Letter To Our College Student's Parents
Dear Parents,As a church we have been blessed with many college students, including your son or daughter. We wanted to write you a letter to let you know how much we enjoy having your student as a part of our church and how we seek to serve and care for them, what happened this year, and how you can help us in better serving and caring for them. (For more information on The Paradox, see our Annual Report InfoGraphic.)
We love college students: We love having students as a part of our church family. When our church launched about four years ago, we did not necessarily set out to reach college students, but God graciously provided us with many and we are so glad He did. Being able to pour into a college student’s life is one of the biggest privileges we have as a church. We understand that we only have most of our college students for about four years and we want to make the most of this opportunity, especially as we know that these are men and women who can change the world.
How we care for your son or daughter:Our goal at The Paradox Church is to care for and serve your son or daughter well. We understand that as you send your student off to school, you deeply want what is best for them, and one aspect of that is for them to have strong, healthy community; we seek to be that community. The main way we seek to be that community is through our City Groups.We cherish serving and caring for your student and walking with them through any aspect in their life—whether that be anxiety about the future, the heartache of leaving home, pressures of college, body image issues, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, loss of a loved one, addictions, or anything else they may be walking through. We seek to be present and available for your student in order to serve and care for them. We are also here to celebrate with them—whether it be a new job, a summer internship, a birthday, performing in a play, etc. We love being able to celebrate with them and encourage them.
What happened in 2014:This year we are able, once again, to rejoice about what God has done in our college students' lives and how He has used them for His glory. Here are some ways this has happened:
This year, as a church, we were able to celebrate 22 baptisms. Of the 22 who were baptized, nine of them were students! Above is a picture of one of our students, Meredith Byrne (middle), being baptized by another student, Taylor Slack (left), and Pastor Ryan Keeney (right). This is always one of our favorite days of the year! Here is a highlight video of our 2014 spring baptisms.
Every week, we have many students who volunteer to serve the homeless, refugees, and men and women who have been victims in the sex industry. They do this through a local non-profit organization called The NET. Not only have we had students volunteer with The NET, but we have also had seven of them who were interns with The NET. These student volunteers and interns seek to image God and show His love to others because of the great love that they have been shown from Him, specifically through God sending Jesus to die for their sins and give them hope. Above is a picture of many of our TCU students partnering with The NET in serving refugees in Fort Worth and celebrating Christmas.
Every Sunday, over 70 volunteers sacrifice their time, talents, and energy to support the mission of making disciples. One fourth of these volunteers are college students. They serve us in many different ways ranging from caring for our children, welcoming people, playing/singing with our worship team, and helping us set up and tear down each week. It is beautiful to see them serve because they have been impacted by the great way that Jesus has served them. Above is a picture of our set up team setting up the stage on a Sunday morning.
We started with four TCU area city groups at the beginning of the year and we now have six! A city group is a family of disciples on mission, and this is the primary way for our students to find community at our church. We love having new TCU city groups because it enables us to care for more students. Above is a picture of two of our TCU area city groups getting together to have a halloween party (note the costumes) and celebrate the launch of our sixth TCU area city group.
What students are saying:"The Paradox Church has been my family away from home. Coming to college, I didn't know if I would be able to find community easily, but this church has been my support through it all. They have provided for me, supported me, and encouraged me unlike anything I could have asked for. I don't have to be ashamed of who I am there and my city group is my family. I am so grateful for all the ways this church has pushed me to live my life with joy by pushing me to Jesus every day."Meredith TrankTCU Student
"God has blessed me so much by bringing me to The Paradox Church. Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to dive deeper into my faith in a way that I never expected before. Having a multi-generational community was and continues to be challenging, supportive, and inspirational to my walk with the Lord. I don't know where God will take me in two years, but right now I know he has led me to the paradox to further my relationship with Him and to glorify His kingdom."Connor CloseTCU Student
"The Paradox Church has shown me what it looks like when a church worships, serves, and experiences life together. We come from all places and backgrounds, and yet we are united in our love for Christ, this city, and its people. It's been such a gift to have this family's active involvement and encouragement in my life. As a college student away from home, that means the world."Rachel TullTCU Student
"The main difference between where I found myself a year ago versus where I am now is that today I stand before you with hope and confidence that God has not forsaken His people and that He will not forsake me."
Julie WoffordTCU Student
How you can contribute:We would love for you to be a part of what God is doing here at The Paradox Church and in our students lives.1. Consider giving to our church. In being a young church plant (coming up on four years) and in having many students, finances can be tight. Your support would help us move forward in serving and caring for more people. You can give here.2. Commit to praying for us. We need your prayers, and so do our college students.3. If you live in the area, we want to extend an open invitation for you to come to our church. We would love to serve, love, and care for you in any way that we can. Also, we would love to have more seasoned people in our church. We are a young church in age and as well as in demographic, so getting older and wiser people would be an absolute joy for us.We love your students and are grateful that they are a part of our church. Feel free to email me (jim@theparadoxchurch.com), or our Deacon of College Ministry (preston@theparadoxchurch.com) any time with any questions that you might have. Or, if you are ever in town and visiting our church, please introduce yourself to me. We are always open to hearing from you, answering your questions, and helping you in any way that we can.For His Fame,Pastor Jim