Youth Ministries

Youth and Families

The youth group of FPCA – a community of 6th through 12th graders and adult advisors – meets regularly to connect and have fun, to learn and grow, to worship and serve, to wrestle with big questions, and to share a variety of experiences.

Our gatherings are safe places for middle and high school students to explore their faith, where they want to bring their friends and come back time and time again. We value kindness and inclusivity, openness and curiosity, and supportive friendship; and we hold a commitment to Jesus as our teacher and guide.

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Email List

A Youth and Families email is sent every week with important information.

Contact David Germer at dgermer@fpcasheville.org to be added

to that list, or with any questions.

Youth

Percolating Presbies is our Sunday morning Faith Formation time. We gather in the youth rooms (top floor) from 9:30 to 9:50 for food, coffee, ping pong, pool, games, and informal discussion. From 9:50 to 10:50 we play, learn, listen, and grow together – this year through a year-long study of the book of 1 Corinthians and Holy Fools, as we discern what faithfully following Jesus looks like in our everyday lives and situations, today.

We meet roughly every other Sunday evening for Youth Group – dinner, games Flashlight Monster, One Night Werewolf, 4 square, and more), planning special services, movie nights, discussion nights, and occasional off-site service projects.

Youth Resources

Gratitude Journal: Write for 5 minutes each day things that you are grateful for, capture pictures, draw, include songs or poetry, tell stories.

God sightings: Each day, take some time to share with others or write down for yourself where you have seen and/or experienced God. How has God shown up in your life?

Anne Lamott books, Mandala Prayer and Contemplation: Visit this link to print out a mandala(s) of your choice. Then, using, markers, crayons, and/or colored pencils, color in the mandala. As you’re coloring, utilize this time to center yourself. Pray. Meditate. Contemplate. Use this quiet and concentrated space to be in conversation with God. (For those interested, check out this book as well: Praying with Mandalas: A Colorful, Contemplative Practice.)

https://pray-as-you-go.org/

There’s an app for that:

D365, Insight timer, Head Space, Calm, 5 Minutes of Gratitude

Parent Resources

Mark Yaconneli – The Hearth Community – Storytelling

How to Handle A Rude Teen

Praying in Color – Blog

TalkSpace | Betterhelp – Online counseling that accepts most health insurance plans

Teencounseling.com – Discuss your teen’s issue or situation with a therapist, then connect your teen and therapist through the app. Counseling is confidential but the therapist will alert you if an intervention is required.

Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home by Traci Smith – Ideas for how to practice faith at home through simple traditions, ceremonies, and spiritual practices

Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids by Kara Powell

Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family by Kara Powell – Practical ideas for faith at home

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth – A great read on how to help children succeed and how to apply these lessons to ourselves.

I Wonder, Engaging a Child’s Curiosity About the Bible by Elizabeth Caldwell – A thoughtful guide for helping children engage the Bible

How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims

Parenting Forward by Cindy Wang Brandt

Raising White Kids by Jennifer Harvey

Devotions by Mary Oliver – Lovely book of poems that can be read around the table or at other times in a family’s day