Archive for high school

Youth’s Ministry September Update

The Youth’s Ministry Kick-Off Fiesta was an amazing success! More than 120 people came to the kick-off, and more than 65 youth stayed for the first meeting of Mosaic (high school youth group) and Journey (middle school youth group) that evening. The groups have started the first series on “Stories—The Parables.” Over the next five weeks, the youth groups will dive into the power of stories in the Bible, the reason Jesus used stories as teaching tools, and how we begin to see our own stories intertwining with God’s stories. Youth are welcome every Sunday at 7:00pm: middle schoolers in Room 7 for Journey and high schoolers in the Youth Room for Mosaic.

The next combined youth event will be on Sunday, September 22, 6:30–8:30pm. It will be a progressive dinner: an adventure through a meal, with different stops for different courses that will ultimately finish back at LAUMC. This will be for both youth groups together!

In addition to the general Compassion Week activities taking place September 30 – October 6, there will be special youth projects on Saturday evening, October 5, and Sunday morning, October 6. Full details will follow. Please reach out to Sam Pompei with any questions or to join the Youth’s Ministry email list. Contact Nadine Damonte with questions about the youth Compassion Week projects.

Youth Fiesta Kick-Off, Aug. 25

Celebrate with us as we kick off this year of youth’s ministry! All youth and their parents are invited on Sunday, August 25, to share in a catered taco dinner at 6:00pm in Creekside, followed by some energizing intergenerational activities. Then at 7:00pm youth will head to youth group (Journey for middle schoolers in Room 7 and Mosaic for high schoolers in the Youth Room) and parents will stay in Creekside for some fun of their own. Learn what will happen this year: What is changing and what is not, who is doing what, and how to get and stay connected. Be part of the party! Please register so that the organizers can get a head count for dinner. Contact Sam Pompei or Kim Jones with any questions.

Invitation to Youth Ministry Assessment

As we move into the next chapter of excellent youth ministry here at Los Altos UMC, we have entered a consulting arrangement with the firm Ministry Incubators. Over the next three years, the consultants will help us align our youth ministry with the innovative changemaking that has become part of our church’s culture and help us build a model that invites young people to be agents of ministry as much as they are recipients of ministry.

The consulting process begins with a visit here by the principals of Ministry Incubators on May 29–31. They will spend most of that time listening to members of the LAUMC community—parents, youth, volunteers, and people who love our youth—as they get a good, starting sense of who we are as a church and devise a plan for moving forward into a strong program to begin this fall.

If you would like to be part of this process and have your voice heard, please contact Linda Nordmann, Coordinator of Congregational Connections, by May 22. Let her know which of the below times (as many as possible would be helpful, to help our scheduling!) you could attend.

On Friday, May 31, the consulting team will present a report, laying out specific recommendations and a blueprint for how we might move forward. You are welcome to join us for that presentation as well. Watch for details in the weeks ahead.

Listening Group Schedule

Wednesday, May 29:

  • 1:30–2:45pm
  • 3:00–4:15pm
  • 6:00–7:15pm
  • 7:30–8:45pm

Thursday, May 30:

  • 7:30–8:45am
  • 9:00–10:15am