It's time for a new year and a new youth theme. This is an awesome theme and scripture for our youth today. Here we go! Look Unto Christ
I have so enjoyed putting together a youth theme Kick-off night for all of you. This year I'm planning ahead and posting this early. So not everything has been tried and tested with a group of Young Women - but it has been tested by myself and my own YW daughter.
Opening Exercises
Begin the night with a prayer, the young women theme followed by the NEW THEME SONG (linked to youtube, but you can find it in your gospel library app).
*Either have your YW leaders or your older young women participate in this brief presentation of the youth theme, scripture and short program.
Tell the group what the new theme is. "Look Unto Christ." And follow with the words of President Freeman. Feel free to paraphrase and say it in your own words.
The theme scripture for this year is meant to empower the youth — particularly in times of doubt or fear. "What is the answer for moments like these? Look unto Christ. Why is that the answer? ‘Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet,’ He reminds us. He has overcome the world, including every doubt and fear. If we look to Him, He will help us overcome ours." We hope youth will spend the whole year looking to Christ in school hallways, on the sidelines of your sporting events, on your first day of a new job, as you read your scriptures, spend time with friends and in your quiet moments of reflection.
Next, display the new theme scripture and have the girls recite it together.
PRESENTATION
On a table, have four to five pairs of shoes - different styles for different occasions. (i.e. hiking, high heels, athletic, flip flops, dance, cleats) If possible, have a chalkboard or whiteboard behind you with a drawing of a sun and the words "The Son" written inside it. Pointing to a pair of hiking boots, briefly talk about hiking. On a trail there are valleys and hills. There are points along the trail that can be boring or uninteresting and other spots that are dangerous and require your focus and maybe even help from a more experienced hiker. When hiking, the sun helps us know what direction we are going, it illuminates our path so we don't stumble and it provides warmth.
Below are questions to ask and examples of possible responses.
Hold up one pair of shoes and ask:
What might these shoes be used for? Where could you go wearing these shoes?
Athletic Shoes: to school, to a race, to practice, to go shopping, etc.
What fears or anxieties might you have in this setting?
Athletic shoes: the halls are so crowded and loud, feeling lost, not winning the race or being the best on the team, not having friends, feeling like you don't fit it, etc.
How can Looking unto Christ help you during these times of fear and doubt?
Athletic Shoes: He can reassure me that I am doing by best and my best is enough, I can be prompted to introduce myself to someone new, I can feel peace, etc.
Returning to the hiking boots, and pointing to the sun on the board, explain how Christ, "The Son," has experienced all our fears and doubts. He knows how we feel and He suffered, not only for our sins, but also for out heartache, worries and pain. Just as the sun helps us while we hike a mountain trail, "The Son" lights our paths so we can see the hazards ahead. He can help us through the more difficult parts in our journey. And He provides guidance and comfort. When we Look Unto Christ, our attention and our efforts are focused on Him. We must seek Him out if we want His help in facing our fears and doubts.
ACTIVITY: Stained Glass Suncatchers
Stained glass really shines when illuminated by light. We adorn our temples with stained glass, and other beautiful churches use stained glass to remind us of both the beauty around us and the power of Christ's light. Our stained glass suncatcher can remind us of the beauty which the SON (being the Son of God) can bring to our lives, must like the sun illuminating a suncatcher. Look Unto Christ and find a more colorful experience in this life.
*With this suncatcher, or another, larger, piece of stained glass, you could show the glass without added light and how it can be a little dark and unimpressive. Then with a light, shine it behind, and explain how the image is the same, but is truly made more spectacular when light is applied. The same is true when we allow the light of Christ to shine on our lives.
What you will need:
3.5" Flat Plastic Ornament
"Crystal" beads. You're looking for beads with lots of angles to refract light.
String or ribbon (clear would be best if using clear beads)
Small suction cups, for hanging from a window.
Stained Glass Paint, Bright Sharpies or Elmer's Glue & Acrylic Paint
Paint brushes
Options for creating the black "lead" outline.
Elmer's glue mixed with black acrylic paint
puffy paint
black sharpie
I tried and tested several methods and found pros and cons with each. It really depends on your time, design and ages. Check out that blog post to decide which method will work best for your activity.
Go to the Faux Stained Glass Test Trials blog post
to get step by step instructions for each method.
I made 5 different designs for this activity. My daughter asked why there is a flower. Most of the designs go along with the theme and theme image of the sun. Any design, when illuminated, can remind us of Christ's light and the beauty it brings to our lives. The flower is simply to offer a different option.
FREEBIE
You can grab my temple for free in the below the image.
ACTIVITY: Eyes on Jesus
While the paint dries, have the girls fill out an "Eyes on Jesus" card with 8-10 specific ways they can Look Unto Christ. I suggest providing colored pencils to make it more interesting.
FREEBIE
I'm happy to share my Eyes on Jesus print. There are 2 on a page. Best printed on cardstock.
ACTIVTY: Look Unto Christ Glasses
This activity is easy and pretty much goes without explanation. Could be fun at a Young Women camp too, if you run out of time at your kickoff. I've seen cute pictures of girls wearing fun glasses. I love that you can get these glasses in different colors. The set I got came with 12 colors, a great variety. Grab some sticky gems and let the girls go to town. Clearly I'm more conservative in my bedazzling.
They are bigger than your hippy heart glasses from the 70s. The girls are all wearing bigger glasses these days. I personally like the size because they are big enough to really gem-out and still wearable. I found gems at Walmart, but the set from Amazon has so many more shapes and sizes to choose from. These are the items I got and I found them to work perfectly, especially for the price. Heart Glasses and peel and stick gems. {enjoy this picture of my cute face sporting these glasses.}
STICKERS
I plan to give each girl a water bottle sticker. These stickers are in my store, along with other items for this theme. They are amazing quality, waterproof and will last for years. Some people choose to put the stickers on a journal to give to the girls.
REFRESHMENTS
I don't always think we need treats at the end of every activity. But to go along with our hiking presentation, I'm putting together a trail mix - grab and go treat. I purposely got a mix without candies and then added lemonheads for the sun. You could throw in a little something like "Look to the Son on your journey through life. Doubt not. Fear not."
I like the small square ziplocks I can get at Walmart. The Lemonheads were a little harder to find. I found them at our Macey's grocery store. I could not find them at Walmart or the Maverick gas station. But I think they are still around - or maybe you could use a different yellow candy. My husband requested yellow M&M's. So if you have the option to buy only one color - apparently that is preferred when you are not a fan of lemon flavored things.
FREEBIE
You can snag these treat tags for free below.
INVTIES
To remind youth and parents, I like to send out a quick invitation. Personally, I think invitations show extra effort has been put into an activity AND it's a visual reminder that we have something on the calendar. I typically share it in the youth chat, the parent chat and then text it to those whom I know don't engage in group chats. You could also print it and hand them out.
FREEBIE
This invitation is a free canva template. You do need a canva.com account, but it's free. Click below to use this template. The date and location can be edited. You can send this digitally or print as a 4x6 photo to distribute. (I love printing invitations as a picture. So easy and cheap.)
*The links above are affiliated links. I could earn a small referral commission if you choose to purchase with these links. I hope we like the same things :)
