General 1 — Ridgefield Nazarene

May 18, 2025

This Week in Youth: “Trust is Sexy”

Sunday Message Preview for Parents
Scripture Focus: Genesis 39:1–23 • Proverbs 5:15–20 • Malachi 4:6

Dear Parents & Guardians,

This Sunday at youth group, we’ll be addressing an important and often challenging topic: sexuality, self-control, and God’s design for trust and wholeness in our lives. Pastor Javier will be teaching a message titled “Trust is Sexy”—a conversation aimed at helping students understand the value of integrity, boundaries, and building relationships that honor God.

We want you to be fully aware of what your student will be hearing and discussing. We know this can be a challenging and uncomfortable subject, but we also believe it’s vital that students hear truth spoken with grace and have safe spaces to ask questions, reflect, and be mentored into wise choices.

Our Intentions

Open up real conversations: Our goal is to create a safe space for students to bring up what they’re facing and wondering about.
Equip students with truth: The world offers confusing and often harmful messages about sex and identity. We want to help students anchor their decisions in God's Word and character.
Support healing and growth: Whether students are curious, struggling, or healing from past experiences, God’s grace is big enough to meet them where they are.
Partner with you: You are the most important spiritual influence in your student’s life. We want to come alongside you—not replace you—in helping your teen grow into a Godly adult.

Our Approach

We’re not just talking about “saying no.” We’re focusing on the “yes” to something better:

The strength and beauty of God’s design for sexuality within marriage
Developing a lifestyle of self-control, trustworthiness, and integrity
Understanding that purity is about who you're becoming, not just what you're avoiding
Knowing that past mistakes don’t define your future—God brings healing and restoration

We’ll also be dispelling common myths like:

“As a Christian, you have to choose between your sexual identity and spiritual identity”.
“Previous experience makes you better prepared for marriage.”
“Only those who are physically attractive have the right to be sexually fulfilled.”

Instead, we’ll highlight God’s truth about identity, intimacy, and the strength of self-control.
———————————————————————————

Small Group Questions (for your follow-up conversations at home):

Note: We hope these questions encourage students to reflect on their choices and understand the reasons behind rules, especially in light of our recent discussion. The goal is to help them realize that these rules are established for their benefit. Our leaders will provide guidance and respond to students' questions, with a strong emphasis on supporting parents. Additionally, small group leaders will approach these questions in varying ways and at different depths, depending on the age and maturity of their group.

What are some rules that your parents or caregivers set that you feel are too strict or confusing? Why do you think those rules exist?

What would be another option or solution?

Have you ever felt like you crossed a line or compromised your values? What did you learn from that experience?
What false ideas have you heard from friends, social media, or the culture about sex or relationships?
If you value sexual integrity before marriage, what’s the reason behind that choice?
What does sexual integrity look like for someone your age today?

We understand that these topics can be challenging, but we believe they are important. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your student's life. You are more than welcome to join us this week, please reach out to me so we can prepare a guest badge for you to wear! We are here to support your family every step of the way.

– Amber