Greetings from everyone here on the Cutting Edge Youth Leadership Team. We are in a wonderful season of time, seeing new faces make their way to our youth ministry family. As they do, we have kept our eyes on our mission like never before. The mission of Cutting Edge Youth Ministries is to see the youth of the Ocean County region have an encounter with Christ, resulting in radical salvation and life-long discipleship, empowering them to become world-changers for Him. Our focus for this recent season has been strategic discipleship. In a day and hour where we are told eight out of ten students in America walk away from their faith after leaving high school, we are taking a purposeful approach to discipling our youth. After all, the Body of Christ is not called to make converts or adherents, but rather, life-long disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are seeing several wonderful things in place, designed to promote the Spirit of God drawing students to Christ and get them on the pathway to being life-long disciples.

I believe what we see in the stats of those who fall away is rooted in a few key pitfalls. First, students don’t develop a comprehensive biblical world view. In other words, “religious belief” is not connected with lifestyle. A battle ensues to see the biblical world view rooted in their hearts through a growing relationship with Christ. Many students raised in the church have a second-hand faith; beliefs passed on from their parents. However, second-hand faith must become first-hand personal faith that has been personally tried, tested, and responded to. A second-hand faith will not endure in the heat of battle. Third, a disciple is a disciplined follower. The depth of our walk with God can be found in our daily habits and lifestyle.

In this context, we have sought to approach discipling our youth with a few key ideas in mind. First, we have purposed to help students know what they believe and why they believe it. Second, we realize that discipleship is not a program or class; rather, it is a lifestyle that must be caught and mentored if it is going to truly be a lifestyle. Thus, relationship, small groups, and authenticity are qualities that are passionately sought after. Building solid habits and character is also a key component in building life-long disciples. Finally, without true accountability, growth and depth will be very, very limited.

If you are new to our youth ministry, let me highlight the following discipleship opportunities that are available for students:

The UnderGround – our weekly youth service that brings life worship, a challenging message, and relationship to our students
Lifegroups – small group ministry meeting monthly at the UnderGround
Deeper Walk – a home-based discipleship time with extended prayer, worship, and interactive Bible study
TruthQuest – a systematic class that teaches our 7th, 8th and 9th grade students what Christians believe and why we believe it
Elevate – a 6-week seminar that works on three tracks

Level 1 – The Starting Line: explores things like assurance of salvation, why and how to pray and have a quiet time, personal testimony and sharing your faith, memorizing scripture; also the basics of Christian doctrine
Level 2 – THE CORE: where the Jesus Revolution begins; a deeper look at devotions, Bible study, authentic Lordship, friendship evangelism, Culture in Crisis, and how to be a revolutionary – after completing the CORE, students receive a Cutting Edge Leather Bible
Level 3 – Fire Walk: walking and living in the power of the Holy Spirit, gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit, baptism in the Holy Spirit

God’s Romance – a 6-week course dealing with abstinence, purity, and biblical sexuality

If you are a student, we encourage you to dive into every opportunity to grow the roots of your discipleship so you’ll be firmly planted in Christ! God bless you. We’ll see you on the Cutting Edge!

-Jim Wehrer, Youth Pastor