Youth

The Good Shepherd United Church of Christ middle school and high school youth groups actively focus on education, faith development, social awareness, and service work.

The middle school and high school groups each meet twice a month on Sunday afternoons.
Select this link to the church calendar to see upcoming events

“It’s a bunch of different friends getting together to learn about God, further our faith and incorporate what we learn in everyday life, and also have a lot of fun together.”    
Carly (Middle School)

"We invited some people from Mexico to come hang out with us, one of them actually stayed at my house and I learned some Spanish words and made new friends."

Camryn (Middle School)

"The youth group experience is a powerful for the children of this church to feel connected, to feel the love of the congregation and also to give back to the congregation."

Rev. Randy Mayer (Pastor and Parent)

“I like youth group because of the activities we have like the talent show and car wash, its fun.”

Monica (High School)

"The mission trips have been a very eye opening experience; which helped them gain an awareness of other cultures, places and people. The youth group helped them grow and mature and prepare them for the adult world."

        Julie Ingham (Christian Educator and Parent)

Together we work towards the following goals:

• Understanding Faith: We engage in dialogue during youth meetings regarding our personal faith journeys and relate community issues to our personal experiences and scriptural texts. 

• Education: We learn to think about how we can respond to the issues brought up in our church, schools and community from a perspective of faith. We hope to make learning fun and do creative activities or skits to engage youth more in the lessons. 

• Leadership Development: Young people have the opportunity to develop a sense of empowerment as leaders within their faith communities and schools.

• Mission and Solidarity Work: For our mission trip, in the past we have gone to Los Mochis Mexico, New Mexico and South Central Los Angeles. We want to serve others, learn more, walk humbly, do justice and have fun.

Our Whole Lives (OWL)
The Our Whole Lives program started in the spring of 2011 at The Good Shepherd. This comprehensive program helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their relationships, health and behavior in the context of their faith. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information. We plan to offer classes in the future as the need arises.

For further information, please contact Julie Ingham or visit the OWL section on the UCC website.