Upcoming Youth Events
May 2026
14th - Brighton HS Graduation
15th - Munford HS Graduation
17th - Youth Led Service at Nursing Home
18th - Covington HS Graduation
21st - Last Day of School
22nd - 23rd - Ultimate Youth Rally
28th - Ignite
June 2026
14th - 17th VBS; Theme: "Stand Out"
21st - 26th - WKYC Teen Week
28th - July 3rd - WKYC 11-13 Week
July 2026
12th - 16th - Big Reedy Christian Camp
Youth
1 Timothy 4:12
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
The youth group is a significant part of the Covington Church of Christ and offers a full calendar of events for the youth from birth through high school. There are three groups; the youngest is the CIA, which stands for Children in Action is comprised of birth to 5th grade. When the CIA meets – it is a family event. Our next group is the KIX group, sixth through eighth graders make up this group. KIX stand for Kids in the Cross. Our oldest group is the ACTS group and is made up of kids in the 9th-12th grades. By far most of the activities planned are for this group for a variety of reasons. While some of our events are solely for the specific groups, throughout the year we have opportunities for parents and families to get involved. Chaperones are often needed for larger and longer trips parents can certainly volunteer for these trips but we do not discourage any responsible adult from being chaperones. Lads to Leaders is also very important and coordinated here at Covington. Since their foundation in 1968, the mission of L2L has been to develop youth into Christian leaders. From a group of eight boys in that first year to more than 20,000 today, their mission has remained the same.
Jeff Phillips
Associate Minister/Youth Director
901.476.8278 (office)
901.233.9495 (mobile)
Missions
Mission work is not new to the CYG but is in a sort of rebirth. In Acts 1:8, Jesus is meeting with the Apostles in Jerusalem and He told them they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. In the summer of 2011, this verse became a sort of theme for us. We began the summer with a small door knocking campaign here in Covington and witnessed record attendance at VBS. The following week a group of youths traveled to Dry Ridge, Kentucky, to assist the Grant County Church of Christ with their VBS and conduct another door knocking campaign. Finally at the end of June, several teens traveled to Liberia, Costa Rica with YES II, a youth mission trip with Latin American Missions under the oversite of the Forrest Park Church of Christ in Valdosta, GA, for yet another effort at spreading the message of Christ's love. Truly "the fields are white for harvest" and the Covington Youth Group is committed to the development of Christians who find joy in "bringing in the sheaves."
KIX (Kids in Christ)
The KIX group is made up of our 6th - 8th grade students. Boy do they know how to have fun! Again preparation is an objective. They cannot wait to be in the ACTS group and do some of the awesome activities the older kids do. The KIX group is often invited to ACTs events but they also have activities that are just theirs. Activities designed to develop camaraderie, leadership, desire to serve and most important - a relationship with God.
CIA (Children in Action)
The CIA is our youngest group, comprised of children birth through 5th Grade. This is really a family oriented group. Activities are planned with the idea that both older siblings and parents will attend. The purpose of the CIA is preparation. We want to prepare the kids and their parents at an early age to be involved in the youth program. One of the greatest benefits of this program is the Christian Fellowship enjoyed by all ages. The CIA tries to get together once a month, usually on a Sunday afternoon but not always.
Summer Church Camps
This summer is LOADED with opportunities for spiritual growth! We are adding a couple different opportunities for church camp this summer. The eldership has understood for years how valuable fundamentally solid church camps can be in the spiritual development of our young people. This summer we will again pay $50 to offset camp fees for our kids who attend church camp. Unfortunately, we can only do this for one session of camp. However, other scholarship opportunities are available, and no camper should miss camp because of the lack of money.
If you have any questions about any of these camps (including costs concerns and/or scholarship information) contact Jeff 901-233-9495.
West Kentucky Youth Camp
Our association with West Kentucky Youth Camp goes back many years because Mike Rogers used to be the director of 11-13 Week! While there are sessions all summer, most of our kids either go during Teen Week or Middle School Week (aka 11-13 Week). Several of our adult members are on staff during 11-13 Week.
Campers sign up online at wkyc.org
Middle School Week is for ages 10-14 and Teen Week is for ages 13-18.
Mid South Youth Camp
Mid South Youth Camp is owned and operated by Freed-Hardeman University and is located just outside of Henderson, TN. The camp has a full time director and counselors are drawn from FHU students.
Mid South Youth Camp is for ages 9-18.
Registration information can be found at
fhu.edu/campus-spiritual-life/summer-camps/mid-south-youth-camp/
Sardis Lake Christian Camp
This will be out first year to attend Sardis Lake Christian Camp. We will attend the week directed by Bobby Rawson who recently conducted a gospel meeting her at Covington. No doubt youth from West Tennessee will be there, for sure from the Alamo Church of Christ. At under two hours away, SLCC could become a regular part of our summers!
Registration information can be found at sardislakechristiancamp.org
Big Reedy Christian Camp
Big Reedy is located just outside Bowling Green, KY. It is a relatively new camp and we have attended the week run by the Clarkson Church of Christ. John Evans IV is the camp director assisted by Michael McDavid, long time director of 11-13 Week at WKYC.
Information about Big Reedy can be found on their website bigreedycamp.com
Set in the beautiful hills of Central Kentucky.
ACTS (Awesome Christian Teens)
The Awesome Christian Teens make up our most active youth group. Retreats, college visits, youth rallies, service projects and fun stuff are planned to help them grow closer together and closer to God. These are 9th-12th graders.
Our teens just don't have fun (which they often do) but you’ll see them leading Day Camp activities as counselors. You’ll see them growing in their faith at youth rallies and retreats. You’ll see them still participating in Lads-to-Leaders. They are a special group who loves to reach out to the little children in the church.
Lads to Leaders
Founded in 1968, Lads to Leaders and Leaderettes is a training program aimed at developing today’s youth into Christian leaders. What began with eight young men in Georgia now has over 20,000 participants and is growing every year. Lads to Leaders is a tool to be used by churches of Christ. Each year there are conventions held over Easter weekend where participants can choose from different events where they can develop and show off their talents in service to God. Conventions are currently held in Nashville, TN; Little Rock, AR; Dallas, TX; Louisville, KY; Atlanta, GA; Orlando, FL; Visalia, CA and the Philippines.
We attend the Nashville, TN convention and are well represented by our youth in most of the categories. We encourage all youth and adults to participate and hone their individual skills. Many trophies and awards have been brought home since we began our participation in 2005 but we have brought home far more winners and stronger Christians more dedicated to serving God better than we have trophies.
