There is a theory in the youth ministry world around the idea of "group-ness". Rodger Nishioka, a well-known Presbyterian educator, suggests that "group-ness" is when a group of people spend 17 or more cumulative hours together. That means if the group meets for one hour a week, as a whole, and the next week one of the members isn't present, the hours start all over at one. As you can imagine, it can be difficult to have everyone in the group show up at the same hour each week for 17 weeks in a row. That is one reason why Covenant invests so highly in summer trips for our youth. The sweet spot of 17 cumulative hours is often achieved in the first day! These trips help build and strengthen our community, push us out of our comfort zones, and widen our world view. We welcome youth to continue to sign up for our HSY trips to Washington DC (June 23-28) and to Montreat Youth Conference (July 7-13). All youth and their parents who plan to participate in a summer trip are asked to join us in the Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, June 4 ^th for dinner from Moe's, to review expectations of all youth and chaperones, and then to break out by trip for logistics and packing lists. Please continue reading below for additional information on the summer trips meeting and on other offerings coming up in youth ministry at Covenant!