As we partner with parents, we prayerfully encourage preteens to pursue Christ, personalize their faith, practice holiness, and prefer others.

Pursue Christ - Salvation is just the start of the journey. We want our preteens to understand that they're beginning a life-long adventure of knowing Christ, and following Him in whatever direction He leads. As Christ taught us, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) And the apostle Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ." (Phil. 1:21)

Personalize their Faith - No longer considered "children," preteens must now begin to examine Christianity and the claims of the Bible - will they accept these teachings as their own, or simply consider them "my parents' religion"? Will they put them into daily practice, or leave them as "head knowledge"? Our main purpose in teaching the Word is to see life change. "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matt. 7:24)

Practice Holiness - Preteens are faced with many new temptations as they pass through early adolescence. We need to help them make right choices, challenging them to stay pure in every aspect of their lives - spiritually, physically, and mentally. God's Word instructs us to "be holy, because I am holy," and to "live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." (I Pet. 1:16, 17b)

Prefers Others - It's the same at any age level - it goes against our human nature to think of others first. This is particularly difficult for preteens, who are often focused inwardly as they try to figure out who they are, and who they will become. We want to continually remind them that God tells us to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves," and to "love your neighbor as yourself." (Phil 2:3 and Mark 12:31)