Through Student Ministries, we hope to give students an onramp to adulthood, preparing them to participate fully in life. We want them to be socially and emotionally engaged, able to identify how God is at work in their lives. Students love our weekly gatherings TNT, FPGEY, Confirmation (8th grade), retreats, and summer programs.
Student Ministries
Jr. High and High School programs encourage students and point them to Christ.
Junior High
FPGEY Middle School (TNT)
Wednesdays September-May | 6:30-8pm | Gym
& Youth Lounge
TNT is a high-energy midweek program at First Pres where middle schoolers connect through wild games, honest conversations, and real encounters with Jesus. Each night includes dinner ($5), a fun kickoff activity, large-group Bible teaching, and small-group discussions split by grade and gender. This year, we’re diving deep into the life of Jesus—and we’d love for parents to join the fun by helping serve dinner! Please register and complete the waivers here.
Confirmation
Sundays, 9-10am in room LL8
All 8th graders are invited to join us for confirmation. During confirmation, students will explore their identity, purpose, and belonging as it relates to affirming their baptism (or being baptized) and becoming members of First Pres. Classes will be highly experiential and will give students the chance to grow in their relationships with God and each other while wrestling with their honest questions and doubts. Confirmation will also include a retreat (October 17–19) that students are expected to attend. Parents will be expected to participate in several classes throughout the year. Register here today!
Retreats
Retreats give junior high students an incredible opportunity away from home together. Through uninterrupted hours of shared experience travelling, playing games, eating meals, and having discussions, students will get to know leaders, a friend group, and will experience God’s love for them through these connections.
High School
FPGEY High School
Sundays September-May | 7-8:30 pm | Youth Lounge
High School Ministry at First Pres is a place where students can be themselves, ask big questions, and find belonging in a community that feels like a weird and wonderful family. Each week, we open the Bible together and explore what God has to say about real-world issues like mental health, technology, and food insecurity. Please register and complete the waivers here.
Life Group
During the summer program, smaller groups of students are set up based on availability and meet in people’s houses. It offers less structure than FPGEY High School, typically with a topic-based discussion that is shaped by questions and student interest.
Student Worship Team
Students who are musically curious are invited to participate on the student worship team, where they can practice and learn what it means to be a worship leader. Contact Lily Serfass, if your interested in volunteering.
Retreats
The multiple retreat opportunities offered throughout the year give students a chance to spend around 48 hours together with fellow students and leaders. Through a van trip, games, service, and discussions about faith and the person of Jesus, students walk away from retreats knowing their leaders and a solid friend group, and with memories over an incredible shared experience.
Mike Henry
Student Ministries Director
Mike Henry serves First Pres as the director of Student Ministry. In that role he get the privilege of playing dodgeball with middle schoolers, eating DQ with high schoolers, and laughing with the best adult volunteers in the church!
Jen Bradbury
Senior Director of Family Ministries
Jen Bradbury serves as the Sr. Director of Family Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn. Jen loves discipling young people and their grownups so that they can follow Jesus in their everyday lives and in the process, transform their communities.
