St. Matthews UMC and The Rockingham Church

Today's youth are the future of the church and the world and it is the church's obligation to reach out to them and influence them for Christ. Our Youth Ministry strives to provide students with a safe place to meet, build personal relationships with each other, adult leaders, and Christ, and encourage long lasting and personal faith through spiritual disciplines and discipleship. These facets of our ministry are built upon the foundational principals of the Christian faith, which are salvation through Christ alone, the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God, and the Holy Trinity.

By committing ourselves, our time and our resources to outreach, service, and ministry we intend to:

• Inspire and guide the spiritual growth of students as Disciples of Christ
• Encourage and equip students to live Christ centered lives that reflect the love of God
• Raise up students who will live a Godly life and honor him in all they do.
• Empower students to serve the church and the world
• Prepare students to reach out to the community for Christ with the Gospel.
• Actively reach out to area youth, as a ministry, with the love of God and the Gospel of Christ

We are blessed to have Mike Smith as our Director of Youth Ministries. Mike is a graduate of Gordon College with a dual degree in Youth Ministry and Biblical Studies. He also had a minor in music. He spent four years in the Air Force between high school and college. And he grew up in a rural community in PA.