Stayin’ Alive launches program Wednesday

Stayin’ Alive youth group will kick off its fall program with an evening of food and fun on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The event will take place at Ritzville Foursquare Church, on the corner of Second Avenue and Columbia Street, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Following a free meal, games and activities for youth from kindergarten through high school are planned. Topping the program opener are two inflated toys, a bouncy house for younger children and an obstacle course for the older ones.

Children and parents from the community are invited to attend. Students who attended last year and who have received registration information in the mail are asked to take their completed paperwork with them Wednesday.

They are also invited to bring a friend or their parents to participate with them.

After this initial event, regular weekly youth group meetings will be at Trinity United Methodist Church, 107 West Second Avenue, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., beginning Sept. 28.

After dinner, classes for all ages are planned: kindergarten through third grade, taught by Brad and Debbie Gering and Rena Brown; fourth through sixth grade, taught by Maureen Hunsberger; seventh and eighth grade, taught by Pastor John Hunsberger; and high school, taught by Pastor Bill Cox. An adult Bible class will also meet.

Stayin’ Alive is a joint ministry of Trinity United Methodist Church and Ritzville Foursquare Church. Its purpose, according to its mission statement, is “to help families connect with other Christians and understand and grow in their faith relationship with Jesus Christ, so they will celebrate salvation and share it with others.”

Last year approximately 80 youth attended Stayin’ Alive, which is open to all children in kindergarten and above as well as all adults.