Student Ministries Pastoral Letter | December 2025
Welcome to December.
One minute you’re hanging lights and listening to Christmas music and the next you’re cramming for finals, juggling events, wrapping up work, and trying to survive the last couple of weeks of the year. It’s kind of a mix of cozy and chaotic. And in the middle of it all, we get this wild story about God showing up in the world through a baby in a barn.
Not exactly the vibe most people would expect from the King of the universe.
But that’s the point. God loves to show up in ways we don’t expect. And here’s the thing: He still does. Not just during worship or at big retreats or conferences, but right in the middle of regular life. In the exhaustion. In the noise. In the quiet. In the laughter around the table. In the tension we’re carrying. In the things we’re celebrating. Right here. Right now.
I really believe God is moving in and through our ministry. Even when it’s quiet. Even when it’s messy. Even when we don’t totally feel it. He’s still faithful, and He’s still working.
And as we head into a new year, I’m filled with hope for what’s ahead. We’re dreaming big and trusting God to lead us, through moments of worship, through discipleship and leadership, and through the everyday relationships that help students and families follow Jesus more fully. He’s not done with us. He’s just getting started.
See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
So wherever you find yourself this December, tired, hopeful, joyful, stretched thin, or somewhere in between, don’t miss what God might be doing in the quiet. He has a way of showing up when we least expect it.
Grateful to walk with you,
Mark Gaines
Director of High School
