First Waco Youth

05/27/2026

Wow… what a week.
Last Wednesday’s End of School Bounce House & Cookout was a huge success and such a fun way for our students to fellowship and celebrate the close of another academic year together.
Then this past Sunday… Confirmation Sunday was absolutely amazing. Watching students publicly profess their faith, take steps toward Christ, and be surrounded by the love and support of their church family was powerful and deeply encouraging.

And because we are coming off the heels of such a meaningful Confirmation Sunday, it feels like the perfect time to begin a new summer study series with our youth exploring questions like:
- What am I good at?
- What do I bring to the table?
- Does what I love matter to God?
- Can God actually use me now?
Throughout portions of this summer, we’ll be exploring the ideas of:✨ Gifts✨ Talents✨ Passions
…through the lens of Scripture and God’s purpose for our lives.
Our foundational Scripture will be:
James 1:17“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights…”
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🔥 YES — WE ARE HAVING YOUTH TONIGHT!

📅 Wednesday, May 27th, 2026⏰ Our usual time
We are excited to gather again tonight for fellowship, teaching, discussion, and community together. Encourage your youth to come and bring a friend!
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Be on the lookout for another newsletter early next week with more detailed summer information, opportunities, and upcoming events.

With gratitude and expectation,
Pastor Ahmad

05/24/2026

18 students confirmed.
3 students baptized for the very first time.
And every single moment mattered. ✝️🔥

For the last 8 weeks, these students have done more than attend a class. They’ve wrestled with questions, explored Scripture, learned the foundations of the Christian faith, and been challenged to make their faith THEIR faith—not just mom and dad’s faith… not just grandma’s faith… but their own walk with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

This weekend became a memorial stone in their spiritual journey. A moment they will look back on and remember:
➡️ God met me there.
➡️ God was calling me deeper.
➡️ I responded.

Watching students publicly profess faith in Christ and step into baptism was powerful, emotional, and beautiful.

Huge thank you to everyone who helped pour into this confirmation journey:
Pastor Mike, Pastor Blossom, Greg & Bernadette Ostroff, Adam Schwarz, Eric Morrison, Mike Melina, Tim Junek, Eric Carrizales, and so many others who prayed, taught, served, encouraged, and showed up consistently for these students.

Church family—thank you for helping create a space where young people can genuinely encounter Jesus, ask honest questions, and grow in authentic Christian community.

This generation is hungry for God.
And we are believing for even more. 🙌🏾

05/24/2026

31 students.
One last midweek before summer.
A whole lot of laughter, food, games, fellowship, and memories. ☀️🙌🏾

This past Wednesday was special.
Bounce houses were a HUGE hit 😂
The food was amazing.
The energy was joyful.
And watching students simply enjoy being together in healthy Christian community was a blessing to witness.

Moments like this matter.
Not every moment of ministry happens during a sermon or Bible study. Sometimes connection is built through:

* laughing together
* eating together
* competing in games
* having conversations
* and simply making space for students to belong

Huge thank you to everyone who donated, cooked, baked, served, helped set up, cleaned up, prayed, and poured into our youth ministry. Your generosity helped create a night our students will remember.

Grateful for what God is building in this generation.
Summer is here… and we’re just getting started. 🔥

05/18/2026

What a weekend. Honestly… there are some moments you can’t manufacture. God just shows up.
Our Confirmation Retreat reminded us that this generation is hungry for more than religion—they want Jesus.

These confirmands asked real questions, leaned into worship, engaged deeply with the history and heart of the Methodist Church, and opened up honestly about confirmation, baptism, and following Christ more deeply. Some of their responses genuinely surprised us in the best way possible.

And yes… Pastor Mike created one of the wildest and most disgusting games we’ve ever seen 😂
No further comment. Go watch the footage for yourself.

Sunday morning, we celebrated two incredible seniors:
🎓 Stephanie Starks
🎓 Sullivan Zboril

It was beautiful watching our church surround them with love, encouragement, laughter, stories, and prayer as they prepare for their next season of life. Huge shoutout to Cari Jones for blessing everybody through her culinary ministry once again 🙌🏾

Then Sunday night happened…

Our Open Mic, Worship & Prayer Night shifted from creativity into a genuine move of God.

Students shared songs, Scripture, encouragement, and even Christian comedy—but during worship and prayer, the atmosphere changed.

Students prayed over one another.
Sang prophetically.
Declared the name of Jesus.
Cried in His presence.
Played instruments during spontaneous worship.

It became a night of learning how to sit with God instead of rushing past Him.

This is bigger than events.
Bigger than programming.

Young people are rediscovering authentic Christian community and learning how to genuinely pursue the presence of God together.

And that matters.

05/04/2026

Caption this. Photo design and set up and taken by Louisa R.
🚨Caption This🚨
Best caption gets a shout out on the next youth department video!

05/01/2026

Join us this National Day of Prayer for a dedicated time of prayer and communion.

As we gather, we’ll pray for our country, our city, our churches, and our communities.

🗓 Thursday, May 7
⏰ 12 Noon
📍 Main Campus Sanctuary

05/01/2026

https://youtu.be/U6oWxEUQeso?si=9gdjjM22Un6GI1Lx

🚨🚨EPISODE 2 is live!!!🚨🚨

Faith in Real Life • Ep-2 Service and Community Engagement