Youth-led Worship Nights Bring Ontario Groups Together

Pastor Andrew Zomerman can remember his high school league retreats and hearing about youth roller skating nights and other gathering events that connected widespread Christian Reformed youth groups together "back in the day." Three years ago, post-COVID, he and Margi Sipkens, Zomerman’s cousin and a youth group leader at Wyoming (Ont.) Christian Reformed Church, wanted to start something “to encourage unity, connection, and a sense of belonging among Christian Reformed youth in the area,” Sipkens said.

"We had good memories of these types of events in the past and restarted this to worship and fellowship together and remind youth that there are other youth in different churches, attending different high schools, who also love Jesus,” Zomerman said.

What they started was a series of combined youth worship services, once a month on a Sunday evening in September, October, and November—the months less likely to be disrupted by summer schedules or inclement traveling weather.

Dresden (Ont.) CRC, Wyoming CRC, and Living Hope CRC in Sarnia, Ont., are the participating churches. Zomerman said just over 50 youth attended the September service at Dresden CRC and about 40 were at the Oct. 19 event at Living Hope. Wyoming CRC will host Nov. 16.

Zomerman said the hosting church provides the speaker and the praise team. Renee Bouma, youth leader at Living Hope, where the group is about 12 youth from the congregation and double that with their friends, said it’s “very much a youth-led service.”

“I think these have been great for our youth,” Bouma said. “Youth felt more comfortable together, as this is our third year, I believe.”

When Dresden CRC hosts, Zomerman preaches along the regular track he uses for the congregation's weekly evening service, and the rest of the congregation, typically 30-50 people for that service, attends as usual. After a youth service worship, the visiting young people share a meal together, have some mingling games, and fellowship.

Church elders have been encouraged to the point of sharing it at classis, the regional church assembly. The Sept. 23 minutes of Classis Ontario Southwest note: “Fred Smids (elder delegate, Dresden) encouraged us, reporting that they are thankful that as a small church, they hosted a youth service this past Sunday with 52 young people attending.”

Zomerman said the Dresden CRC youth group currently has about 10 students from the church and another 6-10 from outside the church. Sipkens said the Wyoming group has “16-20 teens who attend regularly, and we’re looking forward to welcoming others from surrounding churches as well.”

Bouma said because the Wyoming and Sarnia churches are closer geographically, they benefit from other opportunities to join together. “Wyoming is only 20 minutes away, so we try to share a few more nights together. For example, my son met his wife at a combined skating event. We have met up for just a games night too.”