Grace Chapel is an evangelical, non-demoninational church with a contemporary style of worship and quality programs for all ages. Our Sunday service is held at 10:30am. Our summer service is held at 9:30am.

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Grace Chapel Youth Ministry 2008-2009

Please visit our Calendar to stay updated with the many activities.

Our Mission

We exist to reflect God’s love and authority in our lives through relationships with students, so that they may have a thriving personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Biblical Basis – 1 Thessalonians 2:8
"We love you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

What are we about?

We are about making disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! There is no formula or program for this, but Jesus certainly gave us principles and a perfect example of His own life to follow. Throughout the scriptures you can see that his main strategy for continuing his redemptive and reconciling work after the cross was through a close gathering of disciples. Jesus clearly spent most of his time with his disciples, especially Peter, John, and James. This is why our youth leader’s main focus is developing a one on one mentoring relationship with students. You also see Jesus fellowshipping with the twelve in homes, teaching and ministering with them. This is why we stress the importance of our small groups which act as a home church. Jesus also taught the masses (always with his disciples!). This is where the value of our large group meetings come into place, acting as a catalyst for future discipleship relationships.

Discipleship

We look at this as a holistic approach to disciple a student through God’s word, relationship and ministry. We believe in the training and teaching of God’s word and the method in which Jesus taught his disciples. We believe in building relationships that will lead to a greater respect, trust, and accountability. We believe that everyone’s life is their ministry, and that the training of our witness and evangelizing to others is essential. All of these things, which are countless within themselves, is what we believe to be holistic discipleship. It’s our prayer that the student multiplies this same relationship with others.

Small Group

We base our small groups from Acts 2:42-47. These groups are not Bible studies or curriculum based programs. These are intense worshipful fellowships that are alive and led by the Holy Spirit. These groups have students who have given their lives to Christ and wish to go deeper in their walk. An adult helps shepherd and facilitate, but it is our prayer that students lead most of the worship and discussions. This is a place where they truly discuss their lives as believers, encourage one another and keep one another accountable. There will always be an intentional focus of outreach as well as the expectation of multiplication among the small groups. The end goal is not the small group itself, but rather what happens through students as a result of small gatherings.

Large Group

We still believe in the importance of large gatherings. We do not believe they are equally important as discipleship and small groups. We have two types of large group meetings.

Sunday School: This is a great place for a new student or a student not involved in small group to get to know the other students and adults. We make it fun and interactive as we talk about and deepen our theology of God.

Youth Group: These are nights where all the small groups invite their friends to a night of fun and games and we talk openly about the God and His Word.

Our large group meetings are designed to draw kids into discipleship relationships and small groups.

— Jamie Wallace, Director of Student Ministries

Special Events/Service projects

Throughout the school year, the youth participate in several special events and service projects. The following is a sample of events that take place throughout the school year: The 40 Day Challenge, World Vision's 30-Hour Famine, movie nights, game nights, visits to the Schenectady City Mission, trips to Six Flags, camping trips, and much more!

Working as a Team with Parents...

The parent‘s primary role is to raise children who are godly, mature and prepared to make a contribution to society – a tall order! Our role as Teachers and Youth Leaders is to build bridges and come alongside parents to provide godly assistance in teaching and modeling Christianity. We cannot make your children love God, but we can assist you, as you nurture the seeds of faith. During the critical teen years, our teachers and youth leaders will carefully and prayerfully show them Jesus, as they teach God's Word, model a Christian lifestyle, and befriend your young person.

We will stay connected to you, through Parent Advisors, parents who will seek to encourage, while providing pertinent information that will impact you and your teens. Monthly updates of progress in Sunday School and Youth meetings will help you understand what your young person is experiencing in our meetings and classes.