A&M Youth
High School Wednesday Nights
From April 10 through May 7 (and possibly longer) we are going to be in a series helping our high school students know more about relationships, sex, sexuality, and current topics in our culture such as transgenderism and homosexuality. We want to let all families know about this and invite all teens to be here for these upcoming Wednesday nights.
Our students are growing up in a culture which is so very different than what their parents grew up in. They are being faced with ideas and topics and questions about relationships which did not seem to be around 20 years ago. And now many of these topics are not just discussed but are promoted and their behaviors are encouraged and celebrated. But parents - your voice matters in this conversation - and we want to help you know how to have these conversations about gender and sexuality.
We recognize this can be a sensitive topic. But we also know many teens are talking about these topics every day. We want you to know we will do our best to take a Biblical approach and will teach this series with grace and truth.
We will help students see how God has created us to live. We will have plenty of time for questions and conversations. We will also - and this is where people sometimes struggle with how to respond - we will help students who may be questioning things such as sexuality or gender - which are huge topics in our culture - to learn that their identity is found in Christ. It is not uncommon for students to see others in their schools or in society questioning their gender, and start doing the same thing. Or they will see students embracing and promoting a life of homosexuality, and will wonder if they too might be homosexual.
Topics of gender and same sex relationships have come to the forefront in our society, but have knocked a lot of well-intentioned people back on their heels because they did not know how to respond. Sometimes the answer is critical and hurtful. Families have been split apart over this. But Jesus had grace for everyone, and still called everyone to truth. And He did it in a way which was loving and filled with compassion. We want to follow in His steps and do the same thing.
There is a Parent Video has some really good stuff to say about this, and if you'd like access to see it - and we hope you will - please follow this link to receive a login to the video and information page: https://amchurch.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/879/responses/new
The video can only be seen by those who have access to the christian-sexuality.com website. We have purchased enough subscriptions for all of our parents to have access. We think it will be helpful to you - and will also help you frame your thoughts on things like the grace and truth conversation we just mentioned. The Parent Video also has some great things to say about the effects of talking about sexuality with your kids or ignoring it while they are growing up.
We will be talking a lot about sexual integrity. In class and in the videos, we will define sexual integrity as living a faithful life as a sexual being, whether married or single.
We will also share a core truth with students which is repeated throughout the videos: We believe that God created marriage to be between one man and one woman, and all sexual relationships outside of this covenant bond of marriage are sin.
Tentative Schedule and Topics:
April 10 - God's Lovestory
April 17 - Authority of God and Scripture
April 24 - Shame and Forgiveness
May 1 - Sex and Marriage
May 8 - Singleness and Intimacy
May 15 - Same-sex Attraction
There are more topics in this series than we can cover in these 5 weeks. We may continue through the month of May with this video series. We will at least talk about transgenderism and lgbtq+ relationships. Students are hearing about these and other topics already, and we want to help them see God's truth about these things.
You can see the Week 1 Video, "God's Love Story" by clicking here: https://vimeo.com/495337017/b3ada3ec4f
You can see the Week 2 Video, "Authority of God and Scripture" by clicking here: https://vimeo.com/495337045/d5751988fe
You can see the Week 3 Video, "Shame and Forgiveness" by clicking here: https://vimeo.com/495337078/2f0432e686
You can see the Week 4 Video, "Sex and Marriage" by clicking here: https://vimeo.com/495337098/14764ce5cd
You can see the Week 5 Video, "Singleness and Intimacy" by clicking here: https://vimeo.com/495337111/546348ba62
You can see the Week 6 Video, "Same Sex Sexuality" by clicking here: https://vimeo.com/495337160/5bcc4d450c
Click here for the Parent Guide for Week 1
Click here for the Parent Guide for Week 2
Click here for the Parent Guide for Week 3
Click here for the Parent Guide for Week 4
Click here for the Parent Guide for Week 5
The topic of sexuality can often bring about one of two responses in parents:
1) ummm, nope. We're not going to talk about such things. We don't talk about them at home and we're not going to talk about them at church. In response we'd like to say: all of our students are hearing about these topics - especially if they are around any other students or spend time consuming media - and too often our families and our churches remain silent hoping they will somehow know what is right and wrong. Social media has influenced teens significantly. It has opened up a world of truth and deception, and many teens are quick to follow the voice of an influencer regardless of whether their opinions are right or wrong. Even the once family-friendly entertainment company from Anaheim and Orlando has chosen to push the envelope and include sexual content in their movies and shows. There really is not a way to fully insulate your children from negative or immoral influences...and so we want to help you guide your children to God's truth - even when it comes to our sexuality.
God created us to be sexual beings. He created us male and female. How we learn to live lives which glorify Him in our actions, our words, our activities and in our sexuality is so important. He created sex, and it is not a topic we avoid and hope our kids will figure it out. We can just live by chance and hope we get it right - or we can look to the one who made us and do our best to live in His ways.
Okay, you probably forgot because that was a long response, ha, but we're talking about typical responses we have as parents. Let's continue with response number 2:
2) We want our kids to make good choices, but we do not know how to talk to them about this subject. Alright, now this is where we can really help. We're going to provide you with some conversation starters, some info for you to have as a parent, and some encouragement to have these conversations about sex and sexuality and gender and all of the topics currently being discussed in our culture.
Here are the topics included in the Christian-Sexuality video curriculum. We have not had time to preview all of the videos yet. If there are videos with questionable content, we will edit or not show those videos. And no doubt, the title of session 6 will cause you to feel a little uncomfortable. We will not be going into that second topic at this point. But the creators of this series found out what students are talking about and dealing with, and they chose to approach the topics from a Biblical standpoint. And this topic is all over social media. All that to say, we'll let you know well in advance because it is a sensitive topic. We are including all topics here so you will know about all of the topics they discuss in this video series.
Throughout this series we will help students see how God has created us to live. We will have plenty of time for questions and conversations. We will also - and this is where people sometimes struggle with how to respond - we will help students who may be questioning things such as sexuality or gender - which are huge topics in our culture - to learn that their identity is found in Christ. It is not uncommon for students to see others in their schools or in society questioning their gender, and start doing the same thing. Or they will see students embracing and promoting a life of homosexuality, and will wonder if they too might be homosexual.
Topics of gender and same sex relationships have come to the forefront in our society, but have knocked a lot of well-intentioned people back on their heels because they did not know how to respond. Sometimes the answer is critical and hurtful. Families have been split apart over this. But Jesus had grace for everyone, and still called everyone to truth. And He did it in a way which was loving and filled with compassion. We want to follow in His steps and do the same thing.