In the sermon on Sunday, Pastor Lloyd mentioned that the High Point Church staff are reading a book together about the strangeness of Christianity. We would love for you to join us. The book is Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel by Russell Moore. We hope this book will equip and encourage anyone who reads it to engage our city with the Gospel.
Continue reading Recommended Reading: Onward by Russell Moore
My life began in a quiet town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of North-East PA. I was born into a family that would occasionally attend a liberal mainline denominational church (U.C.C.) and was not concerned with following Christ. As I grew into a teenager I naturally adopted a “seek me first” ideology of life which led to an increasing depression. At its peak I would sleep 12-16 hours a day and would often act out violently towards my parents and brother. By the age of 16 I was at a place in life where I knew something had to change. Thankfully I had a close friend who was a Christian and I decided to “check out this Jesus thing” before I ran to alcohol or drugs, or seriously attempted suicide. As I searched, the Holy Spirit softened my heart and convicted me of my sin. I gave my life to Jesus at a youth conference in Hershey, PA.
In case you didn’t get the flyer we handed out as you left service on Sunday, here it is:
Read about Derick’s Thoughts on Ministry
Get to Know Derick and His Wife, Beth
Check out Derick Valencik, our Youth Pastor Candidate, giving a sermon.
Read about Derick’s Thoughts on Ministry
Get to Know Derick and His Wife, Beth
Greetings High Point Church!
I am honored to candidate to be your next youth pastor. It is my desire that through this written Q & A you get to see Beth and me as we really are, quirks and all! You are in our prayers as you prayerfully consider how you will vote in regards to my candidacy for this position. Seeking God’s will and Glory!
Derick (and Beth) Valencik
FROM BETH: Derick and I met during our sophomore year at Philadelphia Biblical University, through a ministry group to
freshman students. I first noticed his indoor soccer shoes, but was too shy to introduce myself. As the year continued, we got to know each other through the ministry team meetings and through sharing our personal prayer requests. Our relationship deepened as we realized shared goals and vision for our future, and in November 2006, he proposed and we got married on March 8, 2008. I did not want to get married in March, because the weather is usually bad, but we eventually decided that we’d rather get married and trust that God has control of all kinds of weather. On our wedding day, we experienced torrential rain, beaming sunshine, a rainbow, high winds, and snow!
FROM DERICK: I first noticed Beth a few months into our freshman year. At the time I was admittedly a little bit “girl crazy” and was on the hunt for a girlfriend. I remember waiting in line in the cafeteria at school when I first noticed her blue eyes. (when she wears her contacts the blue REALLY pops J ) I remember thinking to myself “this is a small school, and I’ve never seen her before, or her friends so I guess I have no chance.” I left it at that. I saw her a couple more times that first year in passing but was never able to strike up a conversation. THEN…I was pleased to realize that we were both selected to be a part of a ministry team our sophomore year to the new freshman class. God in His grace allowed me to build a friendship with her over the course of that year which led to us beginning to date our Junior year. After a short rough spot that I loathingly call our “Dark August” (because we broke up for the month of august) We worked out some kinks grew deeper and were eventually engaged and married. We’ve been happily married for a little over 5 years now!
FROM BETH: I enjoy spending time outside, collecting and reading well written and funny children’s books to young children, having a good conversation, taking time to try new recipes (especially cooking with Derick in the kitchen helping me), and eating any kind of breakfast food. I like a good “chick flick” with a great batch of homemade popcorn. I enjoy dancing at Zumba classes. I love finding a great deal when shopping. I love listening to music, especially to Rich Mullins.
FROM DERICK: I enjoy trying new things and going on an adventure! I enjoy hiking and being outdoors. I’d love to get more into sailing and kayaking. I am a BIG soccer fan and am pretty rabid about the Philadelphia Union. I also enjoy sports and competition in general. My dream vacation would be to visit Ireland and England, and to tour the amazing castles, cathedrals, cities, and towns all around the Islands. I would also love to attend a Chelsea FC game. I also enjoy good food (and eating it with Beth).
FROM BETH: I went skydiving once; I’ve been to China and Brazil-my faith was solidified and my life changed when at 15 I was asked to teach English in China- I finally saw God as personally involved in answering my prayers and being in control. I almost drowned in the New River in W. Virginia while white water rafting on a high school senior trip. Since being married and graduating, I’ve been a nanny, a teacher’s aide, and presently a preschool teacher.
FROM DERICK: I have been able to go sky diving twice, and would love to go again if anyone is interested! I have been diagnosed with a neurological disorder called Tourette’s Syndrome that I feel allows me to minister more effectively to teens and has helped to develop a fighters spirit in me. Even though I am days away from being 29 (as I write this) sometimes people still think I am in high school. Over the past 10 years I have had the opportunity to minister in affluent suburbs of Philadelphia (Dresher PA) and Princeton NJ (Pennington NJ), and also in a highly poverty stricken and drug riddled section of inner city Philadelphia (Kensington section). Most recently God has sent me back to my home town on the edge of what’s known as the coal region, and the Susquehanna valley to minister to teenagers and adults who come from broken and dysfunctional homes and to begin planting a new church in town.
FROM BETH: We love driving and taking trips together in the car, walking together, laughing at our quirky cats, hosting guests at our house, and having good heartfelt conversations.
FROM DERICK: We sometimes like to go on a long drive on a day off, planning to intentionally getting lost and to stop and checkout whatever we find interesting. We like to go on brisk walks together at the end of the day and depending on our moods we enjoy going to a coffee shop and reading a book or watching a local musician play.
The primary reason Derick wants to work with youth is because he wants to impact them. He sees the mistakes that teens make as significant, given where they’re at in their brain development, and helping them through the choices they need to make and guiding them to prevent harm is invaluable.
Derick is excited to work with all the middle and high school students. Here is a response to what his favorite thing is about each age group and what he thinks is the most important thing they need:
Favorite Thing: They’re not to cool for school and they’re crazy and fun. For most of them they’re willing to be energetic.
What They Need: They’re beginning to think abstractly and they can learn skills and core truths of the gospel. Then, they can begin to figure out how to apply that. They need to be given some freedom to search and investigative these things.
Favorite Thing: They are well into their teen years now and they’re “beyond” the craziness. They are trying to find their identity and who they are and who their friends are. There’s an openness and vulnerability during this age group because the walls aren’t built yet. It is important to build relationships with them at this age so they trust you and you can mold them.
What They Need: They need lessons tied into who they are in Christ to help them find their identity in Christ. And explore what the scriptures say.
Favorite Thing: This is the tail end of the teen age and they are more adult-ish than childlike. Their ability to think abstractly and grasp bigger concepts is increasing and they’ve become more mature. You can begin to have a genuine and deep relationship with this age group. Another great thing is as they are thinking about life outside of high school, they have optimism and are not jaded by the world.
What They Need: They need to continue to learn truths of scripture and teach them the deeper concepts. We need to make sure they have a firm foundation of faith laid to protect them from the ideologies of the world.
This has been my biggest struggle in my current ministry context. Most of the teens involved in the youth ministry of Catawissa Christian Church have absentee parents at best. The teens walk to youth group on their own. One night early on in the ministry we actually had an angry mom walk into the building and loudly grab her child to bring him home! Over time I began to see which parents were just getting rid of their kids for a while and which ones were involved. I decided to spent my time on working to build relationships with the parents who were involved. I live in a small town, so it is easy to have people over for get togethers regularly. I also find it very effective if my wife and I “just happened” to be going for a walk by the students’ house when they were outside. Unfortunately, even though we were able to begin to build relationships with the more involved parents most of them were not Christians and not committed to a church. As responsibilities grew with the church plant and my time became stretched I had to focus on the few parents who had teens in the church.
When I first met Danny G. he came to a youth gathering with a friend and made it a point to tell me he was only there for the food. He kept coming back though and sometimes even when his friend didn’t. He reminded me every week (during the lesson) that he was only there for the food and games and didn’t even think Jesus was real, but he kept coming back. The biggest reason was because I let him voice his opinion and then challenged him to simply listen to mine. He respected that I didn’t force anything on him and over time began to trust me. He has a strong personality so I knew that I had to give him facts in a challenging way, then let him process it on his own so he felt in control. I also began to give him small amounts of responsibility in different areas which he appreciated greatly. He has come a long way in the last few years. In the past few months, I worked with him to let him know that I am heading out of the area. He has accepted this and has allowed another leader to take the reins of discipling him.
Engage & Equip 