Youth Ministries

Groups and events for youth

The 3 pillars of youth ministry

During our regular Sunday meetings, we focus on honest engagement with the Bible and encourage our youth to ask tough questions about their faith and God. We believe that questions are normal and an important part of owning their faith.

We place a high value on prayer, listening to God and to one another.

We live in one of the richest places in the world, and we encourage our youth to engage with people who are different from them. With our Community Partners, we facilitate regular service opportunities in the community. Our favorite event is “Urban Plunge” at the end of the school year, where our youth volunteer for 2 days in local urban centers such as San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, and East Palo Alto.

All youth in our ministry are invited to participate on a team. We have teams to celebrate birthdays, prayer, worship, service, and fun activities!

Aside from our regular games and activities, we plan several special events to build a community where youth can be honest about what they think and feel. These include our annual Winter Retreat, Labor Day Retreat, camping and beach trips, our Christmas party, and Urban Plunge.

In addition, high school youth participate in mentor groups where high schoolers connect monthly in two on two meetings with adult volunteer mentors. If your youth would be interested in participating as a youth to be mentored, or you are interested in learning more about how you might become a mentor, please contact YouthInfo@pavineyard.org

Youth on Sundays

Welcome to the Palo Alto Vineyard Church youth ministry! We are a group of middle and high school youth who are excited to grow in their faith. We offer age-appropriate programs that serve teens from 6th through 12th grade. All are welcome, diversity is important to us! To learn how to participate, click the LEARN MORE button.

Learn More

Meet Our Youth Leaders

The Core Team

Joanne Irwin
Katie Anderson

Youth Administrator

Jon White
Shaina Reji

Youth Leaders

Arpenny Hart
Jon Rodriguez
Jon White
Shaina Reji
Steve Fosth
Lauren Bagby
Joanne Irwin
Jason Schmidt
Josiah Wong

Safety

Youth ministry thrives on healthy relationships between adults and teenagers. Our youth leaders and mentors strive to be the kind of adults with whom our youth discuss questions of faith, and the challenges that face teens in a digitally connected world: bullying, sexting, dating, family challenges, difficult friendships, suicide, abuse, and much more. We also understand, however, that interactions between teenagers and adults hold the potential for abuse. We grieve the stories of adults who betrayed their positions of trust and are now infamous for hurting teens.

We have an extensive screening and training process for our volunteers, for both in-person and online events. We take precautions to make sure our youth are safe.