Hello Northside family, this is Jim Bruner. I’m a shepherd here.

The mission of Northside is to love first, and where better to start that than with our children. From infants to high school seniors, we love them all, and we want to pour into them the love of Jesus as they learn, study, worship, and grow together. Many times you have heard us say our Children are the church of today, and this is so true. Our Children’s Ministry and Youth Ministry are an important and integral part of Northside.

This summer was full of laughter, fun, learning, serving, and outreach from both of these ministries. Early in the summer, the Children’s Ministry took a group of nine students to ACU Leadership Camp. Upon returning, we opened our doors to children from Northside and the community for events like Reading Camp, Fantastic Friday, and VBS. At VBS, we partnered with Kinmart to collect school supplies for a local foster care group, filling a vehicle to the brim with supplies. Overall, with the assistance of many giving volunteers, over 300 kids were ministered to and learned of God’s love for them.

Northside was also the host site of our first-ever Serve Camp. This was a week for our middle school students to serve in multiple local ministries here in San Antonio. The high school students took their service on the road sharing a week with the elementary-age children at the Fortress Youth Development Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Finally, the entire youth group joined several other churches from around Texas for Camp 51, sending more than 80 students to this week designed to impact the other 51 weeks of the year.

Praise God for the hearts that were stirred through these amazing activities. In the last two years, the number of students participating in these ministries has more than doubled. God is so good! As more and more Children get plugged in, more support for these ministries is needed. We believe each member at Northside has an opportunity to serve our kids with the love and grace of Jesus. Whether you’re a teacher, helper, small group leader, or event volunteer, there is a place for you.

If you’d like to know more about how to partner with Nicole in our Children’s Ministry or with Ben and Rachel in our Youth Ministry, please visit nscoc.org/children or nscoc.org/youth.

Jim Bruner
From the Shepherds