Our Confirmation Retreat at Cedar Crest Camp was punctuated by what some might call a genuine “God sighting”, as the Aurora Borealis made a surprise cameo appearance just after the conclusion of our worship! Special thanks to Bethany & Sandeep for serving as our very patient chaperones, and to Mrs. Hannah for her practical & spiritual leadership!
On Sunday April 14th, St. Mark’s Youth joined with the Youth from Blackman UMC to travel to the Grundy Lakes in South Cumberland State Park for our first annual Youth Fishing & Hiking Outing. Some hiked, some fished, and some just hung out and enjoyed the fellowship (pictured right)… special thanks to John for chaperoning!
On Sunday April 7th, we had our first St. Mark’s Youth Campfire Night of 2024. In addition to allowing us to roast s’mores for dessert, these Campfire Nights highlight a new series of Bible lessons entitled “Campfire Stories”, which distill multiple chapters of scripture down to a more Youth-friendly narrative format.
On Monday March 18th, St. Mark’s Youth partnered with the Youth from Blackman UMC to travel to Rock City at Chattanooga’s Lookout Mountain; thank you to our extended St. Mark’s family for the generous financial support which makes these fun Youth outings possible!
Pelham Caverns Outing
Our planned outing to the scenic Stone Door Trail on March 5th was transformed by inclement weather into an outing to the Caverns at Pelham, serving as a reminder that it’s ok if our own plans don’t work out because God may have a better plan in mind!
Winter Youth Retreat: Resurrection ‘24
Youth from St. Mark’s & Blackman UMCs had an amazing experience at Resurrection ‘24 in Pigeon Forge this past weekend as part of this year’s Winter Retreat! Thank you for the generous financial support of this ministry which continues to make trips like this possible, and a very special thanks to John, Hannah & Zach for serving as chaperones!
Youth Christmas Party ‘23
On Sunday December 17th, the St. Mark’s Youth Christmas Party was held in the Youth Wing, and a new champion was crowned in our second annual Reindeer Games competition … congratulations to our overall winner Lyla, as well as runners-up Chelsea and Sam! Also, big thanks to volunteer chef & chaperone Susan for providing delicious Christmas snacks and a first-rate Hot Chocolate bar, and also to Tracy for contributing some wonderful Christmas cookies!
Santa Visits St.Mark’s Youth
…apparently all members of our Youth Group made the ‘Nice List’ this year, as The Claus himself made a special cameo appearance on the evening of Sunday 12/10 to deliver gifts to one and all. Needless to say, much merriment ensued. :)
Dancing Christmas Lights
On Sunday, December 3rd, St Mark’s Youth traveled to the Wilson County Fairgrounds for our second annual Holiday Season Outing to the Dancing Christmas Lights. Big thanks to volunteer chaperones Carrie, Reid & John for helping to make this event possible!
Fall Retreat ‘23
…Because of your support, we were able to bring the Youth to the Barefoot Republic Retreat Center in Allen County, KY on 11/4 & 11/5, where much fun & fellowship was shared over paintball, hiking, Gaga Ball, card games, and campfire roasted marshmallows. Thank you for making such spiritual retreats possible through your volunteer efforts and generous financial contributions to St. Mark's Student Ministry, and special thanks to Katie, Kaylin & Thomas for giving up their weekend to serve as chaperones!
Bearing Fruit …
The most recent installation of our ‘Bear Fruit’ Mission Series took place on Sunday October 22, when St Mark’s Youth spent the evening packing boxes for the church’s Food Box ministry – thank you to our super-volunteer John M. and our Youth members Nathan, Sam, Aidan, Kyle, Sylvia and Telmo for choosing to spend their Sunday night serving the needs of our community!
Fall Creek Falls in the Fall
Thank you to Marrie L. and Susan M. for chaperoning our Youth outing to Fall Creek Falls State Park on October 19th!
Youth Worship Service
On Wednesday, October 18th we were pleased to host the Youth from Blackman UMC, Fellowship UMC and Cornerstone UMC, as well as an excellent praise band, for a special joint worship service in the St. Mark’s Youth Wing.
Because of Your Support…
… we were able to bring the Youth to Nashville Shores for a fun afternoon riding the waterslides of Nashville Shores, and then to Whataburger afterwards for a bite to eat. Thank you for making such outings possible through your volunteer efforts and generous financial contributions to St. Mark's Student Ministry!
“Bear Fruit” Mission Series: Sharing What God has Entrusted to Us
The latest edition of our 'Bear Fruit' Mission Series took place on the afternoon of August 6th, as our Youth helped to move and pack boxes for St. Marks’ food box ministry for those experiencing food scarcity in our local community. If you have nonperishable food items to donate or if you know of someone in need of a food box delivery, please contact Louis Toedt (louis@stmarkstn.org or 615-893-3455, Ext. 20.) for more information.
Summer Fun & Fellowship
-St. Mark’s Youth, family & friends had a great time at our Back to School BBQ on Wednesday 8/2 … we canvassed the neighborhoods around St. Mark’s campus with flyers to invite our neighbors to join us, and a few of them actually did!
Because of Your Support…
We were able to bring the Youth to Phazer Kraze in late June for a fun-filled evening of laser tag and Bible trivia … congratulations to Aidan on winning the trivia competition!
2023 Youth Mission Trip
In late May and early June, St Mark’s Student Ministry traveled to Chicago for our 2023 Mission Trip, where we served at sidewalk food pantry and completed exterior beautification projects at our host church. Thank you to our St Mark’s family for empowering us to participate in this fun and fascinating service learning opportunity, during which we were able to give glory to God by ministering to the needs of His people!
Summer Fun Season is Here!
On June 4th we had our first summer outing to Nashville Shores Water Park; please reach out to louis@stmarkstn.org if you’d like to be added to our mailing list or GroupMe thread for more info about future Youth outings and events!
Because of Your Support…
On Sunday 4/23, St Mark’s Student Ministry was able to travel to Go USA Fun Park and enjoy some fun and fellowship with go-karts, mini golf, and arcade games!
St Mark’s Food Box Ministry: Sharing What has Been Entrusted to Us
The latest edition of our 'Bear Fruit' Mission Series took place on the afternoon of April 2, as St Mark’s Youth helped to move and pack boxes for our own church’s food box ministry. If you have nonperishable food items to donate or if you know of someone in need of a food box delivery, please contact Louis Toedt (louis@stmarkstn.org or 615-893-3455, Ext. 20.) for more information.
Service Learning at St Mark’s: Bearing Fruit in our Local Community
-On Saturday March 4th, St Mark’s Youth traveled to Hamilton UMC in Antioch, TN to assist with their Food Bank Ministry in an effort to gain insight as to how such a ministry is accomplished in practicality.
Game Night at St Mark’s Student Ministry
…Big thanks to Noland, Stephanie, Zach & Hannah, Luke, Cecil and John for coming out to lead our Youth into bold new frontiers of gamesmanship on our last Game Night, and to Roland & Kathy for providing us with some good eats!
Karaoke Night!!
Our inaugural karaoke night on 1/29/23 featured some very fine singers and some very fun performers … but most importantly, a fun time was had by all and we look forward to doing it again soon!
Because of your support …
We were able to bring the Youth to Phazer Kraze this month for a fun-filled evening of laser tag and Bible trivia … congratulations to Kyle on winning the trivia competition, and big thanks to Caleb for leading us to victory in laser tag!
Thank you to St Mark’s UMC Patrons for supporting Student Ministry!
Thanks to your support of Student Ministry Fundraising activities such as Merry Mission Marketplace and our t-shirt sale, we were able to provide a fun-filled Christmas season for our Youth through events such as our outing to the Dancing Lights of Christmas (12/4) and the Youth Christmas party (12/18).
Fall Retreat '22 Recap
Despite some early rain on Saturday, Fall Retreat went off with hardly a hitch and was an amazing experience ... activities included ziplining, games, campfire (s'mores!), and high ropes (see below for some highlights). If you missed out this time around, don't feel too bad - we are currently formulating plans to do it all again sometime in the springtime (suggestions welcome!).
ZipLining at Cedar Crest Camp
Youth Outings
We regularly host and/or chaperone outings that any and all Youth in Grades 7-12 are welcome to attend, whether they also attend church services at St Mark’s or not. Recent past and near future outings include visits to Arcades, Bowling Alleys, Waterparks, the Nashville Zoo, Roller Skating Rinks, Zip Lining, Hiking, High Ropes Courses, Laser Tag and More!
Flashback Arcade
SkateCenter West
Stars & Strikes, Smyrna TN
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