Seeking to
connect young people to each other, the church and the world through
faith in Jesus Christ
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Seeking to
connect young people to each other, the church and the world through
faith in Jesus Christ |
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| Youth Ministry Home |
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Overview
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High
School |
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Retreats
and Camps |
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Vision
Statement |
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Middle
School |
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Mission
Projects and Trips |
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What is Youth Ministry? |
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Confirmation |
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Sample
Weekly Schedule |
1. To call young people to be disciples of Jesus Christ;
Youth
Ministry is NOT about maintaining young people through their adolescent
years until they can contribute to the church as adults.
If we did, our ministry would be little more than glorified
babysitting.
Youth
Ministry IS about fervently discovering, encouraging and lifting up the
God-given gifts youth bring NOW and proclaiming that youth are valued
as part of the church TODAY — even at this awkward and unsettling time
of their lives. Through leadership
opportunities youth become invested in the church’s life as they
acquire and strengthen their ownership in this ministry.
Youth
Ministry is NOT about entertaining young people with razzle dazzle! We cannot compete with the commercially
oriented, high tech world, nor should we. We
are called to make disciples of Christ.
Youth
Ministry IS about challenging young people to be focused on Christ and
on other rather than themselves. This may
mean learning to accept hard work and difficult relationships as part
of the youth ministry experience.
Youth
Ministry is NOT intended to protect or isolate young people from the
world. If we focus on providing young
people with a safe group of friends or “Christian” places to go, then
we miss the central teaching of the Gospel — that we are called to
engage an unreceptive world — this IS a risky business!
Youth
Ministry IS about engaging our young people in the world to help them
discover Christ among the “least of these”. Our
Reformed Presbyterian theology reminds us of God’s call to be active in
the world and to help bring about glimpses of God’s realm.
Our job is to equip young people as disciples of Christ,
spreading the good news of Christ’s redeeming love.
Youth
Ministry is NOT about providing young people with an instant group of
friends. Certainly we hope friendships
will develop, but we are not just a nice social group of people who get
together to eat pizza and go on retreats. If
young people’s primary connection with the church is founded on
friendships then it is as tenuous as daily emotions and as closed as
social cliques.
Youth
Ministry IS about basing their connection with the church on a
commitment to Christ’s call. It is about
nurturing a faithfulness to this call as they discover and live it out
in the context of the whole church — a diverse, intergenerational and
connected body of people. Continuity in
participation and the value of commitment are crucial to instilling
this faithfulness.
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Almost
every Sunday morning September through May, a high school group meets
to study and discuss Biblical stories, questions and issues from
9:30-10:30. Most Sunday
evenings from October through March, a group of youth and adults meet
in Fellowship Hall to play basketball in our Open Gym Program.
There is a High School Bible Study on Tuesdays evenings during the
school year. Finally the Presbyterian Youth
Connection meets as a fellowship, mission, worship and study group from
7-8:30pm on Wednesday evenings. Twice a year the high school
youth plan and implement a Youth Sunday for the entire church.
This is a wonderful opportunity for young people to use their gifts in
praise of God. High School Youth are also actively involved in
the life of the whole church through mission, committees, worship,
education, volunteering and more.
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Almost
every Sunday morning September through May, a middle school group meets
to study and discuss the Bible from 9:30-10:30. Most Sunday evenings from October through
March, a group of youth and adults meet in Fellowship Hall to play
basketball in our Open Gym Program. The Middle School Logos group
meets from 5-7pm on Wednesday nights with dinner.
They do mission projects, study scripture, play games and
worship. Middle School Youth are invited to participate in Youth
Sundays and the life of the church on a regular basis through ushering,
teaching, working in the nursery, helping with mission projects and
more.
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Our
Confirmation program is a mentor based ministry which runs from January
through April. Anyone who is in high
school (9th-12th grades) is welcome to join this exploration of their
faith and commitment to the church.
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Through
out the year we hold many retreats, camps and special events for both
age groups. Trips to the corn maze,
parties in homes and lock-ins are just a few of our annual special
events. We have a number of retreats during the year including
fall retreats and presbytery-wide ski gatherings.
Our
presbytery hosts a resident camp each summer at Westminster Spires,
south of Red Lodge. The dates are usually in July and early
August. Relationships are built throughout the churches in our
presbytery.
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Sunday
Wednesday
MS Logos 5-7pm
HS PYC 7-8:30pm
(During the summer all age groups meet together from 7-9pm)
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