Youth Ministry
The young adult ministry gives youth an opportunity to participate with their peers in a safe environment, while experiencing youth nights, mission trips, national youth gatherings, local mission projects and Bible studies. The time spent with one another is done with respect to God, themselves and each other.
For the last two years we have been working with other churches in the area to enjoy joint ministry. We are from different buildings, but we serve one God. All are welcome and we invite you to come share in God's love and grace!
Youth Room Nights
Youth room nights occur twice a month on Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at Gethsemane. We provide supper, and ask that each individual eating contribute $3.00.
We play games such as dodgeball, ultimate frisbee, big base, and Roman and Christians, we have short devotions, and we respect God, ourselves, and one another. We have a great time, and all youth grades 7 through 12 and beyond are welcome!! Yes, we do have college age youth that attend.
The following is the schedule for the fall/winter 2007 youth room nights:
- August 26th
- September 9th and 23rd
- October 14th and 28th
- November 4th and 18th
- December 2nd and 16th
Mission Trip
Our mission trips are planned through Group Workcamps Foundation because their Youth Groups program supports youth who are entering 9th grade through 12th grade, as well as college age young adults, with no limit on the number of adult chaperones who can attend.
We went to Racine, Wisconsin last year: 31 youth and 7 adults went on the trip. We will be deciding our next destination by the end of August. We start building team in September and continue once a month until we leave on our trip.
If you have never experienced a mission trip as a youth or an adult, I encourage you to pray about it and step forward in service. It is life changing.
National Youth Gathering
This event only happens every three years. The last one was in San Antonio, Texas. Imagine celebrating and praising God with 20,000 young adults.
The 2009 youth gathering will be in New Orleans, so we will not do a mission trip that year. There are one-day servant projects available during the national youth gathering.
Local mission projects
We have decided to keep the mission trip spirit alive through local projects. We have already completed one project: we scraped, primed and painted a garage. Our next local mission project will be work on a retaining wall on September 22nd.
We ask that anyone who knows a a person in need of a local project contact Deb Grzywinski at 612-670-5826. The people being served by the project must provide the supplies, and we provide the labor.
Bible Studies
We build a team for Christ by having monthly Bible studies prior to leaving on our mission trips. The mission trips are based on a scripture theme, and we have interactive fun as we grow in Christ.
Harshberger Scholarship
Robert and Edna Harshberger established this perpetual fund to
provide scholarships for Gethsemane members.
One purpose of the fund is to encourage participation and
involvement in activities within the church by our youth as well
as to provide scholarships for those who demonstrate leadership.
The fund provides an emphasis on seminary awards.
Each year, at least one
award is given to a Concordia Academy student and the balance of
awards goes to seminary
and post-secondary (i.e., college) recipients who attend a
Lutheran educational institution.
Four awards were given for the 2007-2008 school year that
totaled $2,800.00.
Please click here
for a 2008 application.
The criteria for awards are 1) your involvement as a member of
Gethsemane, 2) your voluntary activities related to school,
community, and youth organizations, and 3) your essay response
to a topic chosen by the award committee.
Scholarship information brochures are available in the narthex.
Edna Harshberger died on January 10, 2008.
She was a long-time member of Gethsemane.
They legacy of Robert and Edna Harshberger will endure
through the scholarship fund, the many recipients, and their
families.
