Own It Toolbox

Tools and steps to help own your faith.

• Bible
• Prayer
• Serving
• Tithing
• Community
• Worship

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BIBLE

The Bible is called the “Word of God”, because it is a tool God uses to tell you about His love; His plan and His purpose. So, reading the Bible is the best way to hear God’s voice. It’s your source for real truth and your entire world as a believer revolves around the Bible.There’s a bunch of different ways to access the Bible, but the ultimate goals is to simply spend time with God’s word.The Bible is the manual for carrying the Christianity of Jesus
The Bible contains history, poetry, songs and important life wisdom.It’s okay to be real when you have questions about the Bible
It’s great to share what you find in the Bible with others
Expect to heed God’s voice of love as you read the BibleWays To Own It

Ways To Apply It

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PRAYER

Praying is an essential part of our relationship with God. It is important to remember that He designed us to be in relationship with him - to be fully engaged in spirit, heart and mind. When we pray, we invite God to be center in our lives. This is why we endeavor to learn how to pray. Jesus gave us a beautiful example of how to approach God the Father in prayer. If we lean in to regular prayer conversation with God, we become more and more bent towards the character and love of God in all areas of life.Prayer is simply an honest ongoing conversation with God...
- No Special Words – Talk to God just like you would your best Friend.
- Be Real – Share with God the good things, bad things, hurtful things - really everything.
- God Is Good – Ask God for things you NEED and things you WANT.
- Expect Big – Pray for small & big things for yourself, for others, and for situations.
- Thanks – Finish up by thanking God for all he has done and all he will do.

Ways To Own It
- Write it down - write your prayers down in a journal
- Pray Matt 6:9-13 - read or memorize it
- Pray for others -ask someone “how can I pray for you?”
- Ask for prayer - be real and ask for the personal things you need and want
- Pray often -Spend 5 minutes talking with GodWays To Apply It
- Set reminders in your phone
- Buy a journal
- Break down the 5 steps of Lord's prayer

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Serving

The church has left the building ...Serving has very little to do with the church buildings we attend and has everything to do with where God has us.Jumping into an area of need is one of the best ways for you to grow your faith! Whether you choose to lead in chapel kids or on a tech team or find a need in your school or community and be Jesus in those spaces. The world is desperate for kind christians to impact this world. This is a great way to be third in your world by serving others with Joy.Serving is simply being 3rd in your everyday life.Think of yourself less- Value others above yourself and help them
See a need and step into it- When you see an area in this world that you can affect jump in as best as you can!Serving is not always easy or fun or fulfilling(it gets messy and difficult) but we are God's plan to show his love to the world.Start small; choose one area and give it your best for a season.

Ways To Own It
- Begin Serving - Wherever you live is where you can serve
- At church - ask a pastor or leader at church how you can serve
- At school - ask a teacher or administrator on how you can serve
- At work - ask boss or coworker how you can serve
- At home - identify a way to serve your family. Don’t wait to be asked, just do it!
- In Friendships - ask a friend how you can serve them this week or today

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TITHING

Our money is not our own. We give back to God a small portion of what He has given us.The tithe is the first 10%. By giving our first back to God—not our leftovers—we are showing God that he is significant to us.Tithing requires trust. It’s not always easy to give what we have to God, but He promises to bless us when we follow Him.Tithing is an act of worship. It’s an act of saying we put aside our earthly idols and provisions and worship and adore the true provider and Good Father.Ways To Own It
- Set aside 10% of your income for God.
- Pray that God would help you tithe.
- Ask someone to keep you accountable to tithing.
- Decide what you want to give towards - church, a ministry, etc.
- Ask others to join you.

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COMMUNITY

Community is simply making sure that you are not doing life alone. You were created to be in community. Few things in life have more power to affect our vision, values, priorities, and decisions than the people we surround ourselves with. We truly do become like the people we hang around.Being in community is an easy way for us to come alive to God.
Small groups help the big church feel small and gives you the opportunity to find real community and Christ-centered conversations.Small groups give us the opportunity to encourage, pray for, motivate each other to be a force for good. God made us for relationships and we will experience more of His love and plan for our lives when we learn to do life with other followers of Jesus.Ways To Own It
- Attend a local church- connecting with people weekly at church is a huge win.
- Attend a midweek student service- engaging in community with other teens is important.
- Be in a small group - having a safe place to process life is important
- Serve - being a force for good with others beside you is important.
- Choose 3-4 friendships to invest in
- Mentorship - Find an older wiser adult to coach you in your next steps

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WORSHIP

The Bible is flooded with examples of people worshipping through song. Worship is the way we become aware of God’s presence - we “set the table” to come sit and rest in His presence. We sing songs of honor that remind us that God is in charge and has perfect love and power. We sing songs of praise and thanks for His goodness to help our hearts be grateful. We sing songs of both desperation and expectancy - desperate for Jesus to bring breakthrough in our lives as we pray heaven to earth, and expectant that His Spirit will meet with us in a very real way.Worship as an Individual
Today, you can worship in your room by putting a worship song on, putting your hands out with palms up as an outward symbol of being open to God, kneeling as a way of honoring how mighty and loving God is, or raising your hands high as a demonstration of desperation for His Spirit to meet with you. You can sing quietly or as loudly as you feel led. Let the worship song words be sung out of your own mouth.Worship as a Community
This week, at student night or at a weekend gathering, you have an opportunity to worship with other people who are following Jesus. It is a powerful experience to worship in song as everyone sings out truth, hope, and love together. Lean into this community time this week - even if it feels uncomfortable. Trust that as you worship with others, the Holy Spirit will be tangible in the room, and God will bring breakthrough.