Student Venture Club is an excellent example of a club worth your time. Si
Since the inaugural 2024 Club Rush back in September, SRA clubs have kicked off pretty well, with many students truly enjoying participating in a club that interests them. Clubs can be a fun opportunity to bond with students of similar interests, unwind before or after long classes, and try new things, but sometimes finding the club for you can be difficult. Clubs you truly fit into or feel passionate about can be hard to come by. However, the Student Venture Club is a great club to consider joining because of its unique approach. It’s fun, interactive, meaningful, and it caters to everyone, no matter who you are and what you like! The concept of Student Venture and its clubs didn’t start at SRA – it actually has a deep history, beginning about 30 years ago when it was founded by Monty and Karen Sharp. Student Venture Club’s vision was and is to create a space where students could come together away from the many negative pressures of the modern world and learn about Jesus not according to any singular bible but to the love of Jesus for those that prescribe to some sort of Christian faith or any denominations.
Student Venture Club has grown to become a widespread non-profit organization that includes clubs that meet on school campuses all over the valley. According to the Student Venture website, they are an organization “dedicated to making dramatic changes in the lives of young people and the world around them. We desire to influence their world with the supernatural touch of the living God. To teach them to love and to serve; to gain strength in their weakness, grow in their wisdom and discover provision for their lack.” (https://www.svministries.com/our-mission).
Every Wednesday, the Student Venture Club (or SVC for short) meets at lunch behind the baseball bleachers with upbeat christian music, snacks, and games! All you have to do to join is register in their Google Classroom. This is where you’ll receive updates on what will be happening each week, as well as mark your attendance for each meeting. To get the link, you can simply ask Mr. Zervic, [email protected] the gentleman and teacher in charge of SRA’s SVC for the joining link during one of the meetings, or you can email him separately. Once you’re in the Google Classroom you’ll see that he posts a new Google Form every week there will be a meeting. Filling it in is simple – all you have to put in is your name, email, grade level, and whether you will bring your lunch or grab a school lunch before the meeting.
This is required for participation! Even though it may seem odd to have to give details on what you’re eating at a meeting because even though Mr Zervic always makes sure to bring something to eat (the specifics of the food are always announced on Google Classroom as well so members know what to expect) a school rule is that lunch cannot be provided by the club alone. This way, the leaders can get enough food (usually pizza!) for everyone and plan accordingly for the activities.
“I heard pizza and I came, but now that I’m here I actually want to be a part of this,” said one freshman as she took a seat at the bleachers during SVC’s meeting on 10/20/24. Mr. Zervic, the teacher in charge of Venture, kicked things off by enthusiastically greeting everyone, inviting curious newcomers to stick around, and offering pizza, and once everyone was settled down we were able to listen to a special guest give us a reflection on how much God truly cares so deeply about every one of us, in a way that was passionate but not overzealous. After that, we played a game where you had to throw water balloons with a partner who had their eyes closed, which was a blast as everyone got to throw balloons and get competitive, some people got splashed, and the top winners earned a special Halloween doughnut.
During the meeting that took place on 11/13/24, Mr Zervic began by explaining that Student Venture is like a Youth Group at the church and warmly greets everyone and brings us together in prayer to begin. Everyone gets quiet as he says the prayer. Then Derek, our guest speaker who works at a nearby parish starts talking about how Jesus is truly in control. He said. “The Bible says He holds all things in his hands, he is good and in control.” Afterwards, Mr. Zervic adds another quick prayer, referencing what Jesus said, I am with you. Invites everyone to grab some After that distribution of the new SVC hoodies began, and everyone who had ordered a hoodie started getting in line and trying theirs on excitedly.
When asked what made him decide to come out and be a part of SRA’s Venture Club, youth pastor from the Canyon Lake church Derek Singer said, “I love students and teenagers, and helping them grow in their relationship with God and that’s what we wanted to do at school too because we want to bring encouragement and hope.” Later one student added “I love it! It seems so short because I’m having so much fun.”Each meeting usually starts with the distribution of food, a group prayer, and then an encouraging Bible message to help inspire you and keep you going, wherever you may be in your religious journey. Sometimes there will be more prayer or games, depending on the day.
All in all, Student Venture is a great club experience that is open to everyone, for everyone, and a fun way to get more involved with our SRA community. Seeing the club members wearing the Venture hoodies everywhere helps with the feeling of community like you’re a part of something important (which you are). Student Venture goes deeper than some other clubs in the sense that it encourages you to really. We hope to see you at the next meeting!
