We Love Our Youth!

Here at TCC, we love and value our youth. We believe
that God has ordained parents to be the primary disciple-makers of their
children and we want to come alongside parents to encourage and equip them for this vital responsibility. As a team, we are committed to helping parents disciple healthy children and teens through age-appropriate teaching, special
events, and relational ministry in small groups. The Forge Youth Ministry
cares for students in grades 7-12. Our goal is to activate the next
generation to both live and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Our youth coordinators lead a dedicated team of adults who will pour their time and energy into your young people.

The Forge Youth Ministry

Each Wednesday, you can find a committed group of leaders here at TCC,
preparing for group discussion, practicing worship, and spending time
chatting with the youth. We have a desire to lead youth toward a foundation
on the truth of Jesus Christ and example how to live a life fully devoted to
what He calls them to. We do this through worship and large group
discussions, followed by practical application discussions and friendship
development in small group time. We start out each service with a time of
fellowship where the kids and leaders can chat and catch up. Then the worship team leads everyone in a rich time of worship. At the end of worship, everyone is invited to grab a chair and a snack as we circle around for a discussion facilitated by one of our leaders and open to everyone. We go through a passage of Scripture or discuss a variety of topics, from previous Sunday sermons, characteristics of God, or a social topic that we are addressing from a Biblical worldview. After this discussion, we break up into small groups which are divided by gender and grade, each lead by one or more of our trained and background checked leaders. The purpose of the small group is ultimately personal connection, between the youth members and their leaders. We believe that being discipled by other believers is a great way to learn more about the Lord and mature in our walk with Him and small groups are the perfect way to foster these connections. 

The Forge Youth also has annual Winter Retreats and Summer Camps.
These are highly anticipated times where our leadership team takes the
youth away for times devoted to getting closer to the Lord and one another.
The Forge Summer Camp is the epitome of everything we do here at The Forge.
It consists of 5 days in the summer where we pack up and head out of town.
We fill our days with fun, creative, and at times quite messy games,
services with sincere, dynamic worship and practical teaching, and lots of
time for relationships to be developed, both in the cabins and at free times
down at the lake. During this week we ask the youth to give up their social
medias and truly soak in the full experience. Camp is wildly fun, but most
importantly, provides a safe space where we can lean into and experience
the presence of the Father as we learn more about Him.

The Forge’s Winter Retreat is something that we change year to year based
on what we feel the Lord is calling us to. In the past we have rented out
cabins and spent a large portion of the weekend in worship and discussion
panels, spent our time at an indoor water park just having fun together,
attended a 3-day conference, and most recently we chose to simply spend
a Saturday together, first learning more about love languages and how they
can change our relationships with those around us and then piling into vans
which took us to the Main Event for an afternoon of fun. No matter what we
do, you can count on it being a fun time that is built around Biblical values
and relationship building.

 

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MEET OUR TEAM

Similar to the multi-member elder team, our youth ministry is lead by not one, but two couples. With each of them serving in their strengths and passion, the youth ministry is better able to equip our parents and love our teens.

Josh and Katherine Jeffries are The Forge’s outreach coordinators, their main task is to plan our camps and outreaches, but Katherine is also over our youth band and Josh oversees our discipleship program. They have been blessed with two children, Heritage and Oliver, and are passionate about creating an atmosphere where all are welcome.

Joel and Hannah are our meeting coordinators, they oversee our Wednesday night meetings and leader’s meetings as well as being over our small groups. They’re passionate about helping guide kids through their teen years with the truth of the gospel. Joel is the main voice of the ministry on the typical Wednesday, while Hannah does one on one counseling when needed.

Small Group Leaders– Along with these two couples, there are many incredible leaders, both male and female who serve this ministry devotedly. They are faithful to their walk with the Lord and to our kids. As small group leaders, they have the chance to get to know and really do life with our teens, always pointing them back to Christ. Our goal is never to take the place of the parents, but rather to come along side and help in any way we can. Making this ministry a safe place for our teens is of the utmost importance to us, so yearly background checks are run for every adult who serves this ministry in any capacity.