This August, True Life youth group has invaded Lundeen Park in Lake Stevens.
Teens and leaders from Bethany Christian Assembly make the August pilgrimage every year to reconnect, relax and renew their faith.
“Its a great time for the teens, a time for all of us to just hang out and spend time with one another,” said youth pastor Josh Hall.
The idea originated as an alternate Wednesday youth service, due to the waning attendance numbers that summer brings for most church ministries. Yet what started as an alternative service soon became a yearly staple in youth programming for the church.
“We use it as a time to reach out to our core youth and youth leaders, a way to speak into their lives and show our thanks,” said Hall. “It’s a time of renewing our commitments to ourselves and to God.”
True Life youth services at Lundeen Park end this Wednesday much like it began, with wakeboarding, volleyball and swimming. The last service on the lake ends with something special as 20 youth will be baptized in Lake Stevens.
Congregation works together to help kids
Today marks the first Start Out Right event that a Casino Road-area congregation hopes will become an annual event.
Hosted by Word of Grace Foursquare Church, Start Out Right will take place between 8 a.m. and noon today.
The event is the culmination of several months of outreach that has brought many area businesses, churches and residents together to supply local kids with backpacks filled with supplies for the new school year.
In addition to handing out backpacks, volunteers will also cook up free pancakes and sausages and offer free haircuts for children.
“Our church is on the crossroads of Evergreen and Casino Road, a troubled and often overlooked community,” said Pastor Joseph Fehlen. “We see Start Out Right as an opportunity not just to give area kids some needed supplies now, but to start the process of bringing this community together so that these kids can achieve their full potential in the future.”
Over the past several months, Word of Grace has seen an outpouring of support from area businesses and residents who have dropped off school supplies, donated money and volunteered their time. The church now expects to have more than 200 backpacks filled with school supplies to hand out today.
Donations have poured in from businesses as diverse as Air Photo, Covey Auto Parts and McDonald’s, to Randy’s Ring and Pinion where the employees took the event on as an opportunity to create their own school drive.
Everyone is encouraged to visit Start Out Right.
Word of Grace Foursquare is at 206 E. Casino Road, Everett. For more information about Start Out Right, please visit www.wog4square.org/start-out-right or call 425-513-6178.
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