The Youth Group of First United Methodist Church of Toms River

2012-01-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

Volunteers should come at 4pm and can eat for free!

All proceeds will go towards the youth mission project

Winter Retreat 2012

2011-12-08T14:18:00.001-05:00

• One night at the Hotel w/ swimming,basketball and racquetball

• One night at a youth hostel near ShawneeMountain

• Two days of skiing, snowboarding or tubing

• Make friends, grow as a leader and grow as aChristian

• Check Ski Trip Notes under ‘documents’ for moreinformation

December 2011

2011-12-01T13:35:00.001-05:00

November 2011 Youth Events

2011-11-03T14:19:00.001-04:00

So I'm trying something a little different with these posts. I'm going to make them less wordy and more picture-y. Here's my first try. You can expect more posts like this the first week of each month!

Bible Study begins

2011-10-03T09:27:00.000-04:00

Its time to start up our weekly Bible study. We meet Wednesday from 730-830pm. At our first meeting we will do some brainstorming to figure out what the rest of the year will look like. We'll talk about movies, music, food, and different places to gather for Bible study. We've done some fun stuff over the last couple years and we hope to continue that, but we need you and your ideas to make it happen! So join us October 5th at 730pm in room 10. See you then!

Kicking Off Right

2011-09-02T16:28:00.000-04:00

So we are just about to start our meeting for Youth Group. Hopefully everyone had a good time at Youth Week:

It looks to me like everyone had a good time. Speaking of a good time Back-to-School Olympics is coming up! We start our first youth meeting with a sticky, messy, slimy time of fun and competition. Be sure to join us September 11th from 6 to 8pm and tell your parents you may need a towel to sit on when you come!

Also, the week after the olympics we have our Parent Night. Please invite your parents to join us September 18th so they can hear about our next year of youth ministry. We'll share details about our retreats and make sure everyone is properly registered for the year. Please have insurance and medical information with you for the registration forms.

Don't miss out. Join us for youth group starting September 11th!

Update - check the facebook pictures from bts olympics here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150810718870077.738193.420226465076&l=5b0ee92dfd

Youth Week 2011

2011-07-28T14:24:00.005-04:00

Its time for youth week! Below you'll find a link to the registration form. You can either download it and fill it out or wait patiently by your mailbox. A letter should arrive at the end of this week or early next week. Be sure to check out the facebook event on 'FUMCTR Youth Group,' leave a comment and click that you are joining us for the week! Invite your friends. You'll see our logo for the week on the left and here are the events:

August 14th Lock-in @ FUMCTR Pigman Island 8pm to 8am

August 15th Dinner and Games 7^th-8th Grade Dinner, games afterward for everyone 6pm dinner & 7pm games at 101 Walchest Drive

August 16^th Delaware River Tubing Complete the WAIVER FORM 10am to 6pm

August 17^th Funtime America Laser Tag Laser Tag, Arcade and more 530pm to 10pm

August 18^th Breakwater, Beach and Boardwalk Your choice! Waterpark for $23, beach for $5 or walk the boardwalk for free. 10am to 4pm

August 19^th Blue Claws Ballgame Lakewood vs. Greensboro. Fireworks. The Three Blessings (Abby, Taylor and Kaitlyn) sing! 6pm-10pm?

August 20th Service Project and Pool Party Work with H4H or at the church. Pool party at Matt's 9am service project, 1pm pool party at 907 Jamesport Dr.

Youth Week 2011 registration form
Youth Week 2011 Letter to Parents and Youth
Delaware River Tubing Waiver

Pool Party!

2011-07-05T14:47:00.000-04:00

We'll be having a pool party on July 10th at Trevor B.'s house. If you don't know where that is text or email Brian. The party is from 2 to 5pm. We'll have hot dogs and burgers. You can bring a dessert, drinks or a side dish if you want. Some of us are going to briefly discuss UMARMY. It was pretty awesome this year, but we want to sit and talk about what our plans for next year are going to be. If you'd rather just swim, play games and eat all day that's cool too. Here is a picture from our missions trip. Enjoy!

UMARMY 2011 is here

2011-06-23T11:21:00.000-04:00

This is just to keep everyone updated on what to expect at UMARMY next week. There are a few special things you should be prepared for - that includes t-shirt nights and colors to wear in support of the colors teams (fyi none of this is mandatory). Here we go:

Sunday is camp shirt night. We'll provide you with the shirt!
Monday is purple team. Wear purple if you can!
Tuesday is green day. You can also wear your favorite sports team shirt!
Wednesday is orange day. We'll also be dining out that evening.
Thursday is client night. Wear red during the day and a Christian shirt or your camp shirt that evening.
Friday is blue day. In the evening we will be doing "share night."
Saturday we leave around noon and should be back in Toms River at about 4pm.

We are looking forward to a great week of missions and fun! See you Saturday at 7pm to pack up and at 930am for our commissioning and consecration! We will leave after the third worship song that morning, but we won't actually depart until after the service is over so you can say goodbye to your family then. See you soon!

Summer Time!

2011-06-07T11:06:00.001-04:00

So the Summer is finally here! Our year together is coming to a close and we are enjoying the end of school, the end of some hard work and the start of relaxation and vacation! The youth program has one more meeting, June 12th, but there are still several things happening during the Summer to stay engaged. Join us when you are able to!

June 11th is the UMARMY pancake breakfast from 8am to 1030am.
Please arrive early to get your job assignment!
June 26th-July 2nd is UMARMY in Williamsport, PA.
UMARMY Colors will be Purple, Blue, Green, Red and Orange!
We will be doing missions work for that community.
July 10th is our pool party. The location is still undetermined.
It will be from 2pm-5pm though.
July 24th-30th UMARMY will be here in Toms River.
You may want to help in some way. Give me a call if you do.
August 1st-5th is Vacation Bible School.
Come and help out in the evenings by being a team leader!
August 14th-20th is Youth Week.
We will have fun all across New Jersey, so check your mail for information.
August 21st is Youth Sunday!
The youth group will lead the 830 and 10am services in worship.

Youth group will resume September 11th with our Back-to-School Olympics. It'll be challenging and messy so prepare yourselves! Have a great Summer and I look forward to seeing you soon!

UMARMY 2011

2011-05-03T14:48:00.000-04:00

Now that the 30 hour famine is over (and it was awesome by the way) its time for us to focus on our Summer missions trip, UMARMY 2011! Again, we'll be heading to Williamsport, PA, but unlike the last few years we'll be teamed up with a whole slew of new churches! We have over 130 youth registered for this camp, which means there will be a TON of new people to meet. Our friends from Simsbury will be returning with our church too! I will be a part of the programs team along with a guy named Matt and a guy named Russell. Russell does music and Matt has a lot of experience with UMARMY. They should help make this year's camp the best ever. We've talked about some of the evening activities, which may include a murder mystery boat ride! or a trip to a game park with mini bowling and mini golf! You'll just have to come on the trip, though, to find out what we'll actually be doing. I bet you'll have a ton of fun and help restore homes for people who really need it. What more could you ask for? UMARMY is fun and helps those who need it. We've been faithfully raising money throughout the year for this trip. All we ask for is a "tithe" of 25 dollars, which is one tenth the cost of the trip. The trip is June 26th to July 2nd. Here are a few dates you should be aware of:

June 5th is a mandatory informational meeting in Thompson Hall following the 930 service
June 5th is the tool training for UMARMY at youth group from 6-8pm
June 12th is the youth pancake breakfast fundraiser from 8-1030am
June 25th is the day we pack our trailer full of tools, supplies and our luggage for the week at 7pm
June 26th is our consecration service at the 930am contemporary service

We leave for UMARMY immediately following the 930am service and return the following Saturday afternoon!

Here are a few pictures from our last event...

Easter's Coming

2011-04-05T15:38:00.000-04:00

Its getting closer and closer to Easter and the youth ministry at FUMCTR has a lot going on! Here are just a few of the things you'll see around our church as we prepare for Easter:

Bible Study will meet just three more times before the end of the season. We meet at Brian's on April 6th, in the media room for a special worship night on April 13th and then one final time April 27th with KFC for a closing ceremony.

Youth Group will continue to meet on Sundays with an important meeting April 10th for UMARMY. We will be explaining a bit about UMARMY and filling out permission forms for the trip, so parents need to come in and sign forms! April 17th will be a special field trip as we consider Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. We'll need some parents to help drive us to our secret destination. We could also use some youth to help with our Egg Hunt that day.

No Youth Group April 24th (its Easter) or May 8th (its Mother's Day) and instead of the usual May 1st youth meeting we'll be heading out to Yellow Brick Road for some ice cream! We will have a couple of tabled reserved from 6 to 8pm so instead of meeting at church, we'll just let people come in and out of Yellow Brick Road to hang out with our group for as long or as short of a time as they want. Bring your family, bring your friends, bring whoever!

Also, don't miss our 30-hour famine where we help those who need our help the most! We will have our overnight event April 29th-30th including a scavenger hunt, a service project and plenty of time to experience what hungry people go through every single day. Join us because its fun and because its good for you!

Epic IMPACT

2011-03-23T11:58:00.000-04:00

An Epic Impact is upon us! We are only a few more days away from leaving for IMPACT 2011, our Senior High Retreat in Ocean City, MD. If you still have questions about what to bring, how much money you need, when we are leaving or why a young person should go on this event please revisit our IMPACT notes. Any young person going must have a yearly Parental and Medical Release Form filled out (you can find a link to that document here). Most people have that filled out already, but if you aren't sure, give me a call. We leave Friday at 330pm and will pick up 3 of the Hertls on our way to Maryland. I look forward to some great bonding, great bands and growing in our love for God. See you soon for an Epic event!

Some Fun Stuff

2011-02-22T10:53:00.006-05:00

In March we have plenty of exciting stuff happening in our youth ministry. Let me share with you just a few of those things:

March 6th we are having an open gym riddled with team-building activities
March 13th is our 30-hour famine fundraiser. Join us and be inspired to serve!
March 20th is a St. Patrick's Day celebration. Wear green and show pride!
March 25th-27th is our IMPACT retreat. Join us if your in High School, but remember, there is no youth group on March 27th.
Don't forget that KE,WL continues to meet on Tuesday nights for Senior High Bible Study and on Wednesdays we have another Bible Study meeting with movie nights and house meetings. We'll even be meeting at Friendly's in a few weeks! To hold you over until then take a look at some pictures from the ski trip.

Ski Trip

2011-01-11T14:51:00.005-05:00

Our Ski Trip is coming up! Its only a few weeks away now and I'm betting a lot of you want some information on it. Well I finally have it, so here's the link to the ski trip notes. If you still have questions you'll have to call or talk with Brian. February 4th-6th. We'll spend the weekend skiing and talking about leadership based on the story of David from 1 Samuel. We'll have worship with our newly minted worship band and bring back from last year our story-telling through the drama team. All your friends will be there so you should too! You can click that you're attending on our facebook page under "toms river youth." The cost is 110/150/175 so read the notes to find out which one you should pay. See you soon!

Parent Resource #2 - Media Consumption

2011-01-04T14:35:00.001-05:00

The youth group watches movies once a month as part of the Wednesday Night Bible Study. If you haven't been to Bible Study in a while come to room 10 at FUMCTR January 26th for The Secret of Kells. We may take a trip out to see a midnight showing of a movie in the spring and you should join us for that too.

Whether you do or don't its no secret that young people love movies and music. This is a generation of media consumers. So what is a parent to do? How can parents help their children watch good movies, and I don't just mean morally pure, but also artistically and cinematigraphically pleasing ones. Here's a resource: Common Sense Media. They not only evaluate the movie for its age appropriateness, but also tell you what's in the movie, the basic plot and how good of a movie it is. They do the same thing for video games, music and books too! If you're tired of playing the roulette game with the media your child consumes, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes appropriate, sometimes inappropriate, maybe you should try Common Sense Media first. Young people are going to keep loving movies and music, so let's make sure its good for them!

Christmas Party!

2010-12-09T11:31:00.000-05:00

This Sunday is our Christmas party! We will meet at the church at 530pm and head over to Matt D.'s house together. We'll have music, twister and apples to apples. Also you can expect a mountain of food from different families and we'll even do a grinch gift-exchange! Bring a gift that costs less than 5 dollars. It can be a joke gift too. The party should be a lot of fun so be sure to invite a friend to join us for the evening. Parents are welcome too. The party will end promptly at 8pm so we should be back to the church just a bit after 8. See you then!

Scholarships for College Students

2010-11-18T11:16:00.002-05:00

If you are going to college and you want some money for it go to these links. United Methodist Higher Education Fund or the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. You probably won't be able to apply for many of these scholarships until the first week in January, but some of the deadlines are as early as January 15th! So take a look at the requirements and get yourself some money for college.

Parent Resource #1

2010-11-17T11:01:00.002-05:00

Hi readers. So every once in a while I'm going to post resources for parents. You'll be able to spot them easily enough because they'll be labeled and titled with numbers. For our first entry I want to suggest a book that is a standard parenting book. Its called How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. Its by Faber and Mazlish. * Here are a few thoughts derived from the book by another youth minister, Jeff:

Listen with full attention.
Put down your phone, turn your chair around, and quietly listen to the whole story.
Acknowledge their feelings.
Instead of jumping in with questions or advice, start with simple phrases that indicate you care: "Oh." "I see." "Tell me more." Coupled with caring attitude, these are invitations for a child to explore his or her own feelings, and possibly come up with their own solutions.
Give the feelings a name.
We deny a child's feelings by saying things like "Everything's okay," or "Don't freak out." But when we say, "That must have been frustrating," or "Sounds like you're pretty mad," then we convey an empathy and understanding that leads to constructive conversation.

For more thoughts and ideas on having meaningful conversation with your child get the book (you may even be able to borrow it from the local library). It could change the way you interact with your child so give it a try!

*Group Magazine Nov/Dec 2010

ALIVE

2010-11-12T12:13:00.003-05:00

Hey. If you are looking for extra info on ALIVE here it is. This is the link to the leaders packet. It has the schedule for the whole weekend and lists contact information for our Hotel (Quality Inn).
Please have extra money for food! You will need money for dinner Friday (We'll be stopping for fastfood in Delaware), lunch Saturday (fastfood), dinner Saturday (something nicer like Applebee's) and lunch Sunday (more fastfood). I'll let you decide how much money you'll need, but we'll never let you starve. I promise. There is an indoor pool at the hotel.

We leave Friday (11-19) from the church at 4pm and will return Sunday (11-21) at about 4pm. If you need anything else let me know!

Winter Stuffs

2010-11-12T11:59:00.003-05:00

Winter is upon us! I've already started wearing my trench coat and a scarf everywhere I go. My feet are FREEZING! As we come to a new season there are plenty of things happening in the winter months that you should be aware of. Several are listed here:

Nov 24th Ecumenical Service at St. Joseph's 730pm (no bible study that day)
Nov 27th Taco Night for College Students at 101 Walchest 7pm
Dec 12th Christmas Party for Everyone at Matt D's. Come to the church at 530 for a ride. We'll be back a little after 8pm.
Dec 26th UB Triangle meets at 101 Walchest for an overnight. 8pm-8am (and you have to leave my house by 8am because...)
Dec 27th Sight and Sound Bus Trip 830am-715pm, includes Bus, Smorgasbord at Shady Maple and Tickets to 'the Miracle of Christmas.'
Feb 4th-6th Ski Trip to Bel Aire, New York. 330pm Friday -4pm Sunday. Sign up if you haven't! It should cost about 150 dollars, depending on if you have your own equipment or not. We are going back to Bel Aire and the Frost Valley YMCA for lodging.

CROP Walk

2010-10-13T14:40:00.003-04:00

This Sunday, October 17th, is our CROP Walk. Join us to help end hunger in the United States and around the world! We'll gather at the church at 1:30pm and then head over to the Presbyterian Church to register our group. The walk begins at 2, so if you don't go over with our group be sure to arrive before then. When we finish we'll have hot dogs and hot chocolate! After we finish you can get picked up at the Presbyterian Church or over at 101 Walchest. After the CROP walk we have a short Youth Council meeting to decide which mission trip we will be participating in this Summer. We start that at 5pm and then head over to the church for youth group! Be sure to join us and make your voice heard.

Parent Night 2010

2010-09-15T16:11:00.003-04:00

Hey guys. Sunday, September 19th 2010 is Parent Night! We have our regularly scheduled youth meeting, but we ask that parents and volunteers join with our youth for this special night. There will not be a dinner served this year. We'll have a few activities just for the family and then the youth will stay in the gym for games and parents will head to thompson hall for an informational meeting. We come back together and end the night around the Christ Candle. Come and join us from 6pm to 8pm. Thanks!

setting course for 2010/2011

2010-08-31T15:01:00.003-04:00

Hello. To the left is a picture from Youth Week 2011 and below is a brief review of what we did at our last youth council meeting:

We prayed and played a short clip on fundraising. We will fundraise throughout the year to raise money for youth2011 (about 7000 dollars). Chris is going to talk with our parents on Parent Night to try and get more adults working with him in this area. There is a list of potential fundraising ideas, but we need more help to make it work.

2010/2011 retreats - Alive Nov. 19-21, Ski Trip - Feb. 4-6, IMPACT - Mar. 25-27, Youth2011 July 12-17, Youth Week Aug. 14-21
Other events - CROP walk Oct. 17, Christmas party Dec 12 (location TBA), 30-hour famine April 29-30, Relay for Life (date TBA), senior night? end of May and a pool party June 26th.
We'll do some interesting things with our Bible Study. Ask me about it if you want details.
Youth Week next year will include a beach trip and maybe a waterpark.
Care packages will be sent to our college students from the youth. They will not include homemade cookies.
We meet for youth group from Sept. 12th to June 12th. No meetings on Oct. 31, Nov. 21, Dec. 19 or 26, Feb. 6, Mar. 27, Apr. 24, May 1 and May 8.
The youth rated our year of youth ministry about a 4 out of 5. Our advance project for the year is "nothing but nets." We need someone to make a poster for it. Wanna help?

We look forward to the start of the new year of youth ministry! Get ready for back-to-school olympics on September 12th at 6pm!

The New School Year

2010-08-24T09:40:00.002-04:00

Hey guys. I know its just about time for a new school year, but don't worry, it also means youth group is starting up again! Here are a few things coming up that you should know about:

August 29th 6pm youth council at 101 walchest drive
September 12th 6pm back-to-school olympics at FUMCTR
September 19th 6pm parent night at FUMCTR

August 29th 6pm youth council. We'll talk about our plans for the year, new events and old events alike. Maybe you have something new to offer the group? Ask Brian if you'd like to attend.
September 12th 6pm youth group! back-to-school-olympics. this is a messy, slimy, chicken-tossing kind of day to celebrate the start of a new year. We'll discover things like; who can husk corn with their feet, how fast can you fill a cup with eggs while its held over someone's face, and how far can you spit that sausage? join us because its gross.
September 19th 6pm youth group parent night! last year it was ultimate banana (ultimate frisbee with a banana). Who knows what will happen this year. Parents and youth should plan on attending. Parents will get information on a whole year of events and youth will have some fun!

Join us!

Youth Week 2010

2010-07-31T11:28:00.008-04:00

The details for Youth Week 2010 are finalized! We have a pretty awesome week of events planned, including the return of kidnapping our new 7th graders and escape from pigman island! If you didn't receive the list of events in the mail let Brian know (it should arrive the week of August 1st), or just print your own copy using the links here:
youth week 2010 events page
delaware river tubing waiver

Here's the list:
August 15th Lock.in at FUMCTR
August 17th BlueClaws Game
August 18th Delaware River Tubing
August 19th Blackbeard's Cave
August 20th Dinner and a Movie at Brian's
August 21st Service Project and Pool Party

Incoming seventh graders, we can't wait for you to join our youth group! Graduating Seniors, we look forward to your participation in this final event as a part of the youth group. College students, we can always use a hand putting youth week together (especially for pigman island). Come and join us. A great week is ahead!

UMARMY events

2010-06-08T15:43:00.005-04:00

There are plenty of things happening in the near future with the youth group, especially as we prepare for the United Methodist Action Reach-Out Mission by Youth. UMARMY is a lot of fun and a lot of work. Its worth it though!

Come and join us in what's happening! Here are the events concerning UMARMY:

June 11th Karaoke/Coffeehouse 7pm
June 12th Youth Pancake Breakfast 8am
June 13th Tool Training 600pm
July 10th Car wash Fundraiser 8am (There's also breakfast being served inside)
July 11th Information Meeting 11am (Mandatory for UMARMY participants)
July 17th Pack Trailer 600pm (Please note: the fish fry is canceled)
July 18th Consecration Service 10am
July 18th-24th UMARMY in Williamsport, PA

Relay for Life

2010-05-21T10:00:00.001-04:00

Hello All,

Just a quick update on Relay for Life - Emily and I will be at TR North at noon, Saturday May 22nd. If any parents or youth plan on attending be sure to connect with us! First Church will not have chaperones overnight, though, so parents please make sure your youth are adequately cared for if they are staying overnight.

Also, you can still donate to this worthy cause, if you'd like. Go to http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY10EA?pg=entry&fr_id=20924 and click "donate." Look for our team by typing in our team captain: Trevor or FUMCTR. Thanks for supporting the American Cancer Society and First UMC.

Around the Church:
May 23rd - confirmation Sunday and Pentecost. Wear red!
May 30th - Youth Council at 4pm 101 Walchest Drive
June 11th - Karaoke Coffehouse Fundraiser at 7pm in FLC
June 12th - Youth help at the Pancake Breakfast, 8-1030am in FLC

Our Summer schedule will be decided at our next youth council meeting so look for another message soon about future youth meetings. God bless!

Love Feast

2010-05-12T10:11:00.004-04:00

Join us for our Love Feast this Sunday! We'll be eating a meal catered by Ray, so you know it will be good. Our confirmands are bringing drinks and deserts, but if you could bring some soda or snacks to help out that would be great. The parents of our confirmands are joining us, too, so it should be an interesting night.

You may be wondering what a Love Feast is. If you are, don't worry, you are not alone. A Love Feast is an old school way of having communion together, and involves food, prayer, testimonies and some scripture reading. Most people haven't been to a Love Feast for a hundred years, so its probably new to most of you. Come join us and see what a great time it is. God moves and you can't beat the food! See you Sunday at 6pm. Food is served at 630 and we should finish before 8pm. Stay and help clean if you can. God bless!

A Death in the Family

2010-05-12T09:53:00.005-04:00

This past week one of our confirmands experienced something terrible. Angelo's dad died in a motorcycle accident (the picture to the left is of his father). Its so sad, and a horrible thing for someone to have to go through at such a young age, so please keep Angelo, his mom Dawn and his step-father Jeremy in your prayers. These three have been a part of our church over the past six months and can use the support of the church in this tragic situation. If you have thoughts or ideas on how we might be able to support this family please let me know. Think about what you might want someone to do if you experienced a real tragedy in your own life. If you come up with anything give me a call or text me.

Angelo is going to read Revelation 21 at the funeral today. It says "‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." Know that in tragedy God brings healing.

Angelo's father was a police officer for Harvey Cedars.

30 Hour Famine

2010-04-22T13:58:00.001-04:00

The 30 hour famine draws neigh. Fasting for our youth group begins at 930am Friday. I'll send a text out to those who have it to remind you. Remember, we meet together at FUMCTR at 7pm and end at 4pm. We will break our fast together at 330pm with a simple meal. If parents are willing to wait half an hour or come in and help we can use a hand cleaning up at the end of the event.

We will be off site for part of this event, so if you are getting picked up or dropped off other than start or finish times please tell me. There will also be a presentation to the congregation on Sunday morning sharing what we've done. We present at the end of the 8am service, during the contemporary service and at the beginning of the 11am service. We'll put together specific plans at the famine.

If you can, bring some drinks to share with everyone else. Get excited because we have lots of games, tribes for teams, and so much celebrating to do for all the funds we've raised! Join us and bring a friend because this is one of our best events! Any questions, call or text. See you Friday for the famine!

Easter Egg Hunt Fun

2010-03-30T08:55:00.005-04:00

Hi! Its Holy Week! We started it off with an Easter Egg Hunt for the kiddies. We had a lot of fun. There are some pictures of the event which you can find here... Don't forget that Thursday at 6pm is our Seder Meal and Holy Communion and Friday at 7pm is a Tenebrae Service. Each service has its own unique qualities which you won't see at any other time of the year so come join us for this special time of year! Take care and HAPPY EASTER!!!

April 2010 and UMARMY registration

2010-03-24T09:58:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone. Lots of good stuff is happening over the next month so be sure to stay plugged in to what is happening. The youth group will not be meeting on the following dates:

March 31st - canceled Bible Study (spring break)
April 4th - canceled confirmation class, canceled youth group (easter)
May 9th - canceled confirmation class, canceled youth group (mother's day)

There is a community Easter Egg Hunt on March 28th. Everyone is invited but we are hoping to have some youth help out with the event. Its from 1-230 so join us if you can!

April 23rd-24th (7pm-4pm) is our 3o hour famine and May 16th (6pm-8pm) we are having a love feast! Ask Brian for details.

Finally, UMARMY registrations are due April 11th. This is the final day to accept registrations for youth, young adults and adult volunteers. You can find the registration form in the 'documents' section of the youth blog. We still need adult volunteers so ask around!

Thanks for being a part of our youth group and I'll see you soon!

District Lock-in

2010-03-09T09:21:00.003-05:00

Our District Lock-in is just a week away! We'll meet March 19th at First United Methodist Church of Toms River at 8pm (129 Chestnut Street Toms River, NJ). We plan to have an early breakfast and finish at 8am with worship together.

We have a theme for our night: countries of the world! We are asking for a one dollar donation to the Russia missions team in keeping with our theme. We'll have a worship service, midnight bowling ($10 if you plan on bowling), video game tournaments, ping pong, volleyball and basketball. We also have lots of group activities and quick games for a ton of fun.

We don't plan on having time for sleep because its an all-night event, although there will be designated rooms for people to rest in if they need it. There should be somewhere between 50 and 100 people for this event. We'll provide breakfast, but we are still looking for chaperones to drive youth to and from the bowling alley.

If you're on facebook find fumctr youth group and rsvp for this event! That's about it. If you have any questions or want more details email me or call me on my cell!

Confirmation Class 2010

2010-02-23T17:25:00.002-05:00

Confirmation class has begun! Lent is marked not only by sacrifice and repentance, but also by study! We have a huge class of 29 'confirmands' that will be studying the word of God and the history of the Church. There are also 14 mentors that will help our young people understand the scripture as they read through it. Each week our confirmands will read and journal on the Gospel of Luke and spend an hour in class studying different parts of biblical theology. By the end I'm sure we'll have some real bible scholars in our church! Here's a slideshow of our confirmands; enjoy! (note: josh and mike are not pictured)

Spaghetti Dinner

2010-02-18T10:18:00.002-05:00

Well done everyone! Our spaghetti dinner raised over 1300 dollars! Thanks to everyone who came out to help serve, inform, sing and clean! You did a wonderful job and will help send several more young people to UMARMY 2010 in Williamsport, PA! Watch the slide below to see some pictures from the event. We'll see you for youth group Sunday nights from 6 to 8. Coming up: confirmation classes and 30 Hour Famine on April 23rd.

Ski Trip 2010

2010-01-12T10:48:00.004-05:00

The ski trip is coming up! Its February 5th-7th and you gotta get your stuff in to go! There are plenty of forms you have to fill out to make sure everything is in order. Also, please take note of the prices on the 'Ski Trip Notes' form (cost depends on if you ski and if you have your own equipment). Forms for skiers and boarders are due by the 24th and all money is due by the 31st. Get ready for a great trip! We leave February 5th at 3pm and return on the 7th at about 3pm.

Here are the links for the forms:

General Permission Slip (required of all FUMCTR youth for any events this year)
Belleayre Rental Form (required of all skiers and snowboarders)
Ski Trip Notes (notes on the trip including cost)

Delayed Christmas Party

2010-01-05T11:19:00.006-05:00

Hello Faithful Youth Members. We finally had our Christmas party! It was delayed because of snow and someone's wedding *eh hem* and the new year, but we finally had it! You'll find a few pictures here and, as always, you can go to the photobucket page linked below under "pictures" to see all of them.

Remember! Coming up is our MLKJDay Lock-in. January 15th-16th we'll be partying til the early morning! We start Friday at 7pm and end Saturday after a light breakfast at 9am. So join us!

Also, our ski trip is only a few weeks away now. We leave Friday, February 5th at 3pm and return Sunday, February 7th around 4pm. Be sure you put your name down on our sign-up sheet so we can plan for enough space. You'll also need to fill out an emergency medical release form as well as your $150 dollars for the event. Its gonna be great!

The Christmas Season

2009-11-23T15:28:00.004-05:00

Hey guys. So Christmas is coming around. Here are the events you should know about:

November 25th - 6pm - Christmas decorating around the church
December 20th - 6pm - Christmas party at the Hertl's. Bring a small (less than $5), wrapped present!
December 23rd - Bible Study is on! We'll finish 'The Nativity Story'
December 24th - 10am - Brian and Emily get married! Everyone is welcome to the ceremony!
December 27th - 6pm - No Youth Group Meeting
December 30th - 9pm - Bowling at the Playdrome. meet at Church, return by 1030, $7 for shoes and a game
February 5-7 - ??pm - Winter Retreat Ski Trip! 150 bucks. Make sure you sign up!

Feel like your missing out on what's happening? Give Brian your cellular device number and he'll send texts about meetings and special events. Remember, Jesus loves you!

Final Notes on Fall Retreat

2009-10-22T10:00:00.002-04:00

Hey Guys. This is it! We leave for the Fall Retreat tomorrow! Just so you know, the forecast for Saturday is for rain. Unless its really crazy, terrible weather we'll still do the ropes course, so be sure you have rain gear. Ponchos and multiple layers ought to help. Also, be sure to bring a second pair of shoes! Even though its bad weather Don't Be Afraid...because that's our theme for the weekend. It should be a good weekend. Drew's leading us in worship, we'll have some words from me and plenty of youtube videos to keep us entertained. Also, we'll have a special appearance of cake-wrecks. It should be pretty awesome. See you at 6pm Friday and parents, we'll be back before 4pm Sunday!

Fall Retreat!

2009-10-06T12:12:00.002-04:00

The Fall Retreat is only a few weeks away! We leave Friday, October 23rd at 6pm. We'll come back Sunday, October 25th around 4pm. There are ropes courses, a football game and general mayhem all weekend long. We'll also have some worship services together and end Sunday with communion. If you haven't turned in your deposit money (50 bucks please) or a form yet, do that as soon as you can. Here is a link to the Camp Pecometh form (youth, please fill out page 5, parents coming on the trip need to fill out page 6). The total cost is $110 and if you have any issues with paying that much money, just come and let me know. You can also find the link to the Camp Pecometh website on the right in the 'links' section of the blog - its conveniently labeled "fall retreat." And finally, an awesome picture from the fall retreat '07:

Multi-Ethnic Dinner

2009-09-30T08:49:00.003-04:00

There's a big multi-ethnic, multi-cultural event next Saturday at First UMC of Toms River. It will be held in the Family Life Center from 4pm to 7pm on October 10th. FUMCTR youth should feel free to stop in at any point, eat some good international food and watch some unique cultural forms of celebration. You can even meet the Bishop and the District Superintendents of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. Join us for a celebration of the cultural diversity of our Church!

B-1 canceled

2009-09-25T12:50:00.003-04:00

Hey guys. I just got an email today that the B-1 lock-in is canceled. How lame. They said there wasn't enough "participation." Let me know if you want to hang out Saturday afternoon at the church and just chill with an open gym. If you raised money, we can make sure it still goes towards the projects you picked. We'll meet together on Sunday, like usual, from 6-8pm and figure it out then, so be sure to bring your money that night. Its too bad the event was canceled, but we have the CROP walk October 18th and our Fall Retreat October 23rd-25th. Those will not be canceled for anything short of a natural disaster! Take care and I'll see you soon!

B-1 cometh!

2009-09-24T10:17:00.003-04:00

Hey TR! The b-1 lock-in is this Saturday! We meet at 11:30am at the church and will drive together to the Pinelands Center at Mt. Misery. If you didn't pick a project to support yet, here is a direct link to the ones we talked about at youth group. Pick your favorite project and bring the money you raised with you Saturday. We have lots of fun and exciting stuff lined up for the event so join us, and maybe even bring a friend! We should be back Sunday around 12:30pm. If you have something Saturday or Sunday and need to be dropped off late, or picked up early, here is the location of the pinelands center. Here's a picture of my favorite project - CEREIMI which cares for children in Chile. Get ready for a fun and world impacting event!

Youth Group Begins!

2009-09-04T09:12:00.002-04:00

Here's something you should get really excited about: this week we start our regular youth meetings! FINALLY! It took forever to get here, but we will have our regular 6pm-8pm meetings on Sunday evenings, and our 6-7pm Bible Study on Wednesday nights. You can check the calendar at the bottom of the blog for specific details on what is happening at some of the meetings. When I get a chance I'll write a sentence or two about the meetings. You'll know whether its a mind-numbing lecture or a run-around adventure. Also, Wednesday nights we'll have food with the Kids For Christ (KFC) starting some time in October @ 5:30pm. I'll have more details for those of you that attend on Wednesday nights. Come and join us for either meeting. I promise to hear what you guys want for the meetings and do my best to meet your needs. Its only days away! Get ready!

B-1

2009-09-01T15:31:00.003-04:00

Here's a nice, high-quality picture from Youth Sunday. Congratulations to everyone on a spectacular conclusion to Youth Week! Everyone loved Youth Sunday, and I'm excited to do it all again next year (pictures will be posted in the links section soon).

Also, be sure to attend our next big event - B-1. Its a fundraiser to help people from around the world with specific projects to better their communities. We will raise funds and then have a huge lock-in September 26th to 27th, from noon Saturday to noon Sunday at the Pinelands Center in Mount Misery. follow this link for more information. We are already registered, but look at the site for the project you'd like to sponsor. Join us for a truly life-changing event!

Youth Sunday

2009-08-26T11:09:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone! This Sunday, August 30th, is Youth Sunday, so be sure to join us at all three services as the youth take over! If you haven't volunteered to help yet and want to, please be sure to let Brian know. We can use lots of help for the 8 and 11am services. We have Drew preaching, and a couple unique things to jazz up the service. If you signed up for Youth Sunday at the lock-in please be sure to come at least 10 minutes early so we can go over your job. Thanks everyone, and let's get excited for Youth Sunday!

UMARMY makes the news!

2009-08-14T13:11:00.003-04:00

Hey guys. Check your local paper because you might be in it! The Observer Reporter published an article today about First UMC and our participation in UMARMY. You'll find the following picture plastered on the front page! Read the article. I'll post a link to it when they put it online and I'll make sure to put a permanent copy up somewhere in the church.

Don't forget, Youth Week starts this Sunday. We'll meet at the church at 4pm and then head over the Hertl's together. We are going to start the night with a little rally to kick off youth week. Make sure you let me know if you plan on participating so we can have enough drivers. Thanks and see you soon!

Youth Week

2009-07-30T10:35:00.005-04:00

You asked for it, now you got it! Here is the Youth Week information. comment, text, call or facebook me any questions or ideas!

August 16th (Sunday) Pool Party and Group Games @ the Hertl’s (15 Liverpool Ct. TR) 4pm to 8pm

August 17th (Monday) Six Flags: Great Adventure $30 10am to 10pm

August 18th (Tuesday) Movie Night and Group Games @ FUMC of Toms River 6pm to 9pm

August 19th (Wednesday) Delaware River Tubing $17 10am to 6pm

August 20th (Thursday) Sports Night against St. Andrews 6pm to 9pm

August 21st (Friday to Saturday) Lock-in followed by a service project @ FUMC of Toms River 6pm to noon the next day

Youth Sunday is August 30th at all three services!

*Note: this is a link to the waiver for Thursday's tubing adventure.

Client Night Thursday, July 16th 2009

2009-07-14T13:57:00.002-04:00

Hi. Geez there is a lot of stuff happening these first few weeks in July. This Thursday there is a client night with the UMARMY here in Toms River. Everyone from the youth group is invited to join the UMARMY as we serve a meal to the youth and to the clients. Please arrive around 4pm to help prepare the meal and around 530 to serve the meal. I haven't been to a client night before, so I don't know how long the event lasts, but I imagine it won't be more than 2 hours (so 6-8 for the meal and program). Let me know if you plan on helping out!

Also, remember that you are welcome to join the UMARMY every day for worship at 7am and 930pm. Wednesday night is a special "experiential" worship service so please plan on attending that, if you have the time. See ya!

UMARMY Themes and Schedule

2009-07-14T12:11:00.004-04:00

Hello! Several people have asked about the themes for this year's UMARMY. Well I finally have it! Here it is, along with the schedule:

Saturday, July 18th 5pm - Pack the U-haul truck with supplies and luggage

Sunday, July 19th 9:30am - Attend Contemporary worship service, be commissioned and depart

Sunday Night Theme - "Get Acquainted" and discover color groups and work teams

Monday Night - "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and represent your favorite baseball team

Tuesday Night - "Swim Night" so bring a bathing suit and snorkeling gear

Wednesday Night - "Eating Out" with our color groups, including games and maybe karaoke

Thursday Night - "Client Night" where clients join us for dinner and celebrate our accomplishments

Saturday, July 25th 4pm - Approximate arrival time back at First UMC of Toms River

Call or email me with any questions. Thanks!

UMARMY Dinner in TR

2009-07-08T11:15:00.002-04:00

Hey team. As many of you know the UMARMY host church provides dinner on the first night for the team coming in to do service projects. We are hosting a group from Massachusetts and Connecticut so we need to make dinner! It starts on July 12th at 6pm, but if you are helping you should be there at least half an hour early. We will serve about 60-65 people hot dogs, mac 'n cheese and baked beans. It should be a simple meal to prepare, but we need some help. This is open to anyone 7th grade and up. Come join us in welcoming a UMARMY team to our community! Thanks.

Youth Council Meeting

2009-07-08T10:12:00.000-04:00

Here's a thought: youth ministry only happens with the dedication, talent, love and energy of youth. Youth Council is a group that meets to help steer the course of the youth ministry. So that means, if the youth council is going to steer well it needs all the good things that young people bring to the table. So here's another thought: why don't some youth and young adults join the youth council to decide what the youth group does! Its only a thought, but maybe some youth and young adults would be interested in joining us July 26th at 4pm in the parsonage (101 Walchest Drive). Comment with your thoughts, or come to the meeting and tell us what you think!

Here's the agenda for youth council:

review the youth ministry.
what is the purpose of youth ministry?
what does our ministry do well?
what does our ministry do poorly and how can we change that?
in what direction do we want to move?

Should we add anything else? Let me know! God bless.

UMARMY

2009-07-07T12:44:00.001-04:00

Its time to get down to business! I'm new here so I don't know much about how things normally go in terms of retreats. Here's what I'm thinking, though. I heard the UMARMY is normally 'commissioned' by the contemporary service and the youth group literally leaves for Williamsport at the end of the service. That sounds like a plan to me! Please plan on attending the contemporary service of FUMC of Toms River July 19th, at 9:30 am. That would also mean all our stuff needs to be packed before the service. Please plan on coming to FUMC Toms River Saturday, July 18th at 5pm to pack the truck and U-Haul. We return Saturday, July 25th, probably around 4pm. Be sure your permission slips are turned in and all the forms are filled out properly. Are you excited, yet? I am! See you soon.

This is a work in progress

2009-07-03T14:44:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! I am Brian Neville. I'll be your Assistant Pastor for the foreseeable future! My main responsibility is making the youth group go! I hope to have lots of pictures, music and videos of the youth on this page, but it might take a while before we have some of that to put up here. You'll also be able to check out calendar events. You can see the date, time and location of events and there should be plenty of extra information for parents, as well. Just click on the event you are interested in. I can't wait to get to know the people of Toms River United Methodist Church, and as I know you better this site will change as you, yourselves add to it! You can find my email address on the main church page and my home phone number in the church bulletin. Ask me for my cell phone number and text me. I love texting almost as much as I love amazing youth games. Ok, that's it for now, but be sure to say hello and let me know who you are and what kinds of things you like to do. See ya!

Testing

2009-04-27T23:35:00.000-04:00

Hi. I'm just trying this out. In time you might see lots of information show up here about the First UMC of Toms River youth group, but we'll see about that.