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.

• Next Gen Baptism: On Sunday, November 6, 15 of our Fellowship Greenville kids and students were baptized during the NextGen Baptism service! We loved celebrating this milestone with some of our FG families!

• FGS Middle: Middle School meets Sunday mornings at 9 and 11 AM in the Student Building! Small groups happen throughout the school year and meet during both services after the message. Each Middle School student will be placed in a small group if they do not already have one. In the month of December, our Middle Schoolers will be going through a Christmas series!
• FGS High: High School meets Sunday nights from 6-8 PM in Auditorium 2! Small groups start on September 11! High School small groups meet from 5-6 PM on Sunday nights and are divided by grade and gender. If your student would like to be a part of a small group, they can show up before 5 PM on a Sunday night. This month, our High School students will finish the book of James, which serves as a how-to manual for the Christian faith. This series will help students practically apply their faith in their day to day lives.
• 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 9 AM on Sunday mornings. Our high school students at home can watch the livestream of the main FG service at 11 AM 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.

• No FGS Middle Dec 18: FGS Middle will not meet on Sunday morning, December 18 because of the beginning of Christmas break. However, Middle School students can join us on Sunday night for our Christmas United Night!
• Christmas United Night: FG Students invites all Middle and High School students to join us on Sunday, December 18 from 5-8 PM for our annual Christmas United Night! We would love all our students to invite a friend and come enjoy a night of food, games, worship, and community. Dress in your best or tackiest Christmas outfit. There will be no High School small groups on this Sunday evening. This is a free event with no registration, but students can bring cash for the food trucks.
• No FGS Dec 25 or Jan 1: FGS Middle and High will not be meeting on Sunday, December 25 or Sunday, January 1 due to the Christmas and New Years holidays.
• MS DEFY: FGS invites all of our Middle School students and their friends to join us for our annual trip to an indoor trampoline park! FGS Middle will be at DEFY Greenville on Wednesday, January 11 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 at the door. 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, January 20 from 6-8 PM. 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 29 at 11 AM, 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.

• 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