CPC 1998 Annual Report:
Youth Ministries
Christopher C. Ritchie

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"You are the potter, I am the clay . . ." So went the strains of a song that Ken Medema wrote for the 1998 National Youth Workers' Convention in Nashville. It's a fitting reflection of this past year in Central's Youth Ministry as we have observed young people being molded and shaped more closely into the image of our Lord. As we seek to help our teens move toward Christ, it is a privilege to observe the ways in which they are encountering the transforming power of the Gospel.

We continue to build a ministry to young people here at Central which is truly a community of faith which loves, encourages and equips them in Christ. Friday Nite Live and Powerhouse, our regular weekly programs for middle and high school students respectively, have continued to be havens of encouragement and a launching pad for students to share their faith. We have sought to take advantage of the seasons of ministry that occur within the lives of students, and because of that a full slate of summer programming for youth was planned this past year. Greg Meadows, our summer youth intern, exceeded all expectations as he assisted during the summer months in not only running programs but also in building significant relationships with the teens in our groups. We are delighted to announce that Greg will return to work with our youth during the summer of 1999. As we moved into the autumn months, the increasing attendance at both weekly programs as well as middle and high school Sunday School prompted a move to a larger youth room in the new building. These expanded facilities will continue to be an effective tool in the task of nurturing our young people in the faith.

"Get out of your comfort zone" was the theme for this year's summer mission trip to Toronto, Canada. Eleven students and three adult leaders experienced the challenges of ministering in a variety of contexts within the inner-city. For many of our students, this trip was a spiritual highlight of their year because they were pushed to share their faith in ways that they had not previously. The awakening sense of the ways in which our students can serve the Lord has also prompted many of them to be involved in local mission projects such as Habitat for Humanity, Our Daily Bread and the Christian Community Center. This fall, several students participated in a local sandwich run and evangelistic outreach which was coordinated in conjunction with Huber Memorial Church. All of these experiences help our young people to understand that they are called to serve others in the name of Jesus.

We move into 1999 with great anticipation of further growth and development both in the lives of our young people as well as in the Youth Ministries at Central. In addition to regular weekly programming and Sunday School, our young people will be involved with several key events such as the Impact '99 retreat in Ocean City, the middle and high school retreats at Krislund Camp and another great summer of ministry which will include a high school missions trip to rural America. We covet your continued prayers for this ministry as we continually seek the Lord's guidance and wisdom in this truly awesome endeavor.