Gathering the Community

Regardless of one’s age, worship and fellowship are central to our faith journey and community life. This is particularly true for our youth as they begin to branch out from their families and develop formative relationships and practices for themselves. Here at Bethesda, we opportunities are provided for our youth to build faithful relationships within our community, and to help them develop a worship life of their own.

To help build our community of youth, we intentionally include opportunities for fun and fellowship throughout the year, including movie nights, baseball games, BBQ’s, and more. In addition to including prayer and worship within our youth gatherings, we also encourage our youth to come together on Sundays to worship at the 9:00 a.m. service.

Growing in Faith

At the core of our Youth Program is our desire to nurture our youth into responsible, faithful adulthood. We begin by providing our youth with strong role-models of faithful adults, and continue by supporting and encouraging their own faith formation. Beginning with the 6th grade and continuing through High School, our youth are encouraged to come together on Sunday mornings for age-appropriate lessons and conversations, in order to explore their questions and to deepen their faith commitments.

Serving the World

"Be doers of the word, not merely hearers," St. James reminds us (James 1:22). Wherever we are, whether in school or at home, and whatever we’re doing, be it playing a sport or hanging out with friends, we’re called to put our faith into action. But that’s easier said than done! To help our youth understand their lives and choices as opportunities for faithful action, we give them the chance to put their faith to work through bi-monthly service projects and mission trips. Even Sunday worship provide opportunities for our youth to serve as acolytes, youth readers, or in the Bethesda Youth Choir.