Welcome to Youth Ministries!
For more information about the Youth ministry, contact Director of Youth Ministries,
John Kimberlin 501-217-6729 or [email protected]
John Kimberlin 501-217-6729 or [email protected]
St. James Youth Ministries is composed of youth from 6th-12th grade. Our mission is to connect all middle school & high school students with Jesus by BELONGING, FORMING, and experiencing Truth.
Our faith grows towards maturity and is shared from our personal and communal truth in Christ, our recognition of belonging to his church, and our understanding that our identity is formed in the image of God.
A TYPICAL WEEK IN STUDENT MINISTRY
(All events are across the street from the church at the Christian Life Center)
Sunday School 9:30am: Students gather in our Big Room for games and announcements. Middle School and High School then split into separate classrooms for discussion and small groups. In the spring semester, our Confirmation class for 8th grade students create 3 Sunday school classes.
Wednesday Night Encounter, 6:00 – 7:30pm: Join us for our Worship, Small Groups, and some games. We are lead in Worship by our Contemporary Worship leader David Williams and some students. We then break into 4 small groups by gender and MS/HS. We have games in the gym (when available) or in our big room.
Sunday Nights: We do not meet every Sunday night. We do attend our Central District Council on Youth Ministry events. Every year the CDCYM has several meeting hosted by different churches in the area. This past year St. James hosted the beginning event for these meetings. Although, each meeting is different, we do experience worship, dinner, and games with youth who attend a UMC here in Central Arkansas.
SUMMER STUDENT MINISTRY
Ozark Mission Project (OMP) is a week-long opportunity for middle school and High School students to serve in an Arkansas Community. Painting homes, yard work, building wheelchair ramps, and general home repairs are done during the day. The evenings are filled with worship, games, and fun. This year OMP takes place in West Memphis, AR June 23-28th.
In 2019, the HS students served in the Dominican Republic. The 2021 students traveled to Kentucky and worked with the Appalachia Service Project serving in rural communities. And in 2023 the HS students went to San Raymundo, Guatemala Mission Trip to build a house for a family.
Assembly: Assembly is a week long UMC Youth conference on the Campus of Hendrix College in Conway, AR. This year is scheduled for the week of July 22-26.
CONFIRMATION
We are so excited to offer this program to St. James students and their friends in 8th grade and above. Our goal is that our students would continue to develop a foundation of faith that helps transition them into high school and continues for their lifetime!
Confirmation Sunday will be May 19th, 2024 in the 11:00 Traditional Service.
Class times and location:
Confirmation class takes place each Sunday beginning in January at 9:30am in the Student area upstairs classrooms.
Parent class for Confirmation families:
Parents and mentors are asked to attend a monthly classroom session. This is meant to prep for the month's lessons, as well as provide parents with a means to connect with and encourage each other. This will also take place during the Sunday school hour in the Commons of the student area.
Mentor program for Confirmands:
A major component of our program is a relationship between each Confirmand and a mentor. We will partner each student with an adult mentor from our congregation that has been screened and trained, but also that has a passion to see students learn and grow spiritually. Are you interested in mentoring a Confirmand (other than your own), or do you know someone else that would participate? Email Kim Anderson at [email protected] to sign-up.
VOLUNTEERING
If you have a passion for teenagers and believe that Christ is equipping you to minister to Middle School and High School students there are opportunities to become a consistent part of the St. James Youth Ministry. These are the adults that have made the commitment to serve in the ministry each week, teaching or being an active part of a class on Sundays or Wednesdays, and building relationships with the students. If you would like to learn more please contact John to begin this conversation.
COMMUNICATION
Each Tuesday a St. James YM email is sent out to all parents and youth with information for the coming months and major events or retreats, as well as pictures of recent activities. Sunday Morning pre-worship slides contain details about upcoming events.
Text messages are sent out as reminders for events.
We have a Facebook and Instagram page - Follow Us!
Our faith grows towards maturity and is shared from our personal and communal truth in Christ, our recognition of belonging to his church, and our understanding that our identity is formed in the image of God.
A TYPICAL WEEK IN STUDENT MINISTRY
(All events are across the street from the church at the Christian Life Center)
Sunday School 9:30am: Students gather in our Big Room for games and announcements. Middle School and High School then split into separate classrooms for discussion and small groups. In the spring semester, our Confirmation class for 8th grade students create 3 Sunday school classes.
Wednesday Night Encounter, 6:00 – 7:30pm: Join us for our Worship, Small Groups, and some games. We are lead in Worship by our Contemporary Worship leader David Williams and some students. We then break into 4 small groups by gender and MS/HS. We have games in the gym (when available) or in our big room.
Sunday Nights: We do not meet every Sunday night. We do attend our Central District Council on Youth Ministry events. Every year the CDCYM has several meeting hosted by different churches in the area. This past year St. James hosted the beginning event for these meetings. Although, each meeting is different, we do experience worship, dinner, and games with youth who attend a UMC here in Central Arkansas.
SUMMER STUDENT MINISTRY
Ozark Mission Project (OMP) is a week-long opportunity for middle school and High School students to serve in an Arkansas Community. Painting homes, yard work, building wheelchair ramps, and general home repairs are done during the day. The evenings are filled with worship, games, and fun. This year OMP takes place in West Memphis, AR June 23-28th.
In 2019, the HS students served in the Dominican Republic. The 2021 students traveled to Kentucky and worked with the Appalachia Service Project serving in rural communities. And in 2023 the HS students went to San Raymundo, Guatemala Mission Trip to build a house for a family.
Assembly: Assembly is a week long UMC Youth conference on the Campus of Hendrix College in Conway, AR. This year is scheduled for the week of July 22-26.
CONFIRMATION
We are so excited to offer this program to St. James students and their friends in 8th grade and above. Our goal is that our students would continue to develop a foundation of faith that helps transition them into high school and continues for their lifetime!
Confirmation Sunday will be May 19th, 2024 in the 11:00 Traditional Service.
Class times and location:
Confirmation class takes place each Sunday beginning in January at 9:30am in the Student area upstairs classrooms.
Parent class for Confirmation families:
Parents and mentors are asked to attend a monthly classroom session. This is meant to prep for the month's lessons, as well as provide parents with a means to connect with and encourage each other. This will also take place during the Sunday school hour in the Commons of the student area.
Mentor program for Confirmands:
A major component of our program is a relationship between each Confirmand and a mentor. We will partner each student with an adult mentor from our congregation that has been screened and trained, but also that has a passion to see students learn and grow spiritually. Are you interested in mentoring a Confirmand (other than your own), or do you know someone else that would participate? Email Kim Anderson at [email protected] to sign-up.
VOLUNTEERING
If you have a passion for teenagers and believe that Christ is equipping you to minister to Middle School and High School students there are opportunities to become a consistent part of the St. James Youth Ministry. These are the adults that have made the commitment to serve in the ministry each week, teaching or being an active part of a class on Sundays or Wednesdays, and building relationships with the students. If you would like to learn more please contact John to begin this conversation.
COMMUNICATION
Each Tuesday a St. James YM email is sent out to all parents and youth with information for the coming months and major events or retreats, as well as pictures of recent activities. Sunday Morning pre-worship slides contain details about upcoming events.
Text messages are sent out as reminders for events.
We have a Facebook and Instagram page - Follow Us!
