Calvary’s BOLD Student Ministry, which stands for Blameless Ones Loving Dangerously, is comprised of young people in grades six through twelve. As a youth group, their collective enthusiasm and desire to follow Jesus challenges the entire church to press into the things of God and to not settle or give into compromise. In this stage of their lives, they are beginning to own their faith and grapple with tough questions and issues that have the potential to impact the rest of their lives.

Developing a genuine, bold lifestyle of following Jesus, no matter what the cost, is at the heart of this ministry. John 8:12 says this, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Calvary’s youth are learning and experiencing what it means to embrace Jesus, the Light of the World, and to choose light and truth over darkness and deception. Translating this into their daily lives in the midst of a broken, selfish, and sexualized culture is where the challenge lies. That’s why the BOLD Student Ministry is so vital to the spiritual well being of our teenagers. In the context of Christian community, teens are motivated out of their love for Jesus to boldly follow him, serve and minister to others in the power of the Holy Spirit and share God’s heart to reach a lost and dying world.

In the last year, our teens have spiritually matured, served and ministered, and shared God’s heart for the world in many different ways. Lifehouse, our twice a month large group meeting, has been an effective place for teens to taste and experience God’s love. This high energy gathering with colorful lights, pulsating music and comfortable couches scattered about draws Calvary teens and their friends. Once there, they tell jokes, and play crazy games competing for the coveted Starbuck’s gift card or the occasional cool t-shirt. Bold Move testimonies are shared by students, giving their peers accurate pictures of what it looks like to follow Jesus in their schools. One middle schooler shared how he asked for permission to pray with the entire class before a test, and the teacher allowed it. Another testimony was about a Calvary teen finding common-ground with a Muslim peer because they both were being mocked for their faith. A sixth grader shared how she led an online friend to Jesus via MySpace. Youth-led worship creates hunger to know God better and encourages teens to press in and lose themselves. It’s positive peer pressure to passionately love the Lord. Pastor Jeff Chapman, and various Student Ministry Council members, share relevant messages designed to reach hearts and reveal God’s desires for them to live holy, honest lives before him. The evening always ends with personal, hand-on ministry. The students are encouraged to pray and minister to each other. On many occasions, unchurched guests are touched by the Holy Spirit and moved to surrender their lives to Christ. Lifehouse reminds students, no matter where they are on their spiritual journey, they are not alone and that God knows who they are and what they need.

Another integral part of the BOLD Student Ministry is Encounter. These are small groups, led by Student Ministry Council members, and are designed to challenge students to embrace both practical and profound Biblical truths that will help them live their faith out loud. Middle schoolers (grades 6-8) meet at Calvary and enjoy pizza, dessert and an occasional group game before breaking up into their Encounter groups based on their grade. High schoolers meet at various homes and also enjoy a meal together before moving into Bible study, discussion, and ministry. Students view these groups as "safe ground" to share their struggles and victories. Christ-centered friendships are formed and forged within these intimate settings that will last throughout the middle and senior high years. This past year, all students went through Alpha training, which equips believers in the basics of the Christian faith. The Alpha course revealed some very relevant questions and concerns that our teens had regarding their faith. As a result, our teens became more grounded in their beliefs and more confident in knowing how to follow Jesus on a daily basis. This Fall, the senior high Encounter Groups will be answering one question- "What does following Jesus look like?" They then will be challenged to share from the word, and put into action their observations through community outreach and by serving on ministry teams.

Youth Bible Study on Sunday mornings gives teens a chance to delve into God’s word, and discover for themselves what God has to say. This past semester, we chose various psalms from The Message and encouraged students to prayerfully read the selection, and then journal their observations. We then shared our responses to God’s word. We learned that when we give God room in our lives for God to speak to us, He will! It was amazing the rich insights that were shared by these teenagers. As we continued with this series, the expectation to meet with and hear from God increased. Bingo!

Our Calvary BOLD students enjoyed serving at our fourth summer ArtReach, the creative arts day camp for children, kindergarten through fifth grade. Over 70 teenagers served tirelessly throughout the week shepherding, playing with, leading, laughing, and befriending over 200 children (who think teenagers are way cool). The Calvary teens are the lifeblood of ArtReach. Their creative energy, numbers, and love for the children ensure that "all the bases are covered." This was a great opportunity for the teenagers to pour themselves out on behalf of these little ones. It also showed them that God can use anybody. All he wants is our willingness and availability. The lasting fruit of this event was over 60 children surrendering their hearts to Jesus!

For the last twelve years, Calvary students have traveled to various locations to participate in the New Breed Summer Youth Conferences. This is the most popular event that we offer. This summer, 92 students and sponsors loaded up the vans and journeyed to Waxahachie, Texas for an unforgettable week! 70 teenagers from approximately 20 churches wholeheartedly participated in abandoning their hearts to Jesus and choosing to make a stand for Christ! Some of our students experienced physical healings, others heard from the Lord regarding their God-given destinies. One of our Senior women was asking the Lord about her vocation- nursing or teaching, and the Lord showed her clearly that she is to pursue a nursing career. She was thrilled. One young man was delivered from the enemy’s grip as his friends prayed over him. He stood up a changed man! Another young lady was told by her mother that she would receive a prophetic word while at the youth conference. She waited with an expectant heart. On the last night at 11:00 pm, a total stranger interrupted our breakout session and asked for this girl by name. She had a prophetic word from the Lord! She was very encouraged and overwhelmed at God’s goodness and perfect timing. This youth camp gives teenagers permission to get honest, and surrender it all to Jesus, and scores of Calvary teenagers did just that.

In the summer of 2006, 17 Calvary highschoolers traveled to China to support many different missionary works in a particular city. After four months of intensive training, these teens split up into three teams and shared the love of Jesus. One team went to a village school and provided a creative arts "cultural exchange" program to dozens of students. They told Bible stories, did art projects, and expressed the love of God in simple, non-threatening ways. This was a "bridge building" effort to create good rapport with the school so that, in the future, more Christians could come in and continue to share the good news with this generation of Chinese students who have never heard about Jesus. Another team of our Calvary young women worked with the missionaries to minister to the prostitutes in a certain area. They held a party for them, gave them gifts, sang over them, and even performed a dramatic skit showing the love of Jesus for the broken hearted. A few of these women responded to God’s wooing, and gave their hearts to Him! Another team trekked for 12 hours up into the mountains to visit an unreached remote village and provide a simple ArtReach type day camp for the children. They stayed with a respected teacher and his family for three days, sharing the claims of Christ in subtle and careful ways because it is illegal to openly share the gospel in this country. When this team returned to civilization, there were two new believers added to the Kingdom!

The summer of 2007 saw an unprecedented two Calvary BOLD youth missions teams travel to two different countries.. One went to Guatemala to minister and serve at the New Life Children’s Home. This team of 13 students provided an ArtReach camp for approximately 100 children. They offered games, Bible stories, performed skits and dances, and prayed for many children and the workers at the home and the school. This trip changed many teenagers’ lives as they experienced another culture and saw the world from another perspective.. The other team, comprised of senior high students, went to England for two weeks to provide an ArtReach experience for teenagers. This was a tremendous time of stepping out of comfort zones and reaching out to hurting teenagers in desperate need of a Savior. Living for two weeks without any TV’s or other distractions, allowed these teens to hear from God more clearly and discover a whole new way of relating to Hom and sharing His heart for the lost. In conclusion, these short-term mission trips always have long-term impact on the lives of teenagers. And teenagers make great missionaries! They are flexible, adventurous, outgoing, fearless, and willing to obey God’s promptings, no matter what. One goal of the Calvary BOLD Student Ministry is to ensure that every teenager serves on at least one mission trip before they graduate. These trips increase student’s desire to actively share God’s heart for the nations and help them to see that Jesus really is able to meet the needs of every person on the earth- no matter what their skin color or language.

Proverbs 28:1 says that the righteous are bold as lions. As stated previously, developing a genuine, bold lifestyle of following Jesus, no matter what the cost, is at the heart of this ministry. There is no greater joy than to see a teenager with eyes closed, arms raised worshiping the living God; their brokenness being the very thing that draws them into His healing presence. The Calvary BOLD students are on a journey. Together, they are learning to daily surrender to God. They are developing a genuine lifestyle of loving Jesus with everything they have. They are experiencing the liberating value of serving others selflessly. They are boldly and creatively reaching out to a lost and dying world. This is what it means to be the "light of the world."

Return To Annual Report Index