What does F.A.Q. mean?

Frequently Asked Questions.

What is The Umbrella?

The Umbrella is the student ministries division of Word of Grace church.

Why did you guys name it The Umbrella?

We know it doesn't sound all sleek and stealthy like the kind of name you'd discover in a manual about fighter jet parts or the vocab review column of a chemistry book. And yes, we're well aware that a lot of other youth groups go that route, but, at The Umbrella, if you haven't already noticed, we're a little bit different. The Umbrella name is, quite simply, a symbol of the grace of God—a little something we tend to talk a lot about here at Word of Grace. This grace, which grants us freedom from sin, is made available to us because God's son, Jesus, sacrificed himself out of his huge love for us, paying the price for our wrong doing with his own blood. Our lives, from that moment on, become lovingly devoted to learning what it is to live life under this Umbrella of grace and share it with others. Plus, aside from all that spiritual stuff, The Umbrella also looks pretty sweet on a miniature punk rock pin, so there's that.

What are The Umbrella services like?

The Umbrella Services are relaxed, large group teaching and worship times designed specifically for Jr. & Sr. High students. Each service explores a relevant topic from a Biblical perspective, capturing the use of lighting effects, creative staging, videos, comedy sketches, crowd games, live music, visual art and other interactive elements. Our worship band has a guitar-driven indie-rock feel and our teaching times are geared towards helping you figure out how the Bible applies to your everyday real life and are taught in a way that makes you laugh hard and think deep.

What's the difference between a service week and a LifeGroup week?

Whereas service weeks are focused on large group teaching and worship times, LifeGroups concentrate on relationally connecting you with friends in small talk-driven groups of 8 to 12. LifeGroups take place altogether in the same auditoriums as our services, yet are set up in a way that allow you to focus and discuss questions about God and life openly and honestly with other students your own age. Each LifeGroup week is piled high with group games, videos, a full-on free breakfast buffet, a short teaching introduction by one of our staff, and interactive roundtable discussions lead by one of our adult leaders. These groups take a more in-depth Biblical look at the teaching topic from the previous week's service, giving you a chance to take a second, deeper, more thoughtful look into what you heard the week before and discuss how its principles can be practically applied in the way you live out your day to day life.

If my friends and I get there early, is there stuff to do?

Our student common lobby areas are stuffed to the gills with foosball, ping pong and air hockey tables, board games, cards games, magazines, comfy couches, coffee shop tables, a full service coffee bar and TVs plastered with cartoons and music videos, all for your enjoyment before and after service. It's actually worth coming early for or staying late for, not to mention a sweet place to meet new people, purchase the latest Umbrella gear or dig up information on upcoming trips, events and other miscellaneous need-to-know Umbrella stuff.

Does The Umbrella do anything besides services and LifeGroups?

Most definitely. We've always got tons of random cool stuff going on—camps, retreats, trips, events, competitions, concerts and potato sack races (well, except for that last one). You'll find info on our yearly over-the-top blow out events (like camps and trips) way in advance in our services or on the website. Other activities (like concerts and paintball outings) may just pop up out of nowhere, like an unexpected lollypop in your backpack, and fill the void in an otherwise dull week of teendom. Either way, these out-of-the-ordinary Umbrella experiences are a great way to hang out with friends or meet some new ones.

How can my parents find out what's going on?

We know, we know. Moms want to know everything about everything. And as far as The Umbrella's concerned, they can. We have a weekly parent update that goes out via email every Tuesday and we'd love to add your parents to the list. It's got all kinds of useful information moms always want to know about, like details on upcoming trips and events and blurbs about what we're teaching about in our services. If you think it'd be helpful, just email Lori and let them know you'd like to be pulled in the loop. Other than that, our two web locations are good ways to get info on what we're about and what's going on: Umbrella Student Site (www.theumbrellasite.com) or Our Church Site (www.wordofgrace.org).