"Going green" is nothing new to Christian teens today. They have grown up with recycling bins and Earth Day celebrations. And they don't need to be told to take shorter showers, to unplug phone chargers that aren't being used, or to find new uses for sour cream containers and ragged T-shirts. But Christian youth do need to understand how each act they take to heal or preserve the environment is an act of faith.
Burst: Green Church is a 6-week program for youth groups that will show Christian teens how carring for the earth is a way to honor God and show love for our neighbors. It takes the usual "three Rs" of conservation - reduce, reuse, and recycle - and adds three more - reclaim, repent, and rejoice. Youth will come away from this study with:
- a greater appreciation of God's creation;
- a greather understanding of their role as stewards of God's creation;
- the understanding that caring for the world in which we live is an act of faith and a means of showing love for God and neighbor;
- several concrete ideas for ways that they can better preserve and protect God's creation by chaning old habits and taking on new ones; and
- the encouragement to be leaders in their church and community when it comes to carying for creation.
The leader guide will help you prepare for leading the session.
This structure is based on the work of Rev. Rebekah Simon-Peter, the author of Seven Simple Steps to Green Your Church, who is an environmental scientist/naturalist-turned-UM elder and who has traveled the country helping congregations go green. Tim Gossett is the writer of this study for youth and has been a leading voice in the green church movement among youth ministers and Christian educators.
For a webinar on how to use the Green Church family of products, visit www.webinars.cokesbury.com
Be sure to Like Green church on www.Facebook.com/GreenChurch
