Upcoming Events:
Click here to go to the Youth Activities Calendar (Word Document)
Missions:
The senior high youth (grades 9 through 12) at Five Forks participate in mission trips every other year. We are hoping to alternate each trip, with one being in the states and then one as an overseas mission trip. With this format our youth will have the opportunity to travel abroad at least once while attending Five Forks. We will be ministering to the Navajo Mission in New Mexico in August of 2009. There will also be other opportunities for all of our youth to serve in the area of missions, such as the Chambersburg Project and other local mission outreaches.
Wednesday Youth Night:
At Five Forks Church we have both Junior and Senior High Youth Groups. These groups meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:45 to 8:15. The teens meet together for a time of praise and worship or games, and then break into different classes for Bible Study. At this time it will be broken down by Junior High (7th and 8th grade) and Senior High (Grades 9 thru 12). However, we are hoping to offer several different classes in the future, which will give our youth the opportunity to begin with a time of praise and worship with their peers and then go to a class where their specific needs and specific desires can be met. This will be dependent on the number of willing teachers that we have available to teach the various "elective" classes.
Sunday School:
We offer Sunday School Classes for Junior High and Senior High during the second hour (9:30 - 10:30) of church. Our lessons and topics are all biblically based on helping younger people to stand strong in the world they live in and to be lights to their generation. We desire to fulfill what Jesus taught us in Matthew 28 where he said "go and make disciples of all nations..." that is our desire at Five Forks, to see our young people as Christ's disciples!
Outdoor and Recreation:
Outdoor and Recreation (O&R) is an outreach ministry within our youth ministry. Its objective is to first identify needs in our church and then to make opportunities for our youth to respond to these needs. Secondly O&R is an outreach to youth who are either not churched or not Christians. The goal is to give youth an opportunity to bring young people to an event that is non-threatening. College football games, amusement parks, hiking outings, bonfires and cookouts are just a few of the events that O&R can have. Our hope is that young people will come to an event and then be interested in doing more with our groups and eventually find a church home at Five Forks. This ministry has not been very active recently, but our hope is to have it thriving again in the near future.
Youth Band:
Five Forks features four youth praise and worship bands. These bands will play during our morning service that is for youth, as well as during our Wednesday evening or Sunday evening praise and worship time. They may also play at special events throughout the year.
Discipleship Class:
We are planning to begin a discipleship class in 2009. This would be similar to The Vine that was held on Monday evenings a couple of years ago. We will have a lesson taught by various people in the church and then break into small accountability groups. We may even try to have prayer groups meeting prior to the lesson being taught. We will most likely hold our discipleship class on Wednesday evenings, and the goal is to have it up and running by the spring of 2009.
Drama Productions:
This is something new that will hopefully come to fruition. With the help of several adults, our plans are to see a drama team that can help lead worship, perform skits that may apply to sermons or lessons, and hopefully put on a full production for the church in the future.
Quiz Team:
We currently have one quiz team here at Five Forks, the first we've had in quite a few years. With the help of our quiz team coaches, Denise Misner and Glenda Knechtel, they have been studying and practicing diligently for the past few months and seem to have a bright future. They will be participating in quiz team competitions throughout the year. In addition, we are open to having more than one team, so please let Pastor Todd know if you are interested in this. It is another great opportunity for our youth to get involved. And it's a great way to increase your knowledge of the bible!
For any information dealing with Youth Ministries, contact Pastor Todd Smith @ 717-762-2991 or todd@fiveforkschurch.org.