Our goal at The River, is to meet individuals where they are; this is also true for our youth. AWANA is very structured, and in certain contexts that is very good. However, our junior high and high school students are facing cultural issues and problems many of us never thought possible, at their ages. We have decided to replace our AWANA Trek & Journey clubs with Junior High Youth Group & High School Youth Group. This shift will allow for some flexibility to meet our students where they are, and prepare them for the issues they face daily. Our goal is for the junior high and high school students to take the Biblical foundation, they have received through AWANA and children’s ministry, and put those lessons into practice.
Junior High Youth Group | 7th - 8th Grade
In the interest of keeping things simple for parents, junior high youth group will take place at the same time as AWANA, Sunday evenings
4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, and the break schedule will be mirrored as well.
High School Youth Group | 9th - 12th Grade
Tuesday Evenings from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Journey aged students will be encouraged to serve as leaders within Cubbies, Sparks & T&T. To incentivize this service, Ft. Belknap missions trip or River/Roots summer camp scholarships, will be available to those students who regularly serve on Sunday evenings.
Connection to AWANA
Both junior high and high school students will be allowed to participate in the Grand Prix Derby. In an effort to connect the two groups, the junior high will still be invited to the high school “Family Dinner”. A meal that we share on the first Tuesday of the month during the High School Youth Group. Both groups will also be a part of fun activities and events that we are planning for the youth. If there are students who want to complete their age appropriate AWANA books, we will be glad to accommodate that and encourage that kind of initiative!