In January many senior high youth attended the synod’s Winterfest event held each year in Lancaster. In January and a few other times throughout the year many of our students helped served the meal at Christ Lutheran in downtown Lancaster. We also held a fun game night called Ace of Spades in January, which was well attended.

In February we began the month with our super weekend. On Saturday, February 3, we prepared a lunch at Zion and then took that to the Crispus Attucks Center in downtown Lancaster to serve the residents. It was quite an eye-opening experience for our students to see how this facility functions with such limited resources. On Sunday the February 4, ZYM collected food items for the local food bank and cash donations for the ELCA hunger fund at the worship services as part of the Souper Bowl for Hunger. This is the 5th year that we’ve been involved in this. On that afternoon (which was one of the coldest days of the year) we held the first-ever ZYM flag football classic. That evening we gathered together at the Pipkin’s home to fellowship and watch the Super Bowl. In February we also began collecting donations for our college students and military personnel. We sent these care packages out in April, as our students got ready for their finals. During the season of Lent between 4 – 12 students met on Wednesday nights at the Rogers’ home for a Bible study called Nooma. This study was unique in that we used a short DVD, which presented a topic from a speaker, and we then discussed that topic among ourselves after we finished viewing. This media approach seems to work very well with our students, and we’ll plan to offer this Bible study again in ’08 during Lent.

March saw the Head to Heart confirmation group go to on their retreat to Zion Lutheran in Leola. This congregation has a gym that we used to blow off steam between sessions. It was very close for us to get to and also very inexpensive for us to use.

April saw us prepare for Easter by helping with the egg hunt and the Easter Vigil. One of our biggest events of the year was our Taste of Italy fundraiser. We served nearly 90 guests at 2 seatings. This event was a smashing success and raised about $2000 to help fund our students’ involvement in retreats, Winterfest and Alive Alive. We will do this fundraiser again but focus on a different area of the world to have a “Taste of.” At the end of April our 3rd year students in H2H took their fieldtrip to Washington, DC, to see how faith is lived out past the borders of Hempfield. We toured the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the National Cathedral, as well as a Franciscan Monastery. We also had a chance to speak with staffers at the Lutheran Advocacy Office. There was time, too, just to see the sights and we ate at a Thai restaurant for a bit of culture.

Seven of our students were confirmed in May.

During June some of our students helped develop the artwork and decoration for VBS. Many of our young people were involved in helping out with Vacation Bible School from running games to being station leaders and helpers to running the AV at large group. We also recognized our graduates from High School at a worship service and presented them with the Book of God by Walt Wangerin.

We did two service projects over the summer. In July we served at the Real Hope food bank by sorting food and clothes and stocking some shelves. In August we went to Conestoga View and served there for the day, interacting with the residents. In July, six students and three adults traveled to West Virginia for a weekend of camping and whitewater rafting.

The start of our fall season began on August 25 with our annual kick off picnic. This year’s was held at A. Herr Park on one of the hottest days of the year. The year we decided to do something different than go to the pool!

In September we held a Home Huddle training session for families involved in Head to Heart. We also began wrapping shoeboxes in September for Operation Christmas Child. The Synod’s junior high event – Alive Alive drew 9 of our students to Camp Nawakwa. Two senior high students also went along with me to serve on staff for the event.

In October we held the H2H overnighter here at church. Pastor Rick helped by administering the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator to our students on Friday. On Saturday we traveled to the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg to tour the campus and speak with some seminarians on their call into ministry. Following that we took a tour of the Civil War battlefield and ended the day with dinner at Hoss’s.

After the untimely death of Mr. Way, a popular science teacher and Bible club leader from Hempfield High School, we held a gathering at Zion for students affected by his death. The students had an opportunity to share their remembrances of him as well as to create luminaries to take and light at his family’s home. In November ZYM held the annual retirees’ Thanksgiving dinner. We also attempted a fall senior high Bible study but the time of the year and topic wasn’t helpful in drawing many students to it.

The end of the year came rushing in with ZYM offering babysitting to the community on November 30th to raise money for a family in need. We raised about $90 and then went Christmas shopping in December to get items on that family’s list. After wrapping them, Kim Paternoster delivered them. We held an information meeting for next summer’s mission trip to Raleigh / Durham, NC and finished off the year with the December retreat at Camp Kirchenwald.

Throughout the year on Sunday nights senior high and middle school students continued to gather for ZYM meetings at Zion. This is the bread and butter of youth ministry with these two-hour blocks devoted to group building, playing a game or two and then through discussion and activities focusing on a scriptural theme for the evening and how it relates to the lives of teens. We also continued to meet at the Rec Center about once a month for an evening of active games. We use this as a great opportunity for our students to invite their friends and introduce them to ZYM as part of our outreach.

A few of our students have began using their gifts in technology by serving at synod events such as Winterfest and Alive Alive or the regional youth workers event called Gathering in the East. These students have assisted me with our AV needs for the large group sessions. At home a core group of students that have an interest in AV continue to run the media at our contemporary services on Sunday mornings.

The ministry that we continue to do here at Zion with students could not be done without the input and help of many adults. Most of them are parents, but some are just other adults that have an interest in helping young people walk closer with God. My thanks go to all that have helped in some way to make this ministry happen.

 

ZYM 2008 PLAN FOR MINISTRY

The current year in youth ministry has been going on since September as we follow more closely the school calendar. We’ve already begun our Sunday night gatherings for both Middle School & Sr. high groups. The main goal of this ministry is to help our teens know, love & serve Christ. Much of that is done each month at ZYM as we engage in thought-provoking discussion & fun activities with this year's theme of ”Make a Difference” We also take things to another level by participating in several service projects throughout the year, including a mission trip every three years. One type of event that is always looked forward to is the retreats we have throughout the year. The fall retreat in the beginning of December, the Head to Heart retreat in the spring, Alive Alive & Winterfest are major events to take faith further. During the summer we'll be heading out on a weeklong mission trip somewhere in the  United States. And where would it all be without some fun too--like trips to amusement parks and sporting events. We also want to help be disciples to the youth of Hempfield that don’t have a church home or relationship with the Lord and let them know they have a safe place here and give them a chance at hearing the Good News of Jesus in a way that gets through to them. A major New Year’s Eve lock-in is in the works to that end. In order to accomplish all of this, it takes commitment. We need people: young, old, parents, empty nesters, college students, etc. to give of their time to be part of this ministry. So, when asked, please pray about how you can make a difference in a young person’s life.

 Some things for 2008 include:
·       Continued participation in Synod events, such as Alive Alive and Winterfest.
·       Retreats
·       Regular gatherings on Sunday nights for middle school & senior high ages.
·       Fellowship events on a regular basis for the youth.
·       Service project opportunities on a quarterly basis as well as a summer mission trip
·       Serving as ushers & greeters at worship services on the third Sunday of the month.
·       A better integration of Confirmation, ZYM and Sunday school.
·       Helping to reinforce the idea that faith starts at home with the Stepping Stones ministry.  
·       The start of a pre-teen (grades 4-6) ministry - We would like to have parents of this age group step forward   
         to partner with us in creating a vital and needed ministry to the pre-teens at Zion.

 We also continue to look at ways in which we can keep ministering to those young adults in college, the military or within the workforce that have left the ranks of youth group within the last four years. Once again, more workers are needed for the field. But we’re confident that we are moving in great new directions and look forward to what the Lord has in store for us.