Dear New 6th Grade Parents,                                                                                                                                                                  

I hope this letter finds you enjoying summer! As the new school year will be here before we know it, I wanted to inform you and your student about the Middle School Ministry here at Parkside Church. We are all looking forward to the arrival of the incoming 6th grade class, as they always bring a fresh excitement and joy to our ministry.

This year has been a strange year in every regard, and having a child transition into Middle School Ministry in this time is certainly unique. As your child faces this move into the upcoming school year, we hope that our Student Ministry can be a meaningful part of that transition. We would love to see your child get connected with other middle school students at Parkside, regularly enjoy the fellowship and encouragement of our mid-week gatherings, learn from the Bible week-by-week, and ultimately grow to know, love, and serve Jesus more and more.

On Tuesday July 28th at 7pm, your student is invited to join us at our 6th Grade Welcome gathering at Student Impact. This is a great first step in making the transition, as your student will have the opportunity to begin the process of getting connected with the larger group. Although COVID-19 has interrupted and postponed a handful of events on our church calendar, we are now continuing our regular midweek gatherings (called Student Impact or SI) with safe social distancing protocols and guidelines. SI currently meets from 7-8:30pm every Tuesday night at Parkside Church.

It’s important that you stay connected through one of our avenues of communications so you can receive updates:

• Text Messages: The best way to stay informed with our ministry is to subscribe to our text message update service. Click the link or text ‘ParksideMS’ to 69922 and follow the prompts. You can expect 1-2 texts per week with everything you and your student needs to know about things happening in the ministry.
• Instagram: You can also find us on Instagram, @parksidems. On our page you will find updates, news, and also teaching content and Bible study plans that you can follow throughout the week.
• YouTube: Subscribe to our Parkside Students YouTube channel for content and video updates.
• Email: We send an email out about once a month with announcements or things you need to know.
• Parksidechurch.com/MS: We keep the Middle School Ministry page up-to-date with all the information as well. 

Our mission is to see unbelieving students become committed followers of Jesus Christ. It is the deepest desire of myself and the AMT (Adult Ministry Team) to see every student that passes through our youth group come to know, love, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that God will use Parkside Student Ministries to make disciples and it is with that confidence we welcome you and your 6th grader to join us.

Our goal for this ministry is to come alongside you, the parents, in helping to encourage your student to grow in their relationship with Christ. Please partner with me in praying that students will become committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have questions, concerns, or just want to introduce yourself, please send me an email or call me at (440) 543-1212.

In Christ,
Mac Matthews
Middle School Ministry Pastor
mmatthews@parksidechurch.com