News from the Board

Open Your Heart to Pure Joy by Working with Unity Youth

By Pam Petersen
President
Unity of Phoenix Board of Trustees

We asked our Uniteens recently to rate our Church on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest. The lowest rating in the class I was teaching was an 8, but the more common response was something along the lines of “10 bizillion!” Now remember, these are our 6th, 7th and 8th graders.

Did you know that each Sunday our ministry serves about 190 children, including 60 teens in our Uniteen (middle school) and Y.O.U. (high school) groups? I have a child in each of these fabulous teen programs and feel so blessed to have literally raised them at Unity of Phoenix. My 16-year-old daughter calls Unity her “second home” and has often stated she “can’t imagine life without my Church.”

So how do we get such glowing reviews from teenagers? Well, we start with making them feel safe with group agreements that are enforced. Then we don’t tell them what to think or believe. Instead, we invite them to examine what they do believe, why they believe it, and whether those beliefs truly serve them on their spiritual path. And we make it fun with meaningful retreats, summer camps, service projects and opportunities to bond, hang out and create their own community.

We have incredible youth ministry programs both here and in the South-west Unity Region in general. On the teen side, much of this credit goes to Rev. Mark Fisk, the only Unity minister in the entire movement dedicated exclusively to teen ministry. Employed by the Region with responsibility for teen programs in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California, we are so blessed to have Mark claim Unity of Phoenix as his home church. As a Uniteen sponsor myself, I have had the privilege of watching Mark work his magic at numerous teen events of high quality, high energy and high integrity (only “natural” highs, that’s one of our agreements!). Through these experiences, I’ve come to see teens, including my own, in a whole new beautiful light.

As for our little ones, thank you God for bringing our Y&FM Education Director Linda Depke back to us! Linda is such a gentle soul whose passion for kids and education is evident. Having served on the Govern-or’s task force of emergent leaders in early childhood development, Linda is a master at creating age-appropriate curriculum for our children that is positive, engaging, and spirit-centered.

But do you realize we need 53 volunteers each Sunday to make our youth ministry programs run smoothly, safely and with the excellence our families have come to expect? 53! We currently need 15 more co-teachers and have openings at virtually every grade level during both the 9:45 and 11:15 a.m. services. So what are you waiting for? Volunteer!

Linda and her youth ministry team make volunteering easy, fun and oh so rewarding (of course, the kids play a large part in that too!). You only need to commit to every other week and you’re given everything you need: complete lesson and activity plans; observation and training opportunities; and support, support, support. You’ll have co-teachers and never have to go it alone. I’m speaking from experience here. I’ve been a 4th and 5th grade Sunday school teacher, as well as the director of our summer youth drama program. Frankly, there’s no better way you can serve than by supporting our kids. So please step up and open your heart to pure joy!

Unity of Phoenix Statement of Activities Thru March 31, 2008

[Fiscal Year for Unity of Phoenix Starts October 1, 2007
and Ends September 30, 2008]

Unity of Phoenix Trend Chart