Mission Yearbook: Presbyterian Youth Collaborative brings North Carolina churches together

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The first PYC gathering was visiting a pumpkin patch in fall 2025.

The Presbyterian Youth Collaborative (PYC) is a new and innovative youth ministry start-up within the Presbytery of Charlotte born out of an idea from Director Genie Richards and a shared sense of calling and responsibility between Providence Presbyterian Church and Sardis Presbyterian Church. Rooted in the faithful ministries of these two congregations, PYC represents a significant milestone: a move toward collaborative, parish-style youth ministry that responds honestly and creatively to the realities facing the church today.

Based out of Providence Presbyterian Church and Sardis Presbyterian Church in South Charlotte, North Carolina, PYC currently serves approximately 60 middle and high school students from both congregations. PYC officially launched in fall 2025 with a strong turnout and enthusiastic buy-in from both youth and parents, signaling both trust in the vision and need for steady faith community for teens. As the ministry grows, PYC hopes to become a resource for the wider Presbytery of Charlotte in years two through four, particularly for congregations seeking sustainable models of youth ministry and curious about parish-style ministry.

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PYC is a welcoming, inter-church youth ministry rooted in the grace and love of Jesus Christ. We walk alongside students in grades 6–12 as they grow in faith, build strong relationships and explore their unique call in the world. The program is guided by three goals: supporting congregations in sustaining healthy youth ministry amid limited resources and staffing challenges; addressing the decline in young adults engagement in the PC(USA) by helping youth see themselves as part of something larger than one congregation; and immersing young people in Presbyterian theology, heritage, and culture so they feel connected to their Presbyterian identity and confident as beloved children of God.

In a time of declining giving, limited staff bandwidth, and volunteer burnout, PYC offers a shared solution. Congregations pool resources, share the rising costs of trips, camps, and service opportunities, and draw from a larger base of faithful volunteers. This collaboration lightens the load on individual churches while creating richer experiences for youth.

Teenagers today live in one of the most competitive and stressful seasons of life. PYC intentionally creates a third place apart from performance, where youth can simply be. Through worship, Scripture, prayer, shared meals, conversation, creativity, and service, young people are discovering a church that sees them, values them and invites them to claim faith as their own. We see God at work daily through transformed confidence, deeper relationships and growing ownership of faith. One of the most beautiful surprises and examples of God working through this ministry is the growing number of regular friends and visitors. We’ve found that many young people not affiliated with a church are quite curious about youth ministry but see not belonging to a congregation as a barrier of entry. Because PYC is not led by any one church, it opens the door to curious young people. 

The ministry includes weekly Sunday youth group gatherings, monthly Mustard Seed Groups for middle and high school students, and a full inter-church confirmation program where youth learn together across congregations while remaining rooted in their home churches, along with regular weekend trips, summer camps, and service trips locally and across North Carolina. PYC is open and affirming, fully welcoming LGBTQIA+ youth as they are. We are grateful for two congregations willing to take a faithful risk on something new and encouraged by the early fruit already visible in this shared ministry.

PYC is led by Richards and supported by a committed pastoral team: the Rev. Dr. Allysen Schaff, associate pastor for Contemporary Worship and Community Building at Sardis Presbyterian Church; the Rev. Dr. Joe B. Martin, senior pastor at Sardis Presbyterian Church; the Rev. Dr. Jody Moore, senior pastor at Providence Presbyterian Church; and the Rev. Dr. Lal Rodawla, associate pastor for Congregational Life at Providence Presbyterian Church and co-moderator of the Presbytery of Charlotte. Together, they model shared leadership and a belief that Christ calls congregations to in community together. If anyone is interested in learning more or starting something similar, we want to share what we’ve learned! Please reach out to Richards at genie@ppc1767.org or genie.richards@sardis.org. 

Genie Richards on behalf of Sardis and Providence Presbyterian Churches 

Let us join in prayer for:

Jenny Branson, Executive Assistant, Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program
Jennifer Cash, Copy Editor, Media & Publishing, Presbyterian Life & Witness

Let us pray:

God, thank you for this messy, beautiful work of growing in faith together. Thank you for teenagers showing up, asking questions, and teaching us more about grace than we could imagine. Help us hold space for curiosity, for belonging and for the Spirit moving in ways we don’t control. May these youth see your love in friendships, in shared meals, in service, in the church and in each other. And may we, too, learn to trust that you are building something larger than we can see.

Mission Yearbook: First United Presbyterian Church of Fairbury, Nebraska, finds a mission to connect

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First United PC (provided)

Mission Possible began with a bold challenge to the confirmation students of First United Presbyterian Church of Fairbury, Nebraska: What if we trusted God enough to take on a mission that felt too big for us?

Rather than starting small, our youth chose a challenge rooted in the real needs of our rural community. In southeast Nebraska, reliable transportation is essential for daily life. Without it, families struggle to work consistently, get children to school, access medical care or even buy groceries. Recognizing this reality, Mission Possible committed to purchasing, repairing and giving away vehicles to local families in need.

The goal was ambitious, but with the support of our congregation and community, the youth have already given away four cars. Each one represents more than transportation. It represents independence, stability and renewed hope. For the families who receive them, these vehicles open doors to employment, education and everyday life that many take for granted.

Mission Possible is entirely youth-led, and in that leadership our congregation has been changed. As our church continues to thrive and grow, it has been our young people who are leading us boldly into the future, reminding us that mission is not about age or resources, but about faithfulness and trust in God.

This work has also grown out of a broader shift in our congregational life known as Connect. Through Connect., we have been learning to focus less on programs and outcomes and more on genuine human connection. Instead of asking how to attract people to church, we ask how to love our neighbors well — by listening, showing up, and responding to real needs with humility and care.

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First United PC (provided)

The Connect. movement is changing the way we see one another and the people beyond our walls. It is drawing us back into the slow, faithful work of knowing names, stories and lives. We are learning again that love cannot exist at a distance — we cannot love neighbors we do not know.

Mission Possible is one powerful expression of that culture. It embodies a church learning again that faith is lived in relationship, that service flows from listening, and that the gospel is made visible through love in action. Some connections lead people deeper into the life of the church. Others simply lead to stronger, healthier lives in the community. We trust God with the outcomes.

Our story is still unfolding. But through Mission Possible and Connect., we are rediscovering that the church does not exist to preserve itself, but to bear witness to God’s love in the world. We give thanks for a generation of young leaders, a congregation willing to follow and a God who continues to remind us that every mission truly is possible.

Dave Conde; Ministry Coordinator; First United Presbyterian Church; Fairbury, Nebraska

Let us join in prayer for:

Katie Carter, Manager, Faith-Based Investing & Shareholder Engagement, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Cole Sites, Facility Specialist, Building Services, Administrative Services Group                           

Let us pray:

Faithful God, we thank you for the courage of our youth and for the call you place upon your church to serve our neighbors with love and compassion. Bless the work of Mission Possible and the relationships formed through Connect. Teach us to listen before we act, to trust you boldly and to serve faithfully without fear. We also lift before you our brothers and sisters in Presbyterian churches and across every denomination. Lord, be with all who seek to follow Christ in every place and tradition. Strengthen your church wherever it gathers. Renew its witness. Unite us in love for neighbor and faithfulness to your gospel. May our lives and our congregations bear witness to your grace and may every mission we undertake bring hope to those in need. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mission Yearbook: The Brandermill Church in Midlothian, Virginia, is born of unity and growing in grace

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Children pray over The Brandermill Church’s leadership. (provided)

When residents moved into Brandermill, a planned community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, in the mid-1970s, they envisioned more than just a neighborhood. They dreamed of a new dimension in church life. In March 1974, the Virginia Council of Churches invited denominations to reach across traditional lines and create something unprecedented: an ecumenical congregation that would unite rather than divide.

The Richmond District of the United Methodist Church (UMC) and Hanover Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (PCUS) answered that call. Under the leadership of Rev. D. Clyde Bartges, worship began in February 1977, and by Nov. 6, 1977, The Brandermill Church was officially chartered with 126 members. Our founding covenant declared a sacred commitment: to serve as one body under Christ’s Lordship, witnessing to our unity in him.

Nearly 50 years later, that ecumenical spirit remains our heartbeat. Though now affiliated with the PC(USA), we continue honoring both Reformed and Evangelical traditions. Our congregation reflects beautiful diversity — about half our members live in Brandermill, half come from surrounding communities, and all come from varied Christian backgrounds, united in our mission to “engage disciples to worship, study and serve.”

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The centrality of the table and God’s Creation. (provided)

Our commitment to intergenerational ministry — “Growing Young Together” — brings seasoned disciples alongside our youngest members, creating bonds that span generations. From our thriving weekday preschool to adult discipleship programs, we nurture faith at every stage. Our six Marks of Discipleship — prayer, worship, Scripture reading, service, relationships and giving — form the rhythm of our shared life, creating what we call a “PoWeR SuRGe” of faith.

We believe in the priesthood of all believers, that every Christian has direct access to God and a calling to ministry. Through committees, teams, and our elected Church Council, we practice the Reformed principle of shared governance, discerning God's will together through prayer and the Spirit’s guidance.

The Brandermill Church stands on the shoulders of giants — our great cloud of witnesses from both PC(USA) and UMC traditions who sustain and inspire us. We are proof that unity in Christ transcends denominational lines, and that when we invest our voice, energy, spirit and time in God’s work, extraordinary things happen.

Rev. Christopher M. Tweel; Senior Pastor and Head of Staff; The Brandermill Church; Midlothian, Virginia

Let us join in prayer for:

Heath Carter, Senior Editor of The Journal of Presbyterian History, Presbyterian Historical Society
Jackie Carter, Project Manager, Media & Publishing, Presbyterian Life & Witness

Let us pray:

Gracious God, who calls us to be one body in Christ, we thank you for The Brandermill - - born from a vision of unity and sustained by your grace. Bless all ecumenical congregations seeking to witness to your love across denominational lines. May our commitment to worship, study and serve together inspire others to build bridges tather than walls. Gyide us as we nurture faith across generations, that young and old alike may discover, nurture and share your gifts. In Christ's name. Amen.