Take time to explore and find out ways you can get involved in all that’s happening here, because there’s a lot – and this is a place for you.
Parent Newsletter
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Here’s what’s happening soon…
June 9-12, 2024
Mission Trip to Arlington is happening June 9-12 this year. We can’t wait to take 7th-9th graders to Mission Arlington and serve alongside them. We leave on Sunday, June 9 at 5:00pm and return sometime on Wednesday, June 12. In between is a whole lot of work, a whole lot of food and fellowship and a whole lot of FUN! Registration is open now for FW families until March 17. Then open for all on March 18. Cost is $150 and limited spots are available so don’t wait to sign up! You can sign up here.
Sundays
Sunday Mornings
9:30am
Jr. High in The MAC
High School in The Venue
Sunday Morning Bible Study for youth! We have some great teachers (you can check out who they are on the Youth Staff tab) and a great opportunity to explore the Bible together. Junior Highs (grades 6th, 7th, 8th) meet in The MAC room A200 to start the hour. Then break out into smaller groups (rooms listed below). High Schoolers (grades 9th, 10th, 11th) meet in The Venue main room. Seniors meet in The Venue back room.
Junior High Sunday School break out rooms:
6th Grade Boys – room A125
6th Grade Girls – room A203/youth
7th Grade Boys – room A124
7th Grade Girls – room A211
8th Grade Boys – room A128/party room
8th Grade Girls – room A210
Sunday Nights – Fall 2023
7:37pm
The MAC Room A200
Resumes Sunday, January 21, 2024
Last one for spring semester is May 5, 2024
CONNECT.with a core group
GROW.through discipleship
SERVE.as Christ teaches
Here at First Woodway, we take discipleship ministry very seriously. In our 7:37 Discipleship Groups, students meet with a group of peers…his or her age and his or her gender. Each group has two college leaders that help them to grow in Christian faith and practice. We have a great line up of leaders for the fall!
Come and be a part of the spiritual backbone of our entire ministry. It is your chance to mature into a faith that you can use. It all takes place each Sunday at 7:37pm in The MAC room A200 on our campus. From there we break off into our small groups. Spring semester 2024 begins on Sunday, January 21 and wraps up on Sunday, May 5. We will not meet for 7:37 on the following dates this spring:
Sunday, January 28 (Chi Alpha)
Sunday, February 11 (Super Bowl)
Sunday, March 3 (Spring Break)
Sunday, March 31 (Easter)
Wednesdays
PRIME TIME – for Junior Highs
6:30pm in The MAC*
Just what you need in the middle of the week—an opportunity to gather with your friends for some great fun and spiritual encouragement. All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are welcome to come to the MAC each and every Wednesday at 6:30 for game competitions, fun mixers, student testimonies, great worship, and a relevant talk. We’re done at 7:45.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE – for High Schoolers
7:00pm in The Venue
WNL is live and in person! This is your time to gather with other students for authentic worship through great music, hilarious skits, student testimonies, and a talk that will give solid direction for living out your faith commitment. Join us in The Venue every Wednesday at 7:00. This is the place for you to learn, grow, and reach out to your friends throughout the school year.
Social Media
To keep up with all the latest, follow our youth pages on the following social media platforms:
Instagram – @firstwoodwayyouth
Class of 2024 Seniors:
This is your year and this is your page!
SAVE THESE DATES:
April 5-7, 2024
Senior Retreat @ Highland Lakes
We are off to Highland Lakes Retreat Center for a weekend of fun, worship and celebration of your amazing Senior Class! Art Wellborn will be leading worship and we will hear from Eddie James of the Skit Guys as our guest speaker. We will spend the weekend boating on the lake and also late night swimming, midnight frisbee golf and much more. Cost is $100 which covers travel, lodging and all meals. Limited spots available. Register here.
Sunday, May 19, 2024
FWYM Senior Recognition
This is your Sunday Seniors! We will recognize you in big church at both services and treat you to a special lunch. More information will be sent to you after spring break. For now, mark this Sunday on your calendar. You and your family will not want to miss it!
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Grad sendoff at WNL
Get ready seniors! This will be your last official WNL with us. We will send you off to go do your thing at college. Don’t miss it and we will make sure to have plenty of tissues on hand!
Summer 2024 Youth Mission Opportunities
England
June 4-13, 2024
eligible for current 11th and 12th graders
We have an amazing trip planned this summer to partner with Redcar Baptist Church in Redcar England. The dates are set for June 4-13. We have partnered with Redcar for the last 15 years and God continues to move and work in this area. This team will helping in every area of ministry of Redcar Baptist, leading out with outreach events, youth ministry, kids clubs, work projects and helping the church continue to build relationships with their community. This is an incredible opportunity to grow in your faith and encourage the local church in Redcar. Our team will fly out of DFW on June 4th and travel to Redcar. Our students will be hosted by families of Redcar baptist in their homes. And we will have 6 days of ministry followed by one cultural day as we will visit some historic sights in the North England area. Cost for this trip will be around $2500, however final detail costs are still being finalized. To meet the financial demands of a trip like this, you will be required to have an aggressive effort to fund-raise. We are here to help guide you. We have sample fund raising letters available, you can send to family and friends. Also we have our annual Golf Tournament at Cottonwood Creek Golf Club in late May to help assist with fund-raising. Click here to download a digital flyer.
La Grulla, Texas
June 16-22, 2024
eligible for current 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th graders
Join First Woodway Youth Ministry for an amazing trip to the Rio Grande Valley! The La Grulla Mission Trip! For 22 years FWYM has traveled to the Rio Grande Valley to work with Iglesia Bautista and serve and minister to the amazing people of La Grulla. Each morning students will work painting, cleaning, and doing whatever is asked of our team. In the afternoons our students will lead a Vacation Bible School in Alto Bonito park with children from all over the community. We will be staying at Valley Baptist Retreat Center and spending our last day traveling to South Padre for a day at the beach. This trip will require hard work, great attitudes and will guarantee to be the best week ever! Our team will leave early Sunday, June 16 and we will return on June 22. Cost for this trip will be around the $350-400 range. Final cost is to be determined. Click here to download a digital flyer.
Guatemala
July 20-26, 2024
eligible for current 10th, 11th and 12th graders
Our first-ever trip to Guatemala in Central America will be this summer for FWYM! This team will be working with the missions organization East-West Next Teams, to help establish new churches in unchurched areas of Guatemala. Our team will lead others to discover God by combining leadership development, sharing of the gospel, discipleship, and church planting. During the week our group will learn to build relationships with the locals, share the good news of Jesus Christ, and then help connect them to the local church. Our team will fly into Guatemala City and then travel north to work with a missionary team that is working to plant a new church. We will be staying in a mission house which can sleep up to 30 people. The trip cost of $2,200 will cover all expenses for our trip. This trip is for current 10th-12th.
SONDAYS CAMP
Save the date for Sondays Camp 2024 – July 7-12, 2024!
Sondays Camp Rally is set for Wednesday, May 22, 2024. More information to come!
Youth Staff
mattMcCLURE (Youth Pastor: THE guy)
coming from Oklahoma, Matt is the new guy around here and still learning his way around Waco. Matt has been a youth pastor for 25 years and is excited to be in here. Matt grew up on a farm in small-town Oklahoma and went to college at Oklahoma State. God had a totally different plan for Matt than life in agriculture, and that was one in youth ministry. Matt recently moved from Tulsa, Oklahoma where he served at the same church for the last 16 years. Matt and his wife Melissa have been married for 22 years and have two kids, both of which are in the youth ministry! If you have yet to meet Matt, then swing by the office or grab him on a Sunday or Wednesday at First Woodway!
meredithMORTON (Associate Minister: Middle School)
starting as the cutest little 7th grader, Meredith grew up in the ministry before departing for the mountains and the University of Arkansas – ending up with a degree in International Relations. After college, she spent a year studying in the Kanakuk Institute before starting her masters at Truett Seminay. After graduating, she moved into a full-time position– and is giving leadership to our ministry to middle school students. She is passionate about the opportunity to work with her junior highs. Meredith is definitely the best athlete on the staff, having excelled at volleyball, basketball, and softball in high school. She loves reading, hanging out with friends, and spontaneous adventures of any kind with her brand new husband, Tom.
terriJONES (Student Ministry Assistant)
came on board in this important position in 2013. She keeps all of this madness so very well organized, and we love her for it. Terri comes from Sweetwater, where she hung out at the Dairy Queen on weekends. After graduating from Angelo State University, she made a choice to move to Dallas. It was there that she met her future husband, David. Her present children, Allison (a Texas A&M graduate) and Sam (a Texas A&M student) continue to daily rise up and call her blessed. She enjoys walking, reading, and baking. Everyone loves Terri, mostly because of her pies.
jasonFLETCHER (Youth Associate: High School)
has served faithfully for the past five years as a volunteer and intern but now has moved into an associate role. Unlike everyone else, he is not home grown but grew up in Arlington. After graduating from Baylor, he taught chemistry (yuck) at Midway High School for one year. He now has chosen wisely and has come back on our staff, even as he goes full-time with his studies at Truett Seminary and the School of Education. Jason excelled in sports and was active in his youth ministry during his high school years. He loves reading, working out, playing piano, and hanging with his friends. He once broke his front tooth while trying to scare his mom getting out of her car; that obviously did not go well. Jason is a great speaker, mentor, and loyal team player. He also drives a truck.
THE INTERNS
As always, we have a great group of interns serving in our ministry. This year is no different. All of these servant leaders grew up in our ministry and are presently pursuing degrees at Baylor:
zachBROWN is finishing up his second year as an intern and gives solid leadership within our worship ministry. He played soccer in high school but also excelled in the musical arts department. Now at college, he loves hanging out at the library and with Libby his girlfriend, as well as Hank his dog.
walkerGARRETT started working this semester as a utility player helping with teaching and worship. In high school, he was a chaplain for the football team and was also all-state in choir (which is really hard to do). He is an avid outdoorsman and loves the USA, USA, USA!
By the way, all of our interns drive trucks. It’s a Texas thing.
Sunday Morning Team
High School Teachers
High School Department Director: Rodney Bowden
Assistant: Leighanne Fischer
12th Grade: Darrell Janecka, Cindy Janecka, Shannon Johnson
11th Grade Guys: Rodney Bowden, Brent Baker
11th Grade Girls: Niki Edwards, Emily Baker
10th Grade Guys: Alan Bowden, Ben Erlanson
10th Grade Girls: Angie Wood, Kristy Erlanson
9th Grade Guys: Shon Sanders, Mike Meline
9th Grade Girls: Bailey Lopez, Shelly Meline, Cindy Mosel
Junior High Teachers
Junior High Department Director: Jay Fischer
8th Grade Guys: Brandon Oates, Derek Stephens
8th Grade Girls: Haley Winkleman
7th Grade Guys: Kyle Miller, Jon Capron
7th Grade Girls: Kelly Capron, Robin Sanders
6th Grade Guys: Patrick Kekic, Ryan Hisel
6th Grade Girls: Dana Bowden, Rene Kekic
7:37 Team
High School Discipleship Leaders
12th Grade Guys: Harrison Escue, Jason Fletcher, Joey Leeper
12th Grade Girls: Sofia Aguilera, Casey Hoffmire, Julianna Lewis, Libby Noesen
11th Grade Guys: Michael Mize, Zach Smith
11th Grade Girls: Rachel Reeves, Caroline Steen
10th Grade Guys: Zach Brown, Mason Roye
10th Grade Girls: Faith Lauderdale, Emily Mosley
9th Grade Guys: Walker Garrett, Cody Glanzer
9th Grade Girls: Ayden Davoody, Abby Grace Edwards
Junior High Discipleship Leaders
8th Grade Guys: Ryan Jones, Caleb Wilson
8th Grade Girls: Rahya Gupta, Grace Powell
7th Grade Guys: Matthew Bouydston, Ethan Odermann
7th Grade Girls: Taylor Frost, Madi Jones
6th Grade Guys: Matthew Cox, Andy Gauer
6th Grade Girls: Hannah Ellison, Meredith Morton
SLT (Student Leadership Team)
Every year we invite any and all of our juniors and seniors to join us in the leadership of our ministry through our SLT (Student Leadership Team).
Ministry is only effective if the students get involved and claim it as their own. We invite students to serve on a few different focus groups according to their interests. Groups typically meet one Sunday a month to talk over ideas and important events.
Here the areas of involvement:
:: PROGRAMS TEAM
:: SKIT TEAM
:: SPIRITUAL FORMATION TEAM
If you are a junior or senior in high school, you are welcome to join SLT.
SLT Meeting Dates for spring 2024:
Sunday, February 4th
Sunday, March 24th
Sunday, April 28th
In the vault we have the latest First Woodway youth videos. All available for your viewing pleasure… or mozy on over to youtube to watch some of our classics.
Follow First Woodway Youth on Social Media
First Woodway | 101 Ritchie Road, Waco TX 76712 | 254.772.9696