Youth Ministry

You belong here

Welcome to the youth group of Fairfax UMC!

Here at Fairfax UMC, we love our middle- and high-school students! We are here to journey with you through the joys and challenges of your teenage life. Through weekly youth group with dinner, games, worship and small group conversations to retreats, mission trips, mid-week dinners and a whole lot more, there are lots of opportunities to grow, serve and find a home in community.

Our youth group is open to ALL youth in 7th-12th grades. We desire to be an open and inclusive group extending God’s radical hospitality and love to all teenagers.

In addition we have retreats, serve in our community, go on mission trips and do fun events.

Weekly Meetings

We have a thriving youth ministry at Fairfax UMC and look to provide a holistic approach to youth discipleship by teaching discipleship, praying, developing friendships and having fun! During the school year, we gather weekly at the church on Sunday nights from 6-8pm for games, faith formation, prayer, small group conversations, fellowship and more.

In addition to our Sunday night meetings, the youth also get together each week at Freddy’s Frozen Custard on Fairfax Boulevard on Wednesdays at 7:00pm. This is a time for us to get together, catch up and pour into each other during the week and dig into and be encouraged by scripture. The frozen custard is on us! Contact Gerry Lypka for details.

Youth Events

Thrive Youth Chili Cook-Off

Saturday, January 18 • 6:00pm

The THRIVE Youth Group is bringing back its popular chili cook-off! Anyone and everyone is welcome to enter or attend this youth group fundraiser. Prizes will be awarded to the chili with the most votes in each of four categories: beef, chicken, veggie, and most unique. The youth group is also hosting an open mic night to keep everyone entertained while eating, so bring your dancing shoes and warm up those vocal cords. Tickets are $10 for a contest entry or $5 if you just want to taste. If you plan to enter the contest, please click here to register.

Super Bowl Sub Sandwiches

Orders due Friday, February 7

Are you hungry? Look no further than THRIVE Youth Ministry. Leading up to and during the week of Super Bowl Sunday, the youth group is collecting orders for sub sandwiches that you can enjoy during the big game. You can place your orders by clicking here. The deadline for orders is Friday, February 7, and sandwiches will be ready for pickup on Sunday, February 9, at 12:30pm.

Youth Retreats

We love retreats and we believe they are vital to our ministry! Retreats offer opportunities to rest and renew, to spend time with friends, and to slow down enough to reflect on what God is doing in our lives. Our ministry attends annual fall and spring retreats in a variety of locations and also takes our middle schools students on JOURNEY Weekend, a retreat specifically for them.

Learn more about youth retreats and register for upcoming retreats.

Missions Trips

Mission trips connect people with what God is up to all around them, and teenagers are an important part of what God is doing! Missions push students to connect with others, communities, and most importantly Christ! Missions give students the opportunity to see and love people in a the radical way the Jesus did. Here at FUMC we want to provide students with these opportunities, and it is our prayer that they will take the experience of missions and change the way that they live.

During our most recent Youth Mission trip, our group partnered with YouthWorks and traveled to Niagara Falls, NY. Click the link below to learn more.

Learn more about Youth Mission Trips.

Confirmation

Confirmation is an important part of our journey of faith and an important time in the life of the church. It is the time when one takes ownership of their faith and decides if they are ready to make a public commitment to love God, follow Christ, participate in the life of the church, and join in God’s missional work in the word. Confirmation is not about helping youth check something off their list, but is about helping create a foundation for a lifetime of discipleship. At Fairfax UMC it is our joy to journey with each confirmand, surround them with love, and to help them discover what it means to claim the name Christian. We aim to help youth see how Methodism can be a faithful way to live as a Christ follower in the world. We are so excited to be on this journey with you and look forward to how God will shape our faith and community together during this adventure.

Learn more about the confirmation process.

Leadership

The Fairfax UMC Youth program is led by Jennifer Zotian, our Interim Youth Director. Jennifer graduated from Radford University with a degree in Communications in May of 2022. She has served as the Director of Youth Ministries at Fairfax UMC since August 2023, and she also works as a Medical Receptionist at Virginia Pediatric and Adolescent Center.

Jennifer was baptized at Fairfax UMC as a baby, attended preschool here, and participated in many years of choir and play productions. She was a frequent attendee at youth group from grade 7 to 12, and she loved ending her busy school weeks by worshiping with friends on Sunday nights. During this time, she also attended many youth retreats and mission trips. She feels that the opportunity to lead Fairfax UMC’s youth group now brings her journey full circle. Her goal is that everyone who steps into the youth room will feel welcomed, appreciated, and respected.