September 10, 2026

Galilee’s youth ministry is helping shape faith and the future beyond our church walls through the Virginia Conference Youth Council.

The VAUMC Youth Council brings together students and adult leaders from churches across the Virginia Conference to plan, create, and lead youth ministry in local churches. This year Galilee has two representatives on the Council: Youth Leader Lisa Collins, who is beginning her third year as an adult member, and Melissa Marr, who joins the Council this year as a student member.

Lisa and Melissa are on the VAUMC Youth Council

The council currently has two major areas of focus. It plans and hosts the upcoming statewide Fall Youth Retreat, giving dozens of youth groups from across the Commonwealth the opportunity to gather for high-energy worship and fellowship. The council also oversees the Youth Service Fund, which provides grants for service projects led by youth to benefit other young people. Galilee has already been on the receiving end of the Youth Service Fund. Our youth applied for a 2025 grant and used the funding to complete their own service project last year.

Council members meet in person twice a year and gather by Zoom as needed between meetings. Their most recent meeting was held at Camp Rappahannock, the site of this year’s fall retreat.

For Melissa and other student members, the council also offers something particularly valuable: an opportunity to take responsibility alongside youth from throughout Virginia. They get to plan together, make decisions, and learn what leadership in the wider church looks like.

It is also a good example of one of Methodism’s distinctive strengths: connectionalism. A youth group at Galilee is not an island. Through the council, our students can join with Methodists from other communities, share resources and ideas, and accomplish missions together that individual congregations might struggle to do alone.

As the Youth Council continues to grow, its larger purpose remains straightforward: help local churches do youth ministry well and give young people opportunities to lead. 

The ultimate mission is clear: to bring the Word to a new generation and insure that today’s young people know God’s love and remain rooted in Christ’s church.