Hello from the FGS Team!

Parents, we believe the Middle School and High School years are crucial in the life of every child, and we want to do our best to partner with you through this season. One way we do that is by keeping you in the loop about all that is happening in our Student Ministry. In this newsletter, you will find an update on what is currently happening on Sundays, events to know about in the coming weeks, and a monthly resource highlight.

• FGS Middle: Middle School meets Sunday mornings at 9 and 11 AM at both the Hwy 14 and Adams Mill Campuses! Middle School small groups happen during each service, and new students will be placed in a group on Sunday morning! This month, our Middle School students are looking back to some of the stories we heard about as small kids in our new series “Retold.” Whether on a felt board in an old church, in a classroom in FG Kids, or on an episode of Veggie Tales, the classic Bible stories like David and Goliath or Noah’s Ark are familiar enough stories to us, but we don’t always know how they actually apply to our lives. Over the next few weeks, we’ll look back to these familiar narratives and see what wisdom God has for us within them.
• FGS High: High School meets Sunday nights from 6-8 PM only at our Hwy 14 Campus! Small groups meet at Hwy 14 from 5-6 PM before High School Programming. Students wanting to join a small group should show up by 5 PM on a Sunday night to be placed in a group! In April, High School will finish the “Uncomfortable Faith” sermon series where we’ve been looking at different biblical characters in both the Old and New Testament who trusted God in controversial and costly seasons of life. At the end of April, High School will start our annual “My Story” series in which some of our students and volunteers share how God has worked in their lives!
• Serving Needs: FGS Staff could not care for all of our students without so many volunteers giving of their time, energy, and gifts. Serving with FGS could look like greeting students with the Connections Team, facilitating discussions as a Small Group Leader, playing instruments or singing with the Worship Team, or running lights, sound, or slides with the Tech Team. If you are interested in learning more about what it looks like to serve with FG Students, please fill out the online Serving Interest Form! Our greatest need right now is for Small Group Leaders, especially for High School girls on Sunday nights. We are in need of four High School girls Small Group Leaders at Highway 14 as well as two 9 AM and one 11 AM Middle School guys Connect Leaders at Adams Mill. We are also in need of musically proficient adults with willingness to serve Sunday morning and/or evenings for the Next Gen Worship Team.

• No FGS on Easter: FGS Middle and High School will not be meeting on Saturday, April 4 or Sunday, April 5 over Easter weekend. We encourage our students to sit with their family and friends in the main FG service and volunteer to serve with FG Kids for another service!
• FGS Park Day: Middle and High School students are invited to join the FGS staff over Spring Break at our Adams Mill Campus to play some games on Monday, April 6 from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Students can invite a friend and bring a packed lunch and water! No registration is needed for this event. If we have to move this event due to weather, we will send a parent email and post on our Instagram!
• FGS Student Lunch: Middle and High School students are invited to join the FGS staff for lunch over Spring Break on Tuesday, April 7 from 12:00-1:30 PM at Maple Street Biscuit Company at Five Forks. The first 10 students to arrive will win a free lunch! No registration is needed, but the address can be found on the website.
• MS Missional Impact X-Day: Over Spring Break on Wednesday, April 8, FGS Middle will spend the day serving the upstate. To foster growing hearts and minds focused on serving, students will have the opportunity to learn and serve alongside some of our local partners. Students will meet at FG at 8:15 AM and return to FG at 5:00 PM. The cost is $15 per student to cover transportation and food. Registration for this event is full, but you can email us to get your student on the waitlist!
• HS Missional Impact X-Day: Over Spring Break on Wednesday, April 8, FGS High will spend the day serving the upstate. To foster growing hearts and minds focused on serving, students will have the opportunity to learn and serve alongside some of our local partners. Students will meet at FG at 8:15 AM and return to FG at 5:00 PM. The cost is $15 per student to cover transportation and food. There are limited spots left, so register online now!
• MS Hike Day: The FGS staff invites any outdoor-loving Middle Schooler to a fun, adventurous hiking day on Saturday, May 2 from 8:30 AM - 6:30 PM! We will be driving up to North Carolina and spending the day hiking in DuPont State Recreational Forest. The hike will be almost 4 miles with opportunities for students to get in the water. The cost is $10 to help cover dinner and transportation, and there is limited availability. Register online now!
• United Night: On Sunday night, May 17 from 5:00-8:00 PM, FGS invites all of our Middle and High School students to our last United Night of the school year! This is a special time to gather the entire student ministry, both middle school and high school, to laugh, worship, learn, and unite together to grow our individual relationships with God. Students can feel free to invite friends to this event! We will be at Adams Mill, and there will be free pizza!
• No FGS on May 24: FGS Middle and High School will not be meeting over Memorial Day Weekend on Sunday, May 24. We encourage our students to sit with their family and friends in the main FG service and volunteer to serve with FG Kids for another service!

Our Parent Resource Highlight for this month is The Culture Translator! This is a weekly email from Axis, a group that equips parents for gospel-centered conversations with their teens about faith and culture. Each Friday they send an email that takes five minutes to read but keys you in on three major culture/news happenings along with questions to discuss with your students. A lot of us on staff have subscribed and have found it very insightful. We hope this helps you stay in the cultural loop and gives you strategic ways to keep speaking into the lives of your children!

If you ever have any questions about our ministry or about navigating life with a middle schooler or high schooler, feel free to reach out to our student staff! You can find all of our contact information on the website!

P.S. Easter Weekend is a great time to serve as a family, especially since we have no FGS Programming! You can sign up online to serve for any of the services at either location!

Brentley Sheehan and the FGS Team