Zion Lutheran Church's Youth and Children's Ministry

Our next regular Fusion Youth Group meeting for 7th through 8th grade youth students will take place on Sunday, August 16th, from 4:30PM to 6PM at Zion Lutheran Church. 

If youth are considering joining us for the fun, consider bringing a friend along as well! A meal will be served, and no money is needed for these meetings.

The meal will take place for all youth students from 6PM to 6:30PM in the Zion fellowship hall.

The high school youth group meeting for 9th through 12th grade youth students will also take place on Sunday, August 16th, from 6:30PM to 8PM at Zion Lutheran Church. 

If high school youth are considering joining us for this meeting, consider bringing a friend along as well! 

COFFEE: The Zion Fusion Youth Group will continue to manage the coffee fellowship time as an ongoing fundraiser following both services on Sunday mornings. 

YOUTH MEETINGS: Now that the summer is coming to a close, and we are quickly approaching a new school year, it is time to retire the Wednesday evening youth meetings for the year and return to our regular Sunday schedule for youth meetings for the school year. That being said, we are planning to try out a slightly different method for meetings this year, so please read carefully for changes. With that in mind, our next youth meeting will take place on Sunday, August 16th, from 4:30PM to 8PM in the Zion youth room/gym. Youth for 7th and 8th grade students will take place from 4:30PM to 6PM, a meal for all youth students will take place from 6PM to 6:30PM, and then youth for 9th-12th grade students will take place from 6:30PM to 8PM, all at the church. Due to other events for this month, this will be the only meeting for August, but we do plan to hold these types of meetings twice monthly in addition to our typical monthly youth events and occasional fundraisers. If you have any questions/concerns about this new plan, please contact Mr. J by email at your earliest opportunity.  

CONFIRMATION: Confirmation classes for public school 7th and 8th grade students will resume for this year beginning on Wednesday, August 19th, at 4PM, so please be aware of this earlier starting date for this year. The public school 7th grade students will be taught by Mr. J in the former Zion 7th/8th grade classroom, and the 8th grade students will be taught by Pastor Huesmann in the current youth room, former 5th/6th grade classroom.

USHER TRAINING: We would really like for any of our previously confirmed youth students, and newly confirmed youth students, to assist during church services on Sunday mornings by serving as an usher and/or technology booth assistant. With that, although we already completed a formal training session, we would absolutely be willing to offer more training sessions for students who would like to assist but were unable to make it to our last training opportunity. If this sounds like you, please feel free to contact the church office (402-329-4313), so we can work to get another training scheduled. We are currently looking for both ushers and technology booth assistance, so whatever your ability, we would love to have you!

ACOLYTE TRAINING: In recognition of summer schedules, we plan to hold our next acolyte training for incoming 7th grade students during the first part of August. Based on that, though, we do continue to need our current group of acolytes, incoming 8th and 9th graders, to stay on the acolyte schedule until September, at which time incoming 7th graders will cycle into the rotation. That being said, if any high school youth would like to acolyte from time to time, especially if you see a need on a given Sunday, that would be greatly appreciated.   

• YOUTH MEETINGS: Sunday, August 16th, from 4:30PM to 8PM at Zion Lutheran Church
  • 4:30PM-6PM: 7th and 8th Grade Youth
  • 6PM-6:30PM: All Youth Meal
  • 6:30PM-8PM: 9th-12th Grade Youth

• CONFIRMATION: Wednesdays at 4PM beginning on August 19th

• In regards to youth events and activities, occasionally plans have to shift and change due to conflicts and other factors. With that being said, if you are not currently receiving updates and reminders from the youth group, please speak to Mr. Jareske as soon as possible, so you can be added to the list of parents/guardians currently receiving this type of information. 

• If any high school students, especially juniors and seniors, would be interested in taking a group college visit to Concordia University Nebraska (CUNE) in Seward during this next year, please speak to Mr. Jareske in the near future to receive information about visit costs and waivers. CUNE is one of the universities in the LCMS university system, and they have a variety of programs of study, including several opportunities for those considering church work. 

• If any youth students would be willing to assist during church services on Sunday mornings, please call 402-329-4313 to let the church office know. We are currently looking for both ushers and technology booth assistance, and training will be provided for anyone willing to serve in either capacity. We have recently begun live-streaming our Sunday morning services with our new camera equipment, and in an effort to better manage all of the moving parts within a typical service, a few additional volunteers to assist with either running the soundboard, running the camera, or managing the slideshow would be very much appreciated. 

• If any 7th grade and older youth, or parents, would like to help with Faith Weavers for this year, please feel free to let me know at your earliest convenience. 

• For the parents of all youth students going into grades 7th-12th, if you have not been receiving emails and correspondences from the church and Mr. J over the past year, please take some time to provide your current email address and best phone number to the church and Mr. J at your earliest opportunity. That information can be sent to dcejareske@zionlutheranpierce.com. Thank you!

• Thank you to everyone who assisted with our youth carwash fundraiser, and thank you to everyone who came down to TLC to support our efforts! We also want to offer a big thank you to TLC Carwash for having us, managing the experience, and for their generosity in donating services, supplies, and a portion of the sales. We really could not have an active youth program of this type without the care shown by this congregation and our community partners!