VALUES
UR FAMILIES
As kids grow up in our community – here are the values we hold to along the way.
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A Community of Belonging
We want to create a safe space for our kids and students to meet Jesus. A place where they belong. A place where walls can come down. In this space we value intentional learning that is age-appropriate and experiential. In this space we value giving our kids and students an opportunity to develop relationships with their peers. But belonging does not end there. While we are incredibly intentional with our kids and students communities we believe our kids and students are also an incredibly important part of the overall community. We want them to know that they also belong to Upper Room. In fact they play a very significant part! They have something important to add to the conversation and we have a lot to learn from them.
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A Model of Partnership
We view parents as the primary faith teachers, mentors, and role models for their own kids. How parents express and live out their faith will have more impact on their children than anything else. We want to continue to equip families and give them the tools they need to be an ongoing companion and guide on this journey of faith. While we hold all of this to be true we also acknowledge our kids and students need the love and support of other caring adults. At Upper Room we will always provide at least one person to share in the lives of our kids and students… Whether a UR Kids leader or a mentor in junior high or high school, our commitment is to put other adults in their corner – modeling what it means to trust Jesus with their lives.
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A Journey of Trust
At the end of the day we want to help our kids and students trust Jesus. We believe that building trust is at the heart of the gospel. At the same time we realize that this is a journey. Every young person has his or her own unique story and our hope is that along the way they encounter the love of God and trust Jesus with their lives. This journey requires us as adults to show up, listen, and ask a lot of questions. We feel one of our most important responsibilities is to help our kids and students learn to ask the right questions as well. We believe our only agenda is to show up in love and trust God to do the rest.
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A Belief of Belovedness
One of the greatest questions we must answer in this lifetime is – Who Am I? We believe that every single one of our kids and students is a profound gift from God. Beneath their gifts and talents and abilities and quirks – at their core – each is the beloved child of God. We want to help kids and students discover who they are, who God uniquely created them to be. And we want to be a consistent voice reminding them of the truth of their belovedness.
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A Missional Heartbeat
We want our kids and students to be missionally minded. We always want them to know that they are never too young to do something big. As a community that seeks to trust Jesus we are asking questions like… How can we love God and serve others? How can we be peace-bringers? How can we help bring God’s kingdom to our current world? How can we think beyond ourselves and the comfort of our surroundings? With our kids and students we spend intentional time wrestling with the answers to these questions and exploring what a life and service learning looks like.
At Upper Room, we believe that parents are the primary faith teachers, mentors, and role models for their own kids. As the church, we feel one of our most important roles is to equip and support parents on this journey of faith.
We know all kids are created uniquely. All families are unique. The way your kids discover Jesus will be unique. There is no cookie-cutter plan that your kids will follow as they grow up to hopefully know and love Jesus. Sometimes a blanket approach (if you do A + B + C, then…) just does not work. Whether we call it faith development or spiritual formation we want to nurture growth in our kids with the hope that they will know the love of God and want to follow Jesus.
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UR FAMILIES EXPERIENCES
At Upper Room, we also affirm the high value of the community that is created among families. To better support families in these ways, we hope to build communal momentum through family focused experiences. We offer several experiences throughout the year within UR Kids and UR Students.