Expectations and Guidelines

We realize that expectations and guidelines can be quite ambiguous in many areas of life. Therefore, we believe that it is important to make it known to you as a teen or parent what you can expect from us and what we will expect from you.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM US

FRIENDS
We will provide a Christian peer group. We will make every effort to provide an environment where spiritual growth and fellowship can occur in the midst of Christian friendships.

LEADERS
We will strive to provide a team of responsible adult leaders who desire to serve others with hearts and hands. These individuals will also model a devoted and passionate relationship with Christ.

TRANSPORTATION
You can expect safe, efficient, and dependable transportation while traveling with the NC3 Youth Group. All trips will include “youth ministry approved” transportation and drivers....very rarely will we allow any teen to drive on their own if we are leaving as a group. Safety is paramount to us!

RESPONSIBILITY
While on youth functions, we will take the responsibility of the teens in our care. We take that responsibility very seriously. (see our “safety and staffing guidelines” section of the handbook) However, responsibility of teens during worship service, before and after classes, on the church parking lot, etc. lies in the hands of parents. When teen actions are brought to our attention during these times, we will direct those comments to you as parents.
 
COMMUNICATION
We will make every effort to communicate to you as a family in every way. This will include communicating things that come to our attention about what is going on in your teen(s) life. It will also include communicating with you ways in which you can grow as a family. Communication will also be provided to you concerning what is going on in the youth ministry program (i.e., Calendars/Newsletters, Year-at-a-Glance, Sunday Stuff announcements, Web site, Infopacks, and so forth).
 

COOPERATION
We will involve you in any discipline situation that may arise involving your teen(s) (see “Discipline Policy & Procedures” sheet). We strongly believe that a cooperative approach to correction returns the God-given responsibility of discipline to you as parents.

WHAT WE EXPECT FROM PARENTS

PRAYER
We covet your prayers as ministers and for this ministry. We will only move forward as God’s people if we petition Him daily for strength, humility, growth, and the ability to look beyond ourselves. Pray for your teen(s), the youth group, and the North Central Youth Staff.

SUPPORT
We ask you to help and support us in this ministry. When decisions are made that the teens may not like, please help us by supporting us (knowing that we are making these decisions to help the group as a whole). If there is something that we do that you do not agree with, please come to us personally and share it with us so that we can grow and learn together. Please do not go to someone else and share it with them. You can be assured that we are supporting you and will also come to you with disagreements that may arise. This is a Biblical principal that we must all work hard to follow (Matthew 5:22-24 & 18:15-17). We are making every effort with the teens to help them in the area of gossip and talking about others. We need your help in this as we model this principle to our teens.

RESPONSIBILITY
As we always say, parents are the number one influence in a teen’s life. We ask that you remember that you bear the primary responsibility for spiritual growth in your teen(s). There is little we can do to replace the training and instruction of a Godly parent (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

INVOLVEMENT
We NEED your help. Please make every effort to be involved in this ministry for your teen(s) and all the other families in this ministry. We are not perfect and we definitely do not have all the answers. But if we work together as a team, we feel confident that God will use us all as instruments in helping our teens grow in the Lord. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO ATTEND OUR BI-ANNUAL YOUTH MINISTRY FAIRS AND QUARTERLY YOUTH TEAM MEETINGS.

FEEDBACK
Please provide us with any feedback that could be beneficial to us and this ministry as a whole. Let us know of special needs and prayer requests for your teen(s) and your family.

PUNCTUALITY
It is important when working with a group this size that we get going on time. We will always communicate a time of departure and arrival. This is to help both you as parents and us as ministers/leaders. If your teen(s) are late, they may find that we have already left. We do not wish to leave anyone behind, but we also have reasons for leaving at a designated time. We need your help in this. We also commit to you to be on time ourselves. We will be early to meet the teens and we will make every effort to arrive back at the designated time. If, for some unseen reason, we will not make it back at the designated time, we will communicate to you through phone calls using Brian’s cell phone. That is our easiest way to communicate to you while on trips.

ONE OTHER NOTE: After events we have adult leaders who are tired and ready to go home. Please make sure to be here promptly to pick up your teen.

WHAT WE EXPECT FROM TEENS

RESPONSIBILITY
We expect each teen to take responsibility for his/her own actions.

RESPECT

  1. We expect each teen to cooperate and respect all adults and adult leaders.
  2. We expect each teen to respect others by lifting them up rather than tearing them down.
  3. We expect each teen to respect the property of others, the church building, and the areas and property we visit while away.
PARTICIPATION
We expect each teen to participate in all activities with the entire group when deciding to be a part of a particular event, trip, or class. Exceptions for this are made in case of illness, injury, and other special circumstances.

Rules and Guidelines

Rules and guidelines are not put into place just to hold people down and use authority over them, but to help maintain the group and shine as Christian examples out of love for God. The following are rules & guidelines to minimize conflicts among the group and maximize spiritual growth. Most of these are common sense Christian guidelines. NOTE: visitors are expected to abide by these guidelines as well, so please inform your friends of this BEFORE they come to one of our activities.
  1. All teens are expected to ride the church vehicle when it is running (ha-ha) and when space is available. Those driving to the church will be able to leave their vehicles on the church property. Some exceptions will be made, but only by the permission of a Youth Ministry staff member.
  2. No drugs, alcohol, tobacco products, fireworks, weapons, pornographic material or anything of the sort will be allowed on ANY event.
  3. Prescription and non-prescription medicines should be discussed between a parent and appropriate adult leader attending the event. Instructions in writing are always preferred.
  4. No disruptive behavior is allowed. That includes, but is not limited to fighting, cussing, vandalism, pranks, disrespect of authority, etc.
  5. Medical Release/Commitment to Christ” forms must be signed for your teen for each overnight event in order to attend. (The medical forms are good for one calendar year and do not need to be signed every trip.)
  6. Dating couples should remember to set a Christian example to everyone. Physical contact should be kept to a minimum. Holding hands is the limit of PDA that is allowed of all dating couples in the youth group.
  7. When audio players and video games are allowed, we ask that there be nothing in question played or listened to (USE COMMON SENSE AND CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES!).
  8. Clothing should be modest. The following guidelines must be kept while on youth events or the teen(s) will be sent home:
    • Shorts must reach the bottom of your fingers when arms are down, fully extended and close to your side.
    • Shirts must go below the belt area by three inches or have a t-shirt that is tucked in underneath. We do not wish to see bellies.
    • Shirts must have a modest neckline.
    • Sleeveless shirts must be tight around the arm. We should not see bras. No “wife-beaters” gentlemen.
    • Skirts must be no higher than two inches above the knee.
    • No low-rise pants unless shirts are tucked in.
    • Pants must be worn at your waist and not at your knees (ha-ha).
    • No clothing promoting alcohol, drugs, or obscenities.
We understand that each family determines what is modest for their teen(s). However, while on youth group events, these are the guidelines that must be followed or the teen(s) will be asked to change clothes or leave.