Fall Update
Here’s just a brief update on things we
did around here the past few months.
Mission impossible: Well, we waded
across a small river, got lost in the
woods, injured a few knees, and still did-
n’t win. But we had fun and enjoyed
hanging out with a few other youth
groups from the area over at Camp San-
canak.
Lead day: Our juniors and seniors spent
a day discussing what we want our youth
group to become and explored what it
means to be a leader. We also stopped
by the mall to interview other teenagers
on religion, church, etc. Interesting...
Camping trip: And of course we had
our usual fun up in the Catskills (NY),
hiking, camping, freezing, eating our-
selves sick on pizza, fussing with the
stupid tents, and new for this year, hunt-
ing down Joel Moreau.
The YOUTH GROUP is a ministry of the BIBLE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH OF ROYERSFORD—429 North Lewis Rd. Royersford, Pa. 19468
On My Mind:
Signals of the Kingdom
hink with me for a second, if I say the word “teenager”, what are some of the
first impressions that come to mind? Energetic, impressionable, reckless,
curious? I’m guessing here, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if something asso-
ciated with the term...oh, I don’t know...rebellious (?) popped into mind. Perhaps not
that exact term, maybe something a bit more endearing like individualistic or un-
conforming; the basic idea being, someone who’s not too keen on the rules or tow-
ing the company line. Well...believe it or not, we’ve actually been encouraging a
little bit of that “teenager-ness” around here in recent weeks. Now let me pause
before going any further and say we always seek to be supportive of parents and
encourage the teens to make sure they’re in proper submission to God’s established
leadership and authority. What I’m talking about here has more to do with things on
a cultural level. But hold that thought...
If we wanted to sum up the teaching of Jesus, a good place to look might simply
be the first recorded words of His public ministry. In the first chapter of Mark, we
read, “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gos-
pel.” (v.15). Jesus tells us early on in the book of Luke that preaching the good
news of the kingdom of God was one of the purposes for which He was sent (4:43).
This is not only Jesus’ mission, but also the mission of the apostle Paul (Acts 19:8,
20:25, etc), Peter, and all the other writers and teachers in the New Testament.
Okay, so next question: what is this kingdom of God? The short answer to that
for our purposes here could simply be the reign of God, broken into the present
world through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Or we could say it like this, the
kingdom is the way its supposed to be, the way God intended things to be. It is His
program of shalom, which is the Jewish word for peace, but more properly under-
stood means everything from peace to justice and celebration, healing and full pros-
perity (cf. Rom. 14:17). We know of course that this is all enjoyed to the fullest
when Christ returns, but it burst onto the scene in part in His life and exaltation 2000
years ago. So this is what Jesus offered, preached, and demonstrated in His public
ministry. He spoke of reconciliation with God. He acted in mercy and compassion
towards the oppressed and wounded. He restored and healed the sick and those
enslaved in sin. All of these are signs of the in-breaking of God’s
long-expected kingdom. Jesus’ ministry was in part to demon-
Kingdom strate and invite people to receive and enter this glorious new real-
ity, to be a part of this new program at work.
Final question: what does that have to do with us, and more
particularly teenagers? Well, one way to think about the church
could be that group of people who have been brought (by the Spirit) into
this great kingdom and share in the task of signaling its pres-
ence. We see and taste the newness, freedom, and restora-
...On My Mind (continued)
tion of God’s reign. We marvel at His gracious redemption and new creation at work in the
world. AND (“and” being a key word here), we share in Christ’s ministry of signaling— Upcoming Events
declaring, demonstrating, etc—the presence of that kingdom. As we ourselves enjoy all that
this kingdom brings, we in turn “pitch” it to those around us and like Jesus, invite them to turn,
leave behind their old kingdoms, and enter into this greater truth and reality in the world. Football Tournament:
And now finally we get back to the original point I was making about teenager-ness. See, Saturday, November 10th
this kingdom of God is new and different. It’s counter-cultural (not anti, but counter cul- It’s us versus the other youth
tural...significant difference!). It’d bold and defiant against the dominant ideas, “values”, influ- groups from the area. Typi-
ences, and powers that govern the societies we live in. It’s just a very different take on life and cally, its us watching the others
the world! And so yes, we’re actually encouraging the teens to be better teenagers, to live up to take all our trophies and walk
their calling of being a bit rebellious and be a bit different, distinctive, etc. We want them to be off with heads high while we
true signals of the kingdom, and they can’t really do that if they just tow the cultural line and congratulate ourselves on
themselves buy in wholesale to whatever the other cultural kingdoms might sell them. good team spirit. But we’ve
For instance, one of the dominant voices of 21st century American culture is this sort of self- been practicing this year and
centered individualism. Look after yourself, secure your own prosperity, pursue individual hap- are hoping for a little more.
piness as the goal of life. We challenge our youth group to defy that assumption and to repre-
sent a greater communal outlook on life that demonstrates the more perfect intents of the king- Guys All-nigther:
dom of God. Another example: culture is plagued by a consumerist approach to love. I’ll love Friday, November 16th
you...as long as you supply me with love in return or meet whatever felt-needs I might have. Video games on the big
And if you don’t, I take my love back and go look for a more profitable setting to invest it in. screen, finger blaster wars,
How radical is kingdom love that suggests love is something we do because that’s the way life late night hot-wings, and per-
is designed and intended. We love not just to get back in return. We love not just when it’s haps even some mischievous
profitable for us. We love even when we’re slighted, rejected, or even ridiculed and persecuted. happenings involving toilet
Isn’t this exactly what Christ demonstrated for us! And so we’ve discussed recently how we can paper. It’s a guys night! What
become a youth group that loves better, so that, among other things, we might be a defiant and else can you we say. Come at
unavoidable signal that there is a greater reality, a different and much better kingdom that in- 8 PM and leave at 8 AM. And
vites everyone to trade allegiances and come enjoy life in line with God’s program. don’t plan on anyone sleeping.
Final example: we read throughout the bible (and especially in the prophets that looked
forward to Jesus and the coming of the kingdom) that God’s kingdom is a kingdom of justice.
This is not simply criminal justice as we most often associate the term, but also justice in the Christmas party:
sense of everyone receiving proper treatment as men and women created in the image of God. Friday, December 14th
It involves attention given to people’s suffering, affliction, and weakness, be it physical, emo- Every year we vote on and
tional, spiritual, etc. And so to be signals of God’s kingdom involves displaying this concern for enjoy some sort of Christmas
justice, caring for the poor, helping the widows and orphans as James puts it (1:27), or feeding festivity. The date for this year
the hungry and clothing the naked as Jesus commands (Matt. 25). I include this to give you a is the 14th. The event is yet to
small sense of why we’ve started this new nursing home ministry on Sunday nights. Again, the be determined, so stay tuned
goal is to join Christ in this ministry of signaling the in-breaking of God’s glorious kingdom, to and keep the calendars
stand opposed to the defeated and continually failing “kingdom-orders” of society, and to invite opened. Parents are wel-
whoever might see or listen to come and enjoy the benefits of God’s reign! comed to attend.

Resource Review
A few helpful
websites...

Monergism.com and
theresurgence.com—helpful
We’re getting a jump on our mission planning for the older kids in the youth group (juniors sites loaded with articles, ser-
and seniors). We this year decided to work with CURE International (cureinternational.org), a mons, lectures, and even full
Christian mission agency that specializes in children’s ministries and also a lot of medical ser- classes on the Bible and theo-
vices in impoverished nations. They received a call this past summer from their contacts in the logical/social issues.
Dominican Republic requesting additional help from short term church teams. It was about the
same time that we started investigating CURE ourselves to see about teaming up with one of cpyu.org and youthspecial-
their projects. So after several discussions and careful prayer and pre-planning, we decided to ties.com/articles—great sites
sign on to be a part of the Dominican Republic mission for the summer of ‘08. stocked full of articles and in-
But now here’s the big change in this year’s project: We don’t want this to be a teen-only formation on understanding
effort. We realize that the goal here is ultimately to serve God’s mission as best we can, and to and engaging the teen culture.
do so, we felt we needed to make this a whole church effort. So this year, we want teens, but
also parents, brothers and sisters, other leaders and servants from our church body, etc. So Myspace.com and face-
let me officially invite you as parents to at least get some more information about this trip and book.com—wanna see some
prayerfully consider whether it might something you could help take part in. of your teen’s social interac-
By the time you’re receiving this, we’ve probably already had our first info meeting (Sunday, tions? Get a myspace account
November 4th). But there’s still plenty of time to get the brochures and meet to go over any and check out their sites.
questions or concerns you might have. The first official meeting and registration deadline won’t

Aaron Susek: Youth Pastor 610-948-9764 asusek@royersfordbfc.org