SALT: Ministry For and By High School Students
(Grades 9-12)

SALT stands for something meaningful: Students Actively Learning Together.

Students - Our stage in life. We are a ministry for and by high school students.

Actively - We are an active ministry and we envision moving in greater ways to become more active. We are a ministry that will actively be a ministry in mission, a fulfillment of what we are collectively saying as a church. Our ministry will be defined by how the current members grow actively (in real ways) in their own spirituality as well as in ways that we actively (intentionally) look for how God will use each of us to expand this ministry to benefit others spiritually and thereby increase the numbers of high schoolers who will participate regularly in this ministry.
Actively is more than just doing activities or keeping ourselves occupied with activities! Actively captures a sense of movement, growth, and intentionality in all that we do. It means that we keep reflecting on what we do and why we are doing it. Actively also captures the sense of enthusiasm we already have and the growth in enthusiasm we will have in the future. It is not passive; it is not what is merely done for us. It captures that we are in this active journey of walking with Jesus Christ.

Learning - This captures the stage we are in. None of us have arrived and when we have an inner spirit that is open to learning and being shaped, it results in a vibrant and life-changing faith. By learning, we are saying that Christian discipleship is at the core of our ministry. We need to learn from God's Word, have his Spirit lead and shape us in ministry (and personally) in order for us to grow in devotion to Jesus Christ. There are numerous ways of learning. There are some formal methods of learning, like Bible studies, confirmation classes, worship services, etc. Learning also comes from the real experiences in life that we face. We learn by being open to sharing with mentors and allowing trusting (and trained) adults to be there for us in our lives. By learning we also mean that we learn by the experience of doing. For example; we learn when we engage in periodic activities, we learn when we take on service projects, we learn when we engage in specific mission trips. Learning is both formal and experiential.

Together - This is a very mature aspect of our ministry. As young people, we tend to fall for the natural inclination to be independent and autonomous. That is important, but there is something else that is even more important because of the way God has made us; he has made us to be interdependent (not merely dependent or independent). The word "together" is found literally hundreds of times in the Bible and captures not only our need for each other but also our being called for the sake of others. As a ministry, we hope and anticipate to work together so that each of us personally and together, as a ministry, will be built up in becoming more and more like Jesus Christ.

SALT is currently looking for leaders!! Please contact Pator Nate if interested.