Next Gen Summer Schedule
May
19th- Family & Student Worship - 6:45pm (final regular meetings until August 2021)
26th- Students (7th-12th grade) Summer Kick-off & Fall Creek Sign-Up Party - 6:45pm
June
2nd- Student Worship (7th-12th grade) - 6:45pm
7th-11th- Super Summer Leadership Camp (7th-12th graders)
9th- Student Worship- 6:45pm
16th- Next Gen Olympics Night (Followed by a Falls Creek Parent Meeting)
23rd- Student Worship & CrossTimbers Parent Meeting- 6:45pm
28th-July 3- Falls Creek (7th-12th grades)
30th- CrossTimbers Registration Closes
July
5th-8th- CrossTimbers (completed 3rd-6th grade)
14th- Next Gen Water Night (time TBA)
21st- VBS Launch Night
26th-29th- VBS in the Park (completed kindergarten through 6th)
August
4th- Student Worship- 6:45pm
11th- Student Worship- 6:45pm
14th- 7th Grade Welcome Event (for all 2021-2022 7th graders)
15th- Next Gen Promotion Sunday
18th- Wednesday Night Ministry Kick-off
September
3rd-5th- Family Camp
Next Gen Schedule Change
Coming up on May 16th we will be making a schedule change in our Preschool Ministry and Kids Ministry that will allow more of our families the potential to be in worship at the same time. Our current schedule has the majority of our parents of younger kids in LifeGroup at 9:30am while their kids are in Ark Worship or Kids Worship. Then, when these parents attend worship at 11:00am, their kids are in LifeGroups. We understand how valuable it is for families to be able to worship together and we also want everyone at First Moore, from the youngest to the oldest, to be involved in a LifeGroup. In order for this to happen, we will be changing when we offer Preschool/Kids LifeGroups and Ark/Kids Worship
As we discussed during the Next Gen Summer Preview on May 5th, starting on May 16th all of our Next Gen Ministry will have LifeGroups at 9:30am and then worship at 11:00am. Here is the new schedule for all of our Next Gen Ministry:
Next Gen Schedule- Beginning May 16
9:30am - Preschool LIfeGroups, Kids LifeGroups, and Students LifeGroups
11:00am - Preschool Ministry, Ark Worship, Kids Worship, and Second Worship Service
If you have any questions, please let us know.
New Interim Director of Kids Ministry
First Moore is excited to welcome Ben Woodson to our ministry team as our Interim Director of Kids Ministry.
Ben, his wife, Meredith, and their son, Lukah, will be joining us from Southern Hills. Ben has served as the Preteen Minister and Interim Director of Kids Ministry at Southern Hills. Ben and Meredith also served overseas before the pandemic hit. He is currently serving as a 4th grade teacher at Rockwood Elementary in Oklahoma City.
Ben and Charlie Gatton will be working together in April and then Charlie Gatton will step out to focus solely on preparing for multiple weeks of CrossTimbers. We are excited to have Ben with us in this new role and look forward to how God is going to use him to help strengthen our ministry to the Next Gen and their families.
Summer 2021
Summer 2021 is quickly approaching and we have several ministry opportunities for those involved with our Next Gen Ministry. We wanted to give families these dates so that can be prepared as they plan for the summer.
Super Summer 2021- June 7-11 Super Summer is a leadership camp for students that have completed 7th-12th grade. Students must apply and interview for this camp. Contact Jason Peck for more info.
Falls Creek- June 28-July 3 Students that have completed 7th-12th grade are invited to join us at the largest youth camp in the world located in the Arbuckle Mountains of Davis, OK. Registration will open in May.
CrossTimbers- July 5-8 Kids that have completed 3rd-6th grade are invited to join us at CrossTimbers Mission Adventure Camp. Find more info and register at www.firstmoore.com/crosstimbers.
VBS in the Park- July 26-29 We are taking VBS to our community again in 2021 and plan to be in six different parks around Moore. VBS in the Park will be for kids that have completed Kindergarten-6th grade. More info coming soon.
Next Gen Minister Candidate
First Moore is excited to have Jason Peck coming in view of call to be our Next Gen Minster on Sunday, November 1. If you would like to know more about our Next Gen Minister position you can read a letter from Pastor Charlie here. There will be a church-wide Meet & Greet on Saturday, October 31 in the Atrium. Then we will affirm Jason and his family coming to our church by secret ballot at the conclusion of each service on November 1.
Meet Jason Peck
Jason Peck is a youth ministry veteran that has served the local church faithfully for nearly 20 years. He grew up in the OKC/Moore area. He committed his life to Jesus as a child and surrendered to following God into full-time ministry at Falls Creek in 1993. After answering God’s call, he was able to start serving in youth ministry at his home church, Brookwood, even while he was still a student himself.
Jason is a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He met his wife Theresa while attending seminary in 2001. They were married in 2003. God has blessed them with three children, Emily, Callie and Micah. In addition to spending time with his family, he also enjoys cheering for the OU Sooners, Dallas Cowboys and the OKC Thunder.
Using Colossians 3:23 as his guide in life and ministry, Jason works with all his heart for God. He is passionate about seeing people, especially students, come to know Jesus and grow to become fully devoted followers of Christ. His goal isn’t to merely build a ministry but to support the mission of the entire church. He works diligently to help the next generation be connected to the life of the church. He also understands the importance of parents and families in the life of the next generation. He strives to connect with and equip parents in the discipleship of their children.
God has allowed Jason to serve in youth ministry roles in churches in New Mexico and Oklahoma, currently serving at Dewar, First. He has been serving on the board of Super Summer Oklahoma since 2013.
The Lead Team and Personnel Committee are excited to be able to present Jason Peck to you. We believe he is a godly man that will be a great team leader for our next gen ministry. He will be very engaged with our students and help point them towards God.
Next Gen Ministry Update
First Moore Family,
Over the last several months, I have been working with leadership to structure our staff to help us effectively accomplish the mission and vision that God has given us. As we seek to help people Know Jesus, Follow Jesus, and Become like Jesus, it is important for us to be structured to accomplish this goal. Our Five E’s (Exalt, Equip, Embrace, Empower, and Engage) are set up to help us make sure that we are a healthy church, doing what it necessary to accomplish God’s mission for us.
One of the areas that we have needed to fill on our staff is the position of Student Minister. Our next generation (birth to 12th grade) is a vital part of our body both now and in the future. My desire is to have a team who leads the next generation to become disciples who Know, Follow, and Become like Jesus. Rather than call a traditional student minister, I have felt it important to find a minister who not only leads our students (7th-12th grades) but someone who could lead the staff team who minsters to our preschool and kid’s ministries as well; that they may have a cohesive strategy of how to engage the next generation. My hope is seamless transitions between ministries and similar philosophy and goals of ministries.
This leads me to share with you that we believe we have found the man to lead our Next Generations Ministry as the Next Gen Minister of First Moore. Out of respect for him and his current church we will wait to share his name with you in the following weeks. He comes to us with over 18 years of ministry experience, most of those years spent within the state of Oklahoma. I am excited that through prayer and searching God has led us to the right person for this important responsibility in the life of our church. We will have him, and his family come in view of a call on November 1, 2020 and will affirm the recommendation from the personnel committee and lead team with a vote at the end of each morning service. Membership will have the opportunity to meet him on the day before at a special meet and greet event. We hope that you continue to pray for this important position and pray for his family during the transition. I am confident that he will lead and care for our students and next gen ministry leaders well, and that we will see great spiritual growth and vitality in these key ministry areas.
For His glory and your joy,
Pastor Charlie