We try to maintain a balanced rhythm in our student ministry between reaching out to our surrounding community with the message and love of Christ, building the faith of our committed students, and equipping students to live out Jesus' mission. To help maintain this balance we offer the following types of environments for students.

Invite: Environments that help students connect their friends relationally to our Christ-focused community. Examples: Encounter pre-party, Six Flags' Great America, Laser Tag, etc.

Connect: Environments that help students connect with their friends spiritually to the person of Jesus. Examples: The Encounter, Encounter Housegroups.

Grow: Environments that help students connect themselves spiritually to the life and priorities of Jesus. Examples: Sunday Morning Ignite.

Impact: Environments that help students connect themselves missionally with Jesus. Examples: New Beginnings Church and HeartLove partnerships, Youth Band, Student Ministry Team.

OUR TEACHING PHILOSOPHY:

Once a student makes a decision to follow Jesus we want to help him or her grow. We don't live under the illusion that our students will graduate from High School knowing everything there is to know about Jesus and the Bible. But we do want our students to graduate with a passion to follow Jesus and a desire to continue their spiritual journey over the course of the rest o ftheir lives. Therefore, we believe that our teaching not only needs to be informational but also transformational.  

We believe that a student first needs to find their place in the story that God has been writing since the creation of everything. For this to happen, students first need to understand the BIG STORY of the Bible so that they know what God has been trying to accomplish throughout history and what He is still trying to accomplish in the world today. But it is not enough for students to just know the story of the Bible. They also need to learn what it looks like to contribute their lives to this BIG STORY. The life of Jesus provides us with a picture of what it looks like to live life in God's BIG STORY. Therefore, studying the life of Jesus in a non-negotiable.

Next, students need to begin living their everyday lives in God's BIG STORY. Students need to EXPERIENCE what it means to put Jesus at the center of their talents and interests. And so, students need to begin wrestling with the question: How can I bring Jesus into my love for video games, music, sports, academics, art, relationships, etc.? While Oakwood Church provides several opportunities for students to make this discovery, this responsibility primary falls on the shoulders of the parents. And so parents need to be modeling for their children what it looks like to put Jesus at the center of everything and begin helping their children make this same connection in light of their unique interests and talents.  

So where does Biblical doctrine and apologetics (i.e., defending Christian beliefs) fit into everything? We believe that doctrine and apologetics help deepen our understanding of the BIG STORY. And so once a student understands God's BIG STORY and how Jesus modeled life lived in this story, studetns will benefit greatly from deepening their knowledge of various parts of the story by learning doctrine and understanding why Christians believe the BIG STORY to be true by learning apologetics.