Ministry Spotlight: Youth

Ministries

Feb 26

This year we want to shine a spotlight on several of the ministry areas that Providence Road is actively engaged in on a week-to-week basis. Our goal is to build up the body by showing how God is working in a wide range of arenas in the life of our church. This month we want to focus on our youth ministry.

Our youth ministry started one year ago in February 2019. At first, they met Wednesday nights at the Frymires’ house, and they only had 6-8 youth attending. After some time, they grew to 10-12 regulars and had to move to the bunker at the church. They will typically spend 30-40 minutes in a lesson. They started in the teachings of Jesus, but now they track along with the church’s sermons in 1 Corinthians.

At first, Jay Frymire was leading every week with only Kevin and Josie Jones as adult helpers. Now Jay shares the role of leading with the Joneses, and three college students have signed up to help engage the youth in the lesson, allowing for more individual conversations with the kids to take place. Significant points of growth have been in the youths’ openness during Bible study and in their relationships with each other.

To get a better idea of the youth ministry’s impact, we spoke with Taylor, a 13-year-old girl who has been involved from the beginning. What follows is a short question and answer about her experience at youth so far, lightly edited for clarity.

How did you first come to Providence Road?

My grandparents, Ricky and Debbie, are members. I started coming every so often with them. I went to a church camp in the summer of 2015. I had a moment during a gathering when they said to step forward if you haven’t accepted Jesus, and I did. I was saved.

Why did you get involved with the youth ministry?

I didn’t know anyone else my own age. I interacted with a lot of adults at Providence Road, but didn’t have anyone on my level. I wanted to meet people my age.

What changes have you seen at youth gatherings?