New youth ministry director joins church

Sparta — Matt Querns, a recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, has joined Sparta United Methodist Church as its youth ministry director. A kick-off pool party for the church’s three youth groups is planned for Sunday, Aug. 30 at Aldersgate Center. Querns will be preaching at the 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. services on that day. At Princeton, Querns focused on youth ministry and Christian history. Prior to that, he received his undergraduate degree from Hanover College, taught English and French in China, taught fourth grade in North Carolina and interned in two churches in Tucson. Querns said, “I look forward to journeying forward with the young people here as I share a bit of what I know and as I learn a lot of what they have to offer.” The United Methodist Youth Fellowship (grades 9 to 12) will meet twice a month. High school events will include the RISE trip in July, Ocean City Youth Weekend in the fall and a variety of activities with other church youth groups at the District and Conference level. The Ocean City Youth Weekend, for instance, draws hundreds of young people from all over the state. It’s a last summer bash at the beach with good entertainment, meaningful workshops and just plain fun on the beach and boardwalk. The Junior Youth Fellowship (grades 6 to 8) will be meeting twice a month and are invited to participate in confirmation. The Intermediate Youth Fellowship (grades 4 and 5) will meet once a month. For more information about these events and the fall program, e-mail Querns at matt@spartaumc.org, call 973-729-7773, or visit www.spartaumc.org.