Northminster Youth

Second Sunday Kickback: July edition is just days away! Joins us for a low key night in the Youth House. BYO dinner if desired; snacks and drinks provided.

Did Passport Missions get you hooked on serving? Or did you have to miss our trip up to Virginia 😢? Either way, we’ve got a surprising opportunity for you! Join us on July 18 in [REDACTED] for a chance to serve and an upfront lesson on the surprising nature of following God. This year’s shirt is included, but you can buy it separately if you aren’t coming. Swipe through for a preview of the shirt, including a photo of the exact textile it will be printed on. Trip registration or shirt payment can be made via the link below.
https://linktr.ee/NorthminsterYouth

Now that we’ve had some sleep and maybe even unpacked, here’s a very important, non-exhaustive list of people and things we’re thankful for:
-For Amber, Dabbs, Kathleen, Paul, and bonus driver Ryan, our amazing chaperones, even if some of us weren’t ready for your dancing enthusiasm late in the week.
-For and the Caregiving committee, for making this trip possible, praying for us and sending us reminders of your prayers, and supporting our ministry
-For patience through a half dozen fire alarms in the girls’ dorm including late at night, for quick first responders, and an eventual repaired detector
-For Cole and the rest of the graduated seniors getting to hear that great reminder again, “Oh the places you’ll go!”
-For going from barely warmed up to taking 2nd in the volleyball tournament
-For all the Northminster youth who represented us through games on stage and question of the day segments, including Dudley crushing his game
-For slushies and ice cream gifted to the very hot Habitat job site
-For chances to bond over the World Cup
-For lots of new friends in new places
-For getting to see Cole and Ann Arrington, our oldest camper and our youngest camper, carry up our group’s missions offering
-For staff and all they did to make this week everything it was
-And, central to it all, our students who leaned in to a massive road trip, new experiences, unexpected high temperatures, fire alarm-interrupted sleep, the inevitable unexpected occurrences in missions, all to come back closer to God, closer to each other, and better prepared for the ways God will call us to serve next.

What makes Missions, Passport Missions? A thoughtful philosophy of ministry that mixes groups across churches for 3 hours of service a day. Northminster Youth were spread across the Harrisonburg area. Geoff, Dudley, and Andrew helped clean the homeless shelter on Tuesday before aiding with the rest of the week. Amber, Marlow, and Sterling sorted clothing to help resettled refugees through . Hallie and Nick rolled up their sleeves at the . Paul and Vaughn worked with . Madeleine and Ann Arrington spent time at a local retirement community. Jimmy, Benjamin, Thomas, and Cole served down on the farm at . But no matter where our youth were, they represented Christ well, grew in their faith, and prepared for all the next steps of service God has in front of us.

Our second full day at camp started with Jimmy representing us well in an opening game and ended with Cole praying during worship. During worship we had a tactile prayer experience to remind us of all the places we’ve been and will go with God. During the day we served again at our mission sites (more on that in tomorrow’s post), but last and loudest of all the Barbie Disco Dance Party!

Every day at Missions starts with individual devotion time, and opening celebration, inter-church Bible study groups for teens, and the adults getting a participatory look at what our teens are learning. Yesterday’s theme in Bible study and worship encouraged us to get ready for what was to come. Our students then competed in the Rec Party games and ended with night with a great conversation at church group time about what we’re seeing during our mission site work about Harrisonburg, its needs, and its strengths.

Second day of our trip, opening day for Missions. A rocking final day of our journey, opening celebration and Bible study, plus getting the full college campus experience with a late night fire alarm. We’re loading up right now for our first day at our missions sites!

Passport Missions is just starting tonight, but the Northminster Youth fun is already well into gear. We dove into the Tennessee Aquarium, went out together, and met Dolly at our hotel. We invite you to pray for us tonight as we get ready for our first full day tomorrow!

Our children’s ministry and Northminster Youth left bright and early before worship this morning for their respective weeks at PASSPORT Camps. We invite you to be in prayer for a great time of growth and formation, as well as the local service and missions our youth will be doing.

Summer is in 🏌️full swing ⛳️ at the Northminster Youth Ministry!