Welcome!!

Hello and Welcome to the Outreach Red Bank Middle School Group's Bible Study!!!!

Christians are meant to read the Bible. We as Christians are meant to read the Word of the Lord and to learn about the life of our savior, Jesus Christ.


When we first started working through what a Bible study for middle school students should look like, the first thing that became crystal clear was parental involvement. As a parent, you really are the MOST important person in your Middle Schooler's life (no matter how much he/she may say they disagree with that statement). Middle School is a time where students begin to really develop their own identities and start to become more independent. Those are GREAT things!! However, within those expanding roles, students still need a grounding of love and center for what Christ-like living looks like.... That's YOU!!


Middle School is not a time when you should withdrawal from your student because he/she "doesn't want to hang out" with you, or he/she doesn't think you are a "cool" parent. This is the best time to develop the meaningful relationships based in love and respect with your children that will help them to see what Christ-like love is all about.


Our goal in this Bible study is to help bring students and their parents closer to the Lord, and closer to each other by reading and discussing the Bible together and then discussing it with a group of other students and parents. This group is all about learning and growing together!


No one knows everything there is to know about the Bible. Everyone has troubles understanding some of the information in the Bible from time to time. (Seriously... when was the last time you baked a cake with a "tenth of an ephah of fine flour" and mixed it with "a quarter of a hin of beaten oil"??) This blog is going to be your place for help. Every week we will post the reading along with additional information that we think would be helpful. We will also post reflection questions that should help you and your student relate the readings to your everyday lives. This blog is also a place for you to ask questions. No question is too small, because if you’re wondering it, other parents are most likely wondering it also. Throughout the week, if you have questions or reflections that came out during your discussion with your student, PLEASE post them here. We WANT your input and feedback.


I have used the term "WE" a lot in this introduction...Nancy Medrow, Jamie Mazza, and Jared Murray have been meeting to start planning and forming this group. Nancy is the mother of a middle school student herself and is looking forward to facilitating the group. Jamie is a Middle School Group Leader and is excited to help Nancy in facilitating this group. Jared is the Director of Youth Ministries at ORB and will be working with Nancy and Jamie to provide the research and reflection for the group. As you may have noticed, none of us are "leaders" for this group. We are here to help you and your student learn together. We are open to ideas and helpful hints. We want to make this group work for as many people as possible and would love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

As we go forward, please pray. Prayer helps to focus us on God's love and direction for our lives. We as a group pray that we will be able to help you and your students grow closer to the Lord through reading the Bible.

Please let us know if you have any questions/comments/concerns. You can either post them right here, or email Nancy (nmedrow@yahoo.com) or Jamie (jerseygirl8483@gmail.com)