Youth

Whitelick Presbyterian Church

2011 youth discipleship program at Whitelick.

The Youth Disciple Ministry Team (YDMT) spent many hours this past spring and summer evaluating the youth discipleship program offered at Whitelick. Adult Discipleship and Worship Ministry Teams were included in our discussions.

We discussed enhancements that would benefit both youth and adults. Below is an explanation of the challenge and the enhancement that has been made to the Whitelick youth discipleship program. Other churches have successfully incorporated these enhancements into their youth program. We encourage parents to take advantage of these wonderful opportunities for the benefit of their children.

YDMT acknowledges parents know their children better than we do. These enhancements may not work for everyone. However, we strongly encourage parents to try them at least once.

Teachers have only 35 minutes to escort children to the classroom, get them settled and teach a lesson.

The Worship Ministry Team moved the placement of the children's story to earlier in the service. This will give teachers 5-10 more minutes of teaching time.

Many families with children do not attend church on the 2nd Sunday of the month or only the parents attend.

The children in grades 1 through 12 will leave the sanctuary after the children's story to attend youth worship in Fellowship Hall supervised by Melissa Bauzo and Beth McGuire.

There will be Sundays during the year in which the youth will attend worship in the sanctuary, such as World Communion in October, during Advent and Lent, and at other times.

Our youth need to be better educated on the purpose and meaning of worship and the special services throughout the liturgical calendar year.

We want the youth to experience all aspects of worship. By educating them about worship, prayer, music, the sacraments, etc. they will be better able to understand and appreciate worship in the sanctuary.

Bible verses and lessons do not take place at Whitelick until kindergarten.

We offer a monthly Bible verse and activity page in the nursery for children age 2 through preschool. We will also be playing music on the CD player.

The pews in the Sanctuary are pretty full most Sundays during the school year. Once the children leave for class the sanctuary empties out. On some Sundays it is hard to find a seat.

As children enter the sanctuary, children, youth and teens will sit in the first two pews and on rugs on the floor on the organ side of the sanctuary with their classroom teachers. This will make the transition at the beginning and end of the children’s story flow better and be less time consuming. It will also make it easier for adults to find seats in the sanctuary. This will be done every Sunday.

Parent of infants and young children often struggle with getting their child to the nursery, getting them settled and returning to the sanctuary without interrupting worship. This is often stressful for the parent, the child and for those worshiping in the sanctuary.

Parents are encouraged to take their infants through 3 year olds to the nursery before the 10:30 worship service begins. We have refreshed the nursery, added new toys, music and a lesson that will help this age group feel welcomed and comfortable staying in the nursery.

Youth Descipleship

Letter to Parents from Beth McGuire

Parents,

Yesterday we held the first youth worship service for grades 1 through 12. Following worship we had a discussion about worship and its importance in our lives. Attached are the bulletin and notes from our worship discussion. (The discussion page was not distributed to the youth.) We distributed the lyrics to the songs we sang to the youth as they entered the room for worship.

Fifteen youth met in room 2 and sat in a semi-circle. We had a communion table with the Christ Candle and the communion elements. Abe Bauzo played his guitar and helped us along with the hymns. For communion, we passed the bread around to each of the youth. One held the bread while the person sitting next to him/her took a piece of the bread. Melissa walked around the semi-circle with the cup. Melissa led worship and I assisted.

From my perspective, it was a wonderful service. It was great to see different age youth sitting together... interspersed. It was really heartwarming to see a high school senior sitting with a 6 year old boy on either side of him, sharing the Hymn Supplement and the bulletin. It was equally heartwarming to see another high senior helping the 5 year old girl sitting next to him with the bread during communion. The youth said they liked having worship together. They showed an eagerness to continue having a youth worship service as well as to participate in the service. There was a lot of participation (all ages) during the discussion of worship.

Our next youth worship service will be Sunday, November 14 and the discussion will focus on prayer. We have asked the youth to help with this and future worship services. Please take some time between now and our next youth worship service to help your child use his/her talents and spiritual gifts to make a contribution to the youth worship service. Some suggestions are listed below. Please submit items to me or Melissa for inclusion in the bulletin and the worship service.

Songs: These could be songs from Veggie Tales, contemporary worship songs, etc. We will obtain the lyrics. We are building a youth worship hymnal. It will contain some hymns from our Hymn Supplement, the hymnal as well as contemporary worship songs the youth find meaningful. Please feel free to send me the names of songs your children like or sing along to for inclusion in the youth hymnal.
Artwork: We will need artwork for the cover of the youth worship bulletin as well as the youth hymnal. This can be based on the liturgical calendar, interpretation of a Bible story, something that conveys what worship means to a particular child/tween/teen, etc.
Musical Instruments: Youth who play an instrument are encouraged to contact Melissa or me to share their musical talents during worship.
Singing: Perhaps your child has a nice voice and would be willing to sing a solo or in a small group for one of the hymns one Sunday.
Prayers & Poems: Youth of all ages are encouraged to write prayers or poems that we can incorporate in the worship service or select poems and prayers that are meaningful to them.
Liturgist: Read the scripture reading during the service and/or lead prayers.
Greeter: We will need a youth to serve as greeter and to distribute bulletins as the youth enter the room to worship.
Acolyte: We need a youth to light the Christ Candle on the communion table at the beginning of worship.

There will be an offering during the youth worship. It may be in the form of money, non-perishable food items, toiletries and other items that can be donated to a shelter, etc.

After the first of the year, we will invite parents and other adults to attend/visit the youth worship service. We need a little time to work out the logistics.

In the meantime, please pray with the youth and for the youth as they learn and experience worship together. We hope they will develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of worship.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact me or Melissa.

Have a blessed day,

Beth

Get Real Ministries for middle school and high school youth throughout Hendricks County will resume when school is back in session. Contact Kendra Mallory for details.

Watch/listen for more about youth events and activities for 2010-2011 in future issues of Church Chat, Minutes for Mission and on the youth bulletin boards in the hallway.

Please feel free to contact Beth McGuire at 837-8666 or beth688@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions or would like additional information.

Hospitality

Youth Discipleship Ministry Team has been asked to host two lunches after second service. The money from the free will offering will be used for youth curriculum materials and VBS. Please prayerfully consider helping when it is our turn to host the lunch. There will be a sign-up sheet for this soon.

Greeters & Acolytes

We invite the youth to greet and/or acolyte for the 10:30 a.m. service on the second Sunday of each month from September through May. This is a wonderful opportunity for the youth to serve in their church. Sign-up sheets are posted on the youth bulleting boards. The dates we are responsible for are:

Youth Programs & Children's Sermons

We are in need of adults and high school youth to volunteer to teach/facilitate the youth discipleship program for 2011-2012 as well as present the Children's Sermon.

We have three age groups this year, thus the need for additional volunteers. High school youth may teach/facilitate the children or tweens on the fourth Sunday of each month when not attending Snak-N-Yak.

The lessons are all prepared and placed in a folder. The supplies needed are located in the room. The preparation time should be less than 30 minutes. The lessons can be picked up from me or Lynn Turner the Sunday before the scheduled lesson. The age groups are listed below. The sign-up sheets are posted on the bulletin boards in the hallway between the church office and the kitchen. Please sign-up or contact me directly.

Children - ages 4 through grade 3
Tweens - grades 4-7
High School - grades 8-12

The Children's Sermons are all prepared in advance. We need adults and high school youth to present the sermons on the 1st, 3rd and 4th Sunday of each month. Please sign-up or contact me directly. Beth McGuire

Calling All Boys,
The Mission Team has formed a Cub Scout Pack at Whitelick. All interested boys and adults should contact the Mission Team or leave a note in Mat Bryant’s church mailbox.

Cub Scouting is open to boy’s ages 7 to 10 or first through fifth grade. Memberships may be transferred from other packs. There are also a variety of adult leadership positions open. Training will be held for all adults so no experience is needed.

Remember that you are only signing up for one year at a time. This is open to all boys in the community so if you have neighbors let them know and invite them to our organizing meeting in August.

Nursery Services provided every Sunday during Worship Services




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