If you have not yet received a letter from Pastor D that gives you more of the details, you can click on the picture below and download the letter and forms you will need. If you have any questions, please contact D at the church office (733.5360) or you can email him at d.koundakjian@harvestefree.org

We wanted to give you a list of dates that you should know about this summer as well as an overview of what we will be teaching this summer. Both groups will be studying the same topics with a little different twist for each group. Hopefully this will help you as you talk to your children about what they are learning. These dates are subject to change, but it should give you a good idea of what is happening. We will keep you updated if there are any changes.

Have you heard about “sexting”? It’s when someone takes nude or semi-nude pictures with their phone and sends it to someone else, or sending sexually suggestive messages to someone else. I read an article recently that said up to 20% of teenagers have sent nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves to someone else and up to 39% of teenagers have sent sexually suggestive messages to someone else! This is article is 2 years old! The numbers aren’t getting much better. Once those messages are sent, there’s no stopping them from going out to everyone! In fact, they don’t even have to send these pictures to someone, just taking them is dangerous. Apparently there has been a bunch of celebrities who have had their cellphones hacked and the private pictures posted on the internet. I would love for you to read the article and look at the statistics and begin a dialogue with your child. http://www.youthministry.com/scope-sexting

Here’s another one with some great insight as well. http://www.covenanteyes.com/2012/01/10/sexting-statistics-what-do-the-surveys-say/

Also, with the rise of smartphones among teenagers, access to pornography is in their pockets. I hope that you will begin some difficult conversations with your child. There is help as well. XXXchurch.com has a tool called X3watch that can be used on your computer as well as on a smartphone that can help block sites as well as report inappropriate sites.

Technology is advancing fast, and it is making its way into the hands of teenagers. We have to be aware of what is going on, and begin to discuss the dangers of this behavior, and how it could impact their walk with God. We can’t ignore it and hope it goes away, we have to confront it head on, and more than likely, your child isn’t going to come to you first. Set up some guidelines, create some accountability, and use this as a way to disciple your kids and teach them what it means to walk in purity and holiness.

If you would like to keep up with what I am doing during my sabbatical, I will be blogging about it on my website, dikrankoundakjian.com. I am praying that God will use this time to be refreshing, and prepare me for what lies ahead. I would love for you to be praying for me during this time.

If you have questions about the youth ministry during this time, please talk to me. You can email me at d.koundakjian@harvestefree.org or call the office (515.733.5360).

There are a couple of ways that you can stay updated.

1. You can come back to this website each day and see if we have posted anything new.
2. If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to the updates using this link.
3. You can have updates emailed to you directly by clicking this link and filling out the form.

It’s just that easy. Hopefully you will find this section helpful.