Youth Ministry
PCTR is a great place to be a young person! Our doors are wide open for
any student in 6th through 12th grade to come and be part of something than
challenges expectation. Our goal is to guide our students as they grow in
faith and engage them in the worship, discipleship and ministry of the church.
We offer friendship, fun, fellowship and a faith-building experience. Now
is the time to discover the adventure that waits for you!
C.A.S.T (Caring And Sharing Together)
CAST is our mid-week fellowship for 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. It
meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm in our Fellowship Hall.
Most CAST nights include some hair-raising recreation, snacks, small groups,
worship and Bible Q&A. Once a month, we go off-campus for our CAST Away
night for some mini-golf, bowling or the McFormal (is that an oxymoron?).
You and your middle school friends are invited to come and check out CAST
this Wednesday night.
F.I.S.H.
Calling all high school students: FISH is for you! It is PCTR's mid-week
fellowship for High School students on Wednesday nights from 7:00 to 9:00
pm (except during Lent, and then it's a half-hour later). You can find us
in the Fellowship Hall where we start off with some recreation and then
get into small groups, worship and Bible study. The FISHin' Trip is our
monthly off-campus night to do something different. Join us for FISH on
Wednesday.
Student Bible Studies
There is no such thing as a stagnant Christian. We either move forward or backward. If you are a student and plan on moving forward in your Christian faith, you should be at Bible study. Student Bible studies happen on Saturday night (junior high) and Sunday morning (both junior and senior high). In conjunction with our Saturday Night Worship Service, junior high students are invited to attend the first part of worship, and just before the children’s message, head over to the River for Bible Study.
On Sundays, our Junior High Bible study meets in the Mission Room at 10:00am and our Senior High Bible study meets in the River, also at 10:00am.
Retreats
Each year there are two retreats for CAST and two for FISH. In the fall,
our Senior High students will go to Spruce Lake for a weekend that is intended
to be community and faith building. Our Junior Highers will have a similar
experience that will be held at PCTR as a lock-in. In the winter our groups
will be going to WinterCamp at Lake Champion in Glen Spey, NY. This is a
high-energy retreat that gathers 350-400 students from churches all over
the area. Great speakers, music, games and high-adventure activity rule
the day.
Confirmation
Every church must make decisions about how it will raise its children into adulthood and make them active members of the church. There are many steps along that path and confirmation is an important one. Confirmation presents to our Freshmen (or any High School student who has not yet joined the church) the content of the gospel, and the other information needed to make an informed decision about Presbyterian Church membership. The decision to become a member of this church is much more than simply adding a name to the roles, it involves a commitment to Jesus and a public profession of faith in Him as Lord and Savior. We take this task very seriously and our students respond in amazing ways. Confirmation Class begins after school starts in September and students are confirmed into membership in the beginning of January.
Student Missions
Each
summer, our intermediate and high school students are given the opportunity
for mission travel. These mission efforts are usually focused on repairing
homes and building relationships with the people who are being served. In
previous summers we have served in Ohio, New York, Washington, North Carolina,
Vermont, Colorado, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2009, our
junior and senior high mission teams will be serving in Groton, CT.
Serving in Jesus' name has a twofold effect: homes are repaired, providing
the resident with a safe place to live, and the lives of our students are
changed through the experience. Ask any students who have gone on the summer
mission trip and they will tell amazing stories of what God has done in
and through them. Please contact the church office to get more information.
Youth Week
Youth Week is an amazing experience. It enables a number of high school
students to see how the various ministries of the church operate on a daily
basis. Several students each year apply and take part in different areas
of ministry and in planning and leading worship on Youth Sunday. If you
are interested in applying for a Youth Week Position, please call the church
office to receive an application.