Student Ministry Matters

by Tom Goodman

Here are three things you should know about our Hillcrest student ministry.

Our New Position of Youth Coordinator. In a previous church I served, we hired a seminary student to lead our youth program. He had served 4 years as an intern in John Randles’ youth ministry while completing his undergraduate degree at Texas Tech, so he knew what was expected for youth ministry. We called him to lead our program while he pursued a master’s degree in youth ministry at Southwestern Seminary. Our youth ministry grew remarkably under his leadership, both in numbers and in spiritual maturity. I believe we can find someone like that for our ministry here. Our Personnel Committee has helped me create a job description for this new position. You can find it at www.hillcrest.church/youth. We’ll discuss and vote on this position in the special called business meeting Sunday, January 24, 6:30pm in room A-161 on the Adult Wing. After that, we’ll search for the right person to fill that post.

Our Interim Youth Leader. John Cameron teaches our youth on Sunday mornings, and I watched him lead the teen-aged MKs on our Malawi trip last Spring. So, it was an easy decision to ask him to serve as our interim youth leader. John is 37, he’s been married to Nikki since 2008, and they have one son, 4-year-old Ethan. They are from Louisiana. John is a veteran, having served in the Army National Guard for eight years as a heavy combat engineer and in military intelligence. He served in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Eastern Europe. You’ve probably seen the Enduring Freedom medal on his license plate. He works as an architect for the Dagleish Company. One interesting tidbit about John and Nikki: Their search for an Austin home was featured on the show House Hunters in 2010.

Our Winter/Spring Student Calendar. In addition to the normal gatherings on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, the students will have a busy calendar. There’s the Student Evangelism Conference in January, a Hillsong concert in February, the Warrior Dash in March, the Refuel Retreat at Camp Eagle during Spring Break, a day at Natural Bridge Caverns in April, and the BOUNCE mission trip in July. Of course, Michael Slaughter is also planning another youth choir trip in June.

Please pray for God’s blessings on the Hillcrest student ministry in 2016!