Youth & Children

The FBC youth department is continuing to plan fun and educational activities for our kids—all to help us grow in our faith.

We celebrated the Easter season by hosting an Easter egg hunt Eggstravaganza!  Kids searched high and low for goodie-stuffed eggs hidden throughout the church.  Check out some of the photos on our webpage (beckleyfirsbaptist.org).  There you’ll also see some pictures on our Instagram feed of our kids participating in Palm Sunday.

We tried two new things in April.  First, we played Kahoot Bible Jeopardy using our cell phones to answer trivia questions.  Second, we played kickball…on scooters!  It was fun to play and funnier to watch!

More to come…

We are having an ice cream social fundraiser following Dr. Parvin’s lecture on May 3^rd.  Donations will be used to support Caitlyn Daniel’s Diabetes Walk Team—Dia-Beat-This.  The walk will be held in Charleston on May 17^th.  Several of our youth are planning to attend in honor and support of Caitlyn.

Summer plans are already underway and include: miniature golf and climbing wall at Little Brick House, Camp Cowen (July 26-31), zip line/canopy tour, Miner’s baseball game, and a pool party.

Spring has sprung!  Our kids have enjoyed reconnecting after a long winter.

On March 15^th we tested our kids’ creativity and challenged them to create a house for their Easter Peeps.  Check our Instagram page (Instagram.com/beckleyfirstbaptist) to see their work.  Construction was quickly followed by demolition as they ate their creations.

On March 23^rd, we prepared for the Easter Eggstravaganza by stuffing hundreds of eggs full of goodies.  The eggs were hidden throughout the church with clues leading to their locations. We invited the community to join in the fun on March 28^th.  Check out the photos on our website (beckleyfirstbaptist.org).

On March 29^th, our kids completed their lesson on service by assisting in the long-awaited Valentine (now Palm Sunday) dinner.  They were a big help by serving during and cleaning up after the event.

Our older youth have been challenged by their Sunday school teachers to learn the Romans Road.  What a blessing that they will be able to share with others!

We are planning exciting events over the coming months.  Stay connected with us on Instagram and at beckleyfirstbaptist.org.  We look forward to seeing everyone on Sundays at 9:45 am for Sunday school and church, and at 6 pm for our Family Fellowship time.

What a winter!  The plentiful snow has produced snowmen, snow angels and lots of days off from school.  Unfortunately, it also meant that many of our activities had to be canceled or rescheduled.  No worries, though.  Warmer weather is just around the corner and we have lots of great plans.

Our Super Bowl Party was a tremendous success.  Our thanks to those who participated.  It was a wonderful opportunity for food and fellowship while testing our new media center.  We hope to host similar events throughout the year.

We are currently building our spring events calendar.  We always want to encourage your input.  Please share your talents with us!

Our mini lock-in was a great success!  Our thanks to everyone helped with the event.  We started the evening with a visit to Crescent Elementary to play volleyball and basketball.  We returned to the church for food, fellowship and fun.  We were pleased to be the first to use the new media room on the 4^th floor.  It is amazing!  We wrapped-up the evening with a scavenger hunt and air hockey tournament (Congratulations, Niko!).

On January 4^th our kids helped Mary Stover with decorations for the Fellowship Hall.

We took advantage of the new media room again on January 11^th and 18^th as we watched “Heaven is for Real”.  The kids really enjoyed it.  The new room has encouraged our group to suggest more video studies.

Upcoming Events

February 1^st:  We are planning a Super Bowl Party for our church and friends.  Please plan to join us on the 4^th floor to cheer on your favorite team or just to enjoy food and fellowship with our First Baptist family.

February 15^th:  Our kids will be helping the men with the Valentine Dinner after our morning service.  We will help to carry your dinner and dessert, bring drinks to you, get refills, and even do the dishes!  We look forward to serving our church family!

Our First Baptist kids have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Season!

On December 6^th we participated in Beckley’s annual Christmas parade.  Our thanks to those who participated by decorating, riding along and providing snacks afterwards.  A very special thanks to Mary Stover for her vision and expert decorating skills.  It was a soggy success!

We hosted our first-ever gingerbread house decorating contest on December 7^th.  Congratulations to our winners, Caitlyn Daniels and Ryan Vaught.  You can see their masterpiece on our website at beckleyfirstbaptist.org.

On December 21^st, a group of us went caroling at Hidden Valley Nursing Home in Oak Hill.  What a blessing!  We ended the evening with great fellowship and pizza.

What’s up next?  Only one of our world-famous lock-ins!  From 6 PM to midnight on January 2nd, you are invited to bring some friends and celebrate with us.  We plan to play in the gym at Crescent Elementary, eat, participate in a scavenger hunt, eat, play games, eat, share devotions, eat, and host a talent show.  Please join us!!!

Busy.  Busy.  Busy.  Our kids have lots going on at Beckley First Baptist!

November 9^th– Debbie Vanaman helped our youth to pack 88 shoeboxes in support of Operation Christmas Child.  Items sent to the mission were donated from our church family.  What a blessing it is to help such a wonderful outreach!

November 16^th & 23^rd– All ages of youth created ornaments with Maria Veid to decorate the Christmas trees in Fellowship Hall.

November 23^rd– Our kids enjoyed basketball and volleyball at Crescent Elementary School.  We celebrated the evening with dinner and ice cream.  What a fun time!

November 30^th – We decorated our Christmas tree with all the ornaments we made.  We also worked on our float for the Christmas parade.

Here’s what’s coming up:

December 3^rd – We will put the finishing touches on our float for the parade.

December 6th – Our kids will participate in the Beckley Christmas Parade!  After the parade, we will return to the church for cookies and hot cocoa.

The renovations on 4^th floor are underway.  Once complete, we hope to celebrate with another legendary lock-in.  Stay tuned!

We look forward to celebrating a wonderful Christmas Season with our kids!

What a wonderful Halloween party we enjoyed with our First Baptist family!  Our thanks to all those who helped us.  We had a wonderful time.  You can see pictures of the event on the church website at www.beckleyfirstbaptist.com.

Our kids are hard at work preparing for the Christmas Parade.  Mary Stover is helping us build a giant snowman that will be the centerpiece of our float.

Here are a few upcoming events.

November 2: We will help pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child at 6 pm on the 3^rd floor.

November 16^th & 23^rd: All youth departments will make Christmas ornaments for the Youth Christmas tree during Children’s Church.

December 6^th:  We will participate in Beckley’s Christmas parade.

Stay connected with our kids for lots of exciting times.  Follow us on Twitter (@beckleyfbc) and Instagram (beckleyfirstbaptist).

As always, we appreciate your prayers and support as we grow in friendship and faith!

Fall is officially here and with it comes some great opportunities for our kids!

September 27:  We’ll be heading to a hayride and bonfire at Pipestem State Park.  Dinner and transportation will be provided.

October 5:  Our kids will have the opportunity to meet at Okes Family Farms at 2 pm.  Bring your lunch.  Some activities available at the farm include:  face painting, corn maze and bouncy houses.  You can also purchase pumpkins at the farm.

October 29:  We have a costume party planned for 6 pm.

We are also pleased to announce the formation of the FBC Youth Council.  This group provided wonderful ideas for programming, events and attracting new kids to join our group.  The Youth Council will meet regularly and continue to provide feedback and identify opportunities.

Stay connected with our kids for lots of exciting times.  Follow us on Twitter (@beckleyfbc)  and Instagram (beckleyfirstbaptist).

As always, we appreciate your prayers and support as we grow in friendship and faith!

Can you believe our kids are back in school already?  Where did the summer go?  To celebrate the end of a great summer, Beckley First Baptist hosted a back-to-school bash.  Fellowship, food, games, and a little karaoke worked to get our kids ready for school—at least tried to, anyway.  Twenty-three kids and their families participated.

The church picnic is coming up on September 14th.  Lots of games—including a watermelon eating contest—are planned.

The Fall Youth Rally at Camp Cowen will be held on Saturday, September 20th.  The cost to attend is only $5, and the church will provide transportation.  Please contact Pastor Doc or Debbie Vaught for more information or to register.

What an exciting start to our summer!  We loved VBS–all the great crafts, snacks, games and story times that strengthen our friendships and help us to grow in His word.  A special thanks to all who volunteered to help make our VBS such a success!

What activities are coming up for our kids?

June 29^th: We will be packing bags for our school backpack ministry.  Please try to attend this very special event. I promise you will be blessed!

July 6^th:  We will be sending our kids to Camp Cowen.  Are you curious about the camp?  Would you like to visit when we take our kids?  You’re invited.  We want to use this opportunity to introduce Camp Cowen to future campers.  Please contact Debbie Vaught or Pastor Doc for details.

July 24^th-26^th:  Pastor Doc is hosting a fishing & camping trip.  Please contact Doc if you are interested in participating.

August 2^nd-3^rd: Bobby Neal and Cliff McGlothlin are planning an overnight backpacking trip at Mt. Rogers National Recreational Area.  Please contact Bobby or Cliff for more information.

August will be busy, too! A back to school party and a trip to a WV Power baseball game are planned.

Stay connected with our kids for lots of exciting times.  Follow us on Twitter (@beckleyfbc) and Instagram (beckleyfirstbaptist).