student

Westgate students is the ministry of Westgate Chapel to students 6th through 12th grade. Our mission is to lead students into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Our mission as a student ministry is the same mission as our church. This is intentional. We want to connect students into our church body. We don’t see students as a separate entity of subset of Westgate Chapel but as a vital and core component of the church. Our goal is to have students see themselves as part of the church, not just a youth ministry.

If you spent any amount of time as a kid growing up in church, you were probably taught the story of Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark, Samson, parables of Jesus, and many more. And rightfully so! These are important parts of the Bible to know. However, our understanding of the Bible needs to deepen and grow as we mature, so that we would have a durable faith that can be put into action.

As student transition out of elementary school and into middle school and high school we want to mature a student’s understanding of scripture. We want students to be able to know God deeply through the Bible, being able to wrestle with robust theology and ideas found throughout. We are committed to teaching students the Bible in its complexity and difficulty and its truth and wisdom.

With this in mind, we selected 18 books throughout the Bible that we walk each student at Westgate Chapel Student Ministry through, from 6th grade to 12th grade. Every year we work completely through at least one Old Testament book and one New Testament book. Our classes are interactive, giving students time to ask questions, share their ideas, and hear their classmates’ opinions.

The Bible has profound and relevant truth for today’s generations. We equip students with this truth, supporting and encouraging them as they live it out.

What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Knowledge is about facts and information. Wisdom is taking those facts and information and actually apply it. On Monday nights we help students take knowledge they learn from the Bible and apply it to their lives. Just knowing you should love your neighbor as yourself isn't enough. We need to figure out how to do it and then go and do it.

During the school year, we meet on Mondays from 7-9pm. See our current calendar below. We work through series of different topics talking about questions like: "What does healthy friendship look like?" "Why is there evil in the world?", and "Who am I and why was I created?". We hope to give students a solid foundation of truth that they can build their life on.

We also want to give space for students to know each other and be known. To do this, we need to move from large group teaching into smaller spaces where students can be individually heard and process with one another. We spend intentional time each week in "Life Groups." These are small groups of students, split up by age and sex, that spend time talking about the lesson. This is one way we help students to process and apply each night’s teaching at a more personal and relational level.

Wherever you are in your faith journey, you are welcome to come to Westgate student ministry on Monday night and learn about the truth and wonder of God.