The youth meet every Sunday morning for Bible Study at 8:45 am followed by worship at 10:00 am. During the school year, youth please join us on Wednesday evenings at 5:30 pm for dinner, youth activities, and Bible Study until 8:00 pm.

We are a growing youth group with a focus on building healthy and happy relationships with each other, while growing closer to God. First Presby Youth Group's goal is to grow as a group of people committed to building a life together, at least for a time in each youth's life.

A spiritual community is formed when each member focuses on Jesus and the others in the group. Creating this spiritual community requires trust, confidentiality, honesty, care, and commitment from each group member.We focus on fellowship (connecting our hearts to others' hearts by sharing about our lives and listening attentively to others), discipleship (exploring God's word, gaining biblical knowledge and making personal applications so we can grow to be more like Jesus), ministry (recognizing and taking opportunities to serve others), evangelism (sharing our story, God's story and applying the lessons to our relationships) and worship (focusing on God's presence in our lives and surrendering our life to honor God).

We also offer Sunday school and a Wednesday night activity group for elementary school children, so bring your younger siblings with you! Our youth group is modeled as a sustainable youth ministry. We have a wonderful set of adult volunteers including Chip Whipple, Valerie Smith, Christopher Wyatt, and Cathleen Wyatt.

For more information, please contact Annette Newcomb, Youth Director, at anewcomb@fpcponca.org or by phone at (580) 762-2431, ext. 106.

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Ponca City Youth Experience Mo-Ranch

Photo of attendees from l to r: Chip Whipple, Emily Clark, Carter Wyatt, Annette Newcomb, Brad Newcomb, Summer Lewis, Kaylee Gillespie, Maddie Newcomb and Christopher Wyatt (Amber Fox, not pictured).

A group of Ponca City First Presbyterian Church youth and sponsors recently traveled 11 hours round trip to attend the Mo-Ranch Youth Celebration Conference. Although the camp is nearly 600 miles away, there is a Ponca City connection. The name Mo-Ranch is short for Moran Ranch. The land on which Mo-Ranch Camp and Conference Center sits once belonged to the estate of the former President of Continental Oil Company, Dan Moran.

The week-long event focused around the theme “Keep These Words” based on scripture from Deuteronomy 3:4-9. During the week, the discussion centered around a different word each day: Hear, Heart, Home , Rise and Keep.

Each day began with a morning celebration where the youth sang and danced to energizers, offered up songs of praise, heard scripture and listened to Keynote speaker Mark Yaconelli. During mid-morning and mid-afternoon, the youth and sponsors gathered with small groups of approximately 20 people to dig deeper into the meaning of the day’s scripture. They discussed what the word meant to them individually and how it prompted them to action.

During the latter part of the afternoon, the youth were free to partake in activities on the Mo-Ranch complex. They had the opportunity to canoe in the Guadeloupe River, swim in the river or beautiful pool, play volleyball, and explore the nature trails. After dinner, everyone gathered for worship and reflection upon their day outside by the river.

The youth from Ponca City participated in worship leadership, music leadership, and even in the talent show! It was a wonderful opportunity for them to fellowship with over 300 other youth and to be actively involved in the worship experience.

Annette Newcomb, Youth Ministry Director at FPC Ponca describes the week, “It was a long trip, but very worthwhile! I am thankful that the youth of our community had the opportunity to grow closer to God and to others who are their brothers and sisters in Christ. They left with a desire to put their faith in action. They, as well as myself, will forever be changed after our week together at Mo-Ranch.”

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