Youth Activities

Home

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NIRV)

The commandments I give you today must be in your hearts. Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up. Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses. Also write them on your gates.

---

      

---

Nursery - Children of all ages are always welcome to join with their family's participation in any worship service.  A nursery room is available as needed for parents to use with their infants and pre-school children.  The worship service can be viewed from the nursery on closed circuit television.

⇔

Youth Church Studies - Age grouped classes meet on Sundays from 9:45 am to 10:30 am for youth age 3 through senior high. Lesson plans include: old and new testament Bible stories, the commandments, the creeds and the Catechism.  Objectives are to build learner's knowledge of and faith in God and teach them to be imitators of Jesus Christ (what would Jesus do?).  Multiple teaching methods include: Bible study, story telling, lecture, discussion,crafts, art, drama, videos, song singing, and journaling. Inquiries -

⇔

Junior High - Formation of personal faith and commitment to being a disciple of Jesus Christ and living a life pleasing to God's abiding Holy Spirit are the objectives of activities for junior high youth.  At Sunday School, development of convictions, ideals and values; and making life choices consistent with them are focal.  Learners also participate in the annual spring break Capital District Youth for Christ (CDYFC) Break Out Conference to gain the experiences only possible in a large group worship and retreat setting.  Other CDYFC events include teen lock-lock ins (stay up all night),  music concerts (both cafe style and theater), and worship-praise gatherings (to worship and fellowship with youth from other area churches).  Periodic weeknight and weekend activity focused meetings at the church provide a setting to build Christian friendships, encourage one another and carry out community service projects.  For many youth this age, spiritual formation by participation in confirmation classes and public confession of a personal faith and commitment to Christ at Maundy Thursday worship during Holy Week is the most important event at this stage in their lives.  Inquires -

⇔

Senior High - Ongoing development of Christ-like character, understanding and application of spiritual gifts, discipleship, sanctification, service, and Christian leadership are themes for senior high youth.  The annual winter break Capital District Youth for Christ (CDYFC) Excel Conference provides youth with a life changing large-group worship and retreat opportunity.  Other CDYFC events include teen lock-lock ins (stay up all night),  music concerts (both cafe style and theater), and worship-praise gatherings (to worship and fellowship with youth from other area churches). Periodic weeknight and weekend activity focused meetings at the church provide a setting to build Christian friendships, encourage one another and carry out community service projects. Inquiries -

⇔

Summer Camp -  Most youth from the church and some of their friends participate in at least one week of summer camp at the at Fowler Camp & Retreat Center at Lake Pleasant NY in the Adirondack mountains. Camp Fowler is a place of Christian hospitality where all are called to live more intentionally in community, more graciously in simplicity, and more consciously as caregivers to creation. Through this tradition of intentional living, Fowler staff and volunteers become role models in caring and faithful living and witness to the love that God has for all of creation.  The camp serves congregations of the Albany Synod of the Reformed Church in America.

⇔

Are you looking for a College?  Hope College is a distinguished and distinctive four-year, liberal arts, undergraduate college, affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. Its great religious heritage is expressed through a dynamic Christian community of students and teachers vitally concerned with a relevant faith that changes lives and transforms society. The curriculum offers a variety of courses in 87 majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The college has long been known for outstanding pre-professional training. Each year many graduates go on to further study in the leading graduate and professional schools in this country and abroad; others directly enter professions. During the 2009-10 school year, Hope has 3,230 students from 42 states and territories and 30 foreign countries.

⇔

Is God calling you to Pastoral Ministry?  The Reformed Church in America has two excellent seminaries, the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Each seminary has a unique vision for preparing future ministers of Word and sacrament, and each has a unique culture in which this preparation takes place. They share the rich history and mission of the Reformed Church in America and are dedicated to building up the body of Christ by preparing ministry candidates to serve the church.