Baxter Helm, high school pastor

God has been gracious to HYACKs this year. It’s been a season of transition with new students, a new pastor and a new meeting place, but the life-giving hope of the gospel has remained unchanged!

DISCOVER

Every Sunday night in HYACKs we gave ourselves to the faithful study of God’s Word. This year we studied Galatians in the fall and Mark in the spring. We switched off between large group gatherings at the church and small group gatherings in homes of families. If you were walking the side streets of Wheaton on a Sunday night you would have seen the parked cars crowded together on a block. You might have heard the laugher of students echoing over a backyard bonfire, a knockout game or some volleyball shenanigans. You might have seen a lit-up living room with a group of students and adults gathered in a circle praying together and opening God’s Word. Sunday night was our front door into the HYACKs ministry. It was a place to belong, a place where students brought friends, and ultimately a place where we continued to discover the gospel message in gospel community.

GROW

On Sunday morning you could find HYACKs across Wesley Street. inside the Crossings. We were blessed to be able to meet in this new space! We rotated through the gospel rhythms we see in Acts 2:42—teaching, fellowship and worship. We went through three different series: spanning church history, Bible study principles and apologetics. We were also blessed by having College Church missionaries come to share. We ate donuts, we sang praises, we prayed together, we played ping-pong, and most importantly it was a place to grow together in the hope of the gospel.

IMPACT

On Wednesday nights you could find about 25 students and 10 adult leaders back in the Crossings for our upperclassmen discipleship group, Bridge. This year we dug into how to study God’s Word well. We worked through the COMA Bible reading method and synthesized the text into one main point. It was a joy to see high school students excited to grow in their handling of God’s Word, and their desire to faithfully apply it. These students helped to lead and impact their Sunday night HYACKs small groups. This group was a particular encouragement to me (like when they passed out fake mustaches for everyone to wear...how great is that!?).

What started as a year of uncertain transition has turned into a year of glimpsing God’s goodness. The most powerful moment of the year came on the last day of our spring retreat. We had been praying that students would stand and share how God had been working in their hearts that weekend. On Sunday morning we saw nearly 20 students stand up and testify to the Spirit’s work in their lives that weekend. God be praised!

Thank you, College Church, for the many ways you’ve prayed for and supported the HYACKs ministry. I also must thank our wonderful 30-person adult ministry team for serving so faithfully this year. I’d like to give a special thanks to Katie Nussbaum, Bethany Atchison, Addie Fritz, Mia Rynbrandt, Sarah Kang, Daniel Conroy and Dave Tweeten. We praise the Lord for what he’s done, and we are eager to see what he will continue to do in HYACKs!