First Youth - Fort Smith First United Methodist Church

04/27/2026

Still celebrating a tremendous Sunday on April 19 as Ewan, Elizabeth, and Brayden were baptized and confirmed, and Daniel and Lillian were confirmed. Paige Faldon shared a ministry moment about the High School Spring Break Service Trip to New York City. Maya Wisley did the same in our 8:30 service. Holley Wisley shared about the trip with our Chapel Class.
That night, Sunday Night YOUth was led by the YOUth. They picked the worship songs, helped lead worship, planned and led games and small group discussions. A grand day! Fort Smith First United Methodist Church

04/02/2026

The last half of the High School YOUth's Spring Break Service Trip was a whirlwind.

On Wednesday we helped with City Relief, which does pop up food and services around the city. We helped serve bread, soup, coffee, water, and hand out socks to approximately 400 folks in 2 hours. In addition to that we helped set up and break down from our location at Chelsea Park.

Thursday had us going back to Governor's Island with Earth Matter, where we removed irrigation hoses, removed and replanted Irises for relocation, deconstructed an arbor, and sanded and cleaned a storage building for painting. All of this is to assist Earth Matter to move to a new location on the Island where they can build a bigger garden and have more space for their needs.
Thursday also had us going back to the church and hear from Bill Torres, of the Ali Forney Center. Bill shared about there being 5000 unaccompanied youth that go homeless each night in NYC, with 42% of them being LGBTQ+. The center provides shelter and services for those in that 42%. Due to privacy issues for minors, we were unable to go directly to the center to serve.
Following that, we ventured down to the Jewish Heritage and Holocaust Museum for a continued time of learning.

Friday we went to Visions, a center that helps the blind and visually impaired to find connection and provide assistance. We helped with crafts, trivia, took coffee orders, and delivered the drinks to the group that showed up. Fort Smith First United Methodist Church

03/26/2026

The YOUth arrived in NYC late Saturday night, got up Sunday, had breakfast, attended worship at St. Paul and St. Andrew UMC (where we are staying), and that afternoon helped a big group of volunteers sort a lot of donations in preparation for a clothes and toy giveaway on Monday for migrant families. Later we took a walk through Central Park.

Monday we visited the Museum of Modern Art before heading to Materials for the Arts over in Queens. MFTA has a large warehouse full of supplies and materials for artists and educators to utilize.

Tuesday we look the subway to the south end of Manhattan to catch the ferry to Governor’s Island, where we are serving with Earth Matter, and organization that works on environmental sustainability. They provide garden space for people to grow items to cook for meals of their heritage, as well as composts material from restaurants and the school on the island to be used in Manhattan for tree beds along the sidewalks. We made stops to Grand Central Station and visited the 9/11 Memorial.

People have been complimentary of the work of the YOUth, and surprised that they are giving up Spring Break to serve here. Fort Smith First United Methodist Church

02/17/2026

Last night was a night of worship and games with the theme of ‘Love’. From having teams compete to by texting love song lyrics without looking at their phones, to singing, to having self guided worship stations in Roebuck Chapel, it was a great night. We even finished the first round of our Pop Tart Taste Test Tournament.

01/09/2026

Last weekend some of the YOUth went to Petit Jean Mountain for a winter retreat to experience some sabbath rest, quiet time, reflection, recharging, fun, a bit of hiking, and some time without their devices. It was a great weekend to disconnect from the world and connect with God and each other.

12/28/2025

A great night at our White Elephant Gift Exchange last Sunday. There was candy, a desk chair, a TV, a projector screen, a badminton set, a Chickfila gift card, and lots more. We wrapped up the night with some quiet time, reflection, and heartfelt sharing.

12/19/2025

12/17/2025

This past Sunday was our 3rd Sunday in Advent serving as we made blessing bags which will be made available to church members to distribute in the new year plus made Christmas cards to be sent to some of our church members. The YOUth have done great at serving others this year. Fort Smith First United Methodist Church

12/08/2025

For the second Sunday in Advent, in preparation for Christmas, we pooled our money and headed out to Walmart, Target, and Books A Million. We were able to get gifts for 3 teenagers on our Angel Tree so that they may have a Merrier Christmas. Fort Smith First United Methodist Church

12/04/2025

This past Sunday we ventured over to Community Rescue Mission for one of our nights of service as we prepare for Christmas. We divided up, with one group decorating in the chapel (having to redo some work after discovering a tree was broken), and another group decorating in the dining hall and helping serve a meal to the residents. Fort Smith First United Methodist Church