Youth Ministry Mission
Grace Church Youth Ministry partners with parents to raise up the next generation of life-long followers of Jesus by committing to gospel-centered discipleship, redemptive relationships, and generational integration.
Parent Partnership: Because God has called christian parents to disciple their children in the way of Jesus, we support, equip, and collaborate with parents to raise up the next generation together.
Gospel-Centered Discipleship: Because faith in Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture is the way of salvation and spiritual maturity, we teach youth to see Christ in all of Scripture, apply the gospel to all of life, and follow Jesus in the world.
Redemptive Relationships: Because God has made us a covenant family, we cultivate relationships with and between youth that reflect the love of Christ and encourage the love of God and others.
Generational Integration: Because youth are indispensable members of the church body today, we equip, enable, and encourage youth to participate in the life, worship, and work of the church.
Youth Ministry Rhythms
Youth Retreats:
Fall Retreat: In August we pack our bags and spend a weekend camping in Webster Park. Because we believe that God speaks through His Word, we pack in four lessons from scripture. Because we believe that it is easier to hear God when we slow down and unplug, the schedule is chosen to preserve unmanaged free time and quiet time. And of course, we will have a photo scavenger hunt.
Spring Retreat: In May we hold our annual film festival. Youth are invited to a day-long Saturday retreat involving lessons from scripture, musical worship, lawn games, and an organized movie-making game. I mean it, we film movies and edit them in a single afternoon. This retreat is just clean fun.
Youth Group:
Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:30pm: If you have ever been in a growth group, you will immediately understand how our youth group functions. On one Wednesday a month we simply extend our Christian fellowship past Sunday morning into the rest of the week. Sometimes this looks like baking apple pies together. Other times it’s going to a hockey game. During the remainder of the month we dig deeper into the Scripture from Sunday and spend quality time praying together. These three – fellowship, scripture, prayer – are powerful means of grace, and we pray that our kids learn to rely on their fruit.
Discipleship Classes:
Sunday mornings from 9:15-10:15am: Classes normally follow curriculum chosen for scriptural faithfulness and cultural relevance. Occasionally we break the mold by engaging in panel discussions or debating current moral dilemmas. Growing in faith includes growing in the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves, and we pray that every Sunday morning our kids are drawn from this knowledge into worship.
6th-8th Grade: Discipleship classes will resume in the Fall
9th-12th Grade: Discipleship classes will resume in the Fall