Parent Packet
Welcome to The Landing! The Landing is a Brookwood ministry designed to help students in grades 7 12 who are struggling to find a path to freedom, healing and wholeness. This exciting teen support ministry meets each Thursday night at South Campus starting at 6:30 8:30 pm. A FREE dinner is available from 6 6:30 pm for anyone who wants to come eat with us. The Landing creates an environment where students can learn to make wise choices and develop healthy patterns for living. It's a safe haven to help overcome life-controlling hurts, hang-ups and habits by providing insights on following God's path to greater freedom in life. This packet of information is designed specifically with parents in mind. The most common questions parents have are answered in the pages that follow. Of course, we are here to answer any questions not covered in this packet. What you ll find in the packet: 1. A schedule for the typical evening. 2. General Policies. 3. FAQ s for The Landing. 4. A brief history of Celebrate Recovery and the success the program has experienced over its 20 years of existence. Our staff and volunteer team are excited about this program! We re confident that students who stay with The Landing and actively participate will find the path toward healing. They ll also build a skill-set which will help them throughout life. With these skills, they will be able to deal effectively with future hurts, habit and hang-ups that they will potentially encounter. Jesus Christ is the center of this process! In Him, Sincerely, Mike Hepola Family Pastor, Brookwood Church mike.hepola@brookwoodchurch.org Brian Schwanbeck Middle School Pastor, Brookwood Church brians@brookwoodchurch.org 1
Schedule for a typical Thursday meeting: All Meetings for The Landing are held at South Campus 6 6:30 pm - FREE Dinner each week (optional) 6:30 8:30 pm - Schedule (order of sequence can vary weekly): Large Group Time (includes worship and teaching each week) The location will be at South Campus. Small Group Time Girls and boys are separated by age and gender. Every group will have an adult leader present to help facilitate the group. Hang out Time After small group, we invite kids to hang out with the other kids at The Landing. The Landing will end at 8:15 pm. As a courtesy to our adult volunteers, we ask that you promptly pick up your child no later than 8:30 pm each Thursday. General Policies: Privacy: What s shared in the group stays in the group. Parents will not be notified of what a student shares unless a student reports he or she has been or will be harmed. Leaders: All leaders have background checks and are interviewed prior to being allowed to work with The Landing. Students will have a leader of the same gender. While we encourage leaders to make themselves available outside of The Landing to the students, we do not require this. If the leader is not available, please feel free to contact the Brookwood office at 864.688.8228 should your teenager need to speak to a leader outside of The Landing normal meeting times. Adult Visitors: Because we place a high value on the safety of students, adults who are not part of The Landing leadership team will not be allowed into The Landing. To keep this a safe place for students to share, this policy includes parents who are not approved volunteers. Attendance: While we encourage students to attend each week, we realize students will have other events that require them to miss from time to time. Every week a student misses, he or she will miss out on an important element of dealing with life s hurts, habits and hang-ups. Please encourage your son or daughter to be as consistent as possible coming to The Landing. Also, we do not patrol the campus to make sure students are not skipping out on The Landing. We also will not physically force students to stay in The Landing. There will be security on campus who will contact our pastors and volunteer leaders when a student is seen loitering around the campus, but we can t force the student to attend. Students must be responsible. If as a parent you question your student s likelihood to attend, it might be a good idea to accompany them to The Landing doorway to insure they go inside. 2
FAQ s For The Landing: Is there a fee for students to attend The Landing? No. A Student Journal may be purchased for $5 for students to use as they go through all the lessons to record their thoughts. They would bring the journal with them each Thursday night. Is there a way for parents to help with The Landing outside the weekly meeting? We are glad you asked! Because there is not a charge for The Landing and we do not have a budget for materials, we welcome items parents wish to contribute for activities done during The Landing. For a list of items needed each week, please contact us at: 864.688.8228 or email thelanding@brookwoodchurch.org Will there be special events for students to attend outside The Landing? Yes. The Landing is an extension of our Axis (Jr. High) and Crave (High School) ministries. Students from The Landing will be encouraged to attend those weekend services and special events. Leaders from The Landing who are available for these events may also serve as volunteers. Some leaders from The Landing may (but are not required), do special events with their small groups throughout the year. If you would like to open your home for a small group event, please feel free to talk to your son or daughter s leader. If you need help doing that, please contact us at 864.688.8233. Does The Landing offer counseling? Unfortunately, The Landing is not equipped to offer counseling to students outside the regular weekly meeting. There is a list of professional counselors available. You may obtain this information by dialing our church counseling line at 864.688.8355 and leave a voice mail inquiry. A Brief History of Celebrate Recovery and the success the program has experienced over the past 20- years: The Landing is part of the Celebrate Recovery collection of programs designed with the entire family in mind. In an attempt to assist his own family, Pastor John Baker set out to create a program to deal with his own alcoholism. As a result, this program has now touched hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. The Landing is built on the same principles as Celebrate Recovery and uses similar curriculum. 3
Success Stats since Celebrate Recovery began at Saddleback in 1991: 1. Over 10,000 people at Saddleback have completed the program and have found victory from their hurts, hang-ups and habits through Christ s power. 2. They have been able to start the program in over 10,000 churches and over 500,000 courageous individuals have completed the program. Brookwood is one of them! We just celebrated 10 years providing Celebrate Recovery. 3. Celebrate Recovery is also used in prisons throughout the country with great success. Inmates who are released after going through Celebrate Recovery program have a much lower recidivism rate than those who have not gone through the program. We re happy to bring the strength of Celebrate Recovery into the lives of students through The Landing at Brookwood Church. It s our hope as we provide this program for students that their lives will be forever changed and redirected towards Jesus Christ. Life Hurts. God Heals. Discover how. Contact Information: Brian Schwanbeck Middle School Pastor / 864.688.8315 Mike Hepola Brookwood Family Pastor / 864.688.8241 Kimberly Saunders Admin Assistant, The Landing / 864.688.8233 The Landing Info Line: 864.688.8228 Website: brookwoodchurch.org/thelanding Email: thelanding@brookwoodchurch.org 4