Ridgewood Baptist Church

Ridgewood Baptist Junior and Senior High Young People (Formerly B.Y.U. and L.Y.P.S.)

Before our present church was organized, near the year 1900, the need for an outlet of expression and the need for training young people in Christian activities were recognized, and there were a number of young people's groups led by Sunday school teachers. Shortly after the testimony in Ridgewood became organized and dedicated as the Ridgewood Baptist Church, the young people in 1903 organized the Ridgewood B.Y.P.U. (Baptist Young People's Union) for senior high and the L.Y.P.S. (Loyal Young People's Society) for junior high. As there were periods when attendance fell off, the younger group has been an on and off group and at times has been affiliated with B.Y.P.U. The youth group has had periods when interest waned, but most of the time the Lord has used their faithfulness as a powerful force of Christian training and character building.

Through the years, B.Y.P.U. conducted evening church services, were involved in missionary projects and in years past have put on gospel programs at the jail, nursing homes, etc. as requested. There were annual retreats and banquets, monthly social events to fill out a well-rounded Christian training program.

In the 70's Pastor Dave Janke directed the teenagers, and they met regularly after the Sunday evening church service in the gym for sports, fellowship and a challenge from the word of God. The youth were an active, enthusiastic Christ-honoring group of young people who anticipate great blessings from the Lord. The group consisted of junior and senior high young people who were involved in a wide range of activities. The youth group was primarily concerned with two interrelated ideas, that of faithfulness to their group and also the winning of souls.
An emphasis was placed upon: (1) Loyalty to the Lord and (2) Faithfulness to the activities which God has provided for them through a balanced youth program.

In the 80's the youth group was under the direction of Pastor Mills, at first, and then Rande McCammack, when the Word of Life program was started. Word of Life was designed to run in conjunction with the school year and culminated in a summer camping program at Schroon Lake, NY.

In the 90's, our youth group was under the direction of Pastor Mike Stone, Pastor Sam Johnson, and Pastor Keith Richardson, until our present youth pastor, Steve Baker arrived in 1996. Pastor Steve began to build an atmosphere of unity and an environment for spiritual growth. In the summer of 2000, the youth had the great privilege to travel to Mexico for a mission trip. Besides reaching others with the Gospel, our own youth group was impacted on this trip. Two of those attending made decisions to give God priority in their lives so they could be better witnesses for Him, and many other decisions were made.

Today, Pastor Steve continues to see the work of the Lord in the lives of our teens. It is common to see a strong desire for Christian education as they decide on colleges and careers. These youth will someday be the leaders within our church and we must continue to pray for the Lord's hand on their lives.