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Youth
Activities

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Youth activities slideshow

Campers at Vacation Bible School (June 2010)

bullet  Calendar  log in

bullet  Vacation Bible School      2011

bullet  Basketball Teams

bullet  Annual Mission Trips

bullet  Youth Fellowship

bullet  High School Bible Study

bullet  Homeless Ministries

bullet  Operation Christmas Child

bullet  Children's Activities

bullet  Presbyterian Pathfinders


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Vacation Bible School 2011    top  >


FPC Vacation Bible School (VBS) takes place the fourth week of June each year. In 2011, it was June 20-24, 9:00 a.m. - noon.

VBS provides opportunities for fun, learning, and spiritual growth for both young children and youth, who help out with the programs and activities in multiple ways and provide nurturing and mentoring support while gaining valuable experience working with children.

Our theme this year was "Inside Out & Upside Down on Main Street--where Jesus makes a difference every day!" On Main Street, kids and counselors learned about gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, grace, and faithfulness. The kids had a wonderful time singing songs, completing some nifty art projects, playing exciting games, learning Bible stories, and making and eating tasty food crafts — all of the things that make VBS so much fun!

VBS is open to all children who have completed a three-year-old preschool program up through those completing fifth grade. It's also open to children who aren't members of First Presbyterian Church. Invite your friends to sign up next year. Check the slide show on this page to see how much fun it was!

Every year, we need youth (rising middle school-age and older) and adult volunteers to make it all happen. You can send email to if you can volunteer a few hours of your time.

Middle- and High-School Basketball    top  >


The FPC Middle School basketball team (the Big Orange) will start a new season in January, 2012 and has a lot of fun, win or lose. We play in a co-ed league; both girls and boys are needed on our roster.

Come meet the coaches, Alan Jessup and Perry Dean, at the first practice in early November in the FPC gym. Join us then for another fun, inspiring (and winning) season.

Each year's schedule is different, but in 2010-11, we practiced on Thursday evenings and played all games on Saturday mornings in our own gym. Come out and cheer us on when we start back up this fall!

The FPC High School Basketball team also plays in a co-ed, recreational league. Anyone in high school is invited to come to practices and join the team.

This year, our coach is Jon McBride. Our first practice will be in early November, in the Gym. Join us then for another fun, inspiring (and winning) season.

In 2010-11, we practiced on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 pm and played all games on Saturday mornings. All games and practices were held at our gym. You can call Council Rix with questions.

FPC Scholarships     top  >


Nearly 20 honorary and memorial scholarship funds have been established to assist First Presbyterian Church members in financing their higher education. Current college undergraduates, high school seniors applying to college or to another institution of higher learning, graduate students, and seminary students who are present members of First Presbyterian Church are invited to apply for the 2011 FPC scholarships.

Applications were due to the church office by April 25. Closesr to time, electronic application forms will be available from a link on this page; hard-copy application forms will be made available in the church office or on the literature rack across from the Vanguard Classroom.

If you have any questions, you can contact Eleanor Howell, Scholarship Committee Chair.

Annual Mission Trips    top  >


Each year, we hold several fundraising events, such as a congregational meal that we prepare and serve in exchange for donations, Christmas tree sales, and babysitting to earn enough money to cover the cost of our annual mission trip. The trip is always an eye-opening, and often a life-changing, experience for all of us, and it provides an opportunity for us to serve others while learning how "the other half" lives.

As an example of one such trip, members of the FPC Middle School Youth Group spent a week in Charlotte, serving with CROSS Ministries in various roles at several inner-city faith-based and other volunteer projects. We experienced an unforgettable week of work, study, fellowship, and recreation. We assisted by preparing lunch for men who were recovering from problems with drug and alcohol abuse and played volleyball with them. We spent time playing with the children at Double Oaks Daycare facility. And when we paid a visit to some residents at a nursing facility for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, we helped out with cleaning duties.

In 2010, our mission trip took us to Chicago, where we spent a week serving the homeless and destitute. In past years, we have traveled as far as Jamaica.


Youth Fellowship    top  >


Middle School and High School Youth Groups meet weekly during the school year, usually on Sunday evening. After choir rehearsal and dinner together, the groups divide by age group for programs that include Bible study, special programs, service, worship, and recreation.

FPC takes a team approach to youth ministry. Fifteen youth advisers work with our Director of Youth Ministries, Beth Thaxton, to lead the groups regularly, with lots of help from the Youth Team and other adults. Youth groups usually meet each Sunday evening for dinner, fellowship, and recreation.

Summertime youth activities include recreational trips, such as whitewater rafting, mission trips, and youth conferences.

Our Middle School youth group regularly takes a trip to Charlotte to work with CROSS Ministries. Each year, they serve with various urban ministries in other cities and participate locally in Summer in the City —an "annual four-day adventure combining a Scripture-based program with service to the community," including service at the North Carolina Food Bank, Tammy Lynn Center, Interact, Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network, and the Boys and Girls Clubs.

Our High School youth went to New Orleans and helped in the cleanup efforts after Hurricane Katrina. They also attended one of the annual Montreat Youth Conferences.


High School Bible Study    top  >


The High School Bible Study group meets Thursdays, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. We meet at members’ homes on a rotating basis. Please join us. Contact the church office for more information.



Homeless Ministries    top  >


We feel that it's part of our duty as Christians to try to come to the aid of those less fortunate than ourselves. As part of that recognition, we perform several ministries and complete several volunteer projects each year aimed at helping the homeless and destitute. It is partially through the generous aid of church members that we are able to perform some of our ministries, and we are grateful for their supprt.

Members of our high–school youth group serve weekly at the South Wilmington Street Center in downtown Raleigh. Every Tuesday, members of FPC youth groups serve dinner to men at the shelter from 5:30 to 6:30.

Each year, we devote part of our summer break to a social–services volunteer project: we schedule a mission trip and raise money to support it. For example, the middle–school youth mission trip in 2005 was co–sponsored by the Charlotte Regional Outreach Spirituality and Study (CROSS) program at Myers Park Presbyterian Church. This program hosts volunteer youth who come to Charlotte to work in various mission projects during the summer.

FPC hosts families with the Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network three times each year. The youth help to set up the youth rooms at FPC so that they can serve as bedrooms for these families as they transition from homelessness. The families stay at FPC for a week before moving to another host church.

Twice a month early on Sunday mornings, members of our High School youth group provide "Bread for the Journey." They gather to prepare and distribute bag meals to the homeless in downtown Raleigh and make a personal connection with our neighbors.

See the Mission Trip section for information about our annual mission trip, and see the top of this page for more information about our other projects and activities.


Operation Christmas Child    top  >


Each year in the late fall, our children and youth participate in the Operation Christmas Child program, a chance to bring joy and hope and the Good News of God’s love to children in dire need around the world. This simple, hands–on mission project focuses on the true meaning of Christmas: Jesus Christ, God’s greatest gift. Along with shoe boxes filled with gifts, millions of children are given Gospel booklets in their own language. The program is sponsored each year by the Samaritan's Purse Christian charitable organization.

For the past few years, participants in the Pathfinders program have collected small gift items and worked as a group to fill and wrap shoe boxes intended for children in other countries. Church staff then delivered the filled and wrapped shoe boxes to a regional collection center. Members of the congregation contribute filled boxes as well. In 2010, our goal was to collect, fill, and send 400 boxes.

Children's Activities


Presbyterian Pathfinders    top  >


Pathfinders is a Sunday-evening fellowship program for children in kindergarten through 5th grade. The program is coordinated and led by our fulltime Director of Children's Ministries, Sara Lien Finnerty. Its purpose is to give children another opportunity to grow in their relationship with Christ and with one another. We have a large and ever-expanding group of kids, with age-appropriate lessons and activities for all participants.

Children enjoy recreation, have dinner, and participate in choir, engaging Bible study, or special programs. Pathfinders also enjoy special trips, celebrations, and service projects. For example, in past years, Pathfinders have participated in Operation Christmas Child and have helped prepare bag lunches for the Raleigh Rescue Mission.

The oldest Pathfinders, in Grades 4 and 5, work together as R.O.C.K. stars as they Reach Out in Christian Kindness with new ways to help the less fortunate, new activities, such as a Christian rock concert and pool party, and new service projects, such as a park cleanup and a homemade fudge fundraiser to aid Haiti Outreach Ministries, each year.

This year, participants in Pathfinders will spend 9 months learning all about Moses and the stories in Exodus. Through crafts, music, and Bible study, they will ponder the lessons of God's convenant with the Israelites, God's punishment of the Egyptians, and God's unfailing promises to love and protect His people.

Volunteers are always needed to help with Pathfinders activities, prepare and serve meals, play with the kids in the gym, or help out during choir time. Childcare is provided for younger siblings of Pathfinders participants while a parent is volunteering. For more information about Pathfinders and volunteer opportunities, contact .

Each Sunday evening, the Pathfinders Program runs from 5:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.. The R.O.C.K. Stars usually follow a similar weekly schedule. Children are welcome to join the group for all or part of the evening's activities.