Hendersonville Church of Christ
Youth Ministry
Youth Group Activities
Youth devotionals are scheduled at the church or in the homes of member volunteers. The young men, under the supervision of our Youth Minister, Will Tucker, and a deacon, conduct these “devos.” Food is usually provided.Various service projects are carried out for shut-ins, widows and the handicapped on church grounds, in the local community and at Palmetto Bible Camp by our young people. At least one mission trip is arranged each year during the summer. It may be local, regional or foreign. Participants raise their own support. Adult members of the congregation accompany and supervise these young emissaries of Christ during these working excursions. Friendships develop between these young men and women who previously thought they had nothing in common.
When our youth do something special like a rebuilding project for the poor it makes a more lasting impression to the glory of God. Our Youth Minister plans group and faith building activities for the teens. Professional sports events, concerts, plays, spelunking, white water rafting, camping trips, picnics, hikes, spring and fall retreats, snow skiing, and youth rallies (including Winterfest and IMPACT) are some of the fun things our young people enjoy.
Vacation Bible School
Every summer our church offers a three-day vacation Bible school where kids snack, listen to Bible stories, put on skits and make crafts. It is an awesome way for us to reach out to our community and our prayer is that God will use our VBS to help the children of this church and community understand how exciting God’s word is. Also, God uses it to strengthen our faith in Him. This year VBS was held June 22-24 and was entitled “Avalanche Ranch.” The adventure began in the book of Joshua and ended in the book of Mark. We had classes for 2 year olds all the way up through the 5th grade. There was also an adult class each night. The Wild Ride began on Monday night and ran through Wednesday night.
Palmetto Bible Camp
The Palmetto Bible Camp is a Bible encampment located in the mountains of South Carolina. Events include a youth rally, singing, a barbecue, visiting with our Christian friends, making new friends and attending Bible lessons that fortify our faith and encourage our soul. Each year the church accepts donations from members toward a scholarship for needy children to attend. The Palmetto Bible Camp Fall Singing and Barbecue was held October 13. For information on PBC click on http://www.palmettobiblecamp.org/
Back to School Prayer Walk
The 2007 Prayer Walk was held was held August 28. Prayers were lifted up on the steps of East, North, West, Hendersonville and Roberson High Schools. We feel that it is vital that we continue praying for guidance for our high schools students in the neighborhood. There are many challenges for youth of today that were not present during previous times so we must pray for our students daily. The less we pray, the stronger Satan’s foothold becomes in our schools. God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, wants us to bring our requests to him. We pray for safety, purity of the heart, soul and mind and a boldness of faith for our students continually.
Memphis Urban Missions Trip
July 28, 2007 The Hendersonville Church of Christ youth spent he week holding, chasing, and playing with 57 inner-city children ranging from 2 to 12 years old at the Wonder City Church in West Memphis, Tennessee. God kept everyone safe from any kind of harm and allowed us to serve Him to the best of our abilities in this community. These children from the inner-city of West Memphis come from a completely different world. At very young ages they witness things that we see on TV. One 10 year old boy told of a gang fight that he witnessed only the week before. His tone as he told the story was if this was a normal occurrence. After hearing stories like this one wonders about the lasting effectiveness of our mission trip. But then we would hear story after story of the changed attitudes and behaviors of the children that continue to come back every year to Kids Camp and optimism takes over. God is truly working in Wonder City.
Fall Youth Retreat
The Fall Youth Retreat for the year 2007 was held on September 29-30 at the Propst cabin near Boone, NC. The retreat began with reflecting on how we had grown spiritually over the year. During that time we saw teens go from quiet and reserved in Sunday morning classes to speaking up whenever they had something to say. We saw them commit to daily Bible study and prayer. We are now seeing our young men serving in many ways in our worship services. Most of all we have seen a change in heart by all of our youth into a heart that is more Christ-like every day. The weekend retreat came to a close with a literal mountaintop experience. Sitting on the top of Table Rock we set spiritual goals and mapped out plans for meeting those goals.
Lock-in Paint Ball
Sunday November 11 the Biltmore Church of Christ held their “Fall Frenzy” a night of good food, fun, fellowship and worship. The activities included a team dat gun elimination tournament, a Wii tournament, ping pong, foosball, movies, praise and worship time and lots of good food. On Monday paintball was played at Wolverine Paintball between Hendersonville and Asheville.
Youth Christmas Party
On December 18, 2007 the Hendersonville Church of Christ youth group held their annual Christmas Party in the church annex.
Ski Trip to Cataloochee
Saturday January 20th: As we pulled out of the parking lot we asked God to bless us with safe travels and that we would return home injury free. Praise God for answering our prayers. Our trip was a huge success. Trips like this provide our youth with opportunities to get to know each other better and a chance to get outside and enjoy God’s creations. The view form the top of Cataloochee Ski Area was breath taking. We thank God for allowing us the luxury of enjoying His creation in this way.
Annual Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Our youth were challenged to get out of their comfort zones and talk with strangers about why they like the Christmas season and even singing Christmas carols with them. The teens were also involved in serving the community with many random acts of kindness like cleaning a public restroom or bringing 15 grocery carts in from the parking lot. It was encouraging to see the enthusiasm as they went out and spread the love of Christ.
Youth and Family Fun Day: Snow Tubing
On February 3rd the youth group met at Moonshine Mountain near Hendersonville for a fun day of snow tubing.
Annual Tour of Christian Colleges
A weekend designed for high school students who are interested in getting a glimpse of what life at Harding University would be like was held December 29th - January 2nd at Harding University. In the spring of 2008 teens visited Abilene Christian University, Freed Hardeman University and Oklahoma Christian.
Winterfest
Winterfest is a weekend retreat geared toward middle and high school teens. This particular Winterfest is attended primarily by teens from acappella churches of Christ, although we have groups from several different fellowships that come back each year. We use teachers from our fellowship to teach and encourage teens in their walk with God. This weekend is geared toward discipleship. The teachers and guests that come use real life stories, drama, music and scripture to make the Christian life come alive to the teens involved. Our acappella praise and worship times are uplifting and engaging. We have contemporary Christian concerts at our events that are supplemental to the weekend (we have had Jars of Clay, Third Day, Newsboys, Audio A, Supertones, Tait, to name a few). Believing that the Christian life can be very joyful, we bring in the best Christian entertainers we can find to challenge teens with their lifestyle and their attitudes (we have had Bob Stromberg, Tom Tufts, CPR, Dr. Comedy, Bob Smiley, Brad Montague, 3-2-1, Bean & Bailey, to name a few). Winterfest is always the third weekend in January in Arlington, Texas, with the same program again the third weekend in February in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The theme for 2008 was The Mission from Matthew 28:19-20. For more information on Winterfest click here.
Annual Mission Trip to Jellico Tennessee
On May 26, 2007 our church youth hosted a great Italian meal in an effort to raise money for a mission trip to Jellico, Tennessee, one of the poorest areas in the US to serve with the Jellico Community Church of Christ. Our own talented musicians provided entertainment in the fellowship hall while the meal was served by the youth.
Youth Hiking Trip
On May 12, 2007 a few of our teens and their parents loaded the van and headed for Max Patch, a 350 acre grassy field on top of the Appalachian Mountains with a view that will take your breath away. It was an outdoor adventure complete with a cooler full of cokes and snacks, trout fishing, and an appreciation of God’s creations. Viewing God’s creation from Max Patch makes one feel so small and insignificant in this world but we were reminded that a simple caring word can change someone’s life forever. Our youth frequently visit crystal clear streams and more mountain top views throughout the year. We are truly thankful that we live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and can enjoy what God has created.
Youth Service Training
Our young men are trained to step out of their comfort zone and serve on Sunday mornings and evenings by speaking to the congregation about their mission experiences, serving at the Lord’s Table, and leading in prayer and song. On September 16 our youth conducted morning services and the children’s Bible classes at the Burnsville Church of Christ in Burnsville, NC. Later in the afternoon the kids enjoyed an amazing spread of food and an exciting game of kickball with their youth.
Elk Watching in Maggie Valley
On October 20th the Hendersonville Chucrh of Christ youth group took an elk watching trip to Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains to hold a devotional (devo) and watch elk.
Urban Missions Trip
July 28, 2007 The Hendersonville Church of Christ youth spent he week holding, chasing, and playing with 57 inner-city children ranging from 2 to 12 years old at the Wonder City Church in West Memphis, Tennessee. God kept everyone safe from any kind of harm and allowed us to serve Him to the best of our abilities in this community. These children from the inner-city of West Memphis come from a completely different world. At very young ages they witness things that we see on TV. One 10 year old boy told of a gang fight that he witnessed only the week before. His tone as he told the story was if this was a normal occurrence. After hearing stories like this one wonders about the lasting effectiveness of our mission trip. But then we would hear story after story of the changed attitudes and behaviors of the children that continue to come back every year to Kids Camp and optimism takes over. God is truly working in Wonder City.
Leadership Training
Hugh Price conducted a training course for our young men instructing them in how to lead prayer, present a talk and memorize Scripture.
