FingerPrint Weeks for Youth Led by Pfeiffer Grad
November 6, 2015
FingerPrint Weeks are new summer youth trips that combine elements of both mission trips and youth camp. It is open to all middle school students that have completed the sixth grade through recently graduated high school seniors.
Trips are five days long. Days are spent serving in the community, this can range from construction and maintenance projects like painting a house or doing Yard work to community projects like leading a community Vacation Bible School or leading drills for a free community soccer camp.
Morning and evening times are spent in worship and discipleship that include dynamic music and guest speakers with a gift for speaking to young people. Also, there will be downtime in the afternoons where youth can play games and hangout.
Beginning Summer 2015, they are offering two trips to Smyrna, TN; about 30 minutes outside of Nashville. Participants will stay in the Wherry Housing Community in barracks. Groups will also have time to explore Nashville and see the sights of the country music capital. All meals are provided. Groups have to provide their own chaperones. Cost is only $270 per participant.
Two trips scheduled for 2016:
-Week 1: Tuesday, June 14 - Saturday, June 18
-Week 2: Monday, June 20 - Friday, June 24
Registration opens November 10, 2015.
The director of FingerPrint Weeks is Grady Lee Wilsonwithers. Lee is an experienced youth director and holds a master’s degree in Practical Theology from Pfeiffer University with a concentration in youth ministry.
Lee grew up in Iron Station United Methodist Church which is a small membership church with few youth activities. As a teenager Lee regularly participated in youth activities at other churches and understands first-hand the difficulties providing regular youth programming in a small membership setting.
One of the things that makes FingerPrint Weeks different than a lot of youth mission trip opportunities is a focus on small membership churches. Churches are limited to 35 participants to prevent one large church from dominating the camp. Churches are welcome to bring four, three, or even just one youth.
In the evenings there is a time after worship where youth groups meet together to discuss their day. There is a retired youth director on staff each week to meet with participants that only have one to five participants so that these participants can form a kind of surrogate youth group for the week.
There is also a six-year revolving curriculum that has been designed with a focus on what you hope youth will learn during their teenage years. This way churches that can’t hold regular youth programming can plug in with FingerPrint Weeks, send their youth every year, and know that their youth are being taught everything you would hope they would hear about God and the church during this important formative time.
For more information check out:
http://fingerprintweek.weebly.com/
https://www.facebook.com/fingerprintweeks
If you have any questions contact:
fingerprintweeks@gmail.com