Oakdale Emory - United Methodist Church

Youth Activities

D-Teams are short for Discipleship Teams and the purpose of these youth small groups is to nurture spiritual growth. D-Teams are by grade and gender, meet once a week, are led by two coaches (leaders), hosted in homes, and use the Student Life Bible Study Curriculum.

The purpose of Friday Nights at The Refuge is outreach; providing fun events in a safe and welcoming atmosphere so that students can bring their friends. These events are a means to attract students who don’t know Jesus and point them to Jesus.

Youth Retreats provide opportunities several times a year for students to get away for a weekend and focus on Jesus. The purpose of a retreat is spiritual growth and outreach. Youth retreats included Rock, Senior High Retreat, and Middle High Retreat.

Youth Membership is a program for youth to become members of Oakdale Emory and is in alignment with the program established for adults to become members. Youth ages 8th grade and older will take the youth new member class, join a D-Team for a minimum of 6 months, and go on one retreat. Once all three of these requirements are completed they will be able to become full members of Oakdale Emory.

We support Missions and Ministries to provide opportunities for our youth to be involved in missions and ministries within and outside of our church. Some of these missions include summer mission trips, Appalachian Service Project, 30-Hour Famine, and community projects throughout the year. Our ministries in which youth serve our church and community include Joyful Noise!, Puppets Empowering People, Vacation Bible School, and Christian Day Camp.

The Refuge, located in the Chapel, is a space specifically designed for youth ministry. It provides a physical space to fulfill our purpose to impact the youth in our surrounding community with the message of Jesus Christ’s love. It provides physical support of all of our programs and opportunities for youth.