Children & Youth

Our Faith Formation program offers a safe space for children to hear the sacred stories of our faith with a sense of wonder and curiosity. We are a community dedicated to inclusion, joy, and love.

Our annual VBS program for children ages two and up is offered for one full week (3 hours each day) after the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools dismiss for the summer. We focus on themes of compassion, inclusion, and love.

Learn more about music ministry opportunities for children and youth.

Youth in middle and high school are invited to participate in every part of the life of the church, from worship and music to service and outreach to serving on boards and committees. In addition, special dedicated youth programming on Sunday morning and throughout the year supports the spiritual growth of young people.

“As the youth ministry of the United Church of Chapel Hill, we promise to treat each other with respect, open mindedness, compassion, and empathy while centering peace, justice, and joy.”

– The United Youth Covenant, 2025-2026

Most Sunday mornings, we offer Faith Formation classes for youth in grades 6-12. Groups meet from 9:15-10:15 AM in the youth room at United Church. All of our classes place a heavy emphasis on love, social justice, and personal faith development, but different grades engage in different curricula:

*Our Confirmation class is offered every other year. Registration for the 2025-2026 cohort is no longer available. The next cohort will be in 2027-2028. Confirmation is a process of discernment for youth in grades 8 and up. During this class, youth learn about scripture, theology, history and the core beliefs of the United Church of Christ. At the end of Confirmation, youth decide whether or not they would like to be ‘confirmed’ as members of the congregation. No matter what they decide, we celebrate their unique faith journey and their place in our community.

The youth group meets in many ways at UCCH. We gather regularly for dinner and fellowship in the youth room, but we also build our community through art classes, day trips, lunches, games, recreation, and service retreats. There is no single way to participate in our community. To learn about upcoming events, email JRingley@unitedchurch.org.

We strive to build intergenerational relationships in our community. Twice a year, we feature an entirely youth-led service in Festival Worship for all ages. Adult church members serve as mentors for youth in our Confirmation class, and our Faith Formation classes are team-taught by parents. Members of the youth group work in our nursery care, and we offer intergenerational Faith Formation activities throughout the year. Past activities include Advent wreath-making, an All Saints’ Day remembrance, building a free food pantry, and a workshop led by our Confirmation class.

Our play-based preschool is offered for 3 hours per day for children ages 2-4. We focus on child-led activities that enhance social-emotional development and ensure that children spend their time learning from one another and all that our beautiful space (both indoors and outdoors) has to offer.