Leaders Helping Leaders- New Addition To Syc!

Did you do some cleaning, rearranging and sorting of your youth materials the last few months? Or do you NEED to? Leaders- bring any current books, DVD's, reproducible studies, extra youth materials, etc. We will have tables at First Church during SYC to display these items and bags where you can "shop." It's great to share what is no longer needed, knowing these items can help youth leaders & other ministries!!

Convention Meals

1. Groups will need to eat prior to the Friday night opening service. You are welcome to bring your own snacks to have in your rooms or share during group devotion time.
2. Saturday and Sunday breakfasts- we are planning on the hotels supplying continental breakfasts. An additional suggestion is for groups to bring food items for continental breakfasts together in the rooms. Kids love fruit, pop tarts, donuts, bagels, etc. You may want to ask if the hotel provides refrigerators in the rooms
3. Saturday Noon-We are having Chick-Fil-A boxed lunches provided at the church. This is part of everyone’s registration fee. Exciting
4. Saturday evening dinner- Groups will need to budget for this meal and choose a location. Options and addresses will be made available for restaurants near the hotels and church.

Registration

Early Bird Registration is $60 per person through October 22 which includes all worship programming, Saturday recreation, and Chick-Fil-A lunch.

T-Shirts are available to order within the online registration: Small-Xlg $10.00 each and XXlg. and XXXlg $12.00 each.

Break-Out Sessions

When registering, please select the number of students planning to attend a particular session. This will assist with room spacing/seating.

• Reconnecting: A New Thing
  According to an April 2021 study published in Social Science and Medicine, people reported an increased sense of loneliness and decreased feelings of friendship during pandemic-linked social distancing in surveys conducted in May 2020 compared with surveys conducted before the start of the pandemic.
  Living through a global pandemic has affected everything in our lives, from job security to health and stress levels. And it’s affected our friendships and youth group connections, as well. Join us for an open discussion about biblical truths regarding fellowship, addressing the obstacles, and learning new ways to reconnect with others after isolation.
• Healing the Hurt
  Grief can be defined as the normal and natural emotional reaction caused by the end of or change in a familiar pattern of behavior. We tend to associate grief with the loss of a loved one, but the emotion may arise with any significant change in our life, such as being pulled out of work or school and forced to stay quarantined in one’s home for months.
  While believers are not immune from such feelings, our union with Christ should lead us to deal with grief in unique ways. Join us in discussing some of the ways in which we can take our concerns to God about loss of loved ones, routine, relationships, and even traditions as we emerge from the heaviness that our nation has experienced.
• Hope Springing Up
  To follow Christ is to be people of hope. And our hope is not in vain, because it is invested in the creator God of the universe. “Be of good cheer,” our Lord said, just before his own horrific death on our behalf, “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Joy is a benefit that we can hold as truth as believers. In practicing gratitude, we examine way in which we can show hope to the world and be light and salt in the earth. Join us in discussing how the biblical truth of Hope, and share your hope for your local church and community. “Faith in Action” Series – How can you help to make these things happen in your church?
• Lessons from a Wilderness Journey
  As Jesus embarked on a wilderness experience after His baptism, and the Israelites embarked on a wilderness journey of 40 years, many have stated that we as a nation endured a wilderness experience during the pandemic. A wilderness experience changes us, either for good or not-so-good. If we are changed by these experiences, how we are changed largely depends on our faith and our responses to things beyond our control. Let’s discuss how we see some of the positive and negative changes in the world and in our personal/spiritual lives. Ultimately answering the question, “What is our (individual and the collective church’s) response to it?”
• Rivers of Living Water: Cleansing the Past
  Dark days bring about dark deeds. Over the course of the past 17 months: isolation, quarantine, and restriction has been our norm. This session reflects on your personal journey of faith and forgiveness and Christ's work within you. We discuss shame that the enemy wants so desperately for you to own, and the redemptive work that has already been done on your behalf. Believing is receiving Christ as water, food, and cleansing. Join us to discuss and pray about the freedom we have in Christ as he proclaims: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me..."

Online Registration

Contracted Hotels

The Youth Convention Task Force has arranged for blocks of rooms with the following hotels close to First Church. These rooms are on a first booked basis and come with a negotiated price. You do have the option to choose your own hotel.

Please use the code SYC2021 when booking rooms. You will need to ask what documentation for tax exemption they require. Deadline to Guarantee Rooms in each room block is October 15, 2021.

Candlewood Suites
2567 W. Marquette Woods Rd., Stevensville, MI 49127; 269 428-4400
$79/night + tax (with up to 4 in a room)
15 rooms available- likely that refrigerators are available, Cold continental breakfast available

Comfort Inn Suites Stevensville
2633 W. Marquette Woods Rd., Stevensville, MI 49127; 269 428-4888
$94/night + tax (with up to 6 in a room)
30 rooms available- likely that refrigerators are available, Continental breakfast available

Tru by Hilton
2683 W. Marquette Woods Rd., Stevensville, MI 49127; 269 429-4444
https://bit.ly/SYC2021Tru $109/night + tax (with up to 4 in a room)
10 rooms available- refrigerators not available in rooms, Continental breakfast available

Schedule

Friday, November 12

4:00 p.m. Registration/Check-in Opens at First Church of God, 2627 Niles Ave. St. Joseph
8:00 p.m. Pre- SYC Party for Everyone!
8:30 p.m. Counselor Meeting
9:00 p.m. Worship

Saturday, November 13

7:00 a.m. Breakfast at Hotels
9:00 a.m. Doors Open at First Church of God
9:30 a.m. Worship Begins
11:00 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. Break Out Session (1st of five choices)
12:00 Lunch (Chick-Fil-A at the church)
1:15 p.m. Break Out Session (2nd of five choices)
2:00 p.m. Midday Break
4:30 p.m. Worship with Communion, Personal Reflection & Application
6:30 p.m. Group Connection, Dinner and YMCA prep
8:30-11:30 After Hours at the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph YMCA (Games, swimming, FUN!!!)

Sunday, November 14

Breakfast at Hotels, pack, and check out before coming to First Church.
11:00 a.m. Worship at First Church of God