa.org.
• Volunteer at a local homeless shelter to serve a meal on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
• Give one less gift this year to each family member and instead buy gifts for children whose parents are in prison through Angel Tree: Angeltree.org/angeltreehome.
• If you have a musical family, visit a convalescent home or local children’s hospital and sing some of those Christmas favorites.
• Help the local hospice or meals-on-wheels organization distribute Christmas dinners. You can help prepare the actual meals or donate your time and car to transport the meals to the elderly or sick.
• Look through Martha Stewart and other crafty magazines or old craft books for Christmas-inspired crafts and buy enough supplies to have a hospital ward of children or a retirement home ward make crafts or ornaments with you and your family.
• Ask your church if there is a family that attends that could use some extra help this holiday season. Invite them over for Christmas dinner or offer to buy and decorate a Christmas tree for them. 

This Christmas, as you celebrate the gift of Jesus and the story of God’s redemption in all of our lives, take the time to put that message into motion. Christmas is not just about giving things away so that we get that warm fuzzy feeling, or because we want to “share the wealth.” It’s about expressing God’s heart for justice, love and reconciliation.

Your Invitation!

At Jacob’s Well we believe that the home is the first church and first place where students will learn about God, talk about God, meet Jesus, and begin to take steps to become more like Him.  The Edge is a place for students to come to hear, see, and feel the love of God as they grow in relationship with Him.  Our desire is to partner with you in order to help your student identify where they are on their journey and to help them take their next steps on that journey.  You, as parents, always have a standing invitation to come to The Edge to see what your student experiencing at The Edge.  So at any point, come and check it out. 

Now, as you already have heard (probably multiple times from your student) that tomorrow The Edge is having its Grand Opening in the new student building and I want you to see what God is doing.  Even if this isn’t the week  you’d like to come and check things out, I’d love for you to come for the last 20 minutes or so and see the excitement of Grand Opening.  In addition, I’d love to thank you and share with you a little bit about The Edge and what God is doing. 

Now, back to helping your student find some neon clothes and figuring out how to get all their friends safely and legally in your minivan for tomorrow night.  Hope to see you tomorrow night around 7:40pm. 

Tip: They Make Neon Duct Tape.

Grand Opening!

The new student building at Jacob’s Well is completed and is ready for use.  So what now?  Last week, at youth group we talked about how if we’ve met Jesus at Jacob’s Well we should also share our story with others by inviting them to Jacob’s Well so that they too can meet Jesus.  So, this next week Wednesday, December 7^th The Edge is having its Grand Opening in the new building.  This is going to be a huge outreach event for middle school students all over the valley to come and check out The Edge and eventually meet Jesus.  This is going to be a fun and celebratory night with games, drawings, music, lights, and a time for students to get plugged into The Edge who normally aren’t.  Check out all of the details on the invite below.

If your student is a regular at The Edge encourage them to reach out and invite others.  If your student is inconsistent or hesitant to come to The Edge have them invite a friend to go with so that they aren’t going by themselves.  If your student has not gotten plugged into The Edge yet, this may be a great opportunity to get them plugged in.  Please join us in praying for many new students to come to feel safety and belonging at The Edge that they have never felt before.