SUMMER 2016 ISSUE
YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG
YOUTHUNLIMITED STUDENTS | CHURCHES | FAITH-FORMING EXPERIENCES A L S O I N S I D E : S E R V E A N D M Y L I F E S T O R Y | S E R V E 2 0 1 7 | A T H R E A D I N T H E TA P E S T R Y H A M I LT O N V I C T O R Y G A R D E N A N D S E R V E | L I V E I T: D O C U M E N T I N G O U R J O U R N E Y
YOUTH UNLIMITED | Summer 2016 Youth Unlimited has a rich 90 year history of assisting churches ministering to youth. Birthed out of the Christian Reformed Church, Youth Unlimited remains committed to the reformed perspective while serving alongside congregations of any denomination. We strongly believe that the local church is the tool God is using to reveal himself to this world, and we are blessed to partner with congregations to offer faith-forming experiences that reach this generation of youth for Jesus Christ! This informational magazine is printed in the United States as a free resource to churches across North America. It is published triannually by Youth Unlimited, Grand Rapids, MI.
Contents OPENING NOTE: letter from the executive director........... pg. 1 FACES OF YOUTH UNLIMITED ............................................. pg. 2 resources ............................................................................ pg. 3 SERVE and My Life Story.. .............................................. pg. 5
Design & Publication | SDPcreative
A thread in the tapestry.. ............................................ pg. 8
Contributing Writers | Thomas Kielstra, Kyle DeBoer and
hamilton victory gardenS and SERVE .................. pg. 11
John Bijl
Editor | Mandi Grasmeyer
LIVE IT 2017 ........................................................................ pg. 12
USA | Postmaster, please send undeliverable copies and address
live it: documenting our journey . . ......................... pg. 13
Youth Unlimited 1333 Alger Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49507
SERVE & live it church listing.. ................................ pg. 14
changes to:
Canada | Canada Post International Sales Agreement #41124116.
SERVE 2017 ......................................................................... pg. 16
Please send undeliverable copies and address changes to: Youth Unlimited PO Box 1100 Norwich, ON N0J 1P0
THE YOUTH UNLIMITED TEAM: Executive Director:
Jeff Kruithof 616.241.5616 ext. 3043 jeff@youthunlimited.org
A Thread in the Tapestry –Page 8
Missions Director:
Jerry Meadows 616.241.5616 ext. 3040 jerry@youthunlimited.org
Program Coordinator: Alesha Schut 616.241.5616 ext. 3038 alesha@youthunlimited.org
Communications Administrator: Mandi Grasmeyer 616.241.5616 ext. 3046 mandi@youthunlimited.org
LIVE IT Director & Donor/Church Relations Advocate: Amanda Roozeboom 616.241.5616 ext. 3039 amanda@youthunlimited.org
LIVE IT 2017 & LIVE IT: Documenting our Journey –Pages 17 & 18
FROM THE DIRECTOR
O
ver the past year, Youth Unlimited gained many stories to share of God doing immeasurably more than we could have asked or imagined. We were blessed by opportunity upon opportunity to witness God’s equipping at numerous SERVE sites and at LIVE IT. In our own office, we were blessed to witness God equipping our ministry through the generosity of our donors to meet our financial needs, resulting in our ability to add $20,000 to the scholarship fund, ensuring every student has the opportunity of a life-changing experience with Youth Unlimited.
Unlimited’s passion for building Christ’s Church, a church that lives missionally every week of the year in the community. Youth Unlimited is about so much more than just creating a great week-long experience for students. Finally, as you read Documenting our Journey by Amanda Roozeboom, Youth Unlimited’s new LIVE IT Director, I pray that you’ll see the value in this “unconventional youth convention” and the important step in their faith journey that students take because of it. I pray that you’ll see an opportunity for your
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” –Ephesians 3:20-21
We don’t take the potential of God’s life-changing work at SERVE or LIVE IT lightly. It’s our prayer that students will connect with Christ, the Church and their community, and as you read through this issue, it’s my hope you will be encouraged and inspired by Thomas’ connection to Christ as a result of faithforming experiences at Muskegon and Woodstock SERVE, his church and the friendships God put in his life. As you read A Thread in the Tapestry, by Kyle De Boer, I pray you will see how Christ’s Church is “better together”. When churches come together, with people of all ages and skillsets, for something bigger than themselves, they recognize they are one significant thread in the tapestry God is weaving. As you read John’s article about Hamilton Victory Gardens, I hope you gain an understanding of Youth
students to learn about their value in Christ while exploring how to use their talents to spread God’s love to their friends, community and world. The Scriptures call on Christ’s Church to serve as he served. At Youth Unlimited, we provide opportunities for students to connect with Christ, the Church and their community through the creation and implementation of SERVE and LIVE IT experiences. We passionately strive to be a partner with you as, together, we invest in the lives of students. Connecting students to Christ, the Church and their community with you,
Jeff Kruithof Executive Director Youth Unlimited
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FACES
OF YOUTH UNLIMITED
Annika
Natasha
Lesli Van Milligen CrossPoint Christian Reformed Church Brampton, ON
Tyler Gaastra Beckwith Hills Christian Reformed Church Grand Rapids, MI
Q. What do you do in your free time? A. In my free time I read history, philosophy and theology books and visit Civil War sites. Q. Where would you like to travel someday? A. I’d like to do a Reformation History Tour: Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and England. Q. What do you do to stay relevant to youth? A. Embrace change and technology. Q. I never leave for youth group without my _____. A. Wife. Q. What’s your favorite place to meet with students, and why? A. I like to have students over to our house for movies, sporting events and swimming.
Covenant Christian Reformed Church St. Catharines, ON
Q. Where could we find you at 10:00 AM on a Saturday morning?
Q. What resource has inspired you for ministry lately?
A. Probably doing some type of youth ministry re-visioning retreat on behalf of Faith Formation Ministries. Many churches are rethinking their approach to youth ministry and I enjoy coming alongside them as they brainstorm new ways of reaching their youth.
A. I have been journeying through the Ridder Church Renewal through Western Theological Seminary. The process has been inspiring and encouraging.
Q. What’s your favorite place to meet with students, and why? A. Any place with good coffee or interesting food—Student’s choice. I like them to introduce me to places that they enjoy and where they feel “safe”. They will want to introduce me to their friends or they will choose a place where they have the freedom to talk and not be recognized. I always make sure that their parents are aware that we are meeting and where. Q. What do you do to stay relevant to youth? A. I find out what they are reading and read it myself so we can talk about it. We often had students share music, TV shows or movie clips with the group, using a rubric we put together as a group to help students talk about why that particular piece of pop culture was relevant to them and to dissect where it supported or challenged their faith. Great discussions. Q. What do you do in your free time? A. Because we love to cook, when we are not having folks over for a meal, my husband and I are working through a list of 501 must see classic movies. Q. Where would you like to travel someday? A. I would love to return to Spain. I studied and interned there on several occasions. I even preached my first sermon in Spanish while working with youth outside of Madrid.
2 |Summer 2016
Kevin VanderVeen
Q. Where could we find you at 10:00 AM on a Saturday morning? A. At home, sitting by my fireplace, reading Scripture. Saturdays are my Sabbath. Q. If your students described you in five words or less, what would they say? A. Giving, athletic and sensitive. Q. What do you do in your free time? A. In my free time I play hockey, exercise, host friends at my home or support my youth by going to their games/events. Q. What do you do to stay relevant to youth? A. Love them and listen to them. The most important part is being present with them and leading them into the Word of God. Let us know if you’d like to be interviewed for a future issue of the Youth Unlimited Magazine at interview@youthunlimited.org
RE SOURCE S DIGITAL RESOURCE BOX Youth Unlimited’s Digital Resource Box helps you prepare for your faith-forming experience. Four, easy-to-use categories with downloads will make planning your SERVE trip even better: Promotions, Registration, Leader Helps & Pre/Post-Trip Resources.
YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG/SERVE/ RESOURCE-BOX/
BLOG Are you keeping up with Youth Unlimited? Be sure to check out the Youth Unlimited blog to read up on powerful testimonies, get the latest Youth Unlimited updates and share youth ministry ideas.
YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG/BLOG Want to contribute to the Youth Unlimited blog? Contact us at blog@youthunlimited.org with your testimony, idea or story to be featured on the blog. We are always looking for featured writers.
E-NEWSLETTER To follow us and see what your donation is doing at Youth Unlimited, be sure to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter on our website homepage.
YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG youthunlimited.org | 3
This is when I discovered how valuable friendship is to my personal faith journey.
4 | Summer 2016
SERVE My Life Story
and
BY THOMAS KIELSTRA
D
Muskegon SERVE Intern
iscovering what my faith was as a teenager was not exactly easy. Feeling the various pushes from different Christian institutions to focus on different aspects of faith was challenging, but making my faith mine was very important to me. In 2011 at the age of 14, I went to Muskegon SERVE in Muskegon, Michigan with a church that wasn’t mine. At the week of SERVE, I saw that the Reformed Church put a much larger emphasis on a personal relationship with God and personal relationships with others than I previously experienced. As a result, I began to analyse faith— specifically my faith—in a different way. I began investing in my own church’s youth group, and started to make connections within my church. I went on to go to Woodstock SERVE in Woodstock, Ontario in 2012 and then back to Muskegon SERVE in 2013 with my own church in addition to four mission trips to Detroit, Michigan and one to Nicaragua with my high school. In Grade 12, I wanted to do something more to help out with the SERVE.
Having made a personal connection with Brian Kingshott, the youth director at Calvin Christian Reformed Church, which hosts Muskegon SERVE, I contacted him and asked if he would consider taking on an intern. I offered to help out with whatever needed to be done behind the scenes. He responded quickly saying that he would be interested, and he started connecting with Youth Unlimited to come up with a process to make this possible. So in July of 2014, I went to Muskegon as an intern. I helped out with icebreaker games and activities and I was responsible for doing games before dinner and worship, but my favourite part about the internship was the personal connections I made with the participants and youth leaders. This is when I discovered how valuable friendship is to my personal faith journey. This is when my relationship with God truly became a friendship— not just something I believed. I then went off to university, where I fell in love with my studies, and my faith took a back seat. By February, I still had not found a church that I called my own and my relationship with God became
distant. This is when Brian reached out to me about coming back for another year, to help out with SERVE again. I hesitantly agreed. Then, during my summer semester, I was invited to Royal City Evangelical Missionary Church’s youth group. Their focus is on relationship— Relationships with the youth and relationships with God. As I attended Royal City, my relationship with God built over the summer as my relationships with my friends at Royal City grew. When I went back to Muskegon, again as an intern, in the summer of 2015, my relationship with God was much stronger than it had ever been. Now I am a Junior Youth Leader at Royal City. I have learned more about how to show the love of God and what my faith really is. All in all, SERVE has taught me two things: first, I have a passion for serving others and second, having honest relationships with others and showing others that I will always be there for them is one of the best ways I am able to show God’s love to others. youthunlimited.org | 5
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A discipleship program for young adults who enjoy hands-on, service-based faith development. Momentum is a year-long discipleship program where teams of young adults and mentors meet monthly for local community service projects and devotional reflections. The final month of the program culminates in an international service and learning project. Watch our new video on our website.
Disciple. Serve. Grow. crwm.org/momentum
BY KYLE DEBOER
J
Host Team Coordinator | Gallatin Valley SERVE
oining forces for the third straight year, three Montana congregations are collaborating to host Gallatin Valley SERVE. We are an eclectic bunch with diverse gifts. Farmers and ranchers work side-by-side with educators and entrepreneurs. The unique community of volunteers for GV SERVE is the locale in which youth and adults offer their gifts for something greater than themselves. SERVE volunteers and participants are the needed characters in a much larger, gospel-centered story of love and transformation. Youth are an integral part of Gallatin Valley SERVE. Consider a large tapestry— one larger than the size of a tall Dutch
8 | summer 2016
man! This aesthetically pleasing piece of art conveys a message as you soak in its magnitude. Step a little closer, and you begin to notice the detail of this magnificent work. Step even closer yet, and you notice how small strands of thread comprise this masterpiece. Students are some important strands of the thread that comprise GV SERVE. Before GV SERVE came into existence, three “youth”, functioning as adult leaders, led a group on SERVE to Sioux Falls, SD. Ranging from 22 to 25 years old at the time, these three individuals returned to the Gallatin Valley with a conviction to host SERVE. Support for SERVE quickly expanded to include: area
councils, high school students and many adults. Preparations were underway. Since the inception, youth keep the pulse of GV SERVE beating, possibly even racing! On our day away, students want to summit a mountain. Their effort to conquer the high elevation is motivation for our adults to keep up! Students can step out of their comfort zone in order to engage the opportunities that are part of Montana. Conversation around the supper table can get quite loud in the Fellowship Hall as stories of relationships and service are swapped. Singing, clapping and dancing are expressed in evening worship, in both a church sanctuary and an alpine shoreline.
Students from different churches in Montana join with peers from across North America to enter into a story that is much greater than themselves. All the while, adult volunteers and leaders have the privilege of learning from and growing with these important strands of thread. I have the privilege of seeing both youth and adults integrate their gifts with Christ’s work in Montana. GV SERVE keeps the eyes of our Host Churches open to our community. With wide eyes, our congregations are able to engage the Gallatin Valley in continued and new ways because of the SERVE participants. However, the Gallatin Valley is only a small part of the large tapestry that God is weaving.
Youth are empowered at SERVE to live a transformed life of love and service at home. After seeing a new community and joining in Kingdom service during SERVE, adults and students have an opportunity to enter God’s redemptive story in their church, community and family. Some SERVE participants return home to provide support for a local nonprofit. Some seek reconciliation with a parent or friend. Others allow the grace of Christ to shape their view of self. Gallatin Valley SERVE has taught us that whether we are on SERVE or at home, we can continue to offer ourselves as thread, purposed and placed by the master weaver, Jesus Christ.
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10 | summer 2016
Hamilton Victory Gardens and SERVE
2
BY JOHN BIJL
Youth Ministries Coordinator | Meadowlands Fellowship Church | Hamilton, ON
015’s SERVE theme was The Other 51, but Hamilton SERVE has been stressing that principle for the last six years. Hamilton SERVE is not just a one-week work project. It is a culmination of 51 other weeks of working together, and Host Team members of Hamilton SERVE have created a symbiotic relationship with the two organizations they serve that lasts throughout the year. One of the organizations is Hamilton Victory Gardens. It acquires vacant land from municipal governments, churches, schools and old age homes and builds vegetable gardens. All the gardens are built by using raised beds. The raised beds are built right on top of the existing land, so no work needs to be done to the land before they get started. Getting volunteers to plant or weed or harvest is not a problem, but the physical building of the beds is extremely hard and difficult work to do. Through our partnership with Hamilton Victory Gardens, they have done year long planning to have most of their beds built by the groups that come to Hamilton SERVE. They preplan to have all the necessary materials ready for the week. They also spend a lot of time planning where gardens should go, all while keeping Hamilton SERVE in mind. The week after Hamilton SERVE was done building beds, the Fruitland special
needs SERVE came in and planted the gardens we built. The produce that is harvested from the beds we build supplies multiple food banks with fresh produce—fresh produce that they would normally not receive. One of those organizations, The Living Rock, in turn uses the produce to teach street youth a trade such as being a chef or working in restaurant kitchens, which use their product to feed other street youth. Our relationship with Hamilton Victory Gardens is not just one week, and the work we do affects the work of many other organizations in the Hamilton community. Our relationships with the two organizations we serve have become so much more than a week of SERVE. This became truly evident to us at the end of SERVE in 2015. We were debriefing and discussing how tired we were when the biblical principle of the Sabbath was brought up by one of our host team members. We had just completed our 6th year of hosting Hamilton SERVE and the idea of taking a one-year sabbatical was a very enticing idea, but the more we thought about it, the more we came to the conclusion that we can not take a sabbatical. We have two organizations that count on us. They plan for us. They need us, and it feels good to be needed.
Hamilton SERVE will continue as long as the Lord wants it to, but as long as we continue to work during the other 51 weeks with the Good Shepherd Centre and Hamilton Victory Gardens, no sabbaticals will be taken. Creating these meaningful and reciprocal relationships has helped make Hamilton SERVE very successful, and it has also enabled two amazing organizations to do the work that God has called them to do. We encourage all Host Teams to not just find places to work for one week, but to create meaningful and lasting relationships with organizations in your community. When you have those relationships, you will truly see and feel the full power of SERVE. In Hamilton, SERVE is not just one week, it is 52 weeks of being God’s hands and feet. May God bless you in your Kingdom work in your community.
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July 30 - August 3, 2017
EsteS PArk,ColorAdo
I am an important cog, as are you, in the Kingdom work that flows from this building.
12 | summer 2016
LIVE IT: Documenting our Journey BY AMANDA ROOZEBOOM
I
LIVE IT Director
recently had a discussion with some high school students about whether or not I was going to lock up their cell phones during our week long summer mission trip. They listed many reasons to keep their phones, but the one that surprised me most was their desire to be able to “check-in” to all the landmark locations we will be visiting while away. Cell phones have become a modern day “Captain’s Log” documenting significant events, adventures and discoveries along life’s journey. In my new role as the LIVE IT Director for Youth Unlimited, I have been considering how our students log their spiritual journeys and what locations they’ll remember as the landmarks of their spiritual adventures. Those of us who grew up without a cell phone can recall a specific service trip where our faith grew outside of our comfort zone or a youth convention where we discovered how our talents and abilities fit into God’s Kingdom.
given talents. Within each track they’ll learn spiritual disciplines to help discover how their voice helps create the body of Christ. Students are also challenged to return home and use what they’ve experienced at LIVE IT to spread God’s love throughout our communities and our world. On July 30, 2017, hundreds of students and adults will converge in Estes Park, Colorado for LIVE IT 2017. It is my prayer that during this five-day event, students and adults will document deep in their hearts and minds their tremendous value in Christ. That they will discover their unique talents and abilities necessary for the building of God’s Kingdom. Most of all, I pray that LIVE IT 2017 will be more than just another place where students “check-in” but that
it will be a place that will launch them into the next phase of their journey with Christ… And if they happen to have their cell phones with them, I hope they check-in, tweet and Instagram every adventure, every discovery and every new friend they meet, and that they tag it all with #LiveIt2017!
Today, LIVE IT is an “unconventional youth convention” where students learn about their value in Christ while exploring how to use their talents to spread God’s love to their friends, community and world. By pairing students with like-minded peers and adults, they will see how God created them with a purpose so much greater than self-gratification. By offering different tracks in athletics, arts and service, students will recognize how each person comes to the table with their own personality, interests and God-
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PARTICIPATING CHURCHES: SENDING CHURCHES for SERVE and LIVE IT
180
Bethel Community Church, Edmonton, AB Covenant CRC, Calgary, AB Emmanuel CRC, Calgary, AB Faith Fellowship CRC, Fairview, AB Foothills Mennonite Church, Calgary, AB Inglewood CRC, Edmonton, AB Sonrise CRC, Ponoka, AB St Albert CRC, St Albert, AB Wolf Creek Community, Lacombe, AB Woodynook CRC, Blackfalds, AB Palm Lane CRC, Scottsdale, AZ Fleetwood CRC, Surrey, BC Anaheim CRC, Anaheim, CA New Life Presbyterian Church, Escondido, CA Cragmor CRC, Colorado Springs, CO Pinecrest Community Church, Parker, CO Bethel CRC, Sioux Center, IA Calvin CRC, Rock Valley, IA Crossroads Fellowship, West Des Moines, IA First CRC - Rock Valley, Rock Valley, IA First CRC - Sheldon, Sheldon, IA First CRC - Sioux Center, Sioux Center, IA Friendship Community Church, Seargent-Bluff, IA Hope CRC, Hull, IA Immanuel CRC, Sheldon, IA Ireton CRC, Ireton, IA Peace CRC, Cedar Rapids, IA Peace Lutheran Church, Marcus, IA Trinity CRC, Rock Valley, IA Faith CRC, Elmhurst, IL First CRC - Fulton, Fulton, IL Palos Heights CRC, Palos Heights, IL Community CRC, DeMotte, IN First CRC - Crown Point, Crown Point, IN First CRC - DeMotte, DeMotte, IN Dispatch CRC, Cawker City, KS Pleasant Street CRC, Whitinsville, MA Arnaud Mennonite Church, Arnaud, MB Covenant CRC, Winnipeg, MB Douglas Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, MB Fort Garry Mennonite Brethren Church, Winnipeg, MB North Kildonan Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, MB Transcona CRC, Winnipeg, MB Silver Spring CRC, Wheaton, MD Ada CRC, Ada, MI Beckwith Hills CRC, Grand Rapids, MI Borculo CRC, Zeeland, MI Cadillac CRC, Cadillac, MI Calvin CRC, Holland, MI Calvin CRC, Muskegon, MI
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Calvin CRC, Grand Rapids, MI Covenant Hope Church, Battle Creek, MI Discovery Church, Grand Rapids, MI Fairway CRC, Jenison, MI Ferry Memorial, Montague, MI First CRC - Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, MI First CRC of Cutlerville, Byron Center, MI Graafschap CRC, Holland, MI Ignite Fellowship Church, Grand Rapids, MI Jamestown CRC, Hudsonville, MI LaGrave CRC, Grand Rapids, MI Lee Street CRC, Wyoming, MI New Era CRC, New Era, MI North Blendon CRC, Hudsonville, MI Oakland CRC, Hamilton, MI Park CRC, Holland, MI Pine Grove CRC, Howard City, MI Prairie Edge CRC, Portage, MI Providence CRC, Holland, MI Resurrection Reformed Church, Flint, MI Riverside CRC, Grand Rapids, MI Rudyard CRC, Rudyard, MI St Joseph CRC, St. Joseph, MI Trinity CRC, Grandville, MI Vogel Center CRC, McBain, MI Woodlawn CRC, Grand Rapids, MI Bunde CRC, Clara City, MN Calvary CRC, Edina, MN Cornerstone Evangelical Free, Pipestone, MN Faith Community Church, Pipestone, MN Faith CRC, New Brighton, MN First CRC - Prinsburg, Prinsburg, MN Hancock CRC, Hancock, MN Luverne CRC, Luverne, MN Pease CRC, Pease, MN Pipestone CRC, Pipestone, MN Raymond CRC, Raymond, MN Worthington CRC, Worthington, MN Trinity CRC, Maryland Heights, MO Prairie Lane CRC, Omaha, NE Sussex CRC, Sussex, NJ Chelwood CRC, Albuquerque, NM Grace Valley CRC, Las Vegas, NV Athens CRC, Athens, ON Aylmer CRC, Aylmer, ON Bethany CRC, Fenwick, ON Bethel CRC, Listowel, ON Bethel CRC, Newmarket, ON Bethel CRC, Dunnville, ON Blyth CRC, Blyth, ON Burlington CRC, Burlington, ON Calvary CRC, Ottawa, ON Calvin CRC, Ottawa, ON Central Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, ON ClearView CRC, Oakville, ON Community CRC, Richmond Hill, ON Community CRC, Brinston, ON Community CRC, Kitchener, ON Covenant CRC, St. Catharines, ON Covenant CRC, Barrie, ON Covenant CRC, Woodstock, ON CrossPoint CRC, Brampton, ON Drayton CRC, Drayton, ON East Gate Alliance Church, Ottawa, ON
Ebenezer CRC, Trenton, ON Exeter CRC, Exeter, ON Faith CRC, Burlington, ON Fellowship CRC, St. Thomas, ON First CRC - Barrie, Barrie, ON First CRC - Orillia, Orillia, ON First CRC - Owen Sound, Owen Sound, ON First CRC - Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay, ON Fruitland CRC, Stoney Creek, ON Good News CRC, London, ON Hillside Church, London, ON Hope CRC, Port Perry, ON Hope Fellowship CRC, Courtice, ON Immanuel CRC, Hamilton, ON Immanuel CRC, Simcoe, ON Ingersoll CRC, Ingersoll, ON Jubilee Fellowship CRC, St Catharines, ON Knox Presbyterian, Teeswater, ON Life Centre, Kanata, ON Life Church, Stratford, ON Living Hope CRC, Peterborough, ON Maranatha CRC, Woodstock, ON Meadowlands Fellowship CRC, Ancaster, ON Mindemoya Missionary Church, Mindemoya, ON Mountainview CRC, Grimsby, ON New Life CRC, Guelph, ON Oxford Baptist, Woodstock, ON Palmerston CRC, Palmerston, ON Redeemer CRC, Sarnia, ON Rehoboth CRC, Bowmanville, ON Riverside CRC, Wellandport, ON Smithville CRC, Smithville, ON Southgate Church, Kemptville, ON Springs Church, Winnipeg, ON St. Mary of the Visitation, Cambridge, ON Stratford CRC, Stratford, ON Talbot St. CRC, London, ON Trinity CRC, Goderich, ON Waterloo CRC, Waterloo, ON Whyte Ridge Baptist, Ottawa, ON Williamsburg CRC, Willliamsburg, ON Woodvale Pentecostal Church, Ottawa, ON West Shore Evangelical Free, Mechanicsburg, PA Eglise Chretienne du Plateau, Gatineau, QB First CRC - Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, SD First Reformed Church, Harrison, SD Peace CRC, Menno, SD Platte CRC, Platte, SD Shalom CRC, Sioux Falls, SD Volga CRC, Volga, SD New Life CRC, Spring, TX Peace Community CRC, Houston, TX Spring Antioch Baptist Church, Spring, TX Stephenville CRC, Stephenvillle, TX Truevine Missionary Baptist Church, Spring, TX Grace CRC, Burke, VA Second CRC, Lynden, WA Baldwin CRC, Baldwin, WI Bethel CRC, Waupun, WI Brookfield CRC, Brookfield, WI Calvin CRC, Sheboygan, WI Christ Community Church, Sheboygan, WI Delavan CRC, Delavan, WI First CRC - Waupun, Waupun, WI
HOST CHURCHES for SERVE
30
SERVE the Avenue, First CRC - Edmonton, Lethbridge, AB Ripon SERVE, Almond Valley CRC, Ripon, CA Alamosa SERVE, Alamosa CRC, Alamosa, CO Prairie SERVE, Friendship Community Church, Sioux Center, IA Roselawn SERVE, Community CRC, DeMotte, IN Winnipeg (Special Needs) SERVE, Covenant CRC, Winnipeg, MB Byron Center SERVE, Friendship CRC, Caledonia, MI Grand Rapids (Brookside) SERVE, Brookside CRC, Grand Rapids, MI Grand Rapids (LaGrave) SERVE, LaGrave CRC, Grand Rapids, MI Muskegon SERVE, Calvin CRC, Muskegon, MI Minnesota West SERVE, Bunde CRC, Clara City, MN Gallatin Valley SERVE, Manhattan CRC, Manhattan, MT Brighton SERVE, Fellowship CRC, Brighton, ON Burlington SERVE, New Street CRC, Burlington, ON Fruitland (Special Needs) SERVE, Fruitland CRC, Stoney Creek, ON Hamilton SERVE, Ancaster CRC, Ancaster, ON Huron SERVE, Vanastra Community, Brucefield, ON London SERVE, Talbot St. CRC, London, ON Ottawa (Special Needs) SERVE, Calvin CRC, Ottawa, ON Peterborough SERVE, Living Hope CRC, Peterborough, ON Port Perry SERVE, Hope CRC, Port Perry, ON Thunder Bay SERVE, First CRC - Thunder Bay, Rosslyn, ON Woodstock SERVE, Maranatha CRC, Woodstock, ON
Platte SERVE, Platte CRC, Platte, SD Sioux Falls SERVE, First CRC - Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, SD Saskatchewan SERVE, Sonlight CRC, Regina, SK Austin SERVE (Spring Break), Sunrise Community, Austin, TX Austin SERVE (Summer), Sunrise Community, Austin, TX Houston SERVE, New Life CRC, Spring, TX Washington D.C. (Fairfax) SERVE, Fairfax Baptist Church, Fairfax, VA
Connect with STUDENTS. Connect with CHRIST. FAITH-FORMING EXPERIENCES FOR THE CHURCH, BY THE CHURCH
youthunlimited.org Photo: The Sea of Galilee, Israel
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Where will you SERVE next summer? 2017 SERVE
sites announced September 1
2017 | YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG/SERVE 16 | summer 2016
SERVE and LIVE IT 2017
Planning Calendar September 1, 2016
o 2017 LIVE IT and SERVE Sites announced at youthunlimited.org!
September/October 2016
o Choose a LIVE IT or SERVE experience. Invite input from fellow leaders, students, parents and church leadership. There are sample letters in the Digital Resource Box to assist you in your planning and communication.
November 1, 2016
o Reserve spots for your group by placing a deposit. You will only need to indicate the number of youth and adult spots at this time. Sites are filled on a first come, first served basis!
November 2016–March 2017
o After you receive your Confirmation Letter of your site placement, your group can then Register in full online by providing specific participant information.
March 31, 2017
o Register by March 31 to lock in the early bird price.
April 1, 2017
o Price increases by $50 per person for those not registered. Scholarship application deadline.
April 15, 2017
o Cancellation refund deadline.
May 1, 2017
o Final balance due and last day to register for June SERVE Sites.
June 1, 2017
o Final balance due and last day to register for LIVE IT and July SERVE Sites.
Before your LIVE IT or o Collect Liability Waiver forms from each student and SERVE experience adult participant. o Ensure each Adult Leader has a Background Check on file at the church. More information can be found at youthunlimited.org. o Have a Leaders’ Meeting to review the Leader Handbook (expectations), Spiritual Life Guide and Expectations of a Leader document. o Have a Students’ Meeting: teach from the 2017 pre-trip theme lessons and review the Student Handbook. o Ask your congregation to pray.
youthunlimited.org | 17
Dynamic Youth Ministries 1333 Alger Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49507
PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Grand Rapids, MI Permit No. 931 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
HELPING CHURCHES CHALLENGE YOUTH TO COMMIT THEIR LIVES TO JESUS CHRIST AND TRANSFORM THE WORLD FOR HIM.
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