Preteens and teens grow
in faith, service, and leadership.
At First Baptist Church, our vision for youth is that every preteen and teenager would be engaged in the development of a life-long faith of his or her own. Toward that end, we provide opportunities for youth to serve, study, build community, and grow spiritually, all within an intergenerational mentoring community. At First Baptist Church, we understand preteens and teenagers as equal partners in the pursuit of justice, kindness, and faith. We are committed to providing a safe, nurturing environment where preteens and teenagers can feel comfortable asking difficult questions, exploring big ideas, and being their authentic selves without judgment. We welcome all preteens and teenagers, regardless of faith background.
Sunday Morning: Worship, Learn, Listen, Lead
The backbone of our youth ministry is our Sunday morning experience. On Sundays, our whole church community comes together for spiritual renewal so that we can go out into the world as agents of transformative love. Our youth are a huge part of this! Middle schoolers and high schoolers are full participants in the Sunday morning worship services, helping to serve and lead in all aspects of worship: greeting, ushering, acolyting, reading, praying, singing, playing an instrument, and even sometimes preaching! Following worship, our youth enjoy refreshments and conversation during our intergenerational fellowship time. Afterwards, the middle schoolers and high schoolers gather in the Youth Room for an hour of Church School, a time of learning, sharing, and growing in faith with their peers.
Youth Group Events: Spiritual, Social, Service
Throughout the month, we provide opportunities for friendship, service, and spiritual growth. Our youth gatherings include monthly youth lunches (one Sunday each month), film nights (one Friday each month), and serving a meal to the homeless and hungry (one Tuesday each month). The youth gather throughout the year for other special social, service, or spiritual events throughout the year. In addition to special gatherings and events specifically for youth, we also welcome the participation in our church-wide service projects and social gatherings.
Youth Mission: A Short-Term Trip with a Life-Time Effect
The highlight of each year is our summer youth mission trip. These service-learning trips help our youth focus on faith, service, and leadership as they grow in their relationships with God and each other. We spend each school year preparing for these trips with team meetings and fundraising events, and we come away knowing that not only did we make a difference in a community where our presence mattered, but that we, too, were changed for good by the relationships we experienced there. The youth who go on these trips share in Sunday worship with the entire congregation about their experiences; the trips have an impact on the whole congregation. Past trips have included urban experiences in Detroit, Charleston, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.; Native American reservation experiences in Wind River, Wyoming and Spirit Lake, North Dakota; and rural experience in El Coyol, Nicaragua.