Lutheran Church Youth Archive

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted September 30, 2020 By admin

Welcome Sarah Masterson

I’m excited to announce our first fellowship event post COVID-19. As you all know, we will be welcoming our new Organist, Sarah, on October 4th. In order to welcome her to our Church family, please join us for a cookout following the 10:30 AM service. We will all have the opportunity to meet Sarah and fellowship with one another after being apart for so long. All food and drinks will be provided and social distancing will be observed. Thank you for joining me in welcoming Sarah to St. Jacob’s. I look forward to seeing you there!

Trunk Or Treat

Our new youth committee met together for the first time in September. Moving forward, we will work together to plan events and share ideas for the advancement of our youth and family ministries. While planning for the remainder of the year, we have decided that October would be a great time to start meeting again as a church family! I would love to invite you to join us on October 31st from 5—7 PM for TRUNK OR TREAT at ST. JACOB’S! Anyone participating needs to be at the bus shed parking lot between 4 and 4:30 PM. Come, decorate your car, and fill it with candy.

Grace & Peace,

Rachel

The Bud and Lottie Sites Scholarships

Posted August 30, 2020 By admin

The Bud and Lottie Sites Scholarships are for high school graduates and continuing higher education students who are members of St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church. There are two types of scholarships being offered – $1,000 and $250 for the Fall semester. Continuing higher education includes college, technical college, trade school, etc.

Please contact Sherrie McTeer or Sherry Floyd in the church office for the application and requirements! Applications are due by October 1, 2020. Don’t forget to apply!

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted August 30, 2020 By admin

As a church, we are proud to support Chapin Middle School as they provide their students the best education possible. As the school year begins, we want to ensure that all students have the tools and resources they need in order to succeed, as well as anything they may need to remain safe and healthy in the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The theme for the school year is “Shine Your Light” and what better way for us to show Jesus’ love in our community by shining our light and loving our neighbor. I am excited to announce SUPPLY SEPTEMBER, for the month of September. We will be collecting donations in the Fellowship Hall on Sundays or in the church office during the week from 9 AM-2 PM. All supplies will be delivered to CMS on September 27th. I have attached a list of supply items that students have been asked to bring this year. I am so excited to partner with you all in assisting students and their families, as we are able. Also, if you are unable to go make a purchase, we will have a box on the table for any monetary donations and we will gladly purchase more supplies.
SUPPLIES NEEDED
#2 Pencils
Composition Notebook (Not spiral)
Colored Pencils
2-Pocket Folders
Dry Erase Markers
8 ½ x 11 Spiral 3 Subject Notebook
Earbuds/Headphones
Tissues Hand Sanitizer
Glue Sticks
Lysol Spray
Pens
Disinfectant Wipes
Highlighters
Mini Deodorant
3×3 Post It Notes
Small Toiletry Kits
Calculators (Ti 30X & Ti 84 Plus)
Toothbrush Kits
Loose Leaf Paper
$5-$10 Gift Cards (Fast food, Walmart, etc.)
Graph Paper
1 inch Poly Binders
3-Ring Binder with Dividers
Five Notebook Divider with Pockets

On behalf of Chapin Middle School, we appreciate your continued support! Thank you for “Shining Your Light” on our students. -Lacey Hallman, CMS School Counselor

Grace and Peace, Rachel

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted July 29, 2020 By admin

To be completely honest, I am not always the most patient person. I have a tendency to rush things, to get stressed out, to take on more than I can handle in order to get something done. I have never felt the excitement of waiting, only the anxiety. I am noticing it more and more within our world today. What I have noticed is that our perspective on waiting does not necessarily align with the biblical view. Waiting has never been easy. All of those centuries waiting for a Messiah to come, it wasn’t easy for those who have gone before us, but they seemed to be more at peace with it, welcoming the wait with goodness and potential. Even after Jesus had come, the waiting was far from over. We wait as much as ever, called to live in the shadow of His return; and when He does, He will “save those who are eagerly waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:28). In the Old Testament, the psalmist celebrates waiting patiently for the Lord (Psalm 40:1), and Isaiah promises that those “who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). In these times of waiting, it is important to make sure we check our focus. We have to take the focus off of ourselves and remember that even though we may feel a delay or a pause, God is still working. Waiting is never a waste in God’s economy. So what should we do in the meantime? Well, how do we take the focus off of ourselves and realign our hearts with God? We all know this. We worship, we wait, and we worship. I was listening to an interview the other day and they were talking about how ‘waiting on the Lord’ looks different for everybody. One guy explained it as “the sustained adoration that is filled with subjection waiting for a directive from the Lord” and went on to say that the key to this is remembering that even though we wait, we wait IN His presence; we don’t have to wait FOR His presence. When we worship, we remove ourselves and we are satisfied, fulfilled, blessed with peace, with the joy of His presence. It is unlike anything else. In this time of waiting right now, it doesn’t matter if you are waiting for something, someone, direction, provision, or simply waiting for time to pass. Nothing is wasted. Take the time to collect yourself and realign your heart in worship. I know for me personally, I cannot fully surrender if my mind is elsewhere. If I am worried, doubtful, fearful, scared then it’s just not possible. It is human nature to try to do it ourselves; and we know that no matter how hard we try, we cannot. It’s okay to want something. It’s okay to dream. It’s okay to long. Sure, you’ll get frustrated, anxious, eager; but you’ll continue to be patient. Keep waiting. Keep praying. We can trust God, knowing He is in control of all things and that is more than enough for me.
Grace and Peace,
Rachel

Youth Workday

Posted April 1, 2020 By admin

The youth and other volunteers had a workday on March 7th. During this time, we were able to clean and organize the entire Sunday School wing downstairs. This is just the beginning of many projects we have planned to reboot our Sunday School program. We are grateful for all who came and served. Thank you for your willingness and support of our Youth ministry.  

Keep an eye out for other opportunities to serve in the future, and join me in praying for all the children who will reap what we sow. 

KFC—Kids For Christ

Posted April 1, 2020 By admin

Kids for Christ “KFC” is off to a great start! In March, we had our first service project. We colored pictures, wrote notes, and decorated crosses to add to the Up & Going hospice bags! During this time, we were able to talk about the season leading up to Easter and why our church sends gifts to people in hospice care. Thank you to the Up & Going for including us. It was a lot of fun, and they turned out great! 

Lower Elementary Class

Posted April 1, 2020 By admin

The lower elementary class made “faith eyes” in their study of The Presentation of Jesus at the temple with Simeon and Anna. “The Holy Spirit gives us faith to see Jesus.” 

Lutheran Women News

Posted April 1, 2020 By admin

We have decided to postpone the Easter Egg Hunt on April 4th. We will have an event for the children at a later date.  

We will have our Lutheran Women Brunch on May 23rd and our theme is “Reflection of Gods Love. Tickets will go on sell the first Sunday in May. We want to say THANKS to everyone for your continued support. 

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted April 1, 2020 By admin

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The youth and I had such a great time at the Carolina’s Mission District retreat. It was held at Camp St. Christopher on Seabrook Island- many of you may be familiar with this camp from events you have attended in the past. A special thank you to Margaret Kleckley for attending with us as a chaperone. In the midst of all the uncertainty, we were grateful for the opportunity to attend and make the best of it. The retreat theme was “Fear Not” based on Isaiah 41:9-10 ‘”you whom I took from the ends of the Earth, and called you from it’s farthest corners, saying to you, “you are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”’ fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” This was so timely because although we are going through a season of uncertainty and fear, we can have peace and rest in the fact that God is there for us and we are ready. There were times of fun, silliness, games, campfires, amazing food, and fellowship but there were also times of listening, sharing, confession, reverence, worship and learning. I want to share what was shared with us during our night session. We looked at Matthew 8:23-27, which is the story where Jesus is asleep on the boat with the disciples when the storm comes. Fear begins to drown and overwhelm the disciples and through this, Jesus teaches them to trust Him and to cry out for His help. Though we fear many things, we have the assurance that Jesus will carry us through – therefore that should bring us to our knees to pray. The Lord uses the storms we go through so that we can find Him mightier than the storm. We know that Jesus saved Noah in the flood, rescued Joseph from the pit and cleared him of all false accusations, saved Daniel from the hungry lions, and saved those three men from the fiery furnace. Jesus understands our fears, weakness, temptation, and sadness. In this story, we are shown that an all-powerful Being is in control of His creation. He doesn’t take our storm away, but he steps into the boat with us and the great calm that the disciples experienced after the storm was just a sample of what all those who be-lieve will relish in the new creation. I would love to share more about our trip once we are all back together again. If you get a chance to talk to any of our youth members, ask them what they learned or what their experience was. I’m sure they would love to share it with you. During this time of uncertainty, set your hope on God, set your hope on the One who is above it all. He gives peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7) and is with you in the storm of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. He is our peace and He will deliver us.  

Grace & Peace, Rachel 

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted March 2, 2020 By admin

Below is an article that someone shared with me a while ago. As it brought me to tears, I thought about how important this reminder is to not only our congregation, but to all people, to remember the responsibility that we all carry to raise up the next generation in the faith that we all share.

Article: Take your kids to church. Make the effort. Wake them up early. Fool with the belts and the buckles and the fancy hair bows. Endure the sleepy, grumpy faces and the misplaced shoes. Run around like a mad woman gathering everybody’s belongings and trying to get out the door on time. Hop to the car with a shoe in one hand and your make-up bag in the other. Give those babies a poptart and let ‘em eat it in the car. If its raining, get wet. If its cold, get a jacket. If you’re tired, go tired. But take those babies to church. You know why? Because Jesus is there. He’s there. And He’ll meet them there. And you too. He’ll be there in the sweet smile of their Sunday School teacher as she greets them into their room. He’ll be there in the hug from a sweet friend and the encouraging smile that assures you that they “just barely made it” too. He’ll be there in the sacred words read from the Bible speaking truth to their little impressionable hearts. He’ll be there in the worship and the watery eyes and whispers of praise.

So take them. Carry all of their Bibles and drawings and toilet paper tube creations. Sit by them in worship. Open your Bible and open theirs. Show them how to find the scripture the pastor is preaching from. Show them how to worship. Explain to them why He’s worthy of worship. Let them see you laugh and cry and praise and study. Forgive their wiggles and paper rustles and know that they’re listening even when it seems like they aren’t. Ask them questions and answer the ones they ask you. Tell them of His greatness – His power – His faithfulness. Tell them with your words and show them with your life. Tell them what he’s done for you and how you’ve been changed by His grace and forgiveness and goodness and love. Tell them how they can be too. Point them to Jesus. Over and over and over again.

Take your kids to church. They’ll love it there. It’s the only place where they can go and just be themselves. They don’t have to “be” good enough or smart enough or athletic enough. They don’t have to perform for approval or achievement. They just get to go and hear how much God loves them. Just because they’re them. Just because He created them, they’re valued. Their worth isn’t based on the grades they make or their ability to throw a curveball. Its not dependent on their performance or skill level. And they need a little more of that, don’t you think? A little more grace and a little less pressure.

Take them to church. Before you take them to the ballfield or the dance studio. Before you take them on vacation or to grandma’s or to the backyard to play. Let them know its a priority. Show them it has eternal value. Let them see you set aside schedules and extra curricular activities and work and busy-ness to be present with the Lord in His house. I promise you won’t regret it. I promise you it won’t return back void. I promise it’s worth it.

“But Jesus said, let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14

Grace & Peace, Rachel