Q: What is your main goal at Walnut Ridge Student Ministry?
A: Walnut Ridge Student Ministry exist to help facilitate students and parents to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  This is done through lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, Christian disciplines, fellowship, service and worship.

Q: How do I get my son/daughter involved in The Student Ministry?
A: This is a very frequently asked question of The Student Ministry. It’s tough to answer because every student and situation is different; however, we do have a couple suggestions to help get your student plugged in to what’s going on here at WRSM. First, our staff would love to meet you and your student and show them around the church to help them start feeling comfortable. Second, a great way for them to connect with other students is to become a regular in one of our Sunday morning classes. We meet on Sundays at 9:30am in the student building. Each Sunday morning is filled with three main segments: the Fellowship Time, the Large Group Time, and the Small Group Time.  During the Fellowship Time, students are free to play games, shoot basketball, socialize and eat donuts to their hearts content.  During the Large Group Time, students will hear announcements, a message from our Head Youth Pastor, worship from our Youth Band, and periodical video testimonies from their peers. During the Small Group Time, students are divided into grade and gender specific groups lead by our adult small group leaders. These classes range from 8-15 students. These groups are the backbone of our ministry and the way that most of our students get involved. We have several other events as well, feel free to check out our events page and bring your student to several things that we have going on to let them meet and mingle with other students their age.

Q: Do you have any mid-week event for the students?
A: Every Wednesday night from 6:30-8pm, students meet up in our youth building for our mid-week discipleship.  Similar to our Sunday morning Youth Fellowship, Wednesday Night Discipleship is broken into three segments: Fellowship Time, Large Group Game Time, and Discipleship Time.  As with Sunday Morning, the Fellowship time is filled with students playing games, shooting basketball, tetherball tournaments, wii challenges, kickball, wiffleball, foursquare, and all types of games designed to make students feel welcomed. Many students also use this time to catch up on their homework in a social environment.  During the Large Group Game Time, students hear announcements and partake in large group games designed for fun and encouragements.  No kid is made to be embarrassed. During the discipleship time, our Doulos lead out in small group accountability and discussion.

Q: How do I, as a parent, get involved in The Student Ministry?
A: We want to partner with parents here in the Student Ministry. If you want to get involved at any level or just get to know the student staff up here at Walnut Ridge, feel free to contact Lacie Verner in the Student Ministry and let us know! Also, make sure you check out the parent section of our website.

Q: If my son/daughter needs professional counseling, where should I go?
A: Any of our student ministry staff would love to talk with your son/daughter. We are not trained, licensed counselors, but we can speak with students about the spiritual nature of any issues. If there are major issues in your student’s life, we would recommend that they see a licensed and professional counselor. Sometimes after meeting with a student we will recommend that they meet with a professional counselor. We have several counselors that we would recommended.  To find a list of such counselors, please view our Resource Page.

Q: How can I stay informed on what’s going on in the student ministry?
A: We want to make sure that you always know what’s going on here in the student ministry. First, please subscribe to our email parent newsletters. Second, we now have a text program in place for parents and students to receive text alerts.  Our student website is another way to stay informed, please check back often for updates, schedule changes, and event info. Lastly, you may easily follow us on facebook.com/thewrsm and twitter.com/thewrsm (@thewrsm).

Q: As a parent, how can I help out?
A: We need parents to help out! In every aspect of our ministry we have parents helping us out. Throughout the year we need parents to serve as Host Homes, we need small group teachers, we need people to help provide food, run the grill at events, and even serve as van drivers. There are too many opportunities to list them all here. If you want to help out, please contact Lacie Verner in the Student Ministry.

Q: If I have concerns about something, who can I call?
A: We want our parents to always feel free to contact us in the student ministry. If you have a question, concern, or just have something on your mind, feel free to give us a call at 817-473-1461 and ask for Derek Mathews or Lacie Verner.  You may also email Derek at Derek.Mathews@walnutridge.cc