Brady TenBarge, Youth Director
After a challenging 2020 in which “Zooming” and “social distancing” were buzz words, the Youth Ministry at Christ Church responded well to in-person gatherings in 2021. We experienced steady growth in Youth Group on Wednesday evenings, averaging 21 students.
The decision was made to split our group to offer programs geared to the developmental needs of our middle school and high school students. This proved to be beneficial for all and provided our high school students with leadership opportunities. We saw several high schoolers come alongside our middle school students and become agents of positive, Christ-centered influence as they taught, led discussions, and games during the middle school Youth Group.
Our focus during Lent was to reimagine and re-engage spiritual practices as a way to notice God more every day. This experiential growth with God prepared the group for the annual Good Friday Youth Service. We were able to offer the service both in-person and online and the good news of Jesus Christ was well received by our church family and the community at large.
Over the summer, we sought to engage the needs of the world by partnering with our sister parish, St. Gabriel the Archangel, to offer a Beans and Rice Outreach Event with MetroCaring. This event proved to be a fruitful ministry in the faith lives of young people within our congregations and led to continued fellowship and faith formation among our youth.
In the Fall, the clergy at Christ Church began a monthly Youth Instructed Eucharist Service. This was an opportunity for our youth to ask questions about why we do what we do with the sacrament of the Eucharist. This service was well received and provided a deeper relationship among our clergy and students.
We rounded out the year with a series called, “What Does the Bible Say About ___?” It was designed to lead teenagers in critical conversations about their faith. We looked at topics like atheism, evolution, sexuality, gender identity, racism, etc., and raised challenging questions that don’t have easy answers, but helped our students think about them from a biblical perspective. This series was widely popular and we welcomed the most newcomers to our group during this time. Overall, this year was an exciting season in youth ministry at Christ Church as we grew closer to one another and the Lord Jesus.