Hello Students and Guardians!
You are so close to being on winter break! We are praying you all through finals and the end of the year. You got this! Check out the rest of our FirstCovGR Student News to hear about some important upcoming events.
BLAZE (MIDDLE SCHOOL)
- What is BLAZE? BLAZE is a community of 6th-8th graders that meet every Wednesday evening at FirstCov. We gather to seek God and to be changed by him. We will focus on the word of God through the reading and teaching of scripture, prayer, worship, service, life groups, and some super fun games!
- Our Wednesday night programming will be taking a break for the holidays! Middle schoolers are invited to join us again for BLAZE on January 10 at 6:30p :)
- ABIDE 67 & CONFIRMATION will NOT meet Dec. 24 OR 31. We will meet again on January 7 at 9a! See you then.
RADIATE (HIGH SCHOOL)
- What is RADIATE? RADIATE is a community of 9th-12th graders who gather to seek God and to be changed by him. We will focus on the word of God through the reading and teaching of scripture, prayer, worship, life groups, and some super fun games! We meet every Sunday evening at FirstCovGR.
- RADIATE is also taking a holiday break! We will start Sunday nights back up again on Sunday, January 7 with Praise Band & Tech Team Practice at 4:15p and youth group at 6p. We look forward to seeing you then :)
- LIFE IN 4-D will NOT meet Dec. 24 OR 31. We will meet again on January 7 at 9a! Wooohooo!
- SIGN UP NOW! For the Senior High Winter Retreat at Portage Lake Bible Camp! Look below for more details:
- WHO? Students in 9th - 12th grade, friends are invited too!
- WHAT? Get pumped for an awesome weekend experience at Portage Lake Bible Camp! It will be an unforgettable time for you to hang out with friends, have a blast playing games, and drink some hot cocoa. The weekend will be made complete with good worship, impactful teaching, and time spent in small groups. There will also be other things like tubing, broomball, crafts, coffee, the polar plunge/sauna, and more! You won't want to miss it!
- WHERE? Portage Lake Bible Camp! We will meet at FirstCov at 5:00p (We will leave at 5:15p) on Friday, Feb 9 to ride the bus together. We aim to return by 1:30p on Sunday, Feb. 11.
- WHEN? February 9-11, 2024
- HOW DO I SIGN UP? Click HERE for the link! Talk to Josh or Lauren with any questions!!
BLAZE & RADIATE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
- WHO? Middle and High School students & their friends are invited!
- WHAT? Need volunteer hours? Want plans for winter break? Come hang out with your friends and help us with some work around church! We need students who are willing to serve and put in hard work. We will carry some heavy things, clean some smaller things, and organize lots. Plus, there will be donuts for breakfast and pizza for lunch!
- WHERE? Meet in the youth room at FirstCovGR
- WHEN? Wednesday, December 27 from 9a-2p
- QUESTIONS? Contact Derrick Popa at (616)249-0222
SUMMER TRIPS
This summer, our middle schoolers and high schoolers are each taking a discipleship trip! Check it out:
- COLORADO (current 7th & 8th graders) is our middle school adventure and worship experience. Our students will engage in a week filled with activities that challenge them to step out of their comfort zone and into faith. Join us for heartfelt prayer, exhilarating excursions, tight-knit community, & so much more! Questions? Contact Lauren Abrell.
- UNITE EAST (current 9th-12th graders) is a Covenant High School event gathering groups from across the US. Join us for a transformative five-day event filled with powerful worship, engaging youth group sessions, heartfelt prayer, exhilarating afternoon activities, meaningful acts of service, & so much more! Find out more info and register HERE.
FUNDRAISING
- Sunday Morning Bake Sales! Students, from both trips, can sign up to sell baked goods on Sunday mornings. Sign up HERE! Please note that you MUST be signed up and have your deposit paid for your respective trip BEFORE you can sign up to sell baked goods.
- SAVE THE DATE: FEB. 4 - Spaghetti Lunch & Silent Auction for Colorado! This fundraiser will take place AFTER the 10:30a service. ALL students and families, as well as the larger church, are encouraged to attend. However, students AND guardians going on the Colorado trip are asked to help with set-up, clean-up, cooking, serving, donations, and more! Click HERE for more info & to sign up to help.
- SAVE THE DATE: MARCH 17 - Cornhole Tournament for UNITE! This fundraiser will take place from 6-8p in the gym. More details will be sent out on this soon!
SUPPORT
Are you in a sport, band, choir, school musical, and/or something else that we can cheer you on at? Send us your schedules - our leaders would love to come and support you! Send any schedules/details to Lauren Abrell at (630)750-6458 OR
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REGISTRATION/WAIVER
Please note that you must have a FirstCovGR Student Registration/Waiver for the 2023-24 school year submitted in order to participate in FirstCovGR's student ministry events. Students will also need a form filled out for summer trips. Please fill out THIS form. We need one form per student.
PARENTS/GUARDIANS
RESOURCES:
- Looking for ways to connect your families during the holidays? Check out this article from the Fuller Youth Institute! It provides tangible ways to make Christmas dinner one of fun and meaning - it's well worth the read. Part of Fuller Theological Seminary, the Youth Institute works to equip diverse leaders and parents so that faithful young people can change our world. Our team loves FYI and all that they provide!
OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE:
- Our Spring High School Dinner Sign-Up is HERE! Click the link to sign up! We love and appreciate it when parents, guardians, ministry teams, and volunteers graciously provide meals for us :) We could not do this ministry without you!
STAY CONNECTED
- Join our Facebook group: FirstCovGR Youth Group. We often post about upcoming Middle and High School events, post ETAs when we have group outings, and upload lots of pictures to this page!
- Follow us on Instagram @firstcovgr_ms & @firstcovgr_sh
- Check out our High School LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/firstcovgr_hs
- Want to find out more about our student ministry? Click HERE to visit our website!
QUESTIONS?
Our team would love to connect with you! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Josh, Michelle, or Lauren via phone call, text, email, or office visit.
YAHOO! That's all for now - thanks for reading and being diligent will all the details. Due to the holiday season, there will be NO student news sent out next week (12/26). We will resume emails on January 2. Thank you and we are praying for you all always!