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'Impact' Is Making a Difference in Jamestown (NY)
JAMESTOWN, NY (October 8, 2003) - Youth pastor Dan Nikolich of Zion Covenant
Church has always wanted to make an impact with kids in his community and a
school-based program led by students is doing just that.
"Impact" is an ongoing youth ministry program being conducted at Jamestown,
Southwestern, Panama and Frewsburg high schools in and around Jamestown.
The program is entirely student-initiated and student-led in order to
conform to school, federal and state guidelines. Students from a variety of
denominations and area churches attend Impact and Nikolich stated that
about a dozen youth pastors from the area have given volunteer time to
support student leaders at the four schools.
"When students come to Impact, it helps them to realize that they are not
alone in their faith," Nikolich said. "They have the opportunity to connect
with other Christians at school and there is safety in numbers. Most of the
kids in Impact are connected to the local church. However, since most of
the churches are small in our town, Impact serves as a Christian youth
community for them. And a lot of other students have heard the gospel
through some of the events we have planned."
Nikolich had been running a consistent high school group at Zion Covenant,
but he hoped that his teens could take an extra step in their faith
journeys. He began to pray about it and when he was challenged by the local
Youth for Christ group to start a campus ministry at Jamestown High School,
he agreed to give it a try. He and other youth pastors, including Jamestown
First Covenant Church's Dan Soderberg, met with
outgoing associate superintendent of Jamestown Schools Jim Coffman.
A parishioner at First Covenant, Coffman said that students could meet
during lunch periods as a character education program - due to a new state
law, New York schools are required to develop character education programs
within their schools. Coffman suggested that the youth pastors set up a
meeting and work with his successor, Dr. Lois
Austin.
Austin informed the group that Impact could meet under specific conditions.
During the 2000-01 school year, Austin and lawyers for the school district
rewrote the district's policy concerning religious organizations and the
schools. The policy was eventually approved and plans were made to begin
Impact for the beginning of the 2001-02 school
year.
"The main policy that we labored over was the limited-open policy forum
under the equal access law," said Nikolich. "This law simply states that
religious groups may function during school time. Students have the option
to attend, but are not required to attend."
Students began meeting weekly during two lunch periods. Impact expanded
into four lunch periods as more students began to express interest.
Although students must initiate and lead the club meetings, youth leaders
can provide students with training and encouragement. Nikolich said that
the format for Impact is organized loosely from parachurch campus
ministry models used by Campus Life and Youth for Christ. One
model, called A.C.T.S., helps put structure to the lunchtime meetings each
month:
- During Accountability Week, students meet for worship and then pair off
and talk about their week and ask each other accountability questions such
as: What are they learning in their personal time with God or at church?
The students then pray for each other.
- During Challenge Week, students invite a speaker (pastor, youth pastor,
teacher, etc.) to share a short message.
- During Testimony Week, a student gives their personal testimony or
shares a devotional message with their peers.
- During Seek Week, students are encouraged to invite those who are
unchurched for lunch and events have included beach parties and other
theme-related activities.
Nikolich says that close to 500 students came to Impact at Jamestown High
during its first year of existence. Attendance ranged between 70 and 100
students per week and between 30- 50 percent of the students had no church
background. Six of those students made commitments to Christ at an Impact
end-of-the-year rally.
Since then, other schools have reviewed the Jamestown High character
education policy and allowed Impact to be run. Impact has organized a board
to better communicate with local churches and students. And last spring,
Impact invitee Pam Stenzel, a nationally known speaker, addressed a school
assembly about abstinence.
To learn more about Impact, call Nikolich at Zion Covenant Church,
716-488-9310, or email him at pastordan@ZIONCOV.org
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
