Zion Buffalo Youth

06/01/2026

Senior Sunday is always bittersweet.

This class is especially dear to us because they were the very first students we confirmed in our current roles. In many ways, they helped create the ministry younger students now get to experience. They shaped the culture, built community, youth friendly spaces and helped make Zion a place where students feel safe, seen, and celebrated.

What a gift it has been to walk alongside them during some of the most transformational years of their lives, to love them, encourage them, and watch God shape them into who they are becoming.

The truth is, church is never just a building. It is a people who choose to love one another into becoming who God created them to be. And that’s exactly what this group has done.

We’re also grateful for the incredible pastor in the photo, who has always believed that children and youth are not the future of the church, they are the church. Her faith in young people has helped create a place where they can truly belong.

We celebrate these graduates with hearts full of pride, gratitude, and hope for all that God has ahead for them.

05/21/2026

What an incredible Confirmation Service Night at Zion! Our students jumped in with servant hearts and worked hard all throughout the church.

Groups helped Eric Mattson and Bob Quady begin the groundwork for a new storage shed, while others deep cleaned Sunday school classrooms and the middle school youth room. Students also washed walls, assembled leader boxes and trees for VBS, cut out projects for VBS, and helped set up for the Blessing Closet.

We are so proud of these teens for showing what it means to serve others with joy, humility, and teamwork. Their willingness to give their time and energy made a huge impact tonight.

“Serve one another humbly in love.” — Galatians 5:13

Thank you to everyone who helped make the night possible!

04/27/2026

Graduating seniors, let us celebrate you! Please join us on May 31st as we honor your achievement and offer blessings for future endeavors! Reception to follow so bring your people!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWdFkAyn9PdGdGAvzIy3s_zF2APjLai_pyxjbp8V8XbP-tBw/viewform

04/26/2026

Introduction bible study for high school students! Come join us on Monday mornings in the library from 7:00-8:15am! Student led by Zion's leadership team!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nouUL7hm-YhZkufKPFl6BOTVDbzC9aFCw4Det2dxXuU/viewform?pli=1&pli=1&edit_requested=true

03/26/2026

03/02/2026

Our confirmation students hit the hills for a day of snow tubing, and what a joy it was to watch them in action!

Beyond the laughs and fast rides, what stood out most was their character. They were kind, inclusive, and intentional about making sure everyone felt welcomed. New friendships were formed, encouragement was shared, and true fellowship was experienced.

They represented Zion so well in the way they treated one another snd sll those around them, We are incredibly proud of the conduct, compassion, and Christ-centered community they displayed.

What a great day on the hills and an even greater example of faith in action!

02/21/2026

21 fearless leaders. One powerful weekend.

Our Zion’s Leadership Team stepped away from the noise of everyday life and into a long weekend winter retreat focused on one essential truth: being deeply rooted in their faith.

Throughout the weekend, these students leaned into what it truly means to grow strong spiritually. We talked about how no one becomes spiritually strong on accident. Faith doesn’t grow by chance, it grows through intention. Through choosing time with God. Through choosing connection over attention, depth over distraction, and authenticity over image.

They discovered that taking intentional time to quiet themselves isn’t optional…it’s pertinent to becoming a strong leader. In the stillness, God speaks. In the quiet, roots grow deeper. And strong roots create steady leaders.

But growth didn’t just happen in the quiet moments. It happened around tables as they shared meals. It happened in laughter echoing through the house. It happened in vulnerable conversations as they shared burdens and prayed for one another. They fully embraced the beauty and necessity of faith community, understanding that leadership is never meant to be walked alone.

What a gift it is to watch 21 young leaders choose depth. Choose courage. Choose community.

The future is bright because these students are choosing to be rooted.

02/21/2026

Our 8th graders are learning what it truly means to have servant hearts and this week, they put that faith into action.

After talking about what it looks like to follow Jesus not just in words but in action, our 8th graders had the opportunity to serve at Feed My Starving Children. With hairnets on and hands moving quickly, they packed countless meals that will be sent to children facing hunger all over the world.

There’s something powerful about watching students realize that their small, repetitive actions, scooping rice, sealing bags, packing boxes, are part of something so much bigger. Every scoop mattered. Every bag mattered. Every prayer whispered over those boxes mattered.

We’ve been talking about how Jesus modeled a servant heart in everything He did, choosing humility, compassion, and love. And this week, our teens lived that out. They didn’t serve for recognition. They served because they care. Because they understand that loving God also means loving people.

So proud of these faith-filled students who are learning that leadership starts with serving. The world needs more hearts like theirs.

02/19/2026

So many of our youth chose to attend Ash Wednesday services today.

In a world full of noise, distractions, sports schedules, homework, social media, and a hundred other options, they chose to sit quietly, to worship, to pray, to receive ashes, to begin the season of Lent with intention. Watching them step forward, heads bowed, hearts open, was a powerful reminder that God is stirring something deep in this generation.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day journey toward the cross and the resurrection. It reminds us of our need for Jesus, of humility, of repentance, and of grace. As Scripture says in Joel 2:13, “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate…” And tonight, that’s exactly what we saw, young hearts returning, leaning in, choosing Him.

These students are not passive. They are not indifferent. They are faith-filled, hungry, and courageous. They ask real questions. They wrestle with truth. They worship boldly. They serve joyfully. And tonight, they showed that their faith isn’t just something they inherit, it’s something they are choosing.

There is something incredibly powerful about seeing ashes placed on the foreheads of teenagers who understand that following Jesus is not about perfection, but about surrender. Not about image, but about transformation. Not about checking a box, but about walking closely with Christ.

We are so proud of these students. Proud of their hearts. Proud of their boldness. Proud of the way they lead one another. They are not the church of tomorrow…they are the Church right now.

Lord, continue to deepen their roots. Strengthen their faith. Guard their hearts. And let this Lent be a season where they draw closer to You than ever before.

01/13/2026

Last Wednesday, we asked our youth a simple but powerful question: Why??
Why choose a life of faith? Why make time for church? Why keep showing up?

Their answers held beautiful common threads.

They shared that youth group is a place where they can breathe. A place to reset from the noise of the week. A place where they feel safe to be themselves—no pretending, no pressure. A place they feel safe, seen and celebrated just as they are.

In essence, it’s a place of authentic belonging - not the kind where you have to conform or act to fit in, but the kind built from safety, emotional regulation, mentorship, and vulnerability - a place that now naturally fosters this type of belonging. The type of belonging people search for and dream of. A type of belonging we are all part of inherently; a type of belonging modeled to us in Christ. It’s belonging rooted in the love of Jesus. Lasting. True. Deep. Unconditional.

It’s holy ground, created by them.

What a privilege it is to be part of it, part of a community where our youth show up for one another and bear witness, over and over again, that Jesus changes everything and that everyone belongs.🤍 We are incredibly grateful for them and the One who started it all.