The youth in the Diocese of Central Florida are not the future of the church; they are the church of today. We hope to provide the diocese with the vision and encouragement that is needed for the task of equipping students to have a long-lasting faith and kingdom focus.
Grounded is a conference-style youth retreat event designed for you and your youth to hear, engage and experience the gospel of Christ.
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Soul in the City is a Summer mission/service trip experience where youth groups gather from around the diocese to go to one parish for a week of working on projects in the community and playing and worshiping together.
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New Beginnings, a long-standing ministry created in the Diocese of Central Florida, will host a unique retreat for middle school students, led by high school and college students with support from adult leaders.
New BeginningsOur Youth Ministry Coordinators Team is comprised of devoted individuals who are not just leaders, but mentors, friends, and guides on this spiritual journey. Each member brings their unique gifts, talents, and experiences to foster a welcoming, inspiring, and supportive environment for our youth. Email them to set up an appointment to discuss how they can support you in your ministry.
The Rev. Garcia Barnswell-Schmidt is the School Chaplain at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, in Melbourne FL. She also serves as a mentor to school chaplains in the NAES Chaplain Mentorship Program.
Rev. Garcia’s areas of specialty include:
Rev. Garcia believes that the ministry of youth and families is fundamental. Her love of children and her passion to teach them about God drives her ministry forward. She is happy to serve and support you in your ministry needs, even if it’s just simply to talk or use her as a sounding board for your ideas.
The Rev. Kevin Bartle has served as rector at St. Mary of the Angels, Orlando, since his ordination in 2018. He holds a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary, Orlando, and completed Anglican studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Jacksonville.
Rev. Kevin’s areas of specialty include:
Throughout his life, Kevin has continually felt a calling to attend to the care and development of youth. He taught elementary students, worked as a psychiatric assistant in a residential facility for adolescents facing mental health challenges and served as youth pastor for a handful of churches within the diocese. Today, Kevin continues his investment in the next generation by serving as the director of New Beginnings and as a chaplain at Camp Wingmann’s winter and summer camps.
The Rev. Jared Jones is rector at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Sanford. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies from Liberty University and his Master of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, where he is currently working on his Doctor of Ministry degree.
Rev. Jared’s areas of specialty include:
In 2022, while serving as an associate priest at All Saints in Winter Park, Jared helped start “Grounded,” a diocesan-wide youth weekend that had over 75 students and leaders in attendance. With regard to student ministry, Jared’s focus is making sure that middle and high school students find their way into youth environments with leaders who love them and preach the Gospel.
Check out these stories from Central Florida Episcopalian Online about what’s happening around the diocese with Children and Youth. And explore more articles here.
#CFDioceseYouth On Instagram
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Grounded, a retreat for middle and high school students in the diocese, is underway! Here are some photos from our opening night of worship and first session.
Join us in praying for the students as they continue their retreat today! May this weekend truly ground each of these hearts in the Gospel.
📸: @bibledude
It`s been another great week at camp teaching the bible study program with a bunch of middle school kids at campwingmann!
I even challenged the kids all week to dig deeper into the Word, and awarded the girls with the first ever "Silver Bible Award" for doing a great job (well, at least better than the boys) in their discussions.
And kristalovesliving and I hit our 25 years of marriage while out here this week. No big party, no cake, no fancy dinner... just us doing our thing, trying raise great kids, and doing what we can to serve Christ.
I`ve really come to love this place. The kids are amazing, and I love having the opportunity to speak hope and love and life into them. And to be able to do it with the love and support of an incredible partner in life is pretty cool.
#kingpartyof7 #youtministry #EYCmountdora #cfdiocese #cfdioceseyouth #biblecamp #summercamp
One of the youth in my youth group got baptized today! And I was honored to be one of her sponsors presenting her for Holy Baptism.
She started coming to #EYCmountdora as a 6th grader the first Sunday that I was also just starting my role leading the youth.
And it`s been incredible to watch her growth in the faith. I love seeing her lean into Bible study and discussion, soaking up every bit of it that she can.
She`s also been stepping up in school as a leader in her middle school`s Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Days like this make all of the effort totally worth it!
#cfdiocese #cfdioceseyouth #youtministry #youthmin #youthgroup #mountdora #mountdorafl #lakecountyfl #someplacespecial
“Your life is grounded on something solid, if it`s grounded in Jesus Christ.” michelle_tepper
Night one of #grounded2024 is off to a great start!
Looking forward to day 2 tomorrow.
#cfdiocese #cfdioceseyouth #EYCmountdora #youtministry #youthmin #youthgroup
One of the youth in my #youtministry invited me to come share the devotion during one of their Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings at her school.
I talked with them about how, just like Jacob (in Genesis 28, from today`s Daily Office readings), God is and always will be with us. And we need to be mindful of those times when He shows up in our lives so we can remember and lean on those experiences.
It`s a great group of youth, and I`m glad I had the opportunity to share with them!
#fistbump fca_northlakecounty_fl and eustisms_fca!
#EYCmountdora #cfdioceseyouth #cfdiocese #fcanorthlake #youthmin #lakecountyfl
Day 2 of #grounded2024, the cfdiocese youth retreat. Talking with our youth on the rode home... They loved the worship time, and wanted even more of it!
The speakers challenged them to consider their relationship with God, grounded in Scripture and anchored by Jesus.
It was a great time away with them, and I look forward to building on the things they learned and experienced here.
#episcopalchurch #cfdiocese #episcopalyouth #cfdioceseyouth #youtministry #youthmin #youthgroup #EYCmountdora
I`m putting together a #stationsofthecross resource for youth as another prayer experience I`ll be doing soon with my #EYCmountdora group. And I love, love, love how it`s turning out!
Our youth group has really been enjoying some "prayer station" experiences I`ve been doing, and it`s been cool to see them developing in their conversations with God. So I`m expecting good things with this one too!
If anyone is interested in using this guide for your youth, let me know... I`m running through a couple quick edits, and should be able to make it available to share soon.
#episcopalyouth #cfdiocese #cfdioceseyouth #youthministry #youthmin #youthgroup #mountdora
Pictures from our second and last day at #Grounded2024
This weekend we talked about being Grounded in Christ and his love, knowing Jesus, and accepting that Jesus loves us always!
We also spent sometime as a group at PopStroke in our downtime! #cfdioceseyouth