Approximately 150 students, sponsors and leaders attended the Southern District Junior High Youth Conference (JHYC) hosted by Corn (Okla.) MB Church, Jan. 11, 2020.
The theme for the event was “Unshakable Kingdom.” Jared Menard, pastor of youth and families at Hesston (Kansas) MB Church, served as speaker. Menard encouraged students to find their identity in God’s kingdom.
The day-long event included worship, games, lessons and a service project in which students made 50 reusable building block ecobricks, intended to help prevent plastic from contaminating the biosphere.
“Students brought their own soft plastics,” says Kevin Larson, who serves as the Youth Commission’s Director for SDJHYC. “We talked about caring for creation.”
New this year were 30-minute workshops offered in place of a second session. Youth leaders spoke on topics ranging from evangelism to social media to assurance of salvation.
“I think it was really well-received,” Larson says. “We weren’t sure if junior highers could handle that or (if workshops would) keep their attention for that long, but I really liked it. … We haven’t collected any data or anything, but it just seemed like it was a good thing.”
The band from Cross Timbers Church in Edmond, Okla., led worship and was comprised primarily of teenagers from the church’s high school youth group. Two Tabor College students served as emcees.
Larson thanked host Corn MB and youth/associate pastor Sean Estes for their hospitality.
“They really stepped up—very accommodating, very hospitable, very warm and open,” he says. “It was great.”
Larson says he’s grateful to be part of the event.
“I’m really glad that we as a conference can celebrate and focus our money and our time on these students that are worth it,” he says.
Because about 50 students from Ebenfeld MB, Hillsboro MB and Parkview MB Churches in Hillsboro were unable to attend because of weather, a second, condensed “JHYC 2.0” event was held at Parkview MB, Feb. 9, 2020, that included worship, games and messages by Menard.
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor and joined the CL staff in 2017. Shafer is an award-winning writer, receiving multiple awards from the Kansas Press Association and Evangelical Press Association. A Tabor graduate with a degree in communications and religious studies, she and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
