Ministry With Young Disciples Blog

Youth groups from around the region are invited to send free throw teams to this event that benefits Family Promise of the Northland.  Collect donations for Family Promise (an organization of churches that supports homeless families in the Northland) and bring them with you to Park Hill Christian Church on Sunday, February 10th at 12:30 pm.

Your team can be as large or as small as you like – the best three scores from your teammates will make up your team score.  Prizes will be awarded for the 1st & 2nd shooters in each division (adults can have teams as well!), and prizes will be awarded for the highest fundraisers at the event.

For more information, contact Carl Prather:  bnprather@sbcglobal.net     816-714-8763  -or-  816-560-1908

Park Hill Christian Church address:  6601 NW 72nd Street, KCMO (2 blocks west of Exit 7 off I-29)

Are you a youth who is currently in 10th or 11th grade, who is passionate about camp and the church – and do you feel called to help lead regional youth events?  Are you an adult who cares deeply for young people, outdoor ministry and the development of youth leadership?  If your answer to either of these questions is “yes”, then you should consider applying for the 2013-2014 Greater K.C. Regional Youth Cabinet!

Applications (an application form plus an essay about your faith journey) are due at the Regional Office by March 8th.  Letters of recommendation (you need 3, as specified on the application form) are due by March 15th.  Once your complete application is received, you will be given an interview slot for some time on Saturday, April 27th.  Interviews will be conducted by a committee of seven youth and adults from around the Region.  Candidates who are chosen to serve on the RYC will be notified by mail and will be installed this summer at the closing worship of CYF Conference I or CYF Conference II.

Applications can be downloaded by clicking one of the following links:

• CABINET APPLICATION FOR YOUTH
• CABINET APPLICATION FOR ADULTS

If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Lara Blackwood Pickrel at 816-863-3692 or lara@hillsidecc.com.

What:  Greater KC Regional Leadership Seminar

Topic:  “Best Practices for Christian Education” and “Support for the Nearly Childless Church”

Speaker:  Malinda Spencer, Resource Director for Christian Education for the Heartland Presbytery (www.churchresourcecenter.org)

Date: September 29th, 2012

Time:  9:00 am to Noon

Location:  Belton Christian Church, 409 Airway Lane, Belton, MO 64012

Cost:  $12.00 (refreshments provided – checks payable to Christian Church of Greater K.C.)

For more information or to register, contact Rev. Ann Kircher (816-590-3526, pastorann@msn.com)

The Way Station is moving: Beginning in August we will meet at New Song Christian Church. We will continue to meet on the third Tuesday of each month from 7-9 pm. Dinner will be provided at each of gatherings! Young adults from throughout the Greater KC region are invited to join us for worship, dinner and fellowship.

New Song
8602 Northeast Sam Ray Road
Kansas City, MO 64156

For more information, please call Lara at 816-863-3692 or email her at lara@hillsidecc.com

At the beginning of the 2012 camping season, a goal was set for our campers to collectively raise $1000 for the Tall Oaks 100 campaign. The camping season is not yet over, and we have already exceeded this goal!! Well done, good and faithful campers!

Does your church not have a youth group – but you do have one or two teenagers?  Are you the only teenager at your church?  Do you want a youth group experience, without having to attend a different church to get it?

If any of these scenarios apply to you, you may be interested in reading more about an experiment that is about to take place:  the first Disciples “virtual youth group”.  The description below comes from Upper Midwest Regional Minister Bill Spangler-Dunning, on behalf of nPartnership:

The idea developed out of the need of some congregations who do not have youth ministry volunteers but would like to offer something for their youth. Sometimes there is only one or two high school youth in the church and if we don’t offer something then our youth and their parents seem to just drift away.

The group nPartnership.org (Youth Ministers Risking Another Way for the Whole Church) recruited Rev Anne Ross Bruce, Glasgow KY to serve as the lead youth minister in this new project. Rev. Bruce has attended another of the nPartnership projects called the Disciples Youth Ministry Network retreats and comes to the project with a strong commitment for finding new ways to be church together in this ever changing world.

The plan for the Virtual Youth Group will be to offer weekly online (full video) youth group times for 3 months and see where it goes. There is no cost to this exciting new development but it will be limited to 14 youth from across the US and Canada. Participants will need a webcam, high speed internet, a computer and permission from parents.

If this works we imagine that:
1. Churches that have no resources for a youth group will have an option for their youth.
2. Youth will experience the diversity of our church and be enriched for that experience.
3. The youth will want to get together live in the life of the church. This could be at the General Assembly in Orlando or meet for a mission trip somewhere.
4. We will be able to bring church leaders from across the world to journey alongside these youth by inviting these leaders in the same video room.
5. This ministry could be replicated and could benefit those congregations who presently can only call a youth minister 3/4 time as they can now rent out the other ¼ time to churches participating in these projects.
6. Youth who participate in this particular Journey of Faith together will invigorate the whole church as they find ways to share their leadership with the whole church.

**IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION OR WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS NEW VIRTUAL YOUTH GROUP, PLEASE CONTACT BILL SPANGLER-DUNNING AT:  bsdumw@gmail.com