Youth Ministry at First United Methodist Church is a place where all 7th – 12th graders are welcomed, cared for, and encouraged to be themselves and grow in there faith. Our mission is to guide teenagers toward a deep, relevant, and life-long faith in Jesus Christ. We do that by:

• Creating a environment where teenagers feel welcomed, included, and safe.
• Building meaningful relationship between peers and adult mentors
• Serving together
• Offing opportunities for teenagers to lead
• Empowering and encouraging families in areas of faith

This year’s Confirmation class is busy exploring what it means to be a Christian. They are in the process of creating statements describing their faith at this point in their lives.

In order to develop a clear understanding of why Christianity is unique among other faith traditions, they have looked at pre-Christian cultures, viewing actual artifacts of gods such as Baal and the colossal Lamassu at the Oriental Institute. They have studied the religions of Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. December included a trip to the House of Blues for their famous high energy Gospel Brunch. In January, the Confirmands attended a Sikh temple with their mentors and will also visit a Jewish Synagogue in March.

In addition to these experiences, the class will spend a day at the Rogers Park soup kitchen. This is a long-standing tradition among our youth, enabling them to serve Christ by serving “the least of these brothers and sisters”.

Please remember these students in your prayers as they continue delving into the big questions of who Christ is and how they can live their lives following His example.