Youth Ministry Committee, Meeting Minutes

February 27, 2007

 

Present:  Nathan Fuhrman, Joel Hays, Brandon Lewis, Susan Pierce, Lisa Rosenberg

 

PARENT MEETING:  Brandon met with parents of SAPC youth after worship on Sunday, February 25.  Approximately 20 parents attended.  Brandon spoke about our family- and congregation-based youth ministry, where communication is open and goals include spiritual development.  Karen Raabe distributed signup sheets for CREW meals and parent contact information.  Parents were also asked to email Karen ([email protected]) with information about any extracurricular activities of our youth (sports, music, plays, etc.)  Brandon shared his excitement about our interns, Jonathan Fite and Kari Laehr.  A youth event calendar will be distributed soon.  In Sunday School, the senior high class is studying Christian vocabulary, and middle schoolers are studying the Lord’s Prayer.  A room is being sought at Saint Andrew that middle schoolers can call their own.  Brandon hopes to offer plenty of “hands-on” mission opportunities.  Hillary stressed that their home is open to all youth, and everyone seemed to enjoy the recent Super Bowl party there.  Brandon welcomes calls from youth and parents; his cell phone is 206-354-1098, and his home phone is 940-382-0474.  Additional parent meetings will be held in the future, perhaps on a quarterly basis. 

 

YOUTH SUNDAY:  Planning is underway in Senior High Sunday School and CREW meetings. 

 

SENIOR DINNER:  Nathan sent postcards to parents of seniors, requesting photos. 

 

WHIRLY BALL (WB):  The WB trip for CREW was fun, with 10 youth and 3 adults attending.  The WB trip for Middle School will be rescheduled. 

 

MISSION:  Lisa suggested a “mystery” mission trip, where youth are not told the destination until the trip has begun. 

 

Brandon described a possible mission trip THIS SUMMER to Bay St. Louis (BSL), Mississippi, which is the same destination as the LINK’s mission trip planned for Spring Break.  There is a person at a church in BSL who helps to coordinate the work and hospitality for mission workers.  The trip would cost about $40/person, excluding transportation.  Perhaps an inter-generational trip would be especially meaningful for our congregation.  Brandon and Joel will explore the idea of a trip, perhaps in July, with the Mission Committee,

 

Joel introduced YouthWorks (www.youthworks.com), an organization which could help us with long-term planning for future mission trips.  At St. Andrew, perhaps we can offer, each summer, a local mission trip for middle schoolers, possibly combined with a lock-in, where our youth can get some basic mission experience.  High schoolers would have opportunities to go on national (and, perhaps in alternating years, international) mission trips. 

 

Brandon introduced the “Journey With a Village” program, offered by Agros (www.agros.org).  This group helps churches to develop relations with a community in order to break the cycle of poverty.  It is a long-term program, with many trips to the same village, working on different projects over the years.  Brandon described a week-long trip taken by 14 high school youth from Westminster Church in Irvine.  While they lived in a community center somewhere in El Salvador, they worked with the community to build an irrigation system.  Brandon and Joel will also present these opportunities to the Mission Committee as soon as possible. 

 

The backpacking trip is tentatively scheduled for August 5-11.  Limiting participation in this trip to senior high students was recommended. 

 

Plans are coming together up for the choir/mission trip to Tennessee in June.  Vacation Bible School is scheduled for the last week in June.