About upSTREAM
Students (community)
The blueprint of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church Youth Ministry is to meet students right where they are in life allowing God to fill their spiritual, emotional, and social needs through our goals of community, fellowship, discipleship, worship, evangelism, and ministry. Specifically in UpStream, as we seek to build relationships, we hope to earn the right to share with high school students the Truth: namely that salvation and life are found in Christ alone. We desire to make sure the love of Jesus Christ is communicated in fresh and exciting ways in order that a Christ-centered lifestyle can be established in each of our youth. It is our daily prayer that we be a community of students that shares a passion for Jesus Christ with each other and the world around them.
Together (fellowship)
It is our mission to develop an understanding of the importance of commitment to the body of Christ through the building up of the community of Christian youth. God did not intend for Christians to live in isolation, but in fellowship with other believers and to be identified as the body of Christ. True fellowship happens when students are known, cared for, held accountable, and encouraged in their spiritual journey.
Reaching (evangelism)
It is our mission that, before a youth graduates, he or she will know who Jesus is, and by the grace of God, will accept Him as their Lord and Savior. With a faith rooted in Jesus Christ, and with the presence of the Holy Spirit, we will share the gospel of Jesus to the lost and we will reach out to others who are in need. Evangelism is weakly expressed in many youth ministries. It is difficult to fulfill on a program based level, and it is threatening on a personal level. Adult leadership must model evangelism if we want students to see the importance of the commission. As students grow in their faith, they must learn that evangelism is not only their responsibility as believers but a privilege as well.
Exalting (worship)
It is our mission to provide opportunities for and to encourage students to praise and glorify our Lord in our youth programs and also in the corporate body of worship with the greater church family. We define worship as celebrating God’s presence and honoring him with our lifestyle. It is our reason for existence. Everything we do in our youth ministry is done because we love God and desire to honor and worship him with our lifestyle.
Arming (discipleship)
It is our mission to build youth who are ready to answer the call of Christ Jesus. Discipleship is the building up or strengthening of believers in their quest to be like Christ. This happens as they develop a desire for spiritual growth and begin to submit to the disciplines of daily time with the Lord, learning, seeking, and obeying the will of God in all areas of their lives, and making appropriate moral and ethical decisions based on a biblical understanding of who God is.
Ministering (ministry)
It is our mission to seek out and create opportunities for our youth to be mobilized in the service of our God. Ministry can be defined as “meeting needs with love.” God has blessed every believer with special gifts to be used for ministry. In youth ministry we need to clearly communicate that these God-given gifts don’t come with an age limitation. A healthy youth ministry will constantly encourage students to discover their gifts and put them into practice through ministry and mission opportunities. When they purpose of ministry is applied, we will graduate student ministers rather than program attendees who are spectators with few roots to keep them planted in God’s ways. Student ministers in UpStream won’t graduate from their faith when they graduate from this youth ministry.
