The Youth of St. John’s Church
Mission Statement
The Youth of St. John’s [YSJ] exists to invite, welcome, and incorporate youth into the life of the church. YSJ awakens, nurtures, and strengthens the spiritual growth of youth in Christ through teaching, outreach, activities, and retreats.
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CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Middle School & High School on Sunday Mornings at 10 a.m. on the 3rd Floor of Cranmer Hall.
CONFIRMATION
We offer a confirmation class (6th grade), a middle school class (7-8th grades), 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.
YSJ ACTIVITIES
In addition to Christian Education, Food+Fellowship, and family events, the YSJ meets twice a month for an outing, an activity, an outreach project, or just to hang out. Our upcoming YSJ events are announced in weekly e-mails, parish papers, and bulletins. You may also download a printable calendar HERE.
Food + Fellowship on Wednesdays
All youth are invited to attend our weekly Food + Fellowship on Wednesdays. We meet for dinner, fellowship, and faith from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Svihel’s home here in Savannah. Please RSVP by emailing David Svihel, Minister with Youth at dsvihel@stjohnssav.org. You are encouraged to bring a friend or two!
Please e-mail Minister with Youth, David Svihel with any questions: dsvihel@stjohnssav.org
UPCOMING EVENTS!
A PDF listing all our upcoming Fall 2019 events can be downloaded HERE.
2019 Youth of St. John’s Fall Retreat
Registration Deadline: Friday, Oct. 18 *** Click HERE to register. ***
Event Dates: Friday, Oct. 25 to Sunday, Oct. 27
This year the YSJ fall retreat will be held at the lovely Kuhn Farm and Retreat Center in Millen, Georgia – just outside of Statesboro. The property includes walking paths, pond (for fishing), open fields, a pool, and fire-pit. In addition, our times of prayer and worship will be held in an English-style chapel consecrated by a bishop!
This is a joint retreat with another local church (so it’s a party!), and due to one parishioner’s generosity will be completely FREE! RSVP by Friday, October 18. We are also looking for adult volunteers. Contact David at dsvihel@stjohnssav.org.
Photo credit: Magnolia Springs Park, Georgia
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 VISION EXPLAINED
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.
