| Happy Easter, Friends! He is risen! As I entered the office this morning, I had a conversation with Jennifer Barmore about the service on Sunday. She mentioned that she was especially moved at how many young people we had helping in the service; besides our usual student playing in the worship band, there were students serving as greeters and helping with Children’s Church, students in the balcony training on both our livestream and sound board positions, and students singing in our Easter choir. It’s been an intentional effort to include Jr. High and High School students in our Sunday morning worship, both on the platform and behind the scenes, but this is nothing new for our congregation. I’m grateful to be a part of a church that has always valued students and includes them in the life and work of the church as much as we can, empowering them to further ministry and hopefully making connections to the church body that help them to stick with faith beyond their teenage years. Shortly after Katelyn Sanders announced that she would be moving to East Texas and no longer able to serve as our Pastor of Student Ministries, Matt Wilber, Josh Bunce, Tena Roher and I began to have conversation about how to proceed to discern who our next Pastor of Student Ministries would be. We began the same process that we followed to hire Katelyn, Josh, Tena, and Jennifer two years ago; before forming an official search committee and taking applicants, we started by working our way through a very short list of names that we knew were must-asks before proceeding with open applications. We are grateful to God and excited to announce that this process has led us to Luke Ballard as our candidate for Pastor of Student Ministries. Luke was a name that was mentioned by nearly every person around our Friends Church circles (EFC-MAYM) that we asked. This was a group that included our last two Student Ministers—Josiah Brown and Katelyn Sanders—as well as the current professor of Student Ministries at Barclay College and our current Superintendent of Students in EFC-MAYM. He comes from Haviland, Kansas, and has co-directed Camp Quaker Haven for the last two years alongside Katelyn Sanders. We are extremely excited to introduce him to our church family as we continue to discern together if this fit is God’s leading for both us and him. In a little under three weeks, on May 10th and 11th , Luke will be in town for a series of meetings and to worship with us. We have plans for him to meet on Saturday with our church Coordinators, a formal interview committee, and a gathering of potential youth volunteers and peers. On Sunday, May 11th (Mother’s Day) he will be in worship with us, and assuming all goes well on Saturday we plan to introduce him to you all and hope that you will greet him briefly after worship. Later that day (in an attempt to avoid meal times on Mother’s Day!), we will meet at 4 pm in the Friends Center (gym building) where we hope as many parents and students as possible will come to meet, greet, and listen to Luke. If you aren’t a parent or student but would still like to come and participate, you’re welcome as well. We are praying that this weekend serves to help all of us clearly discern the leading of God’s Spirit among us. At the end of the weekend, we will allow time and space for both Luke and us to discern further. Our hope is that God leads us together and this is the right fit for us as a Pastor of Student Ministries. If you have questions, please reach out to Matt Wilber, Josh Bunce, Tena Roher, or me as we lead up to that weekend. Please mark your calendars to be around that Sunday morning or that 4 pm meeting later in the day! I’m grateful for our church’s care for students and for the way that God continues to bring great teammates to us that help us in our pursuit of a life with Christ. Blessings to each of you this week, and may we reflect on the resurrection of Jesus as we respond to God’s leading, day by day. In Christ, Bobby Kirkpatrick |
| Student Pastor Candidate Meet and Greet |
| On Sunday, May 11th join us at 4 pm in Friends Center (gym building) where we hope as many parents and students as possible will come to meet, greet, and listen to Luke. If you aren’t a parent or student but would still like to come and participate, you’re welcome as well. |
| Cleaning Care Drive |
| In support of our neighbors at Mary Queen Catholic Church, we are hosting a Cleaning Care Drive to replenish frequently requested supplies missing from their food pantry that serves those in need in our community. Collection bins will be available in the foyer and office for the next several weeks. Donation Items Needed: Toilet Paper, Shampoo, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Bar Soap, Laundry Detergent, Dish Soap, Multipurpose Cleaner, Toilet bowl Cleaner, Paper Towels. Contact the church office or Carter Powell for more information. |
| Bible Study |
| Join us this Sunday in the Coffee Cafe as we continue our Bible Study on Acts. The last Bible Study for the semester will meet on May 4th. |
| Children’s Corner |
| Summer: Coming Soon! Be looking for information coming soon on fun activities during the Summer months! Mark you calendars for end of the semester dates! Last Tweens May 1st Gym Kids ends May 2nd Final Kidzone May 4th |
| Student Ministries Update |
| Attention Graduates |
| Join us May 18th for Senior Sunday! A light breakfast will be served at 9:00 am in the Coffee Cafe. Parents of seniors, please fill out the form below by 4/30/25 to let us know you will be joining us at breakfast and if you plan to decorate a table with photos and mementos. Senior Table Sign Up If you have a graduating high school or college senior, we would like to recognize them. Please use the button below to fill out the Graduate Information form by May 14th to have your graduate recognized. Graduate Information |
| Scholarship Deadline May 1st |
| Graduating High School Seniors and Current college students are eligible to apply. Deadline for application is May 1st. Contact Katelyn with questions. Apply Here |
| Camp Quaker Haven |
| The camp registration deadline is one month away! If you plan on joining us at CQH this summer, please use the registration button below to access camp information and registration instructions. We hope to see you there! The 42 campers already registered will receive an email at the beginning of May with their camp payment and form status. If you would like to know before the beginning of May if you have payments and forms due, feel free to reach out to Katelyn. |
| Click Here for Registration |
| Family Promise |
| Save the Date for our next Family Promise Host Week: May 18th-25th. |
