Dear Church,
This is the first parent newsletter that I am writing for the new year and also the first update that I am sending out since November. I apologize for how late this update is being sent. Many of my new year resolutions were in the area of improving my communication skills and my interactions with the youth parents are no exception. I will commit to sending out more frequent and earlier updates this year.
NCYC In Review
At the end of last year, our youth group went to the North Carolina Youth Conference retreat. Many of the youth students have told me it was the best NCYC they have been to. It was very encouraging to see our kids worshiping with other members of God's church. Here are a few pictures below:
Vision for 2024:
Last year, I sent an article in the church magazine talking about the vision of our youth ministry. In it, I said the following:
“The mission of Hanmaum youth ministry is to raise our children into capable adult leaders who passionately love God and serve his church by training them into effective evangelists and disciple-makers wherever they go. This means that all of our ministry activities: every Bible Study, Worship Service, praise team practice, fellowship activity, and leadership meeting should be squarely aimed towards this goal.”
This mission has not changed. And as we look forward at 2024, I want all of the youth group students, parents, and teachers to be praying with this goal in mind. It is too small a goal for us to simply hope that our kids will keep attending church when they leave for college. Jesus' command (Mat 28:18-20) is not for us to be church attendees but for us to be disciples who go and make disciples.
This year in particular, our church is praying and hoping for Youth + English Ministry to grow to 300 members. This may sound like an unrealistic dream, but if you look at how quickly the population of the Wake County and Chapel Hill areas have been growing in the last several years, it is clear that such boldness is necessary if we hope to make an impact on the loss in our communities.
Please pray with me that our youth students will not be ashamed of the gospel, but live in it and proclaim it boldly to all who will listen.
A Welcoming Church Community
Some parents and teachers have noticed that our youth group is struggling to be a welcoming community. I have thought a lot about this and have identified a variety of factors that are contributing to this situation:
- There are not many boys in our youth group and the ones who are here are spread across different grades and don't have a lot of opportunity to get to know each other.
- Two years of COVID pandemic restrictions have caused many of our youth to be socially less developed than previous classes at the same age. This is especially evident in our middle schoolers.
- Some friend groups are so close that they become closed off to welcoming strangers.
- The Sunday church schedule is tight, leaving very little time for unstructured play and relaxation among the kids.
Regardless of specific causes, it is clear that one way in which I can help alleviate the issue is by putting together some more activities for our children to play. Please pray for me to have wisdom in how to prepare and execute these fellowship activities. Especially pray for my time management to be better and allow for me to do these things within the constraints of my final semester of seminary responsibilities.
Thank you all for your prayers and support,
Evangelist Danny Cho
