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No. 20 Vol. 10
My Life Publications • 1-800-691-7549
October 2024
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Refuge Youth of Mountaintop Church Embraces Four Pillars of Ministry
W
By Steve Sears hen the Refuge Youth Ministry of Hackettstown’s Mountaintop Church meets on Wednesday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., everything the members do involves four pillars of ministry. Reverend Kody Vagle, now in his 15th year as Next Generation Pastor of Mountaintop Church, said of the first three pillars, “We start with an icebreaker game
to connect our students and build community. We then transition into a worship service, where our studentled worship band will lead our youth group in a few worship and praise songs. The growth portion of the service is the teaching of the word.” Refuge Youth, a local ministry for any middle and high school student from grades 6-12, has been at the church for almost 20 years, and is a part of
Free Thanksgiving Dinner 2024 Please come and Be Our Guest on Thanksgiving Day! We will be hosting a Traditional Thanksgiving Family Dinner for anyone who will be alone or any individual or family facing financial hardship on Thanksgiving Day at the Mt. Olive Senior Center starting at 1:00 p.m. Meal deliveries will also be available for drop off on Wed., November 27. MUST CALL TO RESERVE! Please call or text Mary at 973-768-1815 or email at mary.lalama@ gmail.com to reserve your seat now.
and participates in the National Assemblies of God youth ministry events and programs. The ministry is led by Vagle and nine Adult Leaders who have passed background checks and voluntary invest in the next generation. As for the fourth pillar, Refuge Youth incorporates some sort of outreach opportunity, and currently sponsors two student-led Youth Alive high school Bible Clubs at both Hackettstown High School and Mount Olive High School. The Mount Olive group meets every Thursday during lunch in room S12, and the Hackettstown club meets every Friday during lunch in room A32. Refuge Youth also schedules monthly and quarterly events, including overnight trips such as a Winter Retreat and Summer Camp in conjunction with the New Jersey Assemblies of God, and hosts peer guest
speakers – some from its own group. Vagle explained, “I never want mine to be the only voice my students hear; so approximately once per month we will have a guest speaker. Oftentimes it is one of our incredible leaders, or even a missionary that we support.” Vagle said that the longterm goal, in conjunction with Mountaintop Church’s vision for the future, is the hope of building an after-
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school student center. “The goal here would be for any student who wants or needs a positive environment after school to come and hang out, get potential homework assistance or tutoring, and just engage in a healthy community.” Vagle added, “Generation Z - most of our middle and high school students and even college students and young adults - is known as the most stressed generation. According to a
CDC study from 2022, 48% of Gen Z experience “persistent feelings of anxiety and/ or depression” and 23% have “actively considered suicide.” Refuge Youth exists to show every single student, regardless of background, the unconditional love of Jesus. We believe that God created every single person in His image, He loves them so much, and He has a divine plan for their lives. We exist to let every young person know that.”