CATALYST youth (for teens grades 7-12) meets at Arlington Woods Church (225 McClellan Road) on Friday nights from September-June. We also do some special events throughout the summer.

While CATALYST officially runs from 7-9pm, we have a drop-in available from 6:30-7pm for teens who want to come earlier to hang out, chat, play board games, or use our amazing games tables (pool, ping-pong, foosball, and air hockey).

Where is CATALYST taking place? 

CATALYST takes place in our Youth Centre (the Creekside Room at the church) on Fridays! Teens should arrive and get picked up at the Youth Centre entrance at the opposite side of the building as our main entrance.  We also use our Gym (Evergreen Hall) for sports and games. Dodgeball is a group favourite! When teens arrive, they should sign-in by checking their name under the correct date on our attendance sheet and putting a nametag on. 

What will an average youth night look like?

From 6:30-7pm the Creekside Room is open for teens to drop-in, hangout and chat with their friends over board games and our games tables (we have foosball, ping-pong, air hockey and a pool table). During this time, we'll have our CATALYST band practice as well.

CATALYST then begins at 7pm with a fun group game! After that, we sing some worship songs together with our CATALYST band, and then we'll have a Bible-based talk. Next, we'll split into smaller groups for a chance for some discussion and to share highs/lows from the week and prayer requests.

From 8:30pm-8:55pm we'll have free time for teens to use the games tables, board games, or to do some more active sports/games in our gym area (the Evergreen Hall).

At 8:55pm we'll ask your teens to help us clean up the youth centre and put things away. At 9pm, parents can pick up their teens at the CATALYST entrance.

If you have any questions about CATALYST in-person at Arlington Woods, contact our office administrator at emily@arlingtonwoods.ca.

Some CATALYST youth pro tips:

1) Always check your email inbox before you leave home for CATALYST just in case we have a last minute cancellation. 

2) Bring a pair of slippers or running shoes to change into (if you can) so that the floor in the youth centre doesn't get soaked during the winter months!

3) Use the Creekside Room youth entrance (at the other side of the building) if possible. Sometimes the main entrance is locked if there's no other group using the upstairs part of our building.

4) Bring a buck or two to put in our youth offering! At the end of the year, we'll vote on a mission project to give towards!

If your teen is planning on joining us regularly, please register them! Click HERE to register! (You can also register your kids for KIDZONE (our Sunday morning kids program) on the same form.

Parents, we want to assure you that only authorized leaders who have been trained/screened through Plan to Protect (our church's abuse prevention and protection policy) and have a police check will be working with your teens. 

Now is a great time to establish a bit of a routine where you spend time growing in your faith. The best way to do this is to spend a few minutes a day in prayer (simply expressing thanks to God and talking to him about your life), spend a few minutes a day reading from the Bible (using a devotional (devo) is an easy way to do this), and listening to some worship music. 

This is how you use a daily devo: 

1. Read the Bible passage that's highlighted for that day (some apps/sites will send you to a Bible webpage to read it if you click on the passage). While reading, try to stay engaged and think about what it's saying.

2. Read the devotional. Usually this is a story or some thoughts based on that Bible verse.

3. Think about it. Some devotionals might have questions to answer or think about at the end. Some good questions to ask is, "What is this saying about God? About life? About me?" 

4. Pray about what you read. How does it apply to your life? How does it challenge you or encourage you? Take a minute to talk to God about it.

Some great online devos to check out:

UNLOCKED DEVO APP OR MAGAZINE

This is such a great way to spend some time with God every day! It features daily Bible verses and great stories that help you understand what the Bible is saying! I highly recommend it! You can download the app for ANDROID, the app for iOS (Apple) or you can subscribe to get actual books sent to you-- the first year is free!