Grapple

Preteens are a moving target. Fifth and Sixth graders are too old for children's Sunday school, but too young for youth. They need an environment that answers real-life questions and tackles the issues they care about most! In Grapple, our leaders help preteens tackle the tough questions about faith, relationships, and the real-life issues they are dealing with every day. Each Sunday they engage them in thought-provoking videos, fun games, and deep, life-changing Bible lessons. The students are encouraged to practice their faith with weekly challenges that dare them to apply what they've learned.

As our little boys and girls suddenly begin to grow up and move through this key transition from kiddy world to full blown adolescence, it can be quite scary! Kids are hitting puberty earlier -- sometimes as young as 8 -- so raging hormones are a reality that up until recently were felt primarily in junior high ministry. And preteens are exposed to more mature issues earlier (we'll spare you the details for now).

Preteens are often pushed by society, their families, their schools, and their churches to rapidly grow up. Our consumer culture also presses in on kids to age them faster. Marketers use "age compression" to market to kids so they can capture a share of the $1.7 billion kids age 8 to 14 are spending. Marketers compress age by intentionally pushing adult and teen qualities in products so kids find them more appealing for purchase. So kids dress, talk, and play older. And with kids aspiring to be older, they're easily pulled out of childhood to move more quickly into adolescence. Emotionally and mentally, though, they're not ready.

This is where parents often have to rethink their parenting strategy and make adjustments to stay connected with their child and continue to lead them toward a passionate relationship with Christ. This can be overwhelming and frustrating. Grapple seeks to come alongside parents and preteens and walk with them through this season. Grapple seeks to provide a consistent, safe, intimate, and focused environment for upper-elementary kids to grow in their faith and be stretched a little more than they ever have before. Grapple is a great tool for parents. It is not just a place to drop your kids off and leave the spiritual training to us. Parents need to know what the topics being discussed that Sunday are and then seek to engage their preteen in further discussions at home, on the way to school, at the table, before bed, etc (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9)!