The Youth of St. John’s Church

Mission Statement

 The Youth of St. John’s is a fellowship of faith within St. John’s Church, which in response to the Gospel of God’s grace in Jesus Christ, and in obedience to the law of love, invites, welcomes, and incorporates youth into the life of the church; and through common ministries of education, worship, pastoral care, and outreach; awakens, nurtures, and strengthens their spiritual growth.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Middle School & High School on Sunday Mornings at 9:30 on the 3rd Floor of Cranmer Hall

CONFIRMATION

We offer a confirmation class (6th grade), a middle school class (7th-8th grade), and a high school class. Classes aim to make followers of Jesus through faithful and relevant discussions of the Christian faith and its application to everyday life. For more details about confirmation click HERE.

YSJC ACTIVITIES

In addition to Christian Education and family events, the YSJC meets once a month for an outing, an activity, an outreach project, or just to hang out. Check out St. John’s weekly e-mails, parish papers, or bulletins to see the next event. You may download a PDF calendar HERE.

Please e-mail Minister with Youth, David Svihel with any questions: dsvihel@stjohnssav.org

FALL RETREAT

YSJ Fall Retreat 2018: November 16th-18th at Epworth by the Sea
Join the Youth of St. John’s for our first annual Fall Retreat! Epworth by the Sea is the perfect place with beautiful surroundings for worship, study, play, and fellowship. Our theme is the Grace of God, which we will discuss over the course of the weekend. During free time youth will be able to play almost all traditional sports (bring your own gear), try out the GAGA Pit, rent a bicycle, hang-out, or try to take a nap. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with friends, discover God’s grace, and make memories that will last a lifetime! Confirmands strongly encouraged to attend. The Retreat Emergency Number is (415) 250-3077.

Please sign-up by November 1st.

Theme: The Grace of God
Grace is God’s “unmerited favor” towards us in Christ. Grace comes to us as a gift we do not deserve. Here is something to think about: The better you believe yourself to be, the less grace you think you need. The more self-confident you are the more convinced you will be you could get by on your own. All you need is some help from God and a bit of personal determination.

But what we will learn on this retreat is much more desperate, for grace finds us “dead in… transgressions and sins” (Eph 2:1). We will find that only God is able to rescue us. We pray the Holy Spirit uses this retreat to show you Grace and transform you.

THE VISION

 Our Goal: to build a youth community at St. John’s Church based on these four priorities:

  • Gospel: as defined by Scripture and the Prayer Book as the center of the Christian life. We keep the focus on Jesus. This prevents Youth ministry from becoming moralistic, or primarily about being “polite”.
  • Hospitality: We welcome others as God in Christ has welcomed us.
  • Virtue: We empower future Christian citizens to love God and their neighbor.
  • Worship: We worship God in everything we do. Prayer Book orients us to scripture and the Christian tradition to see all of life: morning, evening, meals, celebration, mourning, etc. as acts of worship.

THE PLAN

How do we get there? The plan can be summarized under five words:

  1. Purpose: Everything we do is connected to the Gospel, Hospitality, Virtue, or Worship.
  2. Family: Youth do not function as “lone-rangers” but are shaped and influenced by relationships – especially family.
  3. Doctrine: Orthodoxy (right-belief) cannot be separated from Orthopraxy (right-practice). Both are necessary for the Christian life.
  4. Discipleship: the lifelong walk of Christians together in thought, word, and deed toward the Kingdom of Christ by faith.
  5. Community: Youth ministry is a team ministry. We need a whole team to have a meaningful impact on all the youth.

THE FOUR PILLARS OF ST. JOHN’S YOUTH MINISTRY

The Youth of St John’s ministry is built on four pillars: Gospel, Hospitality, Virtue, and Worship. Each of the four essays below covers one of these pillars and answers the question: “Why should I care about this?”

Our desire is to help you understand not only that the Gospel, Hospitality, Virtue and Worship are important ideas, but are essential truths of the Christian Faith that affect how we view ourselves, others, and God. They also change the way we live our lives, because they point us to the source of life: Jesus Christ.

Please follow the links, below.

  1. Why is the Gospel “Good News?” 
  1. Were We Meant to Live Life Alone?
  1. What Motivates My Decisions?
  1. How Do I Become Fully Human?