Youth Programs

Bethlehem Church Has Many Special Activities for Youth and Children

See a short video on YouTube on our mission trip in July 2008 to Atlanta

We spent the week with a youth group from Oklahoma.

Bethlehem Middle and Senior High Youth have the opportunity to participate in a mission trip each year!

Below is a picture of our youth on their 2010 trip to Denver at a stop outside an art museum.

Bethlehem Church has two youth groups
Both groups meet at the youth house which is called
The Outlet….Where youth go to get “Plugged into Christ”

The Middlers, a group of Middle High Youth, (grades five to eight), meet twice a month for spiritual development, mission (like the 30-hour Famine pictured above) and fellowship. Often the entire family participates in events together. We believe that when parents and young people do things together to enrich their spiritual lives, they grow together in ways that they cannot grow separately. We believe that God is calling us all to develop a more intimate relationship with God and each other through these events. This group has gone on weekend mission trips to St. Louis to minister to the mentally disabled. They have “adopted a grandparent” at a local nursing home. The group has also gone to basketball games, played miniature golf in the dark and other fun activities.

The Senior High Youth Group meets at the Outlet. For the last several years, the Senior High has taken a mission trip in the summer. This year again we are looking for ways to serve God with our hearts and hands as well as our wallets. Each gathering we share a meal, spend some time in sharing and prayer, and fellowship. We go skiing, swimming, bowling, and putt-putt golfing as well as share videos and games at the Outlet. We believe that one of the most important things young people can do as they prepare themselves for adult living is to connect with others of faith to discern the gifts God has given them and to find ways to use them to do Gods work both at home and in the world.

Additional Youth Programs

We have an exciting confirmation program for teens. The move into eighth and ninth grade is a major transitional time for most young people. For many, it is the first real opportunity for adult introspection regarding a variety of life decisions. For this reason, eighth and ninth grade is also a special time for young people to consider the foundations of their faith as they are invited to participate in Bethlehem Church’s confirmation program. Over the course of seven months, potential Confirmands are given an opportunity to explore and deepen their faith as they engage in meaningful discussion, exploration of their spirituality, and a variety of challenging and enjoyable activities. There are eight two hour classes, an overnight urban retreat to Nashville, Tennessee, and an overnight rural retreat to Merom Conference Center. The parents are very involved in the program with one parent encouraged to participate in the classes and the retreat to Merom Conference Center. The hope is the teen will not only learn about their own faith but they will also start building a spiritual partnership with one of their parents.

Children in the fourth grade and higher are invited to participate in our First Communion Class. The classes are held on Wednesdays during the six weeks of Lent and students are taught the meaning of this significant sacrament. Upon completion of the course the students are invited to share in the Lord’s Supper with the whole congregation on Palm Sunday.

A long-standing tradition at Bethlehem is the presentation of a Bible to each child on the Sunday closest to his or her eighth birthday. To make this gift more meaningful the child is given a memory verse before the Sunday they are to receive the Bible. They share this verse with the congregation.

The office of acolyte was established very early in Christian history, around 250 AD. Samuel is considered to have been the first acolyte to serve in the temple. Acolytes in Bethlehem Church bring Christ’s light in the sanctuary to remind us of His presence by lighting the altar candles for worship and extinguishing them to bring the light out in the world. The senior acolyte brings in the Bible to remind the congregation of the importance of the word of God. They also assist the ministers with baptisms and other special rituals. It is a very important role in the church’s ministry. Children in fourth grade and higher serve as acolytes.

Summer

Vacation BibleSchool

Every summer, during the third week of June, Bethlehem holds a Vacation Bible School with a different theme each year.

Children from Bethlehem and the Evansville community come together for this fun week of events --

complete with snacks, crafts, games, songs, and skits by their favorite Bible School characters each night!

Pictures from this year's fun-filled VBS are shown below: