The events are categorized as follows and the decisions about whether events are open or closed are made by all of the leaders together based on various criteria that determine what’s most beneficial.

• Drop-off events – At these events, we have plenty of supervision, but due to space limitations or limited food, drinks, and snacks, we ask parents to drop off their children and pick them up when the event finishes.
• Open events – Occasionally, we will invite a special guest and invite as many young people from the area as possible to participate. The age ranges still apply but we welcome the young people to invite others who normally wouldn’t get to participate.
• Closed events (only for Apostolic Tabernacle youth) – This is the category our Monthly Bible Study falls in for two reasons:
  • We find that when the children are together with their peers, they feel comfortable sharing their experiences and testimonies without being “in the spotlight” or around people who may not understand where they’re coming from.
  • Sometimes we deal with subjects like courtship, choosing a companion, or matters that pertain specifically to children who call Apostolic Tabernacle their home church and look to its pastor for their spiritual guidance. We don’t want to influence others who fellowship elsewhere in a way that would counter how their pastor is led by the Holy Spirit. We respect the sovereignty of the local assembly as this is a Biblical precept.

• Self-pay events – When the weather is favorable, we’ll plan weekend outings for things like snow tubing, whitewater rafting, camping trips or a multi-day trip with out-of-town stays. Some of the Youth Camps that other churches host are self-pay events where Apostolic Tabernacle doesn’t offer help with transportation, supervision or accommodations.

** It is important for all parents and all attendees to understand the following: If you enroll and agree to participate in an event where pre-payment is needed and/or a group rate is set, anyone who drops out or chooses not to participate or attend will still be expected to pay the agreed amount. This insures that the amount that everyone has agreed to doesn’t change or increase due to people who were committed to go backing out or being absent. If you can’t go but were already signed up, you may have the option of finding someone to go in your place, but that will be decided with a youth leader’s consent and the amount that was agreed to will still have to be paid. The reason we’ve had to implement this is due to people backing out and then others had to pay “out-of-pocket” to keep the entire group from having to pay amounts they weren’t prepared for. Please see Bro Tim Cross if there are questions about this.

• Age ranges and age range exceptions – We set the age range for our Youth Events at ages 13 and up. If an event is posted and age ranges are listed, it is expected that everyone in attendance will respect the listed age ranges. For our annual meetings in June, it has been agreed by the youth leadership that as long as a young person’s birthday falls in the calendar year of the event, they can opt to join the older youth group if they wish to. If their birthday has already come that year and they’re too young, they’ll be asked to remain with other children in their age range. Exceptions to this can be requested but will need to be approved by Bro Tim or Sis Faith (they are most often granted to visitors who come from other places or have extenuating circumstances).