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 FGS ministry. In this newsletter, you will find a look at recent events, an update on what is currently happening on Sundays, and some things to know in the coming weeks.

• FGS Volunteer Christmas Party: At the beginning of December, our FGS Staff hosted a Christmas Party to thank all of our FGS Volunteers. We are so grateful for our small group leaders, connections team, tech team, and worship team!
• Christmas United Night: On Sunday, December 19th, FGS Middle and High School came together to celebrate our annual Christmas United Night! We loved hanging out with everyone, seeing everyone’s Christmas outfits, and worshiping together. This event was a great way to end 2021!

• FGS Middle: Middle School meets Sunday mornings at 9 and 11am in the Student Building! Small groups meet during the service at the end of the message. If your student doesn’t know which group to go to, our staff and volunteers will connect them.
• FGS High: High School meets Sunday nights from 6-8pm in Auditorium 2! High School small groups meet before programming from 5-6pm in the Student Building. If your student doesn’t know which group to go to, our staff and volunteers will connect them.
• Family Bible Reading: The Family Bible Reading (FBR) plan is a great resource for students as they read along the same books of the Bible as the Adult CBR. Families can use this resource to read the Bible together and discuss the passage using a short devotion with questions for each day. To find the FBR plan, visit the Bible Reading Plan page on the website and click on “Family Bible Reading” next to each day.
• FGS Online: For our middle and high students at home, we will continue to offer our weekly online service on YouTube Live. This online service will be a livestream of our first hour middle school service at 9am on Sunday mornings. Our high school students at home can watch the livestream of the main FG service at 11am and keep up with our current high school series by listening to the FG Students Podcast or watching the message on our YouTube channel later in the week.

• FGS Holiday Schedule: FGS Middle and High School will not meet on December 26th or January 2nd. We encourage our students and volunteers to enjoy time with family and friends over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays! January 9th will be our first Sunday back for FGS Middle and High School in 2022!
• MS DEFY: FGS Middle will be at DEFY Greenville on January 12th from 6:30-8 pm. Check-in will start at 6:30 pm and then we will have 7-8 pm to jump. The cost is $10 per person. Bring a friend and come jump with us! Visit the website to complete the waiver and find the address.
• HS Bonfire: FGS invites all High School students to join us and kick the new year off the right way with a chill night of food, fun, and fellowship! Our Annual High School Bonfire will be on Friday night, January 21 from 6-8pm. It will be a casual night of warming up by a bonfire, cooking s’mores and hotdogs, and laughing together as we jump back into the swing of the school year. Register online for this free event to receive the address.
• Next Gen Stepping-In Class: On Sunday, January 30th at 11am, we will have another Next Gen Stepping-In Class. Stepping-In is a fun and interactive 60-minute class that will help your student understand what baptism is, discover exactly what the Bible says about it, and build their confidence in sharing their faith with others. Students will need to attend this class before participating in NextGen Baptism. This class is offered 3 Sundays a year during our regular service times. Register your student online here.
• MS Girls Night: We are inviting all of our Middle School girls to a special girls-only event with FGS on Friday, February 11th from 5:30-8:30pm! We will be getting together for movie and game night at FG complete with pizza, popcorn, soda, and candy. This will be a fun night as we spend some time getting to know each other, watching a movie, and playing games together. We can't wait to spend some time building deeper relationships between our Middle School girls and their small group leaders! Please register online for this free event.
• MS Guys Night: If you are a Middle School boy and enjoy playing games with your friends, then FGS would like to invite you to a fun guys-only game night at FG on Friday, February 11th from 5:30-8:30pm! We will be playing video games and board games while eating pizza and snacks and having fun with other middle school boys and leaders. Make sure to register online for this free event!
• No FGS High on Feb. 13: We will not be having High School small groups or High School Programming on Sunday, February 13th. Many of our students and volunteers use this evening to spend time with their family as they watch the game. We encourage our families and small groups to have a fun night together, even if you aren’t into football!
• February 20th United Night: The FGS Staff invites all Middle and High School students to our first United Night of 2022 as we gather the entire student ministry to laugh, worship, learn, and unite together to grow our individual relationships with God. This is a great event to bring a friend with you! Come ready to enjoy some free pizza and snacks on Sunday, February 20th from 5:30-8pm!

• Parent Podcast: FG has launched our parent podcast, Parenting for a Change, with Student Pastor, Matt Densky, and NextGen Pastor, Rob Marks. How do we parent our kids well in the midst of all kinds of change? How do we change as parents so that, in turn, our kids change for the better? Our hope and prayer is that parents would grow in their own faith in Christ and then pass on that kind of authentic faith to the next generation. This first series of podcasts will break down 5 principles of what it looks like to pass on our faith. Listen on Spotify or the FG Website!
• The Culture Translator: This is a weekly email from a group who focuses on helping parents navigate the changing culture and news that keeps coming at us at a rapid pace. 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!
• Parent Cue: This resource offers content for parents that is specific to your students’ phases and can be accessed on the Parent Cue website or with the Parent Cue app. Available content includes parent resources, discussion prompts, and blog articles written by parents with relevant topics that matter to parents. We hope this resource provides you with encouragement and helps you disciple your children!
• FG Students Podcast: Each week, we upload our Middle School and High School Sunday messages to our FG Students Podcast. This is a great resource for parents wanting to have further conversations with their students about what they are learning on Sundays! If your student misses a week, they can also go back and listen to past messages. Our podcast is available on Apple Podcasts or on the FG Students page of our website under Resources.
• FGS YouTube Channel: Here you can find videos from FG Students including Middle and High School messages, FGS vision, training for small group leaders, volunteer highlight videos, and insights on adolescent culture.

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 the student staff at students@fellowshipgreenville.org.

The FGS Team