The Ashland Students Ministry exists to champion the supremacy of Christ by raising up a generation of gospel-committed students through the cooperative efforts of families and the local church. They meet Sundays at 5:30 PM at Ashland Church.

Goals:

• To promote a radical commitment to Christ and the gospel
• To endorse a bold obligation to evangelism and missions
• To produce responsible servants of the church
• To equip and assist parents in the task of training their children to treasure Christ above all else

Our commitments within the student ministry of Ashland differ from what has ‘traditionally’ been seen in youth ministry. We believe that these commitments make us not only unique, but also biblical when it comes to ministering to teenagers in our present context. These commitments can be summed up in the following ways:

• We are committed to producing a high view of the local church among teenagers. Churches often encourage teenagers to distant themselves from the rest of the body with ‘youth only’ ministries. Through ‘youth only’ worship services and activities, the youth ministry often takes on an identity of its own. ‘Big church’ seems to be less relevant to the student than youth group. Over time the gap between the youth ministry and the church body widens. The life of the church body as a whole becomes foreign to the students. Our student ministry seeks to involve teenagers in every area of worship and service in the life of the church.

• We are committed to producing a high view of the family among teenagers and their parents. Churches often encourage a low view of the family through programming that always separate the students from their parents in the life of the body. Unintentionally, a message can be sent to parents that more trendy ministries designed specifically for the needs of teenagers are the most effective means at nurturing their children. Such a message has the potential to cause parents to shirk from their God-given task of parenting. Such isolation can also cause the teenager to view the Christianity of their parents as irrelevant. After all, the youth group activities are so much cooler! Thus a ministry that should help parents actually begins to erode their authority in the minds of their teens. Seeking to be a partner and a resource for parents in the task of parenting, our student ministry involves families in every area of our ministry.

• We are committed to producing a high view of teenagers in our church body. Youthfulness seems to be championed everywhere in our culture except in the church. Our expectations for teenagers are often minimal. The average church member looks at students as people who are at that stage between childhood and adulthood and really have little to offer. They need a little more time to develop before they can actually contribute to the church’s ministry. After all, this is a time in their life when they are supposed to be carefree and irresponsible. Our student ministry seeks to utilize the gifts and great potential God has placed within students for the good of the church and the advance of the gospel around the world.

Our Ashland Students Ministry leader is Zac Lewis. If you have any questions, you can contact him here.