Youth & Children

by Ryan Haddox

As we start the new year and as I begin my journey alongside you at Beckley First Baptist, I want to take a moment to say thank you. Thank you for investing in your youth’s lives and caring about them enough to do something different. Thank you for being able to see a need and reacting to that need. And finally, thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be the person to minister to these wonderful students. God has AMAZING things planned for this youth and the church and I’m blessed to be able to be a part of it.

As we begin this journey, the verse that keeps sticking out to me is Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men, that they many see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven.” This is the desire of my heart for our students and children. To be a light for Christ in their schools, sports teams, and homes.

ANY QUESTIONS?

You’ve got questions, and The Bible has answers! Through the month of February, we’re going to be hearing some of your very own questions and figuring out how the Bible would answer those questions!

God’s word isn’t just a book; It’s a life map that provides us with every answer to every struggle or question we will have.

Join us Sunday night at 6:00pm on the 4^th floor and get your questions answered too!

 FEAR BUSTERS

In a world full of fears: Snakes, spiders, thunder, lightning, lions, tigers, bears! Where can we find a place that’s safe?? For the next 8 weeks, we will be learning how to BUST FEAR with Prayer, Faith, Knowing God is with us, Courage, Trust, Belief, and Thankfulness!

Don’t miss out on these next 8 weeks as we’ll be “Fear Busting” together on the 3^rd floor (Children’s Dept.)  every Sunday morning at 9:45am!

For more information, contact Ryan Haddox at  304-543-5957 or [email protected]

This is such a great time of year.  We’ve just enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Season, and now we start a brand new year.  It’s a great time to reflect, assess, reprioritize and plan.

Do you have a New Year’s resolution?  If so, we’d love for you to include us in your plans.  Do you have children in your life that could use some encouragement?  Friends?  Family?  Neighbors?  Please make it part of your New Year’s plans to help build the youth ministry by reaching out to those who would benefit from a community of kids focused on spiritual growth.

We are planning a winter party on January 17^th from 6 pm to 10 pm (there’s no school the next day).  The purpose of the party is to celebrate the New Year with our kids, but to also introduce our ministry to those who may not know about us.  There will be food, games, devotionals and movies.  Please invite any kids who might benefit from the fellowship.

Do you have a heart for kids?  Join us!  We have lots of opportunities for you to get “plugged in” and serve this crucial ministry.

The Christmas season is finally here and our kids are ready!

We will be continuing our bible study, Not a Fan, throughout December.  So in order to have plenty of time for study and a month-long celebration, all Sunday evening events will begin at 5:30 pm.

Here’s what we have planned:

December 5^th:  Our kids will support the Agape Sunday School Class by participating in the Beckley Christmas Parade.

December 6^th:  It’s our second annual gingerbread house decorating contest.  Prizes will be awarded!

December 13^th:  We will enjoy great music while we create a Christmas craft in time for gift-giving.

December 20^th:  Our kids will participate in a potluck dinner and gift exchange ($5 maximum).

We are so excited for Christmas!  Please encourage your family, friends and neighbors to join us!

PS:  To kick off the New Year, we are planning a party on Sunday, January 17^th with movies, food and games.

Have you seen the numbers being displayed at the beginning and end of each children’s moment during Sunday morning services?  Do you know what it means?  This number represents the attendance target for the evening service.  The purpose is to encourage our kids to reach out to their friends and family to help grow the group.  What happens if we hit the target?  Only the greatest thing ever…lock-in!

The Youth Department would like to thank everyone who supported Trek-N-Treat this year.  This annual event is a big part of our community outreach efforts.  Thank you for your gifts of time, candy and support.  We couldn’t do it without you.  You can see pictures on our Facebook page.

During the month of November we will be assisting with holiday mission projects such as Operation Christmas Child (November 1^st at 6 pm).  We will also continue our bible study series, Not A Fan.

The holiday season is very busy and we have lots planned.  Stay connected with us and, as always, we appreciate your prayers and support as we grow in our faith!

Beginning October 4^th, our youth group will begin the DVD small group discipleship study, Not a Fan.  This version adapts the original message of Not a Fan to youth in a relevant way.

Twenty times in the New Testament, Jesus issued a compelling and challenging invitation to follow Him. He’s not interested in mere fans. He doesn’t want enthusiastic admirers. He wants completely committed followers. Together we will examine what it means to deny one’s self and truly follow Jesus.

Please make the time to join us for this life-changing study!

 

Upcoming Youth Events:

October 4^th:  Not a Fan begins

October 11^th:  Corporate Praise in Concert

October 18^th:  Internet & Social Media Safety

October 24^th:  Pipestem Hayride

November 1^st:  Operation Christmas Child Mission Work

Can you believe our kids are back in school already?  Where did our summer go?  To celebrate the end of a great summer, Beckley First Baptist hosted a back-to-school pool party.  Great fellowship and food worked to get everyone ready for the new school year (at least we tried).

Did you attend the Faith Forward Music Festival?  It was incredible!  Praise and worship bands from across the area came together to give our community a truly wonderful gift.

The church picnic is coming up on September 13^th at Grandview State Park.  Lots of games—including a watermelon eating contest—are planned!

September 6:  Labor Day (no evening church activities)

September 27:  Youth Movie Night and Tacos in a Bag in the 4^th Floor Media Center

Stay connected with our youth—we have lots going on!

The FBC Youth Department is celebrating the start of summer with loads of fun activities!

We just wrapped-up another fantastic VBS on June 27th!  Our older kids helped the adults while the younger members of our department enjoyed all of the activities associated with our Bible Boot Camp.  Our thanks to all who participated!

We held Promotion Sunday on June 28^th during morning services and celebrated with everyone that evening with miniature golf.

Upcoming events:

July 10^th is the Relay for Life at the soccer fields from 5 pm to 12 midnight.  See Sarah Fields for more information.

Camp Cowen will be held from July 26^th through July 31^st.  Pastor Doc will be taking a van and attending with the kids.  Please contact a youth leader for more information.  Everyone needs to register soon!

On August 1^st we will be attending a WV Miners baseball game at Epling Stadium. Please join us for a fun evening.

August 6^th will be our annual Back-to-School Pool Party at New River Park from 6 pm to 8 pm.  What a wonderful way to finish summer!

Join us!

We are excited to announce that this summer we will be holding a “Super Saturday” VBS program. It is called “Bible Boot Camp for Jesus” and will focus on Ephesians 6:10-18 (training to be in the Lord’s Army). This program will be held on June 27^th from 10am-3pm at the church and activities will consist of: story time, crafts, singing, outdoor fun, and a cookout lunch. Kids from the age of 3 years old to 8^th grade are invited to participate in this day of fun! Wearing camo is encouraged, but not required. We hope that church members will bring their children and grandchildren and that word will be spread throughout the community about this exciting event!

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.