Youth Ministry is 'His Rock' at St. Peter Lutheran

When you have 100 teenagers taking part in youth ministry activities every week you must be doing something right. At that “something” is Youth Ministries Director Bo Chapman. 

“He is a dynamic young man, he makes a great connection with the kids and parents and just has a servants heart all around,” said . “He truly wants to make a difference.”

Chapman, who’s been at his full-time post at St. Peter for nearly five years, lives in Macomb Township with his wife, April, and children, Mallory, 4, and Mason, 2. He’s both thankful and enthusiastic about his growing youth ministry.

“It’s a ministry that is strong on kids and family while also promoting personal growth,” Chapman said. “And I feel a strong family makes for a stronger community. The goal is a desire to serve the needs of others while striving to make a difference in the community.”

The centerpiece of the youth ministry is actually a facility located at the corner of 24 Mile and Romeo Plank roads known at “His Rock.”  A renovation project turned the former one room school house into a  place where student ministries flourish.

“I’d call it the headquarters, if you will, that we use to get together for fellowship and bible study,” Chapman said. “It varies by the day of the week but there are late afternoon and early evening events there at least two or three times a week.”

A kitchen, recreation area and seating area with booths fills the building's lower level. Upstairs there’s a large projection screen for watching movies and also space for hosting dances.

“We also open it up to the broader community," Wagener said. "We rent it out for different events and meetings."

St. Peter’s youth ministry is divided into two groups, one for seventh and eighth graders and the other for all high school students. In addition to a variety of community-based projects, the older students go on two missionary projects each summer to different parts of the United States.

Locally, students support the and Peacemakers International in Detroit. Participation in the latter group has students collecting clothes and toiletry items for the homeless and taking them to a mission on Shane Street in Detroit.

“The students gather up all the clothing and sort it and everything then they serve dinner, usually doing a barbecue, for the homeless while they are there,” Wagener said.

Having a strong youth group impacts St. Peter in a variety of ways, including where the music ministry is concerned. Many teens perform at the church during contemporary services on Sundays.

“The youth ministry is a tremendous blessing here for many reasons,” Wagener said. “And it’s definitely a central part of our ministry.”

Those are comforting words for Chapman, who still marvels at how God continues to use him to reach out to young people.

“I feel blessed I have a chance to be able to serve youth and their families, I’ve been doing it for 14 years now,” Chapman said. “I love watching the kids grow up.”