Our Youth
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Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) Grades 6-12, meets each Sunday evening at 5:00...
The life you live and the decisions you make when you are a teenager will not only change your world forever, but might even change the world for thousands of others.
You are important!
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At First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), we encourage our youth to grow in their spiritual walk with Christ by building positive and meaningful relationships, studying God's word, and reaching out to those in need through outreach and mission work.
Each week we offer our youth different activities that enable them to learn God's word and apply it as well. Our programs include Bible study, outreach opportunities, and projects that benefit the church family.
Our young people are very active in the life of the Church. There are many opportunities for service. From very young, they are able to participate in specific areas of our worship service, including acolytes, leading the congregation in prayer readings, singing in the Chancel Choir, and Rainbow Kids--our children's choir. Rainbow Kids not only encourages a child's voice, but also teaches each child how to be a member of a loving and caring group.
The youth of our church have many opportunities to participate in camps, retreats, and other regional meetings. These events strengthen their relationships with Christ and each other. Everyone, including the adult leaders, return excited and energized, ready to share their experiences!
CYF - An Overview by Tim Holder, our group's Adult Leader
C.Y.F. or Christian Youth Fellowship is for grades 6-12
and meets most Sunday evenings from 5-6:30 in the
Disciple Center gym. Our typical meeting includes a
brief lesson with a Christian background. The theme
that may range from peer pressure, to God's love, or
violence to unity. All of the lessons are scripture-based
but are presented in a way that youth can understand
and relate to. We also have a good meal with food,
drink and dessert supplied by our wonderful parents who take turns feeding us. After that we utilize our fantastic new gym facility with typical gym activities including basketball, volleyball, whiffle ball and dodge ball. We also play special games like scooter hockey, belly bumpers and laser tag.
Throughout the year we do many extra activities--some are fundraisers and some are fun-raisers. In January we make Super Bowl Snack Mix. In the summer we always have a pool party and barbecue as well as go camping. In July we pick sweet corn supplied by one of our generous congregation members. In September we have our Annual 50's Drive-In where people drive up in cars and the youth go out and take their food orders and deliver it to them while they watch a movie in the parking lot.
We take field trips with a picnic, and hike to Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. We enjoy blacklight bowling, paintball, laser tag and have scavenger hunts. In December we sell poinsettias and use the money to adopt a family for Christmas. We have carried out food baskets at the Gospel Rescue Mission and delivered Christmas cards to nursing homes. We also have a H.U.G.S. Tree (hats, underwear, gloves and socks) that we collect and distribute to Southwest and Central Elementary schools for children in need. We finish out the year with a C.Y.F. Christmas Party!
When we have fundraisers we use the money to support our extra youth activities and outreach projects. Two years ago when we built the new Disciple Center, the youth raised over $9000.00 to help purchase the in-ground volleyball system and sound system and speakers in the gym. We also paid for the completion of our youth room.
C.Y.F. meets most Sunday evenings throughout the year at 5 p.m. We meet on a more limited basis during the summer, only doing the special events. That allows more time for the youth to follow their other athletic and family pursuits. At C.Y.F we always welcome visitors and friends. If you are looking for a church with activities that keep your young people involved in fun, Christian, educational, and outreach projects--come give us a try!
