1. No one has more potential to influence a child than that child's parent. NO ONE. The influence of a local church or youth pastor can't come close.
2. But parents aren't the only influence a child needs. There will come a point in time when every child will begin to seek approval, affirmation, and guidance from adults other than their parents. Often, this shift begins to take place in middle school.
3. Two combined influences will make a greater impact than two influences on their own. This is where ORANGE comes in. We believe the key to seeing children develop lasting faith and Christ-like character is when parents partner with other trusted, Godly adults to help them influence their children. For us, this means parents partnering with their child's small group leaders to have a greater impact together, than either could have alone.

All of our resources are available to you to utilize and customize - just check out the Volunteer Training section at StuffYouCanUse.org for access to all of our resources!

We have actually found that one of the most effective ways to help parents engage with our ministry is to connect them to their child's small group leader. So when it comes to partnering with parents, our highest priority is to equip small group leaders to live out the "orange" vision by seeking to engage the parents of the children in their small group. As small group leaders engage parents and demonstrate a desire to help them influence their children, they are able to help those parents understand the importance of their involvement in their families' lives. 

But aside from that, it is essential that we as a Middle School Ministry reach out to parents directly to help them understand the importance of partnership. Some things we've done or currently have in the works are...

• - Promoting and providing access to Parenting Beyond Your Capacity (Joiner & Nieuwhof) to all the parents of our students.
• - Sending out a monthly parent e-mail full of vision-casting, a look at what's going on in SHINE! for the month, helpful information, tips, strategies, and lots of encouragement.
• - Hosting two Small Group Leader/Parent Breakfasts each school year for parents to meet and engage with their child's small group leader.
• - Doing Parent Orientations on a few Sunday mornings each school year, where parents can get to know what SHINE! is all about and how we want to help and partner with them.

Yes! The program incorporates exposure to the orange philosophy, training in a variety of basic ministry and administrative roles, and opportunities for interns to apply and develop their own unique skills and interests in a ministry setting. We are currently accepting applications for our 12-month internship programs with openings beginning in August and January.

Please email Kenny (kcampbell@thechapel.com) if you are interested.

Yes we do! Although special events are not the focus of our ministry strategy (we believe small group interaction is much more important and effective) we do believe it is essential to create fun and memorable events where students can bring their friends and connect with their small group leaders. Some of these events include Game Nights, Wii Tournaments, Spa Days (girls only!), Sports Tournaments (Dodgeball, Basketball, Football), Nerf Wars, Local Service Projects, and maybe even a Japanese Game Show.  

If you're interested in any of the events that we've done and would like to recreate any of these events for your student ministry, let us know - we can supply you with anything useful that we might have - including promotional material, event summaries & checklists, graphic & decor files, or tips that we learned along the way.