THE RUNDOWN

In this Edition:

1. A Note of Hope
2. CBC YOUTH & COVID-19
3. A Prayer of Hope

As for hope, for those who operate from a Christian worldview, a worldview that believes and trusts in a God that is in control, saves, and reigns...this virus is absolutely under control of the God who created everything and allows all things to operate according to His will and purposes. Our hope is found in the fundamental truth of the God, in his Son, and in his promises. We cannot abandon so quickly everything we believe, our hope, and our understanding now. So let us join hearts with the Christians of history and today and remember where our hope lies. Do not forget that even this...even this God uses it to draw his people to himself.

We are right there in the middle of the storm with you all. This has been extremely discombobulating for all of us here at CBC Youth as well and we're still trying to make sense of it all. But friends, our faith in God is still the same as is our mission statement. Just a reminder that our mission statement still stands...even in the middle of the storm.

We exist to glorify God by making disciples of all people through

Gospel truths and Gospel living.

So no matter how long we are unable to meet together, we are still committed to your growth as individuals but also as our youth group. We had an emergency meeting tonight with some key leaders and here's our strategy:

1. As part of the CBC local body, we recommend that you tune in Sundays to hear from our pastor as he leads and guides the church. Please make it a priority as a member of CBC to reserve time each Sunday to listen to our pastor. Here's the link: http://cbchouston.org/worship.html. That is for all CBC Members - children thru adults.

2. As part of the CBC YOUTH local body we have 3 areas in which we will equip you to do the work of the ministry. These three things will make up the teaching and learning aspect of our youth ministry and we expect those in our youth group to faithfully follow along during the week.

a. Every Monday, you will receive a link on the CBC YOUTH GroupMe by 3:00pm to listen to one of our youth give a devotional live. If you happen to miss this at that time, the link will guide you to the recording. This will be a short devotional that ought to set you up for the rest of the week and frame our youth group's spiritual heartbeat for the week. *If you do not have GroupMe, ask your DG leader to forward you the link.

b. Every other Wednesday, you will receive a link of the CBC YOUTH GroupMe by 8:00pm to listen to Pastor Justin give a sermon message live. If you happen to miss this at that time, the link will guide you to the recording. This will be a fairly standard message length but will hopefully provide solid biblical truth that moves you towards action and movement in your life and in the community around you. *If you do not have GroupMe, ask your DG leader to forward you the link.

c. Every Friday, you will receive a link on the CBC YOUTH GroupMe by 8:00pm to listen to a youth/leader give an in-depth bible study live. If you happen to miss this at that time, the link will guide you to the recording. This is an excellent tool for your spiritual growth to study along and engage deeply in the bible. You'll be able to follow along in your notes and Scripture. *If you do not have GroupMe, ask your DG leader to forward you the link.

3. In addition to part 2, we are still expecting you to gather and communicate with your DG, DG leaders, and College Sponsors. Your DG & College Sponsor will be getting in touch with you to talk about expectations, ways to communicate, and when to meet. We would expect that you would love to do this even more now that you have more time and can be more intentional about growing together. We also expect you to continue to mentor well during this time. Use the week to talk with your mentee and disciplee and think of ways in which you can help them growth spiritually during the week (i.e. bible study, questions, challenges, counseling, etc.)

4. Lastly, there will be a team of leaders who will be in charge of gathering our youth group together and having fun. Look out for a link and we'll see you online!

Father God,

We come before you scared, anxious, nervous, and uncertain...and we come before you asking you to help us in this moment. We ask that you might help our faith and that you would remind us once again of who You are. We know that we're weak and we're so limited in knowledge and ability and this outbreak has reminded us of that. So would you be gracious to us God and lift our eyes upwards to you and would you speak gently to our hearts.

We pray for this whole situation around the world right now. We ask for the scare, the panic, and the virus to stop. We ask that you would intervene supernaturally only to prove to the world that you give and take away and that you are truly God. We pray for the health workers, the scientist, the organizations that are on the front lines of this risking their lives. We ask that you would protect them and their families as they seek to move past this. We pray for our people in our communities and in our own church and youth group that you would also protect them.

We ultimately do trust you because you have proven to us that you love us and that you have solved the ultimate human dilemma when you pour out your wrath meant for us onto your son. We know that by his death we are saved. We know that by his life we now live. We remember that you have not forsaken us nor forgotten us. So strengthen the faith and the witness of your people God. Let our youth group reflect what we know, what we sing, and what we hope for. Let each of us represent your goodness, your kindness, your generosity, your faithfulness in the middle of this pandemic. Let us be the light to all those who know us so that they may turn to you and declare, "How Great is Our God!"

Amen.