Methodist Youth Fellowship
Methodist Youth Fellowship - 2023
This year was a year of transitions for me and MYF! In June, 10 youth in MYF’s ‘22-’23 roster graduated, 8 of whom received scholarships from the Sanematsu scholarship, administered by Endowment. I am grateful to the Endowment Board for offering so many scholarships to so many of our hardworking and committed seniors.
In September 2024, I welcomed several freshmen into the ‘23-24 roster. We had some drop off in roster, not just due to graduation, but also due to attrition. Attendance has been fairly regular. We’ve had a great time doing service projects, art projects, and discussing scripture. Alan Ngai also graciously volunteered his time each Sunday to work with me and MYF and it has been a HUGE help. The first few months of the year have gone much more smoothly with his assistance, I cannot express enough how grateful I am to him.
We did projects with God’s Garden and CAF pretty consistently last year and this year we have continued to do so, with a renewed focus on intergenerational relationship building. Prayers Buddies has been an even bigger success this year than last, as MYF have helped choose Scripture passage to work on with their Prayer Buddies and started helping me create questions for Giving Tree and Best Buds/Super Sprouts for future months. Hatty Lin helped in matching up MYF and CAF youth with God’s Garden buddies so that they will work with throughout the year and we hope that this will create strong relationships between the youth and kids.
In the spring CAF and MYF trialed some post-church hangouts for the youth and while we ultimately decided not to continue with them, it did give us renewed energy for fellowship activities outside of church and helped a lot in learning what the youth enjoy outside of church/
The biggest change in MYF, however, is that Cindy Fukuda remade the entire MYF room over the summer. It looks amazing! We now have two tables to do art projects at, the supplies are all organized, and the room looks much more inviting and welcoming. She also discovered that the mini-fridge and microwave work, and so this year we’ve been enjoying a lot of snacks in MYF while we discuss Scripture - it’s made a huge difference in how engaged we all are, the youth AND me. Thank you Cindy!!
And finally, I would like to thank Endowment for funding a class I took at Wesley Theological Seminary in pursuit of a non-degree master’s level certificate: Certificate in Children and Youth Ministry and Advocacy. In Spring 2023, I took a class titled “Teaching the Bible” which gave me an incredible set of tools for teaching Scripture to youth, including helping me think more deeply about my faith. I intended to take classes in the summer and fall at Wesley Theological Seminary, however due to some ongoing health problems, I had to take the semesters. I intend to go back in Spring 2024 and learn even more about Youth Ministry and Advocacy!
With gratitude for trusting me with your youth,
Kasper Kimura
In September 2024, I welcomed several freshmen into the ‘23-24 roster. We had some drop off in roster, not just due to graduation, but also due to attrition. Attendance has been fairly regular. We’ve had a great time doing service projects, art projects, and discussing scripture. Alan Ngai also graciously volunteered his time each Sunday to work with me and MYF and it has been a HUGE help. The first few months of the year have gone much more smoothly with his assistance, I cannot express enough how grateful I am to him.
We did projects with God’s Garden and CAF pretty consistently last year and this year we have continued to do so, with a renewed focus on intergenerational relationship building. Prayers Buddies has been an even bigger success this year than last, as MYF have helped choose Scripture passage to work on with their Prayer Buddies and started helping me create questions for Giving Tree and Best Buds/Super Sprouts for future months. Hatty Lin helped in matching up MYF and CAF youth with God’s Garden buddies so that they will work with throughout the year and we hope that this will create strong relationships between the youth and kids.
In the spring CAF and MYF trialed some post-church hangouts for the youth and while we ultimately decided not to continue with them, it did give us renewed energy for fellowship activities outside of church and helped a lot in learning what the youth enjoy outside of church/
The biggest change in MYF, however, is that Cindy Fukuda remade the entire MYF room over the summer. It looks amazing! We now have two tables to do art projects at, the supplies are all organized, and the room looks much more inviting and welcoming. She also discovered that the mini-fridge and microwave work, and so this year we’ve been enjoying a lot of snacks in MYF while we discuss Scripture - it’s made a huge difference in how engaged we all are, the youth AND me. Thank you Cindy!!
And finally, I would like to thank Endowment for funding a class I took at Wesley Theological Seminary in pursuit of a non-degree master’s level certificate: Certificate in Children and Youth Ministry and Advocacy. In Spring 2023, I took a class titled “Teaching the Bible” which gave me an incredible set of tools for teaching Scripture to youth, including helping me think more deeply about my faith. I intended to take classes in the summer and fall at Wesley Theological Seminary, however due to some ongoing health problems, I had to take the semesters. I intend to go back in Spring 2024 and learn even more about Youth Ministry and Advocacy!
With gratitude for trusting me with your youth,
Kasper Kimura
MYF 2022-2023 Roster (as of June 2023)
Freshman: 2
Sophomores: 1
Juniors: 4
Seniors: 10
Total: 17
Average attendance in 2023: 3-5
MYF 2023-2024 Roster (as of November 2023)
Freshman: 5
Sophomores: 4
Juniors: 1
Seniors: 2
Total: 12
Average attendance: 3-4
Freshman: 2
Sophomores: 1
Juniors: 4
Seniors: 10
Total: 17
Average attendance in 2023: 3-5
MYF 2023-2024 Roster (as of November 2023)
Freshman: 5
Sophomores: 4
Juniors: 1
Seniors: 2
Total: 12
Average attendance: 3-4
Posted in Charge Conference 2023