Subject: How to minister to your teen during this shutdown

Hey parents,

Just two weeks ago, many families felt secure with their jobs, their finances, their retirements, their
health, but now there is an overwhelming, heavy feeling of uncertainty. We know you feel it and so do
your youth.

We just wanted to check-in with you and offer you some help in aiding your teen as he or she deals with
this “shutdown” (for lack of a better word).

We know that as you deal with the uncertainty of being able to pay bills, your youth mourning the loss
of prom, for instance, may seem trivial. But we are all mourning the loss of things and events right now.
What may seem trivial to you was their world a few days ago. We encourage you to let your youth
mourn. It’s okay to be sad, to be hurt, to be disappointed and to cry.

But through their mourning, and your own, encourage them with scripture. The Bible is full of beautiful
passages for people who are hurting and disappointed. And it’s full of hope. The Bible needs to be our
foundation for when life around us crumbles.

Many people are familiar with the story from the Bible of the wise man building his house on the rock
and the foolish man building his house on the sand. Here are the verses:

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who
built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who
built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” -- Matthew 7:24-27

Many people will say that the rock is Jesus. But read the verses again. It says the rock is hearing (or
reading) God’s word and then doing them. The foolish man hears God’s word but does not apply them.

Read the Bible with your youth and then discuss how you can apply it to your lives during this time.

We will include some passages we find helpful at the end of this email, but if you want more, please
contact me or Rebecca or Pastor Moffet and we can help guide you.

If you’re finding that you have some time to read, we highly recommend the book Gospel Treason by
Brad Bigney. It’s $12 on Amazon right now. Here’s the link https://www.amazon.com/s?
k=gospel+treason+by+brad+bigney&i=stripbooks&crid=1RIM4QDW51AIN&sprefix=Gospel+treason
%2Cstripbooks%2C182&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_14

This book helps with dealing with disappointment and focuses on the heart issues that come with it.
We will not be physically meeting for church or youth group for the foreseeable future. But we will be
reaching out to your youth during this time. We hope to send them a letter this week and we will be
posting videos on our Refuge Facebook page offering them encouragement.

If they (or you) are needing to meet with myself or Rebecca, we are willing to do that – in a “socially
distancing” manner which means small groups and no one showing any symptoms. Meetups outside on
walking trails are good.

We are here to support you in the best way we can. We love your youth and we are praying for them
and for you during this time.

God bless,

Pastor Gary

Corry Alliance Church

God knows and cares about our broken hearts.

Psalm 56:8 “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your
book?”

God will respond to our needs.

Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

When we are hurting, God can use that hurt and the comfort He gives us to help others who are
hurting.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those
who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Worry

Proverbs 12:25 “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”

1 Peter 5:7 “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”

God can use anything for His ultimate plan. God wastes nothing.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those
who are called according to his purpose.”