“Synergy” is our Youth Ministry at Zoe. If you’re between the grades of 7 and 12, we want to personally invite you!
Synergy is a place where we are passionate about teaching our students about the life of Jesus and how they can apply this to their everyday lives. We create community so students can connect with others through serving, missions trips, outreaches, activities and special events. Also, our ministry program is geared to grow and develop students spiritually and academically by connecting with God through our Sunday and special events services and gatherings. It’s a great place to encounter God and meet new friends.
Synergy happens Sunday at 10:00 am.
Mission
MISSION
Our overall mission is to “Help People Change their Lives for God’s Purpose”.
Our purpose for Synergy is to cultivate a community where students are apprenticed to Jesus, learning to live in His way and be transformed into His likeness. From this transformation, they will grow in love for God and others – engaging in service, evangelism. Through small groups, outreach, social gatherings, and academic study of scripture, they will be formed into people who reflect Jesus in every area of life.
Vision
VISION
We envision communities of diverse youth being discipled & launched into leadership empowered by an unashamed love for Christ.
Core Values
CORE VALUES
- Transparency: we value honesty. We want our leaders and students to be real and vulnerable.
- Consistency: we hold each other to high standards of service, performance, and behavior
- Commitment: we value students, we are committed to deliver to them what we promised and add value that goes well beyond what is expected.
- Community: We value and encourage authentic relationships and fellowship
- Excellence: we will perform our duties to the best of our ability. We will strive to improve our abilities to be innovative and set a standard for others.
SYNERGY EVENTS
Synergy Service
Sundays | 10 am | Fireside Room
Synergy Live Worship Service
Every First Sunday
Synergy Parent Meeting
Sunday, April 27 | Immediately following second service
The apostle Paul wrote of being poured out as a drink offering (2 Tim. 4:6), and his imagery is helpful here. We cannot pour out to our kids what hasn’t first been poured into us. When we pursue Jesus through his Word, his people, and his Spirit, he transforms us by these means of grace. Only then can we offer that grace to our children.
Don’t get me wrong— we do not need to be a spiritual giant to disciple our kids. We parents are in process too, growing a little more into Christ’s image each day by his grace and power alone (2 Cor. 3:18). But as the adage says, “More is caught than taught,” so even as I wrestle with my own shortcomings and depend on the Lord to
grow and change me, I want my children to catch the aroma of Christ from me because I’ve been with him (2 Cor. 2:15).
PARENT RESOURCES
Devotion with Your Student
Devotion with Your Student
Daily devotions are a phrase used to denote the discipline of Bible reading and prayer with which Christians start or end their day. Bible reading in daily devotions can take the form of a structured study using a devotional book or a simple reading of certain passages. The sincere believer knows that God wants His people to draw near to Him with true and pure hearts, and that’s what daily devotions are all about. “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).
Devotion can happen at any time, during breakfast in the morning, on the car ride to school, or in the car before practices. The goal is to spend time with you student in the word, and also establish the discipline of bible reading and prayer.
Student Bible & Devotional Material
In Synergy, we want to ensure that our students are spiritually equipped to face the challenges and choices approaching. Dr. Joshua has compiled a series of resources for our students that they will utilize during service and their personal devotion time. We strongly encourage our students to take advantage of these great resources.
Bible Resources (link) – https://conta.cc/4fE6KNV
9 Ways to Pray for Your Student
9 Ways to Pray for Your Student
EYES THAT SEE. Pray that they will have eyes to see the true needs of those around them and have the courage and compassion to do something about it. Pray that they will be able to sort truth from untruth.
WELL- EQUIPPED; GROWTH IN MATURITY. Ask that they would be empowered and skilled for the particularly good works God’s prepared. trained according to his unique image within
them and driven only by heavenly purpose.
WORSHIP OF GOD RATHER THAN SELF. Pray that as they learn, they would grow in awe and fear of God, applying Scripture to all. Let them love God with all their mind and might, pursuing him rather than glory, achievement, approval, etc.
COURAGE. Pray that rather than being conformed to the world around them, they would be transformed as their minds are renewed. Ask that they would love him and others boldly and wholeheartedly.
TRUE FRIENDS. Ask God for loyal, Jesus-loving friends who will encourage and shape your child with positive peer pressure.
PROTECTION: GUIDANCE. Ask our all-seeing God to keep them from spiritual emotional, physical, and social detriment, guarding their hearts and minds. Pray that he’ll use even the worst circumstances for your child’s good. Ask that if they’re involved in sin, they’ll be caught.
WALK WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh…If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16,25). Pray
that they would follow only one Voice (John 10:4-5).
QUICK TO LISTEN. SLOW TO SPEECH & ANGER. Ask God for teachability, submission to authority. wisdom in anger, and deep humility.
PEACE. Ask that kids’ hearts & identity would be anchored in him and committing anxiety to him.
30 Conversation Starters
30 Conversation Starters for Teens to Take Things to the Next Level
Keep your student talking, have an hour conversation with them. Invite them to get a smoothie, tea, ice cream or whatever they like and talk about what’s going on in their world, and about the latest hot topics to get a better understanding about how they think. Here are 30 questions you can choose from.
- What do you think people often misunderstand about your generation?
- What do you think people often misunderstand about you?
- Tell me about someone who, when you got to know them, changed how you thought about people like them, or even made you ask a question about something you believed.
- What kind of people make the best listeners?
- Say a friend comes to you. They or their girlfriend are pregnant. How do you help?
- What do you think about photoshopped social media?
- Talk to me about people you admire right now, and what really draws your respect.
- What do you think are great qualities to look for in a spouse?
- Do you think people should get married young?
- What do you think people misunderstand about God?
- What do you think Christians do that’s alienating to other people?
- What’s one thing you hope to do differently when you’re a parent? (The catch: You also need to tell me two things you think I do well.)
- How do you think the Church should respond to the LGBTQ+ population? What do you see some Christians doing right–and what are some missing right now?
- How would you recommend helping a friend who’s depressed?
- What qualities put a person in your “do not date” list?
- For what, if any, remarks should a public figure be “canceled”?
- Do you think marijuana should be legalized?
- What do you wish people could understand in gender equality discussions?
- What do you think is going wrong–and going right–with discussions about race right now?
- When are you most tempted to fake who you really are?
- What do you like about our church–and what would you change?
- What’s one thing you want or wish for that you’re not sure will happen?
- What’s God been doing in you lately?
- What quality is hardest to understand when you see it in a person? What does this tell you about yourself?
- When you get to heaven, what are some questions you hope to ask God?
- Name three adjectives you wish you were but aren’t yet.
- Describe yourself in five words. Go.
- At what times in your life have you felt closest to God–or when do you feel closest to God now?
- What’s one lie you find yourself believing–but that’s hard to shake? How did it get in your head?
- What are the best ways to share Jesus without being weird?
Ways to Disciple Your Middle School Student
Ways to Disciple Your Children During the Exploring Years (Middle School)
- Encourage questions, find answers together
- Ask questions, let them explore answers
- Read age-appropriate apologetics (such as Case for Christ series)
- Bring faith into real life situations often
- Read the Bible together before bed
- Ask them how you can pray for them
- Continue to do things that create an other-orientation (service projects, helping neighbors)
- Consume faith-inspired media together (movies, books, music)
- Evaluate the media you consume against the Bible
- Make time for weekly family worship (either at church or at home)
- Encourage (don’t force) daily devotional time (buy them an age-appropriate devotional Bible)
- Have regular discussions about relationship vs. religion; outward obedience vs. heart devotion
- Help them get comfortable feeling like a square peg in a world full of round holes
- Make sure your talk (of faith) matches your walk (of faith)
- Pray with them
Ways to Disciple Your High School Student
Ways To Disciple Your Children During the Trial Run Years
- Help them hold decisions up to the cross (Is this for Jesus, against Jesus, or neutral?)
- Create a team atmosphere in your home
- Bring the Truths of the Bible to bear on the situations they face
- Encourage godly relationships and peer groups
- Be available and open to hard discussions
- Ask probing questions, be genuinely curious
- Ask them to back up what they believe with truth. Use the Bible as the standard of truth
- Apologize when you mess up
- Regularly encourage them to be a light wherever they go
- Teach them (by example and instruction) how to love those who believe differently
- Encourage them to examine their hearts and their motives
- Genuinely ask, “What would Jesus do?”
- Use the Bible as a band-aid, not a weapon
- Pray with them