Youth MINISTRY

Young people are navigating a complex and chaotic world. Our First Pres Youth Group is a shelter from the storms of life gathering weekly on Sunday nights. It is first and foremost, a place where young people are reminded of their identity in Jesus Christ. Together, we consider how God’s grace intersects with issues facing young people. We explore God’s mystery through the nuances of Christian faith. We become a family of God where all are known and welcomed. We serve the world in Christ’s name. We accompany all of this with a sense of laughter, joy, playfulness, and fun. Our Youth Group usually meets on Sunday evenings from 5-6:30pm, but check our church calendar to find out their full fun schedule.

TWAM is one of the true bright-spots and resounding legacies of our Youth Ministry. This is a week-long mission trip to Mexico where High Schoolers grow through profound acts of service and love. One of our leaders put it best when he said, “We can’t afford NOT to do this trip.” In a world where youth are more and more closed off to one another, this trip serves as a true adventure in a community where God’s living Spirit claims and confronts the lives of young people. Send your youth on this trip and they will return to you a transformed person. Our next event for TWAM 2025 is Sunday, Nov 24 from 4-8pm for the TWAM Soup Supper & Thanksgiving Worship in Lewis Hall. For more information about this incredible mission experience, contact Pastor Josh.

One of the ways we gather as a youth ministry is by reading together the story that shapes our lives. There are so many stories out there telling our young people who they should be, but Scripture tells them that they are caught up in something bigger than themselves–the grace and forgiveness of Jesus. Sometimes, we do this on Sunday mornings at “Breakfast & Bible” when we ask big questions about the strangeness of Scripture. On Wednesdays in the fall, we do this on Pastor Josh’s front porch at “Porch B-Stud” with Domino’s Pizza and Cheerwine soda in hand – as we read small passages slowly and ask what they might be saying to us. Wherever and whenever we gather, Scripture’s imagination forms our own.

As young people mature, they have the opportunity to publicly claim their faith as their own and affirm promises made on their behalf in baptism through a time of study and spiritual growth called Confirmation. Typically around the 8th grade year, students learn basic Christian theology and what it means to belong to a church. They get to ask a lot of questions along the way. Confirmation is a milestone that develops a young person’s sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging that contrasts with the aimlessness that can come from growing up in the digital age. Our Confirmation process culminates in a weekend Confirmation retreat, a Confirmation dinner where students put their faith into their own words, and a joyful Confirmation service in Sunday worship. To sign up your student, contact Pastor Josh.