About Highresyouth
Why highRES?
The first question we generally get asked is, What on earth does ‘highRES’ mean, and what does it have to do with Church? Our 3 main purposes as a youth community, are:1. To Reach - reach youth with the message of hope – Jesus.
2. To Equip – equip youth to be passionate loyal followers of Jesus.
3. To Serve – serve God with our lives in a variety of ways.
Put the first letters of Reach, Equip, and Serve together, and we end up with RES.
The ‘high’ component at the start is in reference to the fact the RES can be looked at as ‘resolution’. This has many different parallels e.g. Seeing life through a new clear lens, making decisions to change. So high resolution is improved resolution.
Community is a massive part of what we are about here in Kumeu. HighRESyouth.com has the dot com on the end to represent community. This is why we do not have .co.nz at the end of the website name, and why the dot com is incorporated into our very name, not just the website address. We have different communities within the larger highRESyouth community.
We aim to reach other youth with hope in a world that is seriously lacking. Our hope is in Jesus.
The programs we have to fulfil this purpose are...
The Reach
This is our regular time together, held from 7.15-9ish each Wednesday night during each school term. The night is aimed at those of high school age from the local community and will often involve games, group discussions, talks, challenges and general sharing. Currently around 50 youth and leaders form The Reach community.
The idea of The Reach is provide a comfortable place to hang out, where deep friendships can be formed and where the youth can explore what it is to be a Christian and to live life to the full as Jesus intended. It’s a place where teenagers can be respected and can tackle the issues they face at school and in their day-to-day lives within a supportive environment.
Frenzy
1) During the Sunday morning service they have their own time together exploring what it is to be a Christian and to live life to the full as Jesus intended.
2) Around once a month during the school term we arrange a social event that brings them together for some awesome hang out time. As this gets more and more popular we hope to make it more regular as well.
EQ Teams
Surrounding The Reach are our “EQ Teams” which are small groups formed from those at The Reach that what to grow in their relationship with God. Their leader’s role is to equip each one in the group with a passion for Jesus, to equip them to reach out to those around them, and to provide each member with a place where they are accepted for who they are. They will meet weekly for group discussion on a Weds night (some groups also meet on a different night/day during the week) and often do special outings together of their choice. As the EQ groups grow and gain confidence, they will look for ways to serve the community.
Special Events
Camps such as Parachute Music Festival, Easter Camp, Snow Camp and the ‘Naki Challenge’ (Summer Camp), as well as one-off special events and sport tournaments, also play a huge role in this community. They provide a comfortable way to bring new people along and to introduce them to what we’re about. Every year, the youth share of how these events have had a major impact on their life and they provide great memories and real friendships that stick with them for years to come. Gavin (the current youth pastor) brings a passion for the outdoors and so there are also opportunities to be involved in kayaking, tramping, climbing and abseiling, caving etc.
Sponsorship
Matthews (A young man we sponsor)Questions?
Ask Dr Gav...or contact Gavin Gunston (the youth pastor) on 021 346 997 or g.gunston@gmail.com
