welcome to our new director of youth ministries, Sam belcher

We are so excited to announce and welcome Sam Belcher as our new Director of Youth Ministry. Sam is familiar with Franklin as he attended Ravenwood High School and then Lipscomb University. Sam felt called into youth ministry in his teen years and was very active in his youth group and has many great ideas to share with us. He has just graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s Center for Youth Ministry with his Master of Arts degree. While in the CYMT program Sam served as Director of Youth Ministries in Lakeland, TN. He will be moving from the Memphis suburb back to the Franklin area this month.


“Sam has talked a lot about his goal of getting the Youth to become a more integrated part of the FPC community and feels that many churches describe the youth as the church of the future, but he feels that the youth ARE the church right now. We can’t wait to see what Sam will bring to our community.” Riley Mitchell


Riley served on the Search Committee with Marti Downey, Hattie Kissel, Kate Lasseter, Terry Love, Jennifer Sower (chairperson), Sammy Tarkington, and Sam Webb. We are grateful for their diligent work and excited to join them in welcoming Sam to FPC. His official start date is June 26.

Summer 2022

Our summer programs are planned and you are invited to attend Sunday school each week at 9 AM in the youth wing (rooms 117-120) and Wednesdays at Pinkerton Park 5:30 to 7 PM. 

Note: we will not meet at Pinkerton when our youth are on summer trips June 8 (Montreat Youth Conference), June 22 (HS Mission to Charleston), or July 13 (MS Mission to Nashville). 

Core Values

Christ-centered: 

We live our lives guided by Christ.


Accepting: 

We are a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive community of faith.


Relationships: 

We foster an atmosphere that promotes love, patience and kindness among the church family and the world at large.


Engaging:

Through the use of curriculum, mission, and activities we challenge youth to actively explore their faith.

Sunday School

From Sept. to May at 9:30 the youth gather in room 117/118 with a Hospitality Bar (hot chocolate, coffee, sweets, etc.) for fellowship, welcome and announcements from our Director of Youth Ministries, Sam Belcher. 


At 9:45 they disperse into their classrooms:


Confirmation (6th and older) Room 209, Big God Big Questions Curriculum

If you are new to our church, we welcome older students to join the class. Each student is paired with an adult covenant partner. 

 

Middle School (6th/7th/8th) Rooms 119/120, Feasting on the Word Curriculum

 

High School (9th/10th/11th/12th) Room 117/118, Feasting on the Word Curriculum

 


During the summer months the middle and high school youth meet together for one class.


CURRICULUM

CONFIRMATION SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS


Preteens at First Presbyterian Church enroll in confirmation when they reach the 6th grade.  The program is open to older students as well.  The course, which begins in September, starts with an understanding of scripture and includes information about the Reformed tradition, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and First Presbyterian Church of Franklin.  In addition to Confirmands attending Sunday morning classes, each is assigned a Covenant Partner who walks beside them in their journey.  Confirmands and Covenant Partners read the Gospel of Luke and meet at least monthly to discuss their reading and explore other questions of the faith.


Contact

Sam Belcher (sbelcher@fpcfranklin.org)

Sunday Night Summit

Sunday Night Summit (SNS) begins at 5:30pm in Wilson Hall where our Youth and Adult Participants share a meal together.  After dinner we will have a large group gathering before dispersing into age specific groups. SNS ends at 7pm (usually in the youth wing).


The cost per meal is $6 for youth and adults. Meal Packages can be purchased for $40 for Fall semester and $60 for Spring semester or $100 per year. SNS meets Sept. through May.

WNL

Wednesday Night Live (WNL), is our midweek program for our whole church community. The meal begins at 6:00 pm. You are invited to join the table for fellowship and stay for programs. 


During the summer months our youth group meets at Pinkerton Park for BYO Dinner. We meet from 5:30-7 PM on June 1, 15, 29, July 6, 20, & 27.


Keep an eye on the weekly youth e-mail for the summer calendar with dates and locations.

Trips, Retreats and More!

Throughout the year our youth have a number of opportunities to go away, build relationships, make memories, serve communities and see God in new ways. As these events approach more information will be given about each of these opportunities in the Youth News. Some of these exciting opportunities include:


Fall and Spring Retreats at NaCoMe

Mission/Service-Learning Trips each summer

Youth Conferences (Montreat/Triennium)