Focus on Youth
Grove Youth Ministries (GYM) welcomes youth Grades 6-12 to engage in community service, social gatherings, youth choir, and faith formation. We strive to be intentional, inclusive, and open to youth at all stages of their faith walk.
Contact Mike Hardie, Director of Youth Ministries
GYM Culture
Grove Youth Ministries (GYM) recognizes the importance of a safe, inclusive environment for all youth. Participants come from varying degrees of belief and doubt.
We welcome youth where they are on their journey of faith: insights, questions, and silence on the topic alike. We value the uniqueness of each youth and strive to find common ground where it exists. Friends are always welcome – even friends of friends.
There is no expectation that all youth will attend all youth events, we expect that youth will find the level of involvement that makes sense for them, and we’ll continue to offer options.
GYM is a place of affirmation and exploration as youth decide who they are, who they want to be, what they believe, and what they want to do next. We empower youth to have a voice not only in the ministries that start with “youth” but also in the ministries of the whole church.
We strive to build healthy relationships with our youth and encourage them to build healthy relationships with one another.
Because we value the safety of our youth, all youth ministries are following the Safe Sanctuaries policies and all youth leaders have appropriate clearances.
Events and Outreach
- Youth have a voice in determining events and content. For upcoming events, check out our calendar or look at the “What’s Happening” section of the Home page.
- Some of the youth favorites throughout the recent years include:
- Games of all kinds
- Social Gatherings: bonfires, pool parties, and lock-ins
- Themed Kickoff Events & Murder Mystery Dinners
- Youth Sunday: an annual fully youth-led worship service – from greeters to dismissal and all the parts in between
- Rallies & Retreats
- Candle Time Conversations and Faith Formation
- Small Group studies and conversations
- Let’s Get Crafty!
Youth Community Outreach
Grove Youth particularly value serving their community.
Ongoing Youth Community Outreach (6th-12 grades)
Grove Youth Ministries (GYM) offers age-appropriate rotating service opportunities throughout the year. While the exact projects may change, the opportunities for youth to actively express their faith through love of neighbor is consistent. No specific skill sets are needed as youth will be trained as needed. In previous years youth have:
- Cleaned and stocked apartments for families experiencing homelessness
- Prepared meals for young mothers
- Built shelves to house baby supplies
- Delivered pillows and cards created by teams of congregants and inmates to senior living facilities
- Organized inspirational snack bags and Biblical bookmarks for youth in the juvenile justice system and youth escaping domestic violence
- Prepared care packages for college students
- Packed hygiene, layette, and school kits for distribution by the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
Youth are also invited and encouraged to participate in the outreach and mission opportunities offered to the church at large.
Mission Blitz (completed 6th-8th grades)
Mission Blitz is a week-long local mission trip for youth who have completed 6th-8th grades. Each day the youth volunteer at Chester County non-profit organizations where they get hands-on opportunities to meet the needs in our community.
We call it a “blitz” because over the week youth may work with up to 10 organizations. On recent service trips, organizations have asked our youth to build, repair, organize, clean, paint, cook, glean, weed, make blankets, create hygiene baskets, serve food to the hungry and play games with senior citizens.
In the evening, youth can stay overnight and participate in recreational activities such as a pool party, bonfire, and scavenger hunt.
Appalachia Service Project (completed 9th grade and beyond)
Appalachia Service Project (ASP) is a relationship ministry that repairs homes on the side. ASP builds relationships between volunteers, local professionals, and homeowners while making homes warmer, safer, and drier.
Grove has participated in over 30 ASP trips.
Our teams include youth who have completed 9th-12th grades, young adults, and adult leaders. Common projects include roofing, drywall, siding, flooring, foundations, porches, and ramps.
Participants spend most of the week in direct service at the homes, experiencing the culture of the region, and fellow-shipping with other volunteers.
Grove has worked in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. ASP is a transforming experience for volunteers and homeowners alike.
Mission of Peace (completed 9th-12 grades)
Several Grove high school juniors and seniors were chosen to participate in the Mission of Peace (MOP) sponsored by the Northeast Jurisdictional Council on Youth Ministries of the United Methodist Church.
MOP is a 20-day immersive spiritual experience where students journey to discover how other cultures practice Christianity and seek the path of Shalom. Grove youth have traveled to India, the Republic of Cuba, and the Philippines.
To learn more about Mission of Peace, check out the NEJ Council on Youth Ministries webpage.
Youth Choir
Youth Choir
Grove Youth Choir (GYC) brings many voices together for a lot of fun and music. No stressful auditions! Come one and all!
Do you love to sing and have lots of fun doing so? Youth in grades 6-12 do this from September to June at Grove.
Sing during our contemporary service as well concerts in the community and an annual Choir Tour trip. Christmas programs at local nursing homes are a favorite.
Find all the upcoming activities on the Grove Youth Choir Calendar.
To learn more, reach out to our Youth Choir Director, Mike Hardie, at YouthChoir@GroveChurch.org.
Choir Tour
WHAT IS YOUTH CHOIR TOUR? It is fun, work, travel, practice, tie dyed t-shirts, being tired, practice, solos, service work on the road, practice, a different place every night, making new friends, singing and much much more.
Choir Tour involves performing a handpicked program of songs for churches on the road and sharing the joy of their faith with others. This is a highlight for the youth, as well as for all those who get to hear them perform.
Starting with a kickoff concert at Grove, this one-week journey takes the group of singing youth and volunteer chaperones from church to church to perform their music. All songs are choreographed to be fun, entertaining and spread the word of God.
Travel is on a chartered tour bus; sleep is on the couches and/or beds in the homes of host families or on the floors of fellowship halls in churches. A round trip may cover 1400 miles.
For more information, please contact our Youth Choir Director Mike Hardie at YouthChoir@GroveChurch.org.
Youth Council
This advisory board of youth makes decisions about various youth activities, service opportunities, games, and faith-based conversation content. They are empowered to serve in leadership roles for planning, preparing, and implementing youth ministries. They advocate for the wants and needs of their peers, serving as mentors and ambassadors.
Youth interested in serving on Youth Council should contact Mike Hardie- Youth@GroveChurch.org or a current youth council member.
Support GYM
In every ministry there are players, prayers, and payers. We are grateful for the regular support to GYM through volunteer leaders, parent contributions, congregant prayers and financial contributions. We recognize that it takes a church to have a successful youth ministry.
Throughout the year there are many ways to support GYM.
Supply a dinner
Volunteers are responsible for providing simple meals for the youth and leaders on Sunday evenings between choir and youth group. Any youth or leader participating in Youth Choir or GYM is welcome to attend.
These dinners are a great source of camaraderie for the youth and your help is very much appreciated and we cannot make it happen without volunteers like you. For more details or to sign up, contact Mike Hardie, Youth@GroveChurch.org
Pray for Grove Youth Ministries
We value your prayers, whether they be for our ministry as a whole, specific ministry areas, or for specific leaders and youth. As youth face unprecedented amounts of pressure during the pandemic, we covet your prayers for these youth, their education and faith-based pursuits, and youth mental health.
As GYM evaluates the possibilities for post-pandemic ministries, we are grateful for your prayers for insight and inspiration.
Grocery Gifts Cards & Wawa Shorti Certificates
Local grocery stores and Wawa provide their gift cards to us at a discount to help us raise funds. The difference in cost to us vs. what we sell them for is what supports Grove Youth Ministries.
- We offer gift cards to Giant, Acme and ShopRite. Cards are paid at face value and are available in $25, $50, or $100 increments.
- Wawa Shorti Certificates are available for $3.50.
This is an easy way to actively support youth ministries!
Contact the office to procure gift cards or certificates 610.696.2663 or office@grovechurch.org
Choir Tour Auction
There is no doubt that the entire tour is made possible only with the support and success of the Youth Auction in the spring which has been held for over two decades annually.
Over one third of the cost of the trip is funded by the annual Youth Choir Auction. If you have never attended, you don’t know what you’re missing! Families, groups and even individuals get creative and join together to contribute baskets of all sorts to be auctioned off. Baskets are filled with goodies on a theme or donations from local businesses.
Nearly new furniture and precious antiques are popular donations. Season tickets, theater tickets and tickets to sporting events are popular with families who come to the auction. Vacation homes are available to bid on during the live auction portion of the evening.
One of the most enjoyable parts is the concert by the Youth Choir. Listening to these young people sing their hearts out is so inspiring!
Contact ChoirAuction@GroveChurch.org or Office@GroveChurch.org for questions on any aspect of the Youth Auction! Or call the church office at 610.696.2663.
Car washes and other fundraisers
Throughout the year GYM participates in other fundraisers such as car washes, mini golf madness, or Adirondack chair sales.
Fundraisers are announced in the Weekly Highlights. To suggest other fundraiser ideas or to make other donations, please contact Mike Hardie
Become a leader or teacher
If you are feeling called to walk alongside our youth in this journey called life, reach out to Mike Hardie.
All leaders and teachers must be compliant with the Safe Sanctuaries policies and provide current clearances. We will provide information about how to procure these clearances.
There are so many ways to support our GYM program.
For more information on any parts of the Grove Youth Ministries, reach out to Mike Hardie, Director of Youth Ministries.
