The gospel is the good news of God’s grace to sinners in Jesus Christ. It is news which comes to us in context: the narrative of God’s relation to his image-bearing creatures. That narrative began at creation, but God’s loving relation with humanity was severed at the fall, when our first parents made themselves and us enemies of God. In redemption God reconciles sinful creatures to himself, and in the consummation, God brings the world to its fullness, delivering his people from sin and death while consigning the rest of humanity to judgment.

The gospel has objective content: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1 Cor 15:3-8). Christ died on the cross for sinners, taking the curse of the law owed to lawbreakers (Gal 3:13), and was raised from the dead for the justification of all those who turn to him in faith (Rom 4:25).

For believers, the gospel also produces subjective effects. In the personal sphere, the gospel, by the power of the Spirit, penetrates every part of one’s life and being. The grace of God really transforms people, so we expect visible fruit from those who are genuinely converted.

The gospel is the central message of the Christian faith. By it, Jesus himself is offered to sinners. A message of such weight and consequence should serve as the orienting center of all Christian ministry. So we treasure the gospel, teach it regularly, and pray that each of our students embrace it, so that they can have Christ himself, and through him, God.

Our ministry "methods" are those explicitly commanded by Scripture, including biblical instruction, fellowship, and prayer.

The gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe (Rom 1:16). The word of the cross saves (1 Cor 1:18). The word of Christ creates hearing and faith in the hearts of dead sinners (Rom 10:14-17). The word of God brings forth new creatures (Jas 1:17). “Life transformation” (that is, salvation and sanctification) is accomplished by the Holy Spirit working with the word of God – even among teens. We therefore center our ministry on the gospel.

As our treasure, the gospel is what we uniquely have to give. It sets us apart from our students’ sports teams, favorite camps, therapists, music lessons, college preparatory courses, etc. We won’t neglect fun and fellowship, but we maintain these as subordinate to and supportive of the ministry of the gospel.

Gospel doctrine should produce gospel culture, one marked especially by organic hospitality and Bible-driven discipleship.

The gospel is not itself life transformation. The gospel is the good news of Christ’s all-sufficient, substitutionary death and resurrection. Nonetheless, the gospel has transformative effects. So, as students embrace the gospel and receive the Holy Spirit, we expect to see them practicing the kind of hospitality (Rom 15:7) and discipleship (Eph 4:11-16) that should mark every Christian. We endeavor to teach them to do these things by our example and explicit instruction.

In the Triangle, many students toil at crafting the perfect resume to send to prospective colleges. (I know because I was one of them.) In the life of discipleship to Christ, one’s use of time is a crucial consideration (Eph 5:16). We want to help students cultivate lives that properly balance rest and work, contemplation and action. If you have tried to disciple someone, or deliberately sought to grow in Christ yourself, then you know margin is essential. Furthermore, the church should afford the saints unscheduled time in which they can do "the work of ministry" (Eph 4:12). Believing students should be involved in this work just as much as believing parents.

Our program scheduling aims to avoid cluttering students' (and parents') schedules.

We endeavor to keep our programs to one major event per week at which the whole youth group gathers. That event could be our Wednesday Bible study, a retreat, a fellowship event, or a church-wide event. (Sunday school will continue on a weekly basis.) In general, this commitment is reflected in our semesterly calendars.

Fun is an integral element of youth discipleship.

Fun and play support the teaching of God’s word by deepening students’ friendships with one another, creating a welcoming, approachable environment, and building relationships of trust and love. Nonetheless, they should never supplant the work of discipleship (or evangelism).

We affirm and celebrate the priority of the local church in the discipleship of believers. Believers (and students) grow in Christ not as atomized individuals but as participating members of local churches in fellowship with other Christians. Aside from the gospel, we believe that the most important thing we can teach your teen is the imperative of the local church for a flourishing, vibrant, and fruitful life with Christ.

Youth leaders (older members of the church) will disciple students.

Our mission statement intentionally identifies the friendships formed between church members and youth as the substance of our ministry activity. Members promise to disciple students during child dedications and baptisms. Youth ministry therefore grows out of cornerstone practices of the church. Furthermore, church members have an opportunity to maximally interweave their lives with those of youth. Discipleship requires the robust sharing of life afforded in a local church.

Within the church, the gathering for public worship is the highest priority for students' discipleship.

The local church is imperative for the discipleship of children and adults alike. Only in public worship are the ordinary means of grace (preaching, prayer, sacraments, and fellowship) practiced and administered in their fullness. God uses these ordinary means to convert and build up his saints of all ages. The most important hour in the life of a Christian disciple is the Lord’s day gathering of the entire church. Parents should prioritize attending gathered worship with their children. Sunday school and serving in various capacities are always secondary to gathered worship.

The sacraments are for youth who maintain a credible profession of faith, just as much as for adults.

Parents and youth leaders should shepherd their teens toward baptism. Shepherding does not work against a young person’s independently “owning” his faith; it actually provides opportunities to assess whether a teen is taking the gospel seriously for him- or herself. Parents and youth leaders should regularly pray for their child’s/student’s salvation, even within earshot of that child or student. Teens who have been baptized should be present to receive the Lord’s Supper at every opportunity. Hence, they must attend public worship. Teens’ participation in the sacraments (or lack thereof) offer manifold opportunities for discipleship and spiritual conversation.

In both Old and New Covenants, parents are explicitly charged to raise their children to know and love the Lord (Deut 6:4; Eph 6:4). Parents cannot do this apart from the local church, but in ordinary circumstances, within a believing household, the local church does not replace the parents. The local church and parents thus work together to evangelize and disciple youth.

A parent's primary vocation is the discipleship of his or her children.

There is no question that teens pull away from their parents, seek independence, and are greatly influenced by their friends. Nonetheless, parents are not absolved of their duty to disciple. The forms of discipleship can vary. One is suggested below (family worship) but others may be employed. Care must be taken to verbally and actively communicate the worth of Jesus above all earthly treasures (Phil 3:8), including good grades, college admissions, financial security, good behavior, and similar potential idols.

Family worship is a biblical and wise practice for family discipleship.

Family worship is enjoined in numerous ways throughout the Bible (most notably Deut 6:4-9 and Eph 6:4). We are not dogmatic about the way in which family worship must be practiced. Individual families will find what works best for them. But the “ingredients” of faithful reading and interpretation of Scripture, dependent prayer, and spiritual fellowship are imperative. We commend the practice of family worship as a means of fulfilling the command to “bring [up your children] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4).