Student Ministry

Kara Brown Student Ministry Director

Jahzeel Garcia Student Ministry Assistant

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!

We had a few great events this spring and boy did we have some fun! Spring quarter might have brought April showers but that didn’t stop us from having our lock-in’s! The High school lock-in was in April and the middle school lock-in was held in May. We had so much fun at those, celebrating birthdays, hiding in the dark, and watching the sunrise after staying up all night long. And both ended with some great breakfasts provided by our lovely volunteers. We also had the Nerf nights, and we are so grateful to the Merrill twins for hosting such great events.

In May we honored our graduating seniors with a brunch and recognition! This school year has just been great overall. We have had a steady growth in attendance since the beginning of the school year. We loved seeing some new faces come and familiar ones return!

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!

We deeply appreciate our Wednesday Night Team for remaining consistent for these students. Thank you all so, so, so much!

We held a luncheon in April to thank all of our volunteers. We celebrated with awards, prizes and even a performance by some of the students!

“I am so proud and amazed by all the students that performed and especially for Grace Johnson who has been learning guitar for about a year now. I am so grateful for this opportunity for her to showcase what she has been working on and I can’t be prouder.” – Jahzeel Garcia

End Of School Bonfire

June 9 | 8pm | Merrill’s House

As we are getting to the end of the school year and wrapping up testing, we are excited to host a end of the school year bonfire on June 9th! It will be hosted by the Merrill family, so plan on a night of fun as we celebrate the end of the school year, especially for the seniors, who we are so proud of by the way! Be sure to check-out our graduating seniors on page 12 and continue to pray for their future plans.

“WHAT TIME IS IT? SUMMERTIME!! School’s out, scream and shout!”

Wednesdays | June 28- August 2

Middle School - 5:30pm | Dinner 6:30pm | High School - 7pm

As the heat approaches the pool covers come off, and do you know what that means: Pool Parties! This summer we are continuing to have Wednesday pool parties, and similar to last year, we are having a few locations made available for us to use. We will be handing out that calendar at the last youth group (June 7th). It will also be up on the website and the socials so be sure to check that out! We would also like to take this opportunity to invite the incoming 6th graders to the pool parties to get a feel for youth and get to know both the older students and the youth staff at a more easy going setting.

Camp Ghormley

Middle School - July 17-22 | High School - July 23-27

In addition to the regular Youth Wednesdays this summer we are going to camp! Middle school camp will be July 17th –22nd, and for the High schoolers we are headed up to Waterski Camp July 23rd – 27th! So sign-up for camp ASAP on the Ghormley website, preferably before the spaces are filled! Register: www.campghormley.com

NEED VOLUNTEER HOURS?

Are you a youth in need of volunteer hours? Are you are older than 15, love Jesus, and like to hang out with 4th-5th graders?

If the answer is yes, then sign-up to become an Outreach Camp Counselor!

June 16-18.

Let Jahzeel know if that is something you’d like to do and keep in touch by following our socials.

Outreach Camp Needs Volunteers!

— Becca Mailand yakimagrace.com/preschool

Oh the places you’ll go! Preschool Graduation

At the end of May we sent 16 of our Pre-K students and a handful of Preschool students off to Kindergarten! Our graduation theme this year was “Oh the place you’ll go!” because we know how bright their futures are, especially after the amazing year they’ve had here with our teachers. We have a lot of returning students, so we pray for safety and fun summer activities to help them grow and be ready for another year of learning!

Registration Happening Now!

We only have a few spots left in our Pre-K Class. Our 3-Day class is technically full, although we could slide 1-2 more in if needed. We also have a 2-Day Class that is the perfect introduction to school, friends, and learning! We have a long tradition of excellence in downtown Yakima. Thank you for sharing the light of Christ by sharing our preschool!

More Than A Preschool…

Did you know that Grace of Christ Preschool offers so much more than just a classroom experience. Throughout the year we have…

• Field Trips to the Pumpkin Patch, Library and Mailbox

• Hands-on Learning like Baking, Gardening, Raising Butterflies, Dissecting Pumpkins, and Getting Messy!

• Family Events for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Tea, and Pre-School Graduation

• Community Helpers (Fire Fighters, Police Officers, Doctors and Dentists) who share what they do with our students

• Kid’s Club, which gives kids more opportunity to make friends, share a meal and do hands-on learning

Thank You!

Thank you for making all these things possible by praying for our teachers & students, supporting our fundraisers, and volunteering your time, donations, and words of encouragement throughout the year!

Our eyes may be windows to our souls, but it’s through our actions with these invaluable tools on the ends of our arms, our hands, that the Grace of Christ Deacon Ministry physically blesses our church family.

Hands. We use them in nearly everything we do. We use them to wash dishes, write a card of encouragement, give a hug of comfort, serve communion, knock on the door of one of our home centered Grace family members, prepare a meal, serve a meal, use our phone to call and chat, lift our hands in worship, lay them on those infirmed to heal, give a warm (or in my case cold) handshake of greeting, we fold them to pray, and we lift them to praise and celebrate!

Practical & Loving Comfort

The Celebration of Life Ministry provides practical and loving comfort to families and friends who have lost someone they love dearly. Imagine during profound grief, all the decisions that must be made. Notifying loved ones, making funeral arrangements, writing the obituary, choosing a funeral home, planning the funeral... the list goes on and on. Now imagine that a team of Deacons come along side and says, let the Deacons do one little thing for you. Allow the Deacons to use their hands to host the celebration. The Deacons would count it a privilege to transform the garden room into a beautiful welcoming space for your friends and family. The Deacons will shop for the food, prepare, and serve a delicious meal. The Deacons will clean up after your guests have enjoyed a meal, shared, laughed, wept, worshiped, sang, comforted, and celebrated the life of the one you love. This is what Grace Deacons do. And they do it well. They do it to give glory to our heavenly father, to comfort and encourage those who grieve, and to honor those who have left their earthly home and have entered their heavenly residence.

Four Days of Preparation

Hosting a Celebration of Life event takes 4 days of preparation. Roughly 20 pairs of hands come together to accomplish this to do list...

Da y 1 – Plan the Menu, Shop for the Ingredients and Secure Volunteers

Da y 2 – Prepare the Meal and Transform the Garden Room

Da y 3 – Host 20–300 Friends and Family Celebrating the Life of Their Loved One. Greet, Serve and Clean-up

Da y 4 – Washing and Ironing the Tablecloths

20 pairs of hands volunteer for a 2-hour shift resulting in over 40 hours of loving on people. If paid minimum wage it would cost the family over $600. Deacons live out the purpose of Grace of Christ – Love God and Love Others – using their hands.

Serving as a Deacon

You may be asked to consider serving as a deacon. The Deacon Ministry prays you will lift your hands and say YES! Don’t be afraid. God equips those He calls, and you will find yourself surrounded by soon to be good friends who will mentor and serve alongside of you. Be assured, you will find your hands doing soul changing eternal work that fills you with joy and gives your life a satisfying purpose.

God will not forget the work of your hands and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them. (Hebrews 6:10)

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us: establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)