As we explore what it means to be Christian, intensive experiences are helpful. Good Shepherd believes that week long trips give students the opportunity to experience the Christian life and community. For this reason, we offer opportunities for all ages to experience the Christian life and community with others. Below are the 2020 program offerings for the 3rd through 12th grades.
Elementary School Opportunities (3rd – 5th Grade)
As a church and to keep the cost similar for all family styles, we have chosen the Buckaroos Program which will be the week of: Sunday, July 5th Through Friday, July 10th, 2020.
Cost: $429 if you register before 3/15/2020 a deposit is required and there is a monthly payment option to spread out the cost over the year. Location: Lutheranch, Tallapoosa, GA Give your camper a week of camp they won’t forget at Lutheranch. Each day campers will plan their own daily schedule with their trail group and counselor.
Through camp activities like crafts, swimming, boating, fishing, playing games with their new friends, cookouts, archery, your camper will build skills that foster independence, learn social skills, and connect deeper with Jesus through the care and witness of their trained young adult counselor.
Campers will stay in Lutheranch’s new platform tents. These tents will have bunk beds with mattresses. They will need to bring their own sleeping bags and pillows.
Location: University of
West Alabama, Livingston, AL
Cost: $425
Affirm is a Summer Youth Event of the ELCA Southeastern Synod. Grounded
in Word and Sacrament, AFFIRM develops discipleship skills, leadership skills,
and teaches Lutheran theology. We follow Christ, we live in a Christian
community, and we teach how to be God’s hands in the world. Affirm
nurtures faith, equips youth leaders for today and tomorrow, and trains youth
in discipleship skills. Affirm is for youth who have completed grades
6-12 and the Young Adult and Youth Ministry Institute (YAYMI) is held
simultaneously with AFFIRM For college freshman and sophomores interested in
exploring a call to youth ministry. Affirm is based on 10 different
age-appropriate leadership and discipleship units. Each of these units
are staffed by small group leaders and a pair of unit directors.
Lutheridge – Lutheridge is a camp and conference center that sits on 172 acres and is located in Arden, NC. Lutheridge opened 1951. Lutheridge has multiple cabins throughout the properties that the campers stay in. Numerous hiking trails run throughout the property. Most recent additions to Lutheridge include Lakeside Village and a multi-purpose building called the Faith Center. Lineberger Hall and Thornburg Hall have recently been refurbished, a new Lutheridge swimming pool, complete with slide, elements, and ocean-entry, opened in May of 2015. Lutheridge offers week-long programming all summer long.
Cost: Varies depending on which week you choose. We hope to get multiple youths to attend the same week. If you register before 3/15/2020 a deposit is required and there is a monthly payment option to spread out the cost over the year. Location: Arden, NC
Please sign up outside Cat’s office or contact Cat Ontiveros, our Youth Ministry Coordinator: youthministry@gslutheran.org to let her know when you’ve signed up. We will do our best to coordinate travel. Registration opens Friday, November 29th.
High School Opportunities
AFFIRM – June 14 – 19th, 2020
Location: University of West Alabama, Livingston, AL Cost: $425
Affirm is a Summer Youth Event of the ELCA Southeastern Synod. Grounded in Word and Sacrament, AFFIRM develops discipleship skills, leadership skills, and teaches Lutheran theology. We follow Christ, we live in a Christian community, and we teach how to be God’s hands in the world. Affirm nurtures faith, equips youth leaders for today and tomorrow, and trains youth in discipleship skills. Affirm is for youth who have completed grades 6-12 and the Young Adult and Youth Ministry Institute (YAYMI) is held simultaneously with AFFIRM For college freshman and sophomores interested in exploring a call to youth ministry. Affirm is based on 10 different age-appropriate leadership and discipleship units. Each of these units are staffed by small group leaders and a pair of unit directors.
Join a community this summer that will help you develop a passion to serve your neighbor. Together, with specially trained young adult counselors and a Bible Study leader, we will explore challenging and life-giving ways to follow God’s call and to serve the world with justice and mercy.
The RanchHands
program has three primary goals. Participants will:
Leave the week inspired, prepared, and ready to go back and serve in their own communities
Experience the world in a broader sense through serving in new cross cultural environments
Learn what it means to walk in accompaniment with our neighbors as Children of God
National Youth Gathering: The 2021 National Youth Gathering will be n Minneapolis, MN, June 29 through July 3, 2021. The National Youth Gathering is an opportunity for ELCA youth from across the whole country to gather in one city for a week of service, fellowship, community and worship. Each day brings a different experience from service, to interactive learning and community with our synod. This past summer over 30, 000 youth converged on Houston, TX for a great week. We learned how God’s love, God’s Call, God’s Grace, God’s Hope, and Jesus changes everything. Each night features a mass gathering with keynote speakers on daily topics. Finally, the week ends with mass worship. Saying the Lord’s prayer and communion with 30,000 other people is truly an amazing experience. I know it’s a few years off, but we plan on sending a group from Good Shepherd and want to get it on your calendars and in your mind.
High School Trip – to Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Philadelphia was one of the nation’s capitals during the Revolution, and served as temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Philadelphia contains 67 National Historic Landmarks and the World Heritage Site of Independence Hall. This is a new site for Serve Boldly. They are currently working on selecting work sites and evening activit
Middle School Trip – to Nashville, TN: Music City USA overflows with culture and opportunities to serve the needy. Your service in Nashville will not only serve those locally, but all over the world through our work with Soles4Souls. You will bless others through your work at food banks, refugee ministries, and children’s centers. Of course, no trip to Nashville would be complete without live music and a stroll down Broadway. This week is concluded with a night at a local lake and a moving outdoor worship service.
Summer Opportunities
GSLC Youth Summer Opportunities
As we explore what it means to be Christian, intensive experiences are helpful. Good Shepherd believes that week long trips give students the opportunity to experience the Christian life and community. For this reason, we offer opportunities for all ages to experience the Christian life and community with others. Below are the 2020 program offerings for the 3rd through 12th grades.
Elementary School Opportunities (3rd – 5th Grade)
As a church and to keep the cost similar for all family styles, we have chosen the Buckaroos Program which will be the week of: Sunday, July 5th Through Friday, July 10th, 2020.
Cost: $429 if you register before 3/15/2020 a deposit is required and there is a monthly payment option to spread out the cost over the year.
Location: Lutheranch, Tallapoosa, GA Give your camper a week of camp they won’t forget at Lutheranch. Each day campers will plan their own daily schedule with their trail group and counselor.
Through camp activities like crafts, swimming, boating, fishing, playing games with their new friends, cookouts, archery, your camper will build skills that foster independence, learn social skills, and connect deeper with Jesus through the care and witness of their trained young adult counselor.
Campers will stay in Lutheranch’s new platform tents. These tents will have bunk beds with mattresses. They will need to bring their own sleeping bags and pillows.
Registration Opens Friday, November 29th. Register at: https://www.lutheranch.org/summer-camps-grade-school
Click here for more information on the Buckaroos Program.
For more information contact Cat Ontiveros our Youth Ministry Coordinator: youthministry@gslutheran.org
Middle School Opportunities
AFFIRM – June 14 – 19th, 2020.
Location: University of West Alabama, Livingston, AL
Cost: $425
Affirm is a Summer Youth Event of the ELCA Southeastern Synod. Grounded in Word and Sacrament, AFFIRM develops discipleship skills, leadership skills, and teaches Lutheran theology. We follow Christ, we live in a Christian community, and we teach how to be God’s hands in the world. Affirm nurtures faith, equips youth leaders for today and tomorrow, and trains youth in discipleship skills. Affirm is for youth who have completed grades 6-12 and the Young Adult and Youth Ministry Institute (YAYMI) is held simultaneously with AFFIRM For college freshman and sophomores interested in exploring a call to youth ministry. Affirm is based on 10 different age-appropriate leadership and discipleship units. Each of these units are staffed by small group leaders and a pair of unit directors.
See a more detailed page of information about AFFIRM 2020 here.
Lutheridge – Lutheridge is a camp and conference center that sits on 172 acres and is located in Arden, NC. Lutheridge opened 1951. Lutheridge has multiple cabins throughout the properties that the campers stay in. Numerous hiking trails run throughout the property. Most recent additions to Lutheridge include Lakeside Village and a multi-purpose building called the Faith Center. Lineberger Hall and Thornburg Hall have recently been refurbished, a new Lutheridge swimming pool, complete with slide, elements, and ocean-entry, opened in May of 2015. Lutheridge offers week-long programming all summer long.
Cost: Varies depending on which week you choose. We hope to get multiple youths to attend the same week. If you register before 3/15/2020 a deposit is required and there is a monthly payment option to spread out the cost over the year.
Location: Arden, NC
Register here: Lutheridge Middle-School Summer Camp
Please sign up outside Cat’s office or contact Cat Ontiveros, our Youth Ministry Coordinator: youthministry@gslutheran.org to let her know when you’ve signed up. We will do our best to coordinate travel. Registration opens Friday, November 29th.
High School Opportunities
AFFIRM – June 14 – 19th, 2020
Location: University of West Alabama, Livingston, AL
Cost: $425
Affirm is a Summer Youth Event of the ELCA Southeastern Synod. Grounded in Word and Sacrament, AFFIRM develops discipleship skills, leadership skills, and teaches Lutheran theology. We follow Christ, we live in a Christian community, and we teach how to be God’s hands in the world. Affirm nurtures faith, equips youth leaders for today and tomorrow, and trains youth in discipleship skills. Affirm is for youth who have completed grades 6-12 and the Young Adult and Youth Ministry Institute (YAYMI) is held simultaneously with AFFIRM For college freshman and sophomores interested in exploring a call to youth ministry. Affirm is based on 10 different age-appropriate leadership and discipleship units. Each of these units are staffed by small group leaders and a pair of unit directors.
See a more detailed page of information about AFFIRM 2020 here.
Lutheranch: July 5th – 10th, 2020
RanchHands 2020 Servant Leadership Camp
Cost: $450
Join a community this summer that will help you develop a passion to serve your neighbor. Together, with specially trained young adult counselors and a Bible Study leader, we will explore challenging and life-giving ways to follow God’s call and to serve the world with justice and mercy.
The RanchHands program has three primary goals. Participants will:
See a more detailed page of information here.
For more information contact Cat Ontiveros our Youth Ministry Coordinator: youthministry@gslutheran.org
Looking Forward-2021 Opportunities
National Youth Gathering: The 2021 National Youth Gathering will be n Minneapolis, MN, June 29 through July 3, 2021. The National Youth Gathering is an opportunity for ELCA youth from across the whole country to gather in one city for a week of service, fellowship, community and worship. Each day brings a different experience from service, to interactive learning and community with our synod. This past summer over 30, 000 youth converged on Houston, TX for a great week. We learned how God’s love, God’s Call, God’s Grace, God’s Hope, and Jesus changes everything. Each night features a mass gathering with keynote speakers on daily topics. Finally, the week ends with mass worship. Saying the Lord’s prayer and communion with 30,000 other people is truly an amazing experience. I know it’s a few years off, but we plan on sending a group from Good Shepherd and want to get it on your calendars and in your mind.
For more information contact Cat Ontiveros our Youth Ministry Coordinator: youthministry@gslutheran.org
2019 Mission Trips
High School Trip – to Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Philadelphia was one of the nation’s capitals during the Revolution, and served as temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Philadelphia contains 67 National Historic Landmarks and the World Heritage Site of Independence Hall. This is a new site for Serve Boldly. They are currently working on selecting work sites and evening activit
2019 High School Mission trip Share the Story Philadelphia
Words of Mother Teresa
Here is a link to the verses reportedly written on the wall of Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta, India, and are widely attributed to her. Hear the reference to this in the sermon offered during our youth led service on July 7, 2019.
Middle School only Information
2019 Middle School Nashville Mission Trip Plan
Middle School Trip – to Nashville, TN: Music City USA overflows with culture and opportunities to serve the needy. Your service in Nashville will not only serve those locally, but all over the world through our work with Soles4Souls. You will bless others through your work at food banks, refugee ministries, and children’s centers. Of course, no trip to Nashville would be complete without live music and a stroll down Broadway. This week is concluded with a night at a local lake and a moving outdoor worship service.
2019 Middle School Mission Trip Share-The-Story, Nashville
Hear the reference to this in the sermon offered during our youth led service on July 21, 2019.