Youth | St. Luke's United Methodist Church

Student Ministry at St. Luke's

Most people look back on their youth ministry experience as foundational to their faith journey. We partner with parents to raise tweens, teens, and college-aged students who trust God with their hearts and follow Jesus with their lives. Due to COVID-19, we have shifted our ministry strategy for the 2020-2021 school year, and feel confident that we can partner with parents in discipleship in meaningful ways.

Connect

Heather Kenison
Director of Student Ministries
317-846-3404 x346

Youth Small Groups

5th-12th graders are invited to participate in Small Groups that happen in-person or on Zoom. Small Groups consist of 8-10 students and dedicated leaders, following an intentional curriculum model we call Steps. Small Groups launch September 13th, but you can sign up any time by contacting Travis Bannon, Youth Small Groups Director.

Events

Most of our events will be in the context of Small Groups with our new “Party-in-a-Box” Model! Small Groups will be given kits to do some of our favorite events -- Nerf & Nachos, Bob Ross Night, Fast Food Formal -- all in the safety of their small group. If you’d like to help us put together our event kits, please contact Kamille McKinney-Sutherland, Youth Events Coordinator.

2021 Summer Trips

Mission Trips

We feel confident that in 2021, our missions organization YouthWorks will have all the safeguards in place to do our mission trips well. We will offer the following opportunities, both of which are small-town trips in the states:

Current 6th-8th: Charleston, WV July 11-16 REGISTER HERE
Current 9th-12th: Blue Ridge Mountains, NC July 10-17 REGISTER HERE

Camps

We are excited to bring back our summer camp options for students:

Current 4th-7th grade: Middle School Mayhem, a St. Luke’s Day Camp, June 21st-25th, 2021
Current 8th-12th grades: High School Camp at Epworth Forest, Date TBD

Middle School

High School

Additional Information and Resources

Youth STEPS Curriculum

At St. Luke’s, we believe in an intentional faith map for kids birth through college-aged. Our STEPS curriculum and programming are designed to move our students through age-appropriate lessons. Here’s a quick outline.

5th-6th Grade – Foundations: We rotate through the Old & New Testament to provide a meta-narrative of the Bible to our preteens.
7th Grade – Confirmation: We talk about where our faith comes from and give students a chance to make a profession of faith in God and membership at St. Luke’s.
8th Grade – Spiritual Gifts: Students respond to their vow of membership by learning about the unique gifts they have to give to the church and beyond.
9th-10th Grade – Spiritual Practices: We talk about key spiritual practices to help students personalize their faith in a real way.
11th-12th Grade – Spiritual Roots: Students are invited to participate in workshops that help prepare them for college and beyond.

Youth Ministry Forms

Family Grow Groups

Family Grow Groups help families connect with each other and grow in their faith through monthly service together. Groups meet September through May and will commit to serving with the same ministry partner for the year. Service opportunities are for all ages and are designed to include the whole family! Visit the Group Finder page or email Rev. Mindie Moore, Pastor of Adult Discipleship for more details.

Fundraisers

We offer plenty of opportunities to pay for retreats, mission trips, and activities by offering fundraisers that put money into Scholarship Accounts.

Pumpkin Sale – Each year in October, our Youth Ministry raises money for students by selling pumpkins. Youth and families who work a shift earn scholarship credit. Sign up here!
Stock Sales, Month of January - Members of the church can purchase "shares" of our youth mission trips, receiving personalized thank you notes from our youth and an invitation to meet them and hear about their trip at a Shareholder's Dinner in August.