Youth leaders keep teens engaged
By Kathy Thomson
Last weekend, local churches used various means including drive-in, internet, email, and social distancing to celebrate Easter with parishioners while reducing the likelihood of spreading coronavirus, and Albany youth pastors are also using new ways to minister to their students.
Kathryn Hamilton (The Feed Store), Spencer Newsom (Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church), and Campbell Terry (First Baptist Church) are working both independently and together to continue to reach youth with the love of Jesus and fellowship opportunities.
“Basically we are trying to keep up with the kids through text messaging, FaceTime, and Zoom,” said Hamilton. “Campbell has a Zoom Bible study every Wednesday, Spencer has Zoom Bible study for high school guys on Thursdays, and I have Zoom calls with the girls on Thursdays. Now that Easter is behind us, we also plan to have a ‘Challenge’ every weekend through the end of the semester.”
The first Challenge was a stay-at-home scavenger hunt posted on The Feed Store’s Facebook page on Friday, April 3.
The Challenge is designed for both junior high and high school students.
By the time Merge took place on Monday, April 6, Chloe Broadus had accumulated a little over 30 points for the win.
“Although the first one was a scavenger hunt, we’ll have other types of Challenges different weekends,” said Hamilton. “Last week we did a spoof of Netflix’s Tiger King for a little bit of fun for that first online Monday night Merge. It was interesting.”
The Feed Store’s weekly schedule includes Merge on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. on Instagram Live, “Scoop with Soup” podcasts from Terry on Wednesdays, high school guys’ Bible study via Zoom on Thursdays at 4:00 p.m., and girls’ Bible study via Zoom on Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. (junior high girls) and 8:00 p.m. (high school girls).
The weekend Challenge will begin on Friday and end on Monday, with the winner announced on Instagram Live at 7:30 p.m.
According to Hamilton, most of the girls who have Wi-Fi at home were able to access Zoom last week, with five to eight girls logged into each of the Bible studies she led online.
