(8–10 minutes, moderate set-up)
Students will go through a commissioning ceremony as they move toward understanding their roles in the Church for the coming year.
(8-10 minutes, moderate set-up)
Arrange for parents to join their students and pray with them at the designated time. If parents cannot come, arrange for your pastor or other church leadership to pray.
Ask students if anyone knows what it means to be commissioned. If your students have gone on a mission trip they may have taken part in a commissioning ceremony. Invite them to recount what it was like.
Lead students in a commissioning ceremony. If you have enlisted parents or church staff to participate, signal for them to join you. Say: In many churches, commissioning ceremonies are conducted when someone is sent out on a missions project. To be commissioned means to be charged with performing a duty. When we send out missionaries, we prayerfully charge them with spreading the Word of God. They are commissioned to represent the Church and the gospel in a worthy manner.
Explain to students that they are starting a yearlong study that will challenge the way they approach being a member of the Church. Say: As a group, we want to commission you as you begin this journey.
Lead a prayer asking God to reveal Himself to students throughout the year. Pray that students will hunger for the story of the New Testament Church and that will they apply each lesson's truth. Allow time for parents or staff to pray over individual students and the group as a whole. Close by challenging students to allow the study to change their lives and the lives of those around them.