St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Living, Growing and Sharing in God's Love

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HOW CAN THIS BE? – YOUTH MINISTRY

Our lives are rooted in love. In the beginning, God loved us and pronounced us “very good.” Love flowed over us in the waters of Baptism, and parents and godparents made sacred promises to help us experience, learn, and grow in God’s love. Together, parents and congregation work with love to be faithful to these promises.

The foundation of Youth Ministry at St. John’s is these baptismal promises and the renewal covenant made in confirmation. Everything in Youth Ministry at St. John’s is centered in supporting our young people as they learn and grow. With Christ as the focus, we walk with our young people as they discover how to step out in love. We pray that our young people will be invaded by the Holy Spirit and come to deeply believe how much God loves them and how they are empowered to love others.

COMING TOGETHER IN LOVE – WORSHIP

Worship is the heart of our life together at St. John’s. When we hear God’s Word, receive Holy Communion, sing praises to our Lord and pray, we become God’s people.

Worshiping regularly is like any other habit - it must be practiced and affirmed in order to become a regular part of a person’s life. To this end, our young people are expected to worship every week. During worship each student signs a Yellow Communication card and places it in the offering plate.

There are three opportunities to Worship at St. John’s every week: Saturday Evening Light at 5 PM and Sunday morning at 8 AM and 10:45 AM. In July and August, Evening Light remains at 5 PM, while the Sunday morning worship option is at 9 AM.

LEARNING TOGETHER IN LOVE – YOUTH CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Confirmation For Seventh through Ninth Graders

Some of our young people have enjoyed Confirmation so much, they ask to come back after they are Confirmed, especially to the retreats. To learn more about confirmation, click here...

Tenth through Twelfth Grade -- the Journey Continues
On Sunday mornings, many of our Sr. high schoolers serve as Sunday School Teachers, Musicians and helpers. Others gather for their own class FaithLens. To learn more about FaithLens, click here....

PLAYING TOGETHER IN LOVE –YOUTH FELLOWSHIP

Young people in grades seven through twelve participate in a variety of activities through our Youth Fellowship as we engage in our mission to live, serve, and grow in God’s love through Jesus Christ our Lord. They are organized under the leadership of our Youth Minister. Adult leaders and volunteers are involved in each activity, giving the youth a chance to develop significant relationships with adult role models of both genders. Young people are always encouraged to bring friends to Youth Fellowship activities. This introduction to our congregation can serve as a wonderful means of proclaiming the good news of God in Christ through words and deeds.

MINISTERING TOGETHER IN LOVE - SERVING

Serving is ministry. It takes many forms in many different places. Everyone at St. John’s, and therefore every young person, is expected to serve within our congregation. It can be as an acolyte or other worship leader, Sunday School aide, nursery helper, choir member, or usher....

Service goes beyond the congregation with participation in the Phoenixville Community CROP Walk and other projects such as collecting soda tabs for the Ronald McDonald House, participating in the Adopt-a-Highway program, and walking in the Phoenixville Relay for Life. ALL of our young people can participate!

Additionally, teens in grades 9-12 have the opportunity to go on Mission Days in Philadelphia. The day begins with a visit to Emanuel Lutheran Church in North Philly or a tour of a college campus for the older teens). The days continue with our teens cooking and serving Feast Incarnate, a meal provided by University Lutheran Church to homeless and poverty-stricken people living with AIDS and HIV. The day ends around UniLu’s baptismal pool, where we reflect on the experience and “where we saw Jesus” that day.

For teens who are required to complete Senior Projects for school, we are happy to help with a faith-based project. We can support the teens as they put together and complete a project that will match their school’s requirements to their gifts and passion for ministry - another way our youth learn to live out their faith in the world.

That’s just some of what we do at St. John’s to live out the Bible verse “We love because God first loved us.” There’s so much more – come and see!

For more information about Youth Ministry at St. John, please contact our Parish Educator.