caress thirus – june student spotlight winner

Reading while still wearing diapers: Impressive.
Being 16 years old with an Associates Degree: Quite Impressive.
Knowing God reigns first in your life: PRICELESS!

Caress Monet Thirus is a teenager on the move – heading to Roosevelt University in the fall and already planning to be a Dean’s List honoree. And while being young, talented and driven, she never forgets that her wit and strength come from a higher power.

“God has blessed me and my parents in such a way that I was an advanced student,” Caress says. “He allowed me to be reading by one, and I began first grade around the age of 2 or 3. Thankfully, I never fell behind.”

Caress never fell behind because she kept going forward. “I’ve never had a summer off,” she says laughing, “but it was worth it!” While her peers were preparing for a high school graduation, Caress was earning a Liberal Arts degree at Prairie State College.

Now, she’s focused on early childhood education. Once Caress finishes at Roosevelt, she’ll be qualified to teach children from birth to third grade. She also plans to do far more than studying before earning her bachelors degree.

“I am currently working on starting a Christian youth group in my subdivision,” Caress said. “I also want to learn to play guitar and piano because I’d love to be an established music artist.”

And just incase the music scene falls flat, Caress is already thinking of a “Plan B.” She intends to spend more time working with children this year. “I’d love to own a daycare center one day,” Caress adds.

Shockingly, underneath this innovative and mature spirit, Caress sometimes reminds people that she’s just a teenager. She enjoys watching kid shows and reality TV. She also loves pizza and the color aqua blue.

Still, her parents, Zane and Wynde Thirus have a right to be in awe of their daughter. Her favorite scripture is Jeremiah 29:11 where the Lord says: “I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not to abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (The Message Translation) ”

“It always helps me to put my trust in God and to forget about my circumstances,” Caress says. “It’s like my life story.”

Congratulations Caress on being our XYM Student Spotlight!

relational youth ministry – leader communication with parents

OK, if you have ever been a teenager, then you may be able to remember how many of  the “details” you let your parents in on about your life…well, at least in a reasonable amount of time so that the family can respond as needed.  For example, what time a game started AND ended, when a major assignment was due, when the college financial aid paperwork needed to be completed…you understand.

Well, the same is true with the youth we work with – they in general DO NOT fill their parents in on any details that we ask them to during youth group.  So, instead of staying on them to communicate with their parents, I think we should just cut out the middle man and communicate DIRECTLY WITH the parents.  If you happen to be a parent (like me), then you can probably appreciate this piece of advice (LOL!).  Some ways you can keep in regular contact with the parents are the following:

1. Email them bi-weekly or monthly – create a e-mail distribution that allows you to send mass e-mails out about any upcoming events or important information that you need the parents to know about.  We had a pregnancy prevention speaker come speak to our youth group and because we knew that the subject matter was sensitive, we made sure that the parents were notified prior to the speaker coming…just in case they may want to keep their 7th grader home that night, you know??? 

Think about utilizing an e-newsletter that can provide links to the church web site and other resorces you would like to make available to them (online sign-up for events, camp registrations, permission slips, etc.).  You can also use this as an encouraging tool, spotlighting a different student and family each month – this really goes a long way…parents like other people bragging on their children; I know I do!  My kids were just in a wedding and I cannot get enough of all the people talking about how well they did coming down the aisle!!!

2. Create a youth ministry web page or some sort of social networking page (like facebook) that allows you to post quick updates, downloadable forms, and important information for parents to be able to access  whenever they need too.

3. Don’t send things home with the teens for the parents as the only option of communication.  Many times, parental consent forms get lost on the way from the youth room to the parking lot (ask me how I know…I have collected many that were used to pass notes around during service, some were left in the seats, the bathrooms…etc.).  So, if we make things available directly to the parents (like in the church lobby, via a web site, or e-mailing an attached form), we can take some of the responsibility off of the students (even though I would still send a form home with the students).

These are just some quick ways to connect with the parents that will help create more of a relational youth ministry.  Parents will feel more connected and believe that you care for both them and their student…because we do.