OUR MISSION
We offer a broad Christian education to our youth which will give them a foundation for building a lifelong set of personal, moral, ethical and faith-filled beliefs.
Our youth programs are intended to foster:
- a sense of belonging in our church life through conveying God’s love and acceptance
- a sense of connection to the wider church by teaching participation in the body of Christ
- the development of leadership skills to guide youth to discover God’s call to responsible action
- spiritual growth and faith development to help our youth live in relationship with God
YOUTH GROUP
Youth Group is all of our youth in grades 7-12. Through conversations, fun activities, overnights, mission trips, meals together and service, we encourage them to develop a sense of belonging and strong group identity.
SUNDAY MORNINGS
Each Sunday, we gather upstairs in the Youth Room for a combination of worship, bible study, sermon talk-backs, outreach, crafts and conversation. We often have guest adults from our congregation who share their faith journey and talk with us about current events, living a faithful life, life in our church and more. On the first Sunday of each month we remain in the worship service, serve as ushers and scripture readers and participate in Communion.
SERVICE PROJECTS
Service is a large part of our Youth Group. We participate locally with Feed My Starving Children, a Blanket Drive with Catholic Charities, the Friendship Center, the Salvation Army Food Pantry and Loaves and Fishes. We also support Heifer International and Equal Exchange through Fundraising and sales. Our Sr. High youth participate in summer work trips with Habit for Humanity, either locally or out-of-state.
CONFIRMATION
Confirmation Class (CC) is intended for young teens (ages 13-15), but is open to any teen who is interested in the confirmation process. CC in mainline churches has traditionally been viewed as threshold young people must cross in order to become a church member. This has sometimes involved being able to recite creeds and articulate the specifics of Christian doctrine in order to be confirmed in the church. In short, the process has been “believe in order to belong.”
Our CC flips this process on its head. We begin with the premise that all of our teens already belong in our church. It is recognized that each person regardless of age is on a journey of faith. We affirm that each person’s faith develops and changes; it is not static. So, CC is about helping and supporting our teens as they begin to take ownership over their own faith journey.