Students who are graduating from high schools will be recognized and the milestone celebrated in local churches soon. If they are planning to attend a college, university, or a community college within the bounds of the NC Conference, they may find a community of faith for worship, growth and service through campus ministries. Pastors, please enter the names of graduating high school seniors into the Online Data Collection System with the name of the student and contact information, preferably an address. Using the drop-down box, enter the school the student will attend in the fall. Also, purge the data of students who have graduated from college. This will assure that they are not re-entered among the students attending schools of higher education. Please complete the data entry by June 10.

Congratulations to first-year student, Ashley Britton and Louisburg College for winning first place in the UMCYes! video contest, sponsored by National Association of Schools and Colleges of The United Methodist Church (NASCUMC). In the video, Britton did a series of student-on-campus interviews about why the United Methodist connection matters at Louisburg College. To read the entire article and to view the winning video, go to Louisburg College.

 
The Award of Excellence in Youth Ministry will be presented to the United Methodist church/charge of the NC Conference that exhibits overall excellence in youth ministry including consideration of involvement beyond the local church, involvement in mission, balance in program, attention to discipleship and spiritual growth, attention to outreach and committed youth participation. Quality is considered over quantity.

Recognition of the recipient church will be made at Pilgrimage in November. The award recipient will be determined by a Committee of the Conference Council on Youth Ministries from the applications received.

Complete responses to the application questions are necessary for fair representation to the committee. Applications can be found by clicking AwardofExcel. Completed applications are to be postmarked no later than Saturday, Sept. 1. Applications should be sent to Robin Harry, 700 Waterfield Ridge Pl., Garner NC 27529.

This year Pilgrimage will be November 9-11 in Fayetteville. The theme of the weekend is “If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?” with speaker Pastor Andy Lambert. Saturday night will feature Zach Hunter.

Visit nccpilgrimage.org for promotional posters and to get involved through a personal Testimony, House Band Participation, or a Group Song, Dance, Skit or Video.

Deadline for all participation submissions is September 1.

The Commission on Evangelism has created a two-day event called IGNITE to empower youth to share their faith story and share the Good News of Christ! Andy Lambert is the leader for Ignite! Rev. Dr. Marty Cauley is writing a curriculum that will be fun, powerful, and Wesleyan!

IGNITE runs September 28-30, 2012 at Camp Rockfish!

The Mission for Ignite

Ignite youth to live passionately and share the light of Christ while kindling youth workers’ ability to train up the next generation of leaders!

The Arc of Study

• Show
• Share
• Shape
• Shine

Bring one youth or the whole youth group to fellowship and learn how to share God’s story effectively in today’s world. (Pastors will be able to be back in your own pulpit Sunday morning since the event ends at breakfast.) There will be small groups for middle schoolers, senior highs, and youth leaders!

The event costs $25 and registration ends August 30. This event is open to youth in 6th-12th grades! Further questions? Please email Thurman who serves as Dean at thurman@nccumc.org.

Visit nccumcevangelism.org to register and to get more information!

April 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29 and May 5, 12, 19, 26, 27, 28, 29 are designated as NC Conference United Methodist Family Fun Days at Carowinds and Kings Dominion. Tickets are available for United Methodists at significantly discounted costs for those dates. Tickets may be purchased online or over the phone. If ordered by phone, be sure to mention North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church to receive your discount. For each ticket redeemed, a contribution is made to Youth Service Fund. Information on ordering the tickets is being mailed to each church and is also available at KD2012-NC Methodist Brochure