High School Youth Group

Acts 29: We are the next chapter

“Dear young people, let yourselves be taken over by the light of Christ, and spread that light wherever you are.” – Pope St. John Paul II

Saint Helena Youth Group

2024 September – December Calendar

Theme: Relationship, Identity, Mission

~~September 8 – Kick-off event – The Search, Episode 1: What Do You Seek?~~

~~Weekend of September 14 & 15 – Ministry Fair Weekend~~

~~September 22 – The Search, Episode 2: Who Are You?~~

~~October 13 – Carlo Acutis Exposition Display (Church Narthex)~~

October 27 – The Search, Episode 3: Why A God?

November 3 – The Search, Episode 4: What’s Our Story?

November 17 – The Search, Episode 5: Who Is Jesus?

Weekend of November 23 and 24 – Thanksgiving Food Drive (Church Parking Lot)

Saturday, November 23 from 2:30-4pm
Sunday, November 24 from 7-11:30am

December 1 – The Search, Episode 6: Am I Saved?

December 8 – The Search, Episode 7: Why A Church?

December 15 – Christmas Party (cake, games, and prizes)

So, just what exactly IS a youth group? Why would I send my teen to a youth group? Isn’t is just ONE MORE activity in an already jammed-packed schedule? Don’t they get ENOUGH religion at school? All of these are great questions to ask. Before you leave this page, may I invite you to check out this Welcome Letter for an answer? Also – continue reading this page to learn even more.

Our youth group (which we call “Acts 29” – read on to find out why) is open to ALL teens in grades 8 – 12. We meet Sunday evenings (see our schedule below) from 7 – 8:15pm for prayer, games, food, and good and healthy friendships. Led by Christian and Gabrielle Thompson, our youth group is a great place for teens to discover the truths about who they are, who God is, and what is the great plan and potential for a life lived in union to our beautiful and tremendous God!

Why is our group called “Acts 29” – there is only 28 chapters in the Book of Acts. Where is the 29th chapter? It’s us! We are the next chapter. The book of Acts closes with these words about St. Paul: “He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 28:30-31)

We can do great things when we are in relationship with Jesus. My hope is that all teens who pass through our youth group have an encounter with Jesus, Who will provide them with a true sense of purpose. Through prayer, food, games, and personal interactions, we seek to provide teens with healthy relationships that can build a sense of purpose, from which they can spread the mission of Jesus to all those they meet!

We start by recognizing that we are loved by God and created to be in relationship with Him.

With that truth, we acknowledge that our sin divides us from this communion of love with God. We teach that Jesus “bridges” this divide by dying for each one of us and ransoming us back from death. Finally, we respond to this message with thanksgiving and love by giving our lives over fully to Jesus by building and deepening our personal relationship with Him through the Church, sacraments, and prayer.

Three Goals for our youth ministry (provided by the USCCB)

Empowering young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ – We seek to empower our youth to live their lives to the fullest potential, which is only done through a relationship with Jesus. A soul in a state of sanctifying grace radiates the love and life of the Holy Trinity. What better way to live! We teach – through example, prayer, and teaching – that all of us, especially our teens, have a particular purpose and reason for being here. One of our goals is to help teens realize that they do have a purpose in life. Most teens don’t believe there is a purpose to their lives. We teach that their purpose that is so much deeper than sports, academics, or friend circles – rather, the true purpose is one that comes from being a beloved child of God. This is how we empower our young people!
Drawing them into responsible participation in the Catholic Church – Why do most Catholics leave the faith after high school? Simple – they are bored. Teens are inundated constantly with fake and inauthentic option (think of Snapchat filters and TikTok influencers). They are craving the true, good, and beautiful. Think about it – when is the last time you saw a teen walking without having their eyes buried in an I-Phone and ears muffled in Airpods and just enjoying the world around them? What is our solution? Simple – offer the Catholic faith authentically and without apology. We don’t need gimmicks or flashy signs to draw teens to the Faith. In fact, they don’t want gimmicks or flash – they get enough of that through social media. In a world where teens are starved for the true and authentic, we just need good ol’ fashioned Catholicism with all its truth, goodness, and beauty. Our youth group seeks to draw teens into responsible participation in the Catholic Church through the Person of Jesus, most especially in the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and communal prayer.
Fostering their personal and spiritual growth – a whole teen is a healthy teen. We seek to foster the whole person of the teen by supporting them in their spiritual, emotional, psychological, and physical growth. Let’s face it – being a teen is tough and there are a lot of changes during the teen years. Our youth group offers a space where teens can discover who they are – true, beautiful, and good children of God Who has a specific plan for their lives.