At St. Paul’s we believe students (6th-12th grade) should experience a safe place where they can gather with others their own age, be formed in faith and sent into the world to be Difference Makers because of the love of Jesus. We do this through the study of scripture, music, worship, fellowship and mission work in service to our church, community and across the nation.
Take a look at what we offer for youth in the announcments below.
Several scholarships are available from St. Paul’s United Methodist Church Foundation due to the generosity of church members who have endowed funds. Their gifts have been given in love, with hope for the future, as students are supported in their educational pursuits.
If you would like to learn more about scholarships or to apply, visit here.
All supporting documents and the application must be received or postmarked by April 15.
Would you like to learn more about scholarships? Call or email Linda Henecke at 319-389-4684 or lhenecke@stpaulsumc.org.
Youth Co-Op is a safe and loving ecumenical youth group for 6th to 12th-grade students. We embrace all students regardless of race, abilities, ethnicity, gender identities, expressions, and sexual orientation. We provide opportunities for fun, learning, faith and spirituality exploration, and service to the community. Our partner churches include Lovely Lane UMC, People's Church UU, St. Mark's UMC, St. Paul's UMC, and St. Stephen's Lutheran Church. Unless otherwise stated, we meet on Sundays from 4:00-6:00 pm during the school year.
April 14: Service Project at Prairiewoods, 2:30-4:30 pm
Energizing People of Faith for Climate Justice
Mother Earth Supports Us. How can we reciprocate her gifts? Join us for an active, fun, educational, and intergenerational event! United Women in Faith, Be Healthy. Be Green., and Youth Co-Op invites you to join them for Earth Keeping: Energizing People of Faith for Climate Justice. This event will be hosted at St. Paul’s on April 21 from 4:00-6:00 pm and is open to all adults and youth (6th-12th grade).
Childcare will be available for children up to age 10. For childcare needs, please RSVP to Becca Nims, Family Ministry Director,
May 11: Youth Co-Op Late Night, More information to come
Youth Mid-week Activities
Wednesday nights are an intentional time of friendship, fun, and faith. Each week, we check in with one another, play games, have a snack, and dig into scripture. All 12th-grade students are welcome to join. We meet from 6:30-7:30 pm.
During April and May we will be Echoing the Sunday sermon series called Intergenerational.
We have people from many different generations in our church. There are members from the Greatest Generation (before 1928), the Silent Generation (1928-1945), the Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980), Millennials (1981-1996), Generation Z (1997-2012), and the newest generation, Generation Alpha (2013-current). We are genuinely a multi-generational church, and that is worth celebrating! Yet, even though we have all of these generations in the same space, we recognize that we only sometimes have strong relationships across the generations. There are often generalizations about each generation, tensions as one generation ages and another steps into leadership, and occasionally outright animosity between generations. In this five-week series, we will consider how God calls us to an Intergenerational future, where we build a bridge across generations to have deep and meaningful relationships with each other. Join us on Sunday, April 7 as we begin our Intergenerational sermon series.
April 17: Nobody Fits the Stereotype, John 1:43-51 and Psalm 139
April 24: Shifting Perspectives, Mark 10:13-16
May 1: Dreaming of an Intergenerational, Isaiah 11:1-9 and Luke 2:41-52
May 8: Stories that Build the Bridge, 1 Samuel 3:1-11
May 15: End of School Year Celebration, More information to come.
Senior Recognition Sunday
We will be celebrating the class of 2024 during our worship services on May 26. We will recognize you at the 9:00 am Traditional Service, the 11:15 am Worship Cafe, or the 12:30 pm African National Worship. Please RSVP to Becca Nims by May 5, with which service you would like to be recognized.
Volunteers Needed for Compassion Camp
Help make Compassion Camp a success, Monday-Thursday, June 10 – 13th, 8:30 am-12:30 pm! Volunteers are the heart and soul of Compassion Camp, making it possible to share God’s love with all children participants. Adults and youth (6th grade and older) can sign up to volunteer for various roles, whether leading kids or behind the scenes. Pre-Compassion Camp, week off, and Post-Compassion Camp opportunities available. See all volunteer descriptions here. Contact Becca to sign up.
Our Summer 2024 Mission Trips
Middle School Trip (completed in 2024: 6th-8th grade)
This trip is an introduction to help students gain better understand the LGBTQI+ community and how our faith traditions call us to encounter ourselves and others as beloved human beings. We feel it is important to create an intentional and safe space where students can ask questions and learn with adults who can help connect the dots to how faith and identity are interrelated. We will meet with experts and queer pastors to help us understand terminology and language, and to hear about the challenges and joys of queer community experiences.
Cost for St. Paul’s student participants $100 – Total cost per person of this trip is $257.50, we are able to reduce this price for you thanks to generous donations to our Youth Mission Trip Fund(s).
The high school trip will focus on those building relationships with our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness. We are partnering with an organization called Serve 901, who will help us take a deeper dive into understanding housing in the United States and how people become unhoused. We will also consider how our faith traditions can help guide us when we encounter injustice in our world.
Registration Deadline is May 1, 2024
St. Paul’s Student Participation Cost $321
$25 non-refundable registration fee required
Final Payment Due June 14, 2024
Total Trip Cost per participant is $643. The remaining cost of the trip is covered by our generous Youth Mission Trip Foundation Fund(s).
If you are in need of additional financial support for this trip, please reach out to Becca Nims, Family Ministry Director.
To Register please click link and print out the following form, fill out the related information and return to Becca Nims , Family Ministry Director.
Summer Camps
Say goodbye to the school year and hello to a summer adventure! Our United Methodist Church Camps have many different summer camp options at two locations- Wesley Woods in Indianola, Iowa, and Okoboji, just off the shores of West Lake Okoboji. Each offers a unique experience for ages 4-17.
Scholarships are available through St. Paul’s and the Iowa UMC Camp and Retreat ministries. For more information about Scholarship opportunities, contact Becca Nims.
Youth Music (7th-12th Grade)
Youth Music practices during the education time (10:20-11:10 am). Currently, students have spent most of the time playing handbells to participate in worship. Have you not played bells before? That is OK. Do you have little musical experience? That is OK. There is a place for anyone who wants to participate, no matter what skill level you have.
The Spirit of God will lead the way and other experiences, such as drumming, drama, etc., may become a part of Youth Music. This is a time to come and fellowship with other students and invest yourself in the worship life of the congregation. Worship is the part of the Christian experience that has been with us since the beginning of Christianity. Come and try it out! We cannot do it without you!! Contact Mark Baumann for more information.
At St. Paul’s, we believe missions are a powerful step in our youths’ faith journeys. We encourage youth to begin these experiences in 6th grade and continue them through 12th grade. Mission trips allow students to get out of their comfort zones to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus Christ in the world. Our mission trips have included recovery missions in response to Hurricane Katrina and the tornadoes in Oklahoma and Joplin Missouri; and a service learning trip to Memphis, Tennesssee. Trips traditionally take place during the summer months.
See information about upcoming Mission Trips in Youth Announcements.
Confirmation is a great responsibility, and it can be challenging. It is such an important time in the faith development of young people.
Too often, confirmation has been downgraded to the role of a checkpoint along the faith journey. We want to provide students with an experience to help them on a journey toward a mature faith.
At your child’s baptism, we recognized God’s grace at work in your child, you promised to raise your child in the way that leads to life everlasting, and the faith community agreed to stand beside you and your child in faith development.
Confirmation is a continuation of what God started in baptism; for that matter, confirmation is a continuation of what God started in the community of faith in your child’s baptism. While confirmation is the moment your teenager confirms the vows taken on his or her behalf in the baptism, it remains a communal experience, whereby the church sees the faithfulness of God at work in and through your teenager. At confirmation, your teen publicly professes personal faith in Christ and commits to faithful stewardship of time, talent, treasure, witness, and service in the body of Christ and the world. In baptism, we are initiated into the family of God, and in confirmation we publicly declare our allegiance to Christ and Christ’s church.
Confirmation is traditionally taught during the 8th grade year, however, we invite those who are in High School, to join in as well. Parents do not need to be members of St. Paul’s for a child to participate in the confirmation class.
For more information on Confirmation, Contact Becca Nims, Director of Youth and Family Ministries at rnims@stpaulsumc.org.
Meet our Director of Family Ministries
My name is Becca Nims, I am the Director of Family Ministries. Thank you for entrusting us with your students! Here at St. Paul’s our goal is to create a safe environment where students gather with other students their own age, be formed in faith and sent into the world to be a Difference Maker. Please feel free to email rnims@stpaulumc.org
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