The 180° Youth Group is EBCI’s discipleship ministry dedicated to teaching and mentoring middle school and high school students unto the goal of greater love and faithfulness to Christ Jesus as their greatest treasure and joy. (And it doesn’t hurt that we occasionally hurl marshmallows full-speed at each other for the greater glory of God.) Weekly Meetings on Thursdays, 6:30-8:30 PM.

Middle-school and high-school years are usually thought of as the years where people are “licensed” to be immature, unserious, and lackadaisical about everything, especially about “churchy stuff” and “Jesus things.” Far from this stereotype, the apostle Paul looks at the days of being young not as the “years of slacking and fun,” but a great opportunity for deeper discipleship and growth in our walk with Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 4:12). Besides, Christians no longer walk the path of the world; Christians are a totally new creation, walking the path of Christ, completely opposite from the world (2 Cor. 5:17).

That’s why we have 180° as our moniker. All people (yes, young people are people, too) apart from Christ will go their own way. As Christians, we

• Turn away from the ways of the world
• Turn to the greater joys and treasures of Christ, enjoying Him and glorifying Him forever.

Because, to paraphrase a sage woman, “Sin and the ways of this world?! Ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat!”

At 180°, we have three simple goals that we pursue for the greater glory of God and the spiritual growth of our students:

1. Exalt Christ, His Word, and His Gospel—No matter what else we do in 180° (marshmallow throwing, sleepless sleepovers, awkward bowling stances), we strive to exalt Christ in all things: word, speech, and conduct. The Bible is God’s Word, and its central purpose is the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. If we present any other truth, or any other gospel, no amount of fun stuff will make up for our negligence in the day of reckoning. We are a ministry of EBCI, a church that seeks to exalt Christ and Him alone as our Savior and Lord. We can do no less.
2. Disciple our students unto Christlikeness and spiritual growth—The Lord Jesus was very clear on what we ought to do as His people: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-20). We don’t know how clearer we can get other than that. Our programs, both fun and serious, have an aim to point them to deeper discipleship and growth in Christ. We have large group meetings, small group discussions, and one-to-one mentoring—all for seeking to present the students as mature in Christ one day. Also, that means if watching superhero movies with the gang gets them to better understand what it means to be self-sacrificing as Jesus was, then so be it!
3. Cultivate deep fellowship and relationships with each other and with Jesus—Friendship and relationships can’t all be about serious things. They need joy and mirth as well. Also, the deepest, truest relationships can’t subsist on fun stuff alone; they need the bedrock of deep affection and values. Here at 180° we believe that we Christians ought to invest in each other’s lives in fellowship and faith. In addition to our discipleship initiatives, we also try to have a special event every month, which often happens on Saturdays. Past events include: Paintball, Progressive Dinners, Youth-Led Services, Short-Term Mission Trips, Lock-ins, Desert Camping Trips, and other activities. (Translation: we do fun stuff, to the detriment of the youth pastor’s sleeping patterns.) Our leaders also seek to spend time with the students outside the church setting, to invest in the lives of the students, as real brothers and sisters in Christ, not just projects to meet goals with.