06/10/2026
Last night, students in 7th through 10th grade sat on a panel before the Church Council, the leadership team of our church, and shared how Student Ministry at Gainesville First UMC has shaped their lives.
They spoke about faith formed on retreats, friendships built through play and community, character developed through service, confidence gained through leadership opportunities, and the weekly rhythms that helped them stay connected to God and one another.
GFUMC Student Ministry isn’t about building a crowd, filling a calendar, chasing popularity, or entertaining teenagers. It’s about helping young people know Jesus, experience Christian community, discover their gifts, and become the people God created them to be.
Last night wasn’t a presentation of that — it was proof.
The future of the Church isn’t coming someday. It’s already showing up, speaking up, serving, and leading up.
Check out an excerpt of one student’s response below.
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“When I first began coming to youth group the whole day leading up to 527 my mom was trying to convince me to go but I did not really want to go.
Eventually I just told her I would go to get her to be quiet. I told myself that I would just go that one time and get it over with but when I came I saw that it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I made some friends there and had a lot of fun.
The following week my mom asked me if I wanted to go again so I said why not it might be fun again. So once again I went and waited through the 2 hours. The following week I told my mom that I did not really want to go that week but I ended up coming and had a lot more fun and made more friends. The next week on Saturday I asked my mom if she would take me to 527 the next day and she was very happy.
As I have been coming more and more I began to love coming I get to see all my friends play a lot of games and grow further in my faith. Now I am the one who tells my parents that I want to go. Everyone is always very kind to each other and welcoming to new people and throughout my time at youth group it has made all the difference and more and more people started coming just like I did. I have grown in my faith and I have seen many other people grow in their faith as well by just getting to spend time learning about Jesus with other people our age.
As I have been going to youth group more it has made me want to come to normal church as well. Since I have been coming to youth group and church more and more, I have realized it is not just a place to go for a few hours a week and listen to some one talk, it is a place where you can not only make new friends and have a lot of fun but it also somewhere where you can grow in your faith and learn about Christ. Learning about Jesus and growing in my faith has made a huge difference in my life and I and other of my family members can tell. But for the most part it started as my mother telling me to come to youth group where everyone can make friends, have fun, and grow in your faith.”
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Parents, do not grow weary in encouraging your student to come to Youth Group. God doesn’t call you to control the harvest, he simply asks you to be faithful in the sowing. Keep sowing!! It does and will make a difference! What a blessing it is to be a part of your family’s faith formation and to be a leader of this ministry and church!
