Ours is a very unique ministry as it is made primarily of 1st generation Chinese Christians. Our students attend a number of universities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most were reached through our church as children or teenagers, though quite a few were reached through our college ministry. Because of this, our church has developed a very unique student ministries model.

In lieu of a midweek teen Bible study, our college (and high school) ministry meets on Friday nights at 7:00 p.m. for preaching and fellowship. The students run and organize the services (they serve on an elected council with a president, vice president etc. We have monthly council meetings on a Sunday afternoon where I mentor them in leadership and help plan upcoming events and meetings). They organize the special music, take the offering, cook the meal that follows, plan the recreational activities, emcee, and song lead. I do the preaching though! Following the message, we always have dinner together that the students cooked, and occasionally have a fun recreational activity.

The messages I preach are geared to their lifestage and situation. This year I preached a series on purity, dating, apologetics, and am currently teaching through the book Life Quest, by Cary Schmidt. Previously, I have taught Discover Your Destiny.

The students dress nice casual—honoring their Lord with what they wear but not dressing for Sunday morning church—and I rarely wear a tie.

We have quarterly to semi-annual evangelistic outreaches were instead of a Friday meeting, we will take a trip to Half Moon Bay or a Corn Maze or something in order to encourage visitors to come. Each year we take a retreat in the spring to Lake Tahoe for skiing/sledding and in the summer to the American River for white water rafting. After the messages, we will split the guys and girls into separate small groups to meet for devotions where they will answer prepared questions over the topics that were preached on, discuss how they will apply it in their lives and pray together.

We also have occasional Guy’s/Girl’s Day Outs where instead of our Friday meeting, my wife and I will split the group up and take the guy’s rock climbing and the girls to the ocean or something. I will frequently have them over to our house for pizza, fellowship, devotions, and testimonies after a Sunday night service (something I learned from Bro. Schmidt when I attended LBC as a teenager and served in the Youth Ministry as a college student).

All in all, the students that have stayed in town after graduation have loved AFC and really owned this ministry. It has been in place long before I came here so I have been the beneficiary of a great church and pastor and have been able to enter into the blessings. Each week, we have about 35 students in AFC and have over 80 visitors to our college ministry each year and see many saved and added to the church.

Four weeks ago, a college girl was invited to our church by one of our students, was lead to Christ by another student after a Sunday morning service, was later baptized, and is now being taken through a discipleship curriculum by another young lady in our college ministry. The last report I heard she had just finished the Gospels and is now reading the book of Romans.

I praise the Lord for what He is doing in the heart of our students in the Bay Area and through Heritage Baptist Church. It is really an amazing ministry that will always be impressed in my heart. I wish you could see it!

Jacques

PS

Thanks for being an incredible mentor in youth ministry Bro. Schmidt—so much of what I have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in you, I have put into practice hear.