Youth Program Year
Sunday School and Youth Group for you grades 6th-12th runs from September to May each year.
Weekly Youth Activities
Youth Sunday School
Youth Sunday School will give Middle and High School students a chance to dig deeper into foundational scripture stories found in the Old and New Testament using the Echo The Story curriculum. Through video, creative prompts, and discussion, youth will explore the arc of the Bible, find connection points within Bible stories and their own lives, and have a chance to engage with scripture in a way that brings the stories to life beyond what it is they’re reading in the Bible.
Room 204
Youth Group
Takes place each Sunday night from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM.
Our youth will be “Wrestling with God” through small groups, fellowship, and recreation as we spend time in the Old Testament this program year.
In Genesis, Jacob spends the night wrestling with a man. When the man realizes he cannot overpower Jacob, he tries to end the fight, but Jacob will not let him go until the man blesses Jacob. So, the man does just that, giving him the name Israel, meaning “the one who struggles with God and humans and prevails.” Jacob knows in that moment that he has come face to face with God and names the place Peniel to commemorate this. Christians (and our Jewish siblings in faith) have taken this as an invitation to wrestle with God. This story invites us to bring our big questions, to bring our doubts and also to explore the ways both the Israelites and we have struggled with God and God’s rules for us that are created for our own good.
To Wrestle with God we’ll begin the year with the History of the Kingdom of Israel – the entrance into the Promise Land in Joshua, to the stories of Judges, to King David. We’ll look at the tension between what the people of Israel think is best for them versus what God thinks is best for them. ‘
We’ll then move into a unit on Exile – exploring God’s instructions for us when life feels out of sorts. And we’ll end the year learning about who God tells us God is throughout the Old Testament as God repeatedly gives the Israelites the commandment to take care of “the orphan, the alien, and the widow” in their midst.
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Mission Projects range from packing up College Care Packages to collecting items to help the Homeless Assistance Team.
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Recreation takes us on field trips to things like ice skating or playing games like Anomia or 9 Square in the Air together.
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Small Groups provide the chance to gather in a smaller cohort of students in similar grade levels to discuss scripture and explore connections the biblical story has with their life.
Special Events
Lock-Ins
Twice a year we gather at the church for an all night lock-in filled with fellowship, food, games, and a mini mission project.
2024-2025 Schedule
Fall Youth Lock-In: September 13-14, 2024
Spring Youth Lock-In: March 7-8, 2025
HAT
Each November we collect items needed by the Homeless Assistance Team which helps our neighbors currently experiencing homelessness and those who are transitioning to housing. Youth canvas the neighborhood alerting them to the urgent needs and return a week later to pick up items neighbors place outside their homes.
November 10 & 17, 2024
Youth Sunday
On this Sunday, youth lead worship. From ushering to writing the liturgy, to preaching, to leading us in music. It’s the youth of RCPC’s chance to share the Good News of the Gospel with their wider church family.
January 26, 2025
Senior Send-Off
Each May we celebrate our graduating seniors through a liturgy during the 11:00 AM worship service and an evening worship service complete with a photo slideshow, and leaving a painted handprint in the children’s library.
Summer
Hometown Mission Week
Rising 6th graders – graduated 12th graders are invited to participate in a week of being the hands and feet of Christ right here in our hometown. Youth spend the week working with mission partners across the valley while exploring their faith through devotionals, service, and fellowship with each other and the wider RCPC congregation. Save the date for the 2025 Hometown Mission Week: August 4-6. Contact Isabella at isabella@rcpres.org to sign up.
Massanetta Springs Middle School Conference
Rising 6th-Rising 8th graders are invited to attend Masanetta Springs Middle School Conference in Harrisonburg, VA each June. This is a four-day event created especially for middle schoolers centered around a theme from scripture with time in worship, small groups, and recreation. Save the date to attend in 2025: July 10-13. For more information click here: massanettasprings.org/programs/msc
Montreat Youth Conference
Rising 9th graders – graduated 12th graders are invited to spend a week at Montreat Youth Conference in Montreat, NC. Montreat is a week of worship, keynotes, small groups, time with our youth group all designed for our high schoolers. Save the date to attend in 2025: July 5-12. For more information click here: montreat.org/events/myc-23