| After evaluating the state of our youth
department, we came to the conclusion that there
were things that were vital to their development as
the future leaders of our community that were
lacking in their training. Among these were a
lack of training in passionate worship of God, a
lack of unity and fellowship with Christian youth
from other congregations, and a lack of outreach to
teens in the community who are without Christ.
There is a serious competition for the minds,
hearts, and souls of today's teens, and for the most
part, the church is under-funded, under-staffed and
under-prepared for the competition. Hollywood spends
billions seducing our teens. They are
masters of slick production, clever packaging, and
creative marketing. And they have no
hesitation about undermining Christianity,
Scripture, or traditional family values. Clearly,
if we are going to reach this generation of teens,
we are going to have to be able to compete on a much
higher level than we have in the past. No
single church has the resources available to it that
Disney has. Very few of us can replicate the
slick marketing techniques of the brewing companies.
And today's teens just won't sit still for
second-rate entertainment. The mission of X-Treme
Worship! is to bring together the youth of
Denton, Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Wise Counties to
meet some of the needs that are lacking in our
current training. That involves giving teens a
safe and encouraging environment where they can
learn to worship passionately without feeling
intimidated by their parents or by older, more
experienced worshippers.
The mission of X-Treme Worship!
also involves promoting unity in the body of Christ.
While there may be differences in beliefs by the
various denominations, all who hold to the basic
statement of faith as outlined above have a basis
for fellowship, and unity in the body was so
important to Christ that He mentioned it
specifically even as he faced imminent arrest
and death on the cross! (John 17:20-23).
The mission of X-Treme Worship!
also includes reaching out to the unchurched teens
in our community. This requires a commitment
to excellence on our part as we put together
activities and events that are designed to draw them
in, then draw them to Christ. We want to, as
the Newsboys sing, "...make them wish
that they were not on the outside looking bored." |
