Hello, MFC Parents!
As we begin a new school year, summer is officially behind us, and we are entering a new season of growth, learning, and discipleship. A new school year is also a good opportunity for us as a church to evaluate what we are doing and ask an important question: Are we doing everything we can to help our young disciples—your children—grow in their relationship with Jesus?
Our desire is not simply to provide programs for children and teenagers. Our goal is to raise up genuine followers of Jesus who are committed to multiplying disciples. Because of that, we continually evaluate our ministries to make sure our programs are helping us accomplish that mission rather than unintentionally working against it.
With that in mind, we are making an important transition in the way we minister to our Middle and High School students on Sundays. Please take a few minutes to read through the information below. We ask for your understanding, support, and collaboration as we make this change.
Why Are We Making This Change?
Until now, we have had a number of Middle School students meeting on Sundays for a class after the announcements. This class takes place simultaneously with our Spanish sermon and with the classes taking place in our Children's Ministry. Occasionally, High School students have also joined this class.
The problem is that this Sunday class has essentially been covering the same content that our Middle School students receive during our Wednesday Youth Ministry program. As a result, the Sunday class unintentionally competes with what we are trying to accomplish on Wednesdays.
Logically, when a student attends a Middle School class on Sunday that covers essentially the same material as the Wednesday youth program, there may be little motivation or perceived need to come back on Wednesday when our main Youth Ministry gathering takes place.
There is another practical problem. The Sunday class sometimes finishes before the adult sermon is over. When that happens, students can end up walking through the halls or spending time in the Children's Ministry area while the rest of the church is still in service. That is not the environment we want for our young disciples, nor is it fair to our Children's Ministry teams.
At the same time, providing a Middle School class every Sunday places a significant burden on our already limited number of volunteers and teachers. Those faithful volunteers are serving week after week and, because they are teaching during the service, they are often unable to sit with the rest of the church, hear the sermon, and personally be fed by God's Word.
In short, the current arrangement is not accomplishing what we want it to accomplish. It is creating duplication between Sunday and Wednesday, placing unnecessary pressure on volunteers, and unintentionally separating our Middle and High School students from the larger church family.
How Did We Get Here?
This is important because this was not the original intention.
Approximately two years ago, we intentionally changed our Middle School Sunday model. Instead of having a class every Sunday, the students would have a class one Sunday each month. The following Sunday, they would serve in the church. The next Sunday, they would participate in the adult service and take notes during the sermon. Then, when they met for their Sunday class, they would have an opportunity to discuss and process what they had learned from the sermon.
The idea was to create a healthy rhythm of learning, serving, participating in worship, and applying God's Word.
Over time, however, that rhythm gradually changed. The once-a-month class slowly became a class every Sunday—or at least created the expectation that there would be a class every Sunday. That gradual change is what has brought us to the current situation.
So, starting immediately, we will no longer have Middle or High School classes on Sundays.
We understand that this is a change, and we sincerely ask for your understanding and collaboration as we make this transition.
Our Bigger Goal: Disciples Who Belong to the Whole Church
We also understand something very important about this transition.
When your children graduate from our Children's Ministry and become part of our Youth Ministry, they may initially feel like they don't quite belong during a Sunday service. This can be especially true when the service is in Spanish and they are more comfortable in English.
It is natural for them to feel more comfortable in the environment they have known for years. They may even want to go back to their old Children's Ministry classroom—or perhaps look for a way to serve there.
We understand that feeling.
But we also want to help our young disciples take the next step.
There is a well-documented concern within American Christianity surrounding what happens when children and teenagers spend their formative years almost exclusively in age-segregated environments and rarely participate in worship with the larger congregation. When they eventually become adults, graduate, begin driving, or have the freedom to choose where they attend church, many leave their parents' church—and, tragically, some leave church altogether.
One of the reasons often identified is that they never developed a sense that they belonged to the larger church family. Church became something they did with other children or teenagers rather than something they did as followers of Jesus alongside people of all ages.
This concern was highlighted years ago in the book Already Gone, which examines why many young people disengage from church and faith as they grow older. The title itself captures the warning: in many cases, by the time they reach adulthood, they were already gone.
That is not the strategy we want for our young disciples.
We want something different.
We want our Middle and High School students to grow up knowing that they are not the future church—they are part of the church right now.
They are not simply students who attend a youth program.
They are disciples of Jesus.
They are members of the church family.
They can worship with us, learn with us, serve with us, and grow alongside adults, children, and older generations.
We want to tell our Middle and High School students:
You are growing. You are becoming young men and women of God. It is time to learn how to participate in a normal church service with adults—not because you are less important than the youth, but because you are becoming increasingly ready to participate in the whole church family.
Our mission is to raise up genuine followers of Jesus who are committed to multiplying disciples, and we want that discipleship to begin early in their experience of church.
What Will Sundays Look Like?
Starting immediately, we will not have Middle or High School classes on Sundays.
Instead, our full Youth Ministry program will take place on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM.
Wednesday nights will continue to be the primary environment specifically designed for our youth. Students will worship and hear a sermon designed specifically for them, and afterward they will break into age-appropriate small groups where they can discuss the message, ask questions, build relationships, and talk about how they can apply God's Word to their lives.
This gives our Youth Ministry a clear rhythm:
Sunday: Worship together with the whole church family, hear God’s Word, and serve as a volunteer.
Wednesday: Youth-focused teaching, community, discipleship, and small groups.
We believe this will create a healthier and stronger discipleship pathway for our students.
Which Sunday Service Should My Teen Attend?
We encourage parents to bring their young disciples to our first service at 9:30 AM, which is entirely in English, if your children are more comfortable worshiping and learning in English.
If your children are comfortable participating in Spanish, then our 11:00 AM Spanish service is also a wonderful option.
What matters most is that our Middle and High School students are fully participating in a Sunday worship service and being fed the Word of God.
We don't want them simply sitting in a hallway, going back to the Children's Ministry area, or waiting for their youth class to begin.
We want them to experience what it means to be part of the whole body of Christ.
What If Parents Prefer the Spanish Service?
We understand that some parents may feel more comfortable worshiping in our Spanish service while their children may be more comfortable in English.
In that situation, our suggestion is:
Bring your children to the 9:30 AM English service and allow them to serve during the 11:00 AM Spanish service.
This can actually become a wonderful opportunity for them to grow.
Our Production Team, Parking Team, and Children's Ministry are always looking for faithful volunteers, and serving can be an excellent fit for our teenagers.
Instead of simply sitting around waiting for the service to end, they can learn what it means to contribute to the life and ministry of their church.
Serving also helps our young disciples discover something important:
Church is not something they simply attend. Church is something they are part of.
If Your Child Serves
If your child signs up to serve, please make sure they download the MFC Church App and have access to the “Services” section so they can follow our processes, schedules, communication, and systems for serving.
We want to teach our students that serving is not simply showing up somewhere and helping when convenient. It is an opportunity to develop faithfulness, responsibility, teamwork, excellence, and a servant's heart.
Please also understand that our Children's Ministry can only accommodate one or two underage volunteers per class, depending on the needs and capacity of each classroom.
For that reason, your children cannot simply remain in the Children's Ministry area or hang around the Children's Ministry hallways during the service unless they are officially scheduled and approved to serve.
We want to protect the environment we have created for our children, while also providing appropriate opportunities for our teenagers to serve.
We Need Your Partnership
Parents, we know that changes like this can take some adjustment. We are asking you to partner with us because you have the greatest influence in the spiritual development of your children.
Our church can provide teaching, community, mentors, youth programs, small groups, worship experiences, and opportunities to serve—but discipleship is most powerful when the church and the home are moving in the same direction.
Help your children understand that attending the adult service is not a punishment or something they have to endure until they can get back to the "real" youth program.
This is part of becoming a mature follower of Jesus.
Help them participate.
Encourage them to listen to the sermon.
Ask them what they learned.
Talk about the message on the way home.
Encourage them to take notes.
Ask them how they can apply what they heard.
And, when appropriate, encourage them to serve.
These simple practices can help them develop spiritual habits that will serve them for the rest of their lives.
Our Heart for Your Children
Our heart is to build something better for your children—not simply to change what we do, but to help our Middle and High School students become young men and women who know Jesus, love His Word, serve His church, belong to His people, and make disciples. We want them to develop a faith that is truly their own and that will carry them through every season of life. Thank you for trusting us to partner with you in their spiritual formation and for your patience during this transition. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to our Discipleship Pastor, Yosvany Navarro, or Youth Pastor, Elat Rodriguez. Together, we are raising up genuine followers of Jesus who are committed to multiplying disciples.
