Covenant News

'Impact' Is Making a Difference in Jamestown (NY)

JAMESTOWN, NY (October 8, 2003) - Youth pastor Dan Nikolich of Zion Covenant Church has always wanted to make an impact with kids in his community and a school-based program led by students is doing just that.

"Impact" is an ongoing youth ministry program being conducted at Jamestown, Southwestern, Panama and Frewsburg high schools in and around Jamestown. The program is entirely student-initiated and student-led in order to conform to school, federal and state guidelines. Students from a variety of denominations and area churches attend Impact and Nikolich stated that about a dozen youth pastors from the area have given volunteer time to support student leaders at the four schools.

"When students come to Impact, it helps them to realize that they are not alone in their faith," Nikolich said. "They have the opportunity to connect with other Christians at school and there is safety in numbers. Most of the kids in Impact are connected to the local church. However, since most of the churches are small in our town, Impact serves as a Christian youth community for them. And a lot of other students have heard the gospel through some of the events we have planned."

Nikolich had been running a consistent high school group at Zion Covenant, but he hoped that his teens could take an extra step in their faith journeys. He began to pray about it and when he was challenged by the local Youth for Christ group to start a campus ministry at Jamestown High School, he agreed to give it a try. He and other youth pastors, including Jamestown First Covenant Church's Dan Soderberg, met with outgoing associate superintendent of Jamestown Schools Jim Coffman.

A parishioner at First Covenant, Coffman said that students could meet during lunch periods as a character education program - due to a new state law, New York schools are required to develop character education programs within their schools. Coffman suggested that the youth pastors set up a meeting and work with his successor, Dr. Lois Austin.

Austin informed the group that Impact could meet under specific conditions. During the 2000-01 school year, Austin and lawyers for the school district rewrote the district's policy concerning religious organizations and the schools. The policy was eventually approved and plans were made to begin Impact for the beginning of the 2001-02 school year.

"The main policy that we labored over was the limited-open policy forum under the equal access law," said Nikolich. "This law simply states that religious groups may function during school time. Students have the option to attend, but are not required to attend."

Students began meeting weekly during two lunch periods. Impact expanded into four lunch periods as more students began to express interest. Although students must initiate and lead the club meetings, youth leaders can provide students with training and encouragement. Nikolich said that the format for Impact is organized loosely from parachurch campus ministry models used by Campus Life and Youth for Christ. One model, called A.C.T.S., helps put structure to the lunchtime meetings each month:

• During Accountability Week, students meet for worship and then pair off and talk about their week and ask each other accountability questions such as: What are they learning in their personal time with God or at church? The students then pray for each other.
• During Challenge Week, students invite a speaker (pastor, youth pastor, teacher, etc.) to share a short message.
• During Testimony Week, a student gives their personal testimony or shares a devotional message with their peers.
• During Seek Week, students are encouraged to invite those who are unchurched for lunch and events have included beach parties and other theme-related activities.

Nikolich says that close to 500 students came to Impact at Jamestown High during its first year of existence. Attendance ranged between 70 and 100 students per week and between 30- 50 percent of the students had no church background. Six of those students made commitments to Christ at an Impact end-of-the-year rally.

Since then, other schools have reviewed the Jamestown High character education policy and allowed Impact to be run. Impact has organized a board to better communicate with local churches and students. And last spring, Impact invitee Pam Stenzel, a nationally known speaker, addressed a school assembly about abstinence.

To learn more about Impact, call Nikolich at Zion Covenant Church, 716-488-9310, or email him at pastordan@ZIONCOV.org

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