About ...Y.M.
Youth Ministry/Mission
One component of ministry to and with youth at South Church is Y.M. or the Youth in Mission ministry.
Our goals for Y.M. are:
- Provide fellowship opportunities
- Engage our youth in meaningful exploration of their own gifts
- Enrich their experience of Christian community and service
- Engage our youth in meaningful experiences of being called into the world
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2009 Freshman Sophomore Trip to New York City |
Why Service Learning?
We feel that having students engage in service learning will meet our goals in ways other programs may not and give our youth real and valuable experiences of putting their faith into action– discipleship! Throughout the year, students will be stretched to use their own skills and gifts in a variety of ways and share the love we are called to offer the world in the model of Jesus Christ. They will be challenged and enriched as they meet others in life circumstances very different from their own. At times, we will challenge them to stretch themselves beyond their own comfort zones.
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Adult Advisors
To support our service learning projects, we will have adult mentors (advisors) to guide our students and help them learn more about the many ways God is active in their lives and in the world. This will include some of the more traditional elements like: community building, fun and fellowship as they are involved in fundraising and service projects, retreats to prepare the community for the work ahead and get to know one another even better. If you are interested in being an advisor, contact any member of the BDE Youth.
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Many Options
YM is a year-long program containing many opportunities that will be open to all interested students. One component of the program is a mission immersion experience, i.e. Mission trip. Participation in the mission immersion trips entails a desire and significant commitment on the part of students, parents, and adult advisors. Because of the demands involved in developing and executing an immersion trip, we will ask students who want to be a part of the trip community to make a written commitment to that community and consistently help share the load of planning and community building by involvement throughout the year.
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We recognize that students have many opportunities and activities. We want to offer programming that meets their needs. For the students who want to be involved with Y.M., but cannot commit to the demands of an immersion trip, we still welcome and encourage them to participate in all of the service projects, fundraisers, and fellowship opportunities.
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Desire or Require
Students who have the desire to be a part of the mission trip will be asked to demonstrate that desire by their actions. They will be expected to covenant with their respective Y.M. team to participate fully. Parents will be asked to support their youth in planning fundraising activities, working as chaperones on various service projects or assist in other ways. All youth will be expected to attend meetings and to lend their support to at least two fundraisers and two service learning projects during the year. We set these minimum standards not as requirements, but as a way to determine a student’s desire to be a part of the program.
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Three Age Groups
Each year we form three YM teams composed of youth, lead advisors, and trip coordinators.
The three teams are:
Grades 7 & 8: Middle School Youth Mission – Jane DeMaio lead advisor
Grades 9 & 10 Face-to-face Youth Mission – Pam Reale lead advisor
Grades 11 & 12: Bricks-and-mortar Youth Mission – Elayna Szkrybalo lead advisor
A number of adults will work with youth leaders on each team. Depending upon the number of students participating, we have needed as many as 24 adult advisors as well as parent volunteers. The leader advisors for each team will be a part of and work closely with the BDE team for Youth. They will work together to:
- Plan trips and associated logistics
- Communicate with each YM group
- Communicate with parents
- Support and track fundraising for each youth participant
- Support and track service project opportunities for each youth participant
- Recruit advisors and adult participants to assist as needed
We always need parents to help with various parts of the trip planning and encourage their participation.
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