that the youth approached Pastor Matt
and asked him if they could have a day
experience a growing relationship with CHRIST
know Christ by knowing God’s WORD
understand God’s design for your FAMILY
pursue and invest in godly FRIENDShips
of prayer and fasting, and to meet weekly
before Bible study for a time of student
prayer (all are welcome, Wednesdays at
6:00), so the Lord would move among
them and do mighty deeds. Wow! Par-
ents, help them fan into flame the gift of
God. And watch these youth, their pas-
tor, and their leaders. Encourage them,
support them, and pray, pray, pray! Ask,
pray! Jesus will answer. All glory to His
beautiful name!
Vol.1 Summer 2009
Have you seen spring? No...that’s not
the name of a student I left at the winter
retreat! It’s this brief season we’re supposed
to have after winter and before summer...
but I seem to have missed it. At any rate, I
really hope you’re enjoying this early sum-
mertime weather!
Life doesn’t always go as planned, does it?
Sometimes that’s the result of our decisions
that didn’t pan out like we imagined they
would, while at other times it is a direct re-
sult of choices that others made that affect
us. Often the results are quite comical and
make for good story-telling; equally often
the outcomes are not comical at all and
we’re left to figure out how to put things
back together.
Well, what about seasons of life when we
expect things to go awry and only the de-
tails catch us by surprise. Take the teenage
years, for example. Our culture expects that
tweens and teens (“tweens” usually refers to
8 to 12 year-olds (some say 10 to 14 year-
Introducing the Roots Youth Par-
ent Newsletter. Yes...I had the same
thought...not a great name! So I’d like
your help creating a name. Everyone
likes a little friendly competition, so
we’re gonna have a little contest...that’s
right: A CONTEST!
CONTEST DETAILS
The newsletter name should creatively
connect the newsletter and the Roots
Youth vision and “roots systems”.
The winning name will be chosen by
the Roots Youth staff and pastoral staff.
The person/couple who submits the
winning entry will receive a $50 date
night, compliments of Roots Youth!
Up to 5 submissions per couple must
be made by e-mail to Pastor Matt
(mattm@rootsyouth.org) before
11:59pm on Sunday, August 02, 2009.
olds)) are supposed to ‘go find themselves’,
or simply ‘check out’ for any lengthy period
of time (often years) and that parents,
usually feeling helpless, should just be glad
when they return (if you will) or, worse,
if they return as the child we somewhat
knew them to be...with some character and
personality modifications.
What’s more disparaging is the multiple
millions of dollars spent targeting these
tweens and teens. So what’s a parent to
do when nearly everyone around says that
you’re supposed to expect this, ride it out
and hope for the best, knowing that mil-
lions of dollars and many, many people are
quite literally against you?
What are your unexpected circumstanc-
es: whether because of your or another’s
choice (family, friend, acquaintance, whom-
ever)?
What hard decisions must you make as a
21st-century parent?
May I suggest that you not do it alone;
In Revela-
tion 3:15-22, Jesus Christ speaks to
the church at Laodecia, exposing their
hearts and where they stood in relation
to Him; The Lord says,” I know your
deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.
I wish you were either one or the other!
So, because you are lukewarm—neither
hot nor cold—I am about to spit you
out of my mouth.” Then, out of love
Christ says in verse 19, “Those whom
I love I rebuke and discipline. So be ear-
nest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at
the door and knock.
Continued inside, bottom-right
may I suggest that you find a few like-
hearted parents and other adults that need
your assistance as much as you need theirs?
Equally yoke yourself with others.
That’s what the Roots Youth Ministry
is all about! We certainly don’t have it all
figured out, and we are learning every day.
One thing we know for sure: these tweens
& teens are wonderful creatures (yes,
creatures at times) who God designed...i-n-
d-i-v-i-d-u-a-l-l-y...to be part of the greatest
work on earth...now...while they’re tweens
and teens. And since He “knit them
together” (Ps. 139), He best knows how to
navigate these tough times. He means for
us to use His Word, the Spirit and each
other (a three-fold cord) to co-navigate!
Join us as we traverse this season! More
than allowing your teen(s) to attend (which
we greatly appreciate), share the expected,
the unexpected, and together let’s experi-
ence the faithfulness of God in our, and
your tween’s/teen’s, lives!
JH Sunday School
Brenda Breitz, Mike & Danielle For-
tini, Pastor Matt
JH Sunday Evening Youth Group
Will Davis, Zach & Lauren Collier,
Taylor Dowden, Colleen Fergu-
son, Pete Klimek, Stacie Kott, Jesse
Kuiken, Dwight & Aimee Landrud
SH Sunday School
Wendy Bentson, Carl Grossi, Chris
Niehoff, Elaine Rinaldi, Matt Seeland
SH Sunday Evening Youth Group
Tim Landrud, Cherilyn Magee, Ethan
Mindrebo, Tim & Lydia Myhren, Tom
Hartman
SH Small Groups
Will Davis, Elizabeth Jones, Cherilyn
Magee, Ethan Mindrebo, Courtney
Morrison, Tim & Lydia Myhren,
Jaime Robbins
Parent Support Team Leaders
Greg & Brenda Breitz, Junior HIgh
Bob & Noemi Davis, Senior High
 that you’ve been through enough of life to experi-
ence something...okay many things...that I have
not. Especially given that Cherilyn and I are just now expecting our
Senior Sneak first child. So...parents in our church family should anticipate the day that we come
knocking on a few doors to ask our fair share of questions. My hope is that that will
continue throughout our parenting season.
Paul encourages the Corinthians with these words in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4,
“3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and
Junior High Lock-In God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to
comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves
are comforted by God.”
A primary aspect of our philosophy for parenting in community is this: God al-
lows both good seasons and incredibly hard seasons to help make us more like Jesus.
JH/SH Mission Trip As God comforts us, He in turn teaches us how to comfort others. The reason?
That we can point them to Jesus. I believe it is also safe to say that we can replace
the verb, comfort, with any other means of grace we receive from God and are,
therefore, expected to show toward others (encourage, exhort, love, etc.). When we
live like this we are both receiving from God and extending His grace to others.
JH Move-Up Day The Roots Youth Parent Support Team is much more than you might think
$15, Going to Buskill Falls when judging a book by it’s cover. Their mission is to undergird and complement
the vision of Roots Youth. They aim to accomplish this by sharing the administra-
tive load, cultivating an interdependent parent community and reaching out to the
un-churched parents of teens who visit Roots Youth.
Godly interdependent relationships require vulnerability, commitment, humility
SH Move-Up Day and Christ-like love . But they begin on very simple common ground which might
$15, Island Beach St. Pk. look (or sound) like this: “Hello. My name’s ___________, and I have a teenage
child.” Ahhh...the beauty of common ground to break the ice.
This is the basis for our open-house dinners later this summer! Hosted by folks
like you who care about your teens and want the very best for them. We want to
provide a relaxed environment for you to get to know other parents in your area
Rev. Gen. who have tweens and teens and attend SEFC. There’s no trick...no “meeting”, ex-
$50 + money for food cept to say that we want them to know you and you to know them. We’re trusting
God with the rest. You are cordially invited! (Locations & times coming soon!)

7.25 -8.1 Gear up your teens for a great New

PARENTS GATHERING York City missions trip this summer!
5:30 - 8:00PM, SEFC This JH & SH missions trip is open to
all current 7th through 12th grade students. Our trip will involve a variety of activi-
ties, ranging from cleaning a camp, working with children at Camp Hope/Camp Joy
(for underprivileged/handicapped children), evangelizing on the streets of NY, per-
SH Fall Retreat forming dramas, puppetry, music, and praying for NYC in Central Park. Be sure to
$115 for Weekend get your teen’s registration in soon. You don’t want him/her to miss this trip which
will prepare them for the rest of their JH/SH ‘career’. Sign up today!
 No, not because I am one anymore, but because I’m raising some now. Ah, youth!
Their vitality, beauty, exuberance…their strength, talent and tenacity. Youth! The envy
of the ages.
I don’t think they always feel that way, though. No, they have struggles and pain like
you and I. Isaiah 40:30 says, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.”
More than simply surviving the teen years, we want Jesus to be exalted in every aspect of our teens’
lives. It’s why the vision for our youth is that they would actively engage Christ in their world.
Join us in praying together for our youth. Everyone is welcome! The prayer band meets every Wednesday in the Library from
6:30 - 7:30. Jesus said, “...my Father’s house shall be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13). And Acts 1:14 tells us, “They all
joined together constantly in prayer...” (emphasis mine) and in Colossians 4:2 we are exhorted, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being
watchful and thankful.”
 That our youth grow in the grace and love of our Lord Jesus, and that they are passionate in their prayers and their faith.
That they are led of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Ephesians 3:16 says, “I pray that out of His glorious riches He
may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being. For Pastor Matt as their spiritual shepherd, that he guide
and support them in all truth and righteousness. And, for Cherilyn, his wife (now pregnant and feeling very ill), that the Lord will give her a healthy
pregnancy, healthy baby, and great joy in this time of expectation. For all the volunteers on the youth staff that help serve on a
weekly basis and the parent support team. Ephesians 6:18 encourages us to “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (by Nancy Kempf)

Did you know:

WARNING: what you are
about to read is, and should
be, quite disturbing...and
still, you need to read this.
So ask God for a discerning
mind and read on.
•   I n 2011 (less than two years) the cell phone will be the greatest distributor of
pornography for kids?
•   “ Sexting” is the new ‘craze’ reported by CBS news (April ‘09). 1-out-of-5 kids
have received an unwanted text photo of someone naked on their cell phone? And
50% of Junior High boys will have at least 1 photo of his naked or partially-naked
girlfriend?
•   1 2-million people in America participate in “self-injury” (mainly cutting) each
year, most of whom are young people?
•   A
 t least 1 Sussex County High School uses a sex-ed curriculum called “Sex, Etc.”
developed by teens, for teens?

(Cont’ d from pg. 1: Will Davis, Youth Intern)

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
Two years ago the Lord spoke these very words to my heart and rocked my soul, -and I had to evaluate the direction I was
headed. Was “I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God” (Gal 1:10a)? Although by God’s grace I was saved at the age
of 13, I was never fully gripped by the greatness and holiness of God. My life revolved around myself and I penciled God into
my daily schedule rather than allow the Lord to guide my every step and what He had predestined me to do. Finally, my focus
adjusted and my path made straight, I was able to study for the past two years at Word Of Life Bible Institute. There the Lord
stretched, disciplined and renewed me. I am currently a student of Liberty University (online) where I am pursuing my bach-
elor’s degree in youth ministry and the Lord has called me into the ministry. My desire and passion is to disciple and instill
passion and excitement of God’s absolute truth and redeeming grace in the lives of young people, so they, in-turn, can reach
others in their generation. I’ve recently been working under Pastor Matt, and I’m grateful for the blessing it has been to be able
to work with these remarkable young people and become part of the youth staff here. I’m looking forward to what the Lord has
in store and beginning an internship under the influence of the godly men God has put in place at SEFC.