Zion Lutheran Church's Youth and Children's Ministry

Our next regular Fusion Youth Group meeting for 7th through 12th grade youth students will take place in January, likely from 5PM to 7PM at Zion Lutheran Church. 

If you 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.

Our next regular high school youth group meeting for 9th through 12th grade youth students will take place on Sunday, December 21st, from 5PM to 8PM, in the Zion Lutheran Church youth room. 

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

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

ALUMINUM CAN COLLECTION: The youth group is responsible for the aluminum cans, so if you would like to collect cans for the youth group, these can be stored in the fenced in area in the gravel parking lot. We would appreciate if cans were crushed, if possible, to maximize space, and we are not currently accepting any other types of aluminum products, at this time. Do not put any other type of recyclable products in the bags with the aluminum cans, and do not put any type of trash in the fenced in area in the gravel parking lot as bags are not sorted before taking them to be turned in. We appreciate your assistance! 

YOUTH MEETING: A meeting for 9th through 12th grade youth is currently being planned to take place this Sunday, December 21st, from 5PM to 8PM at Zion Lutheran Church. This will be a Christmas party for our high school students, and although food will be provided, please feel free to bring holiday themed snacks to share. We will also have a White Elephant gift exchange, and although this is completely optional, if you would like to participate, gifts should be church appropriate, kind, and no more than $20, if purchased. Homemade gifts are welcome, but please be aware of allergies when baking/buying. 

YOUTH FUNDRAISER: The Zion Lutheran Church youth students are once again selling discount cards to fundraise for their various events, activities, and initiatives. Just like last year, these cards are full of discount offers with the generous support from many local businesses from around this area. If you would like to purchase one of these cards to support both our youth students and our local area businesses, please speak with a youth student, Mr. J, or call the church office, Monday through Thursday, to inquire soon. The cost of each card is $10, they are only valid for one calendar year, and limitations and exclusions do apply. See card for details. At this time, we can only accept cash or checks, and checks can be made out to "Zion Lutheran Youth.” In addition, we are only planning to print a limited amount, so if you would like a discount card, please don’t hesitate to inquire.  

CONFIRMATION: Confirmation classes for public school 7th and 8th grade students will be taking a brief break beginning on December 24th through January 7th in recognition of the Christmas and New Years holidays. We will plan to resume classes on January 14th. 

CHRISTMAS CARDS: The youth students will be once again hosting their yearly Christmas card sale to fundraise for their various events and trips during the four Sundays in Advent, so please look for our table in the narthex if you need to re-fill your supply of Christmas cards this year. Christmas cards can also be purchased during the week by speaking with Mr. J.

COOKIE AND CANDY FUNDRAISER: Need cookies and candies for Christmas? Let us help! We are proud to announce that the Fusion Youth Group are offering their Christmas Cookie and Candy Fundraiser once again this year. A limited number of pre-made platters and plates are currently available in the church narthex for those who did not pre-order, and all funds will go toward paying for youth activities. For more information, please check the flyer on our church website or call Derek Jareske. 

Pre-Made Options Include: Dozen Decorated Sugar Cookies ($15), Large Platters of Cookies and Assorted Candy ($45), and Small Platters of Cookies and Assorted Candy ($35)

YOUTH SKI TRIP: We are, optimistically, looking at Sunday, January 4th, as the possible date for our yearly youth ski trip. This, of course, will depend on weather and availability, so please continue to look for more details in the weeks to come. In the meantime, if this date has any obvious conflicts for a majority of youth families, please let us know, so we can work to possibly reevaluate. Also, if any youth parents would like to drive and chaperone for this trip, at least based on the projected date, please let us know that information, as well. 

• CONFIRMATION: On break until January 14th

• CHRISTMAS CARDS: Continues until December 21st

• HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH MEETING: Sunday, December 21st, at Zion Lutheran Church beginning at 5PM

• 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. 

• If there is someone who you believe should be getting update emails, and they are not currently receiving new updates from Mr. Jareske, please let us know, so we can add them to the email list. 

• Our group of 17 successfully returned from attending the Middle School Youth Gathering this past weekend, and everyone had an absolutely amazing time! Thank you to everyone who assisted with this trip, especially our amazing parents and adult leaders, and thank you to everyone who gives to support youth ministry at Zion and makes these types of trips possible. Please look forward to seeing a short video about their experience, which will include brief videos and pictures from the trip, to begin a church service in a few weeks, and if you see one of the individuals who attended, please make sure to ask them how everything went! 

• Our assortment of greeting cards has been recently re-stocked! We have everything from anniversary cards to sympathy cards, so if we are in need of cards for your next occasion, check with us first.

• Thank you so much to all of the youth parents and students who spent countless hours planning, baking, candy making, assembling, and working in general to make our cookie and candy fundraiser possible. Your dedication is truly appreciated, and just know that fundraisers like these make our various trips and activities possible.