Youth
- ~Dr. Howard Hendricks
Harbor Youth Group
What is youth group & what happens at a typical youth group?
Harbor's Youth Group is for those young people in grades 6 & up. Youth group is a time for young people to come together in a safe environment, eat and have fun together and to learn more about what it means to be in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. We cover topics that are age appropriate for the varied challenges that young people face today growing up in a turbulent society. The lessons are designed to help a young person develop a way of looking at the world through the lens of the Bible and consequently to experience the joy that God created them for.
A typical youth group consists of playing games together, food (yes, there must always be food), singing and an interactive lesson from the Bible. The young people who attend our youth group activities deeply enjoy this time we have together.
Our Staff. Harbor's Youth Ministry is led by Pastor Russ Kapusinski who brings 20 years of youth ministry experience to Harbor's youth ministry staff. Russ has recently served as a volunteer football coach at Eastlake High School and continues to enjoy working with young people as a senior pastor. If you have any questions regarding Harbor's Youth Ministry or would like to enroll your child in this ministry please contact Russ Kapusinski at or (619)-851-6465.
Our Approach To Youth Ministry
Youth and Family ministry within the local church is more than just"keeping the natives" pacified. Youth ministry must have a vision thatextends beyond the four walls of the church into a hurting, broken anddying world that desperately needs the Balm of Gilead (Jer. 8:22), thehealing touch of the Risen Christ! The youth ministry of HarborPresbyterian Church is growing in such a vision and needs men and womenwho are willing to "stand in the gap" on behalf of Jesus. You haveheard it said, "You may be the only Bible some people ever read," andthat, "You are Jesus with skin on to a dying world." These phrasescapture well the focus of what theologians call "incarnationalministry." God makes His appeal through us (2 Cor. 5:14-21). EM Boundssaid it well when he stated, "men are God's method. The church islooking for better methods; God is looking for better men." Youthministry in the local church is not, and should never be viewed as,glorified baby-sitting.
At the core of understanding God's heart for families lies an emphasison the training of children in the admonition and nurture of the Lord.In youth ministry we are no longer dealing with "children," but youngadults-adolescents transitioning from childhood to maturity. This isone of the most strategic age groups that the church has the privilegeto minister to. Especially when you consider the statistic that 85% ofconverts to Christianity yield their life to Christ before the age of18. It's also strategic, and important, when you consider the fact thatthe "nuclear family" in America is crumbling to pieces. And thosefamilies that are relatively healthy and still in tact have thefollowing pressures which makes raising teenagers all the morechallenging: aging parents to deal with, personal health issues, therising cost of living & pressure to provide well for the family,marital struggles, and the list goes on.
At Harbor Presbyterian Church we are in the beginning stages ofshaping our Youth & Family Ministry to meet the challenges thatface families in the 21st century.
