Friends of Jesus
a program for children, ages 2 and up will be held on the first and third Wednesdays at 5:30 until 7 pm in the Fellowship Hall. Learn more!

Trinity Senior High and Middle School Youth

• Visit (and join) the Trinity Youth Facebook group!
• Big Events for 2010

Youth have a mission. That’s a simple enough statement, but it’s something we tend to forget. As the youth pastors Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster have written, “God has utmost confidence in young people’s ability to change the world, not to mention the church, and not only invites them but expects them to do so” (The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry [Nashville: Upper Room, 1998], p. 64). For evidence of this we need look no further than the Bible:

• Witness God’s reassuring command to a young Jeremiah: “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you . . .” (Jeremiah 1.7).
• Or witness God’s astonishing call to a teenager named Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus . . .” (Luke 1.30-31).

Chances are, few of us have experienced the sorts of clear and direct calls from God that Jeremiah and Mary received—and so we must discern what it is that God is calling us to do and who it is that God is calling each of us to be. Dean and Foster continue, “Christian faith . . . strives for a life of discernment. Faithfulness grows in the presence of people who practice discerning the One voice among the many and who by ‘attending’ to Jesus Christ find themselves transformed and marked as his followers” (The Godbearing Life, p. 15).

It is the aim of the youth ministries of Trinity Presbyterian Church to foster this growth and discernment among the senior high and middle school youth of the church and to help them discover their mission—who it is that God is calling them to be.

Big Events for 2010
These aren’t the only events for the year, and chances are we won’t be doing all of them, but this is where you come in: please take some time to read, reflect, and talk with Dwight Christenbury about those events in which you are most interested, so we can tailor a year that meets your needs and interests. . . .

Saturday, January 23, 2010 (9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.)
Pathways Youth Ministry Leader Seminar
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Greenville, S.C.
A day of training, worship, and fellowship for both youth and adults to explore pathways to excellence in Youth Ministry. (Sponsored by the PCUSA Offices of Youth Ministries and Christian Vocations in conjunction with Princeton Theological Seminary’s Institute for Youth Ministry.)

February 12–14, 2010
46th Annual Gatlinburg Missions Conference
The theme for this year’s conference is God’s Amazing (G)race; worship, music, and presentations by missionaries including Sarah and Jim Hornsby, missionaries to Nicaragua with connections in our own presbytery. Tracks for both youth and adults; more information at www.gatlinburgmissionsconference.org. (Registration deadline is January 15.)

March 19–21, 2010
Holston Presbytery Senior High Retreat
Holston Presbytery Camp and Retreat Center, Banner Elk
What Does God Have that Walmart Doesn’t? Come and find out at this annual event.

Sunday, March 21, 2010, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
PWNC Middle School Rally
Montreat Conference Center
Worship, keynote, recreation, and a great way to get connected with other youth and adults from across the Presbytery of Western North Carolina.

July 20–24, 2010
Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2010
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Don’t miss this once-every-three-years international gathering of Presbyterian youth. Applications to join the Presbytery of Western North Carolina’s delegation are due January 20, and there is also a required orientation event April 23–24. See Dwight Christenbury for more information.

July 21–25, 2010
Middle School Conference at Presbyterian College
Presbyterian College, Clinton, S.C.
Planned and run by Montreat Conference Center, the Middle School Conference is a great way for middle schoolers to get introduced to the big wide world of our “connectional” Presbyterian Church in a safe and fun environment. See Dwight Christenbury for more information.

July 25–31, 2010
Montreat Youth Conference
This year’s theme is In These Waters. A great experience and a great opportunity to get away from it all, be yourself, and grow in faith. See Dwight Christenbury for more information.