YOUTH

Our youth ministry exists to cultivate in young people a love for God, for His word, for His church, and for His world in order that they might be conformed into the image of Christ.

We hope that you will find our youth ministry to be a welcoming place that feeds your soul and encourages you to pursue a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. We can’t wait to meet you!

For more information, see our parent handbook or contact Caleb Bagdanov for High School, or Mandy DuPar for 5th and 6th or Junior High.

STAFF

Our team desires to know, love and pour into our students, leaders and parents from all three groups. We really see ourselves as pastors to our whole ministry. So always feel free to contact either of us with any questions you may have or to get together! That said, we also have some specific areas of emphasis detailed below.

Mandy Dupar – ⅚ and Junior High Pastor

Mandy grew up just down the 101 in Ventura. She received her BA in Liberal Studies and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from Azusa Pacific University. She moved to Seattle, WA in 2014 and quickly fell in love with youth ministry when she began working at Bellevue Presbyterian Church. After 3 years in Washington, she moved here to begin working with the youth ministry at Santa Barbara Community Church. When she’s not hanging out with students, you can most likely find her at a coffee shop or enjoying the outdoors with her dog, Lila.

Email Mandy with Questions about ⅚ or Junior High Ministry.

Caleb Bagdanov – High School Pastor

Caleb graduated from Westmont College and more recently completed his MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary in 2019. He met members of SB Community’s youth group while working at Forest Home and got involved with our youth ministry from there. Since 2012 Caleb has gifted our ministry with a deep sense of empathy and has strived to make it a place where teens feel like they belong. A few things Caleb loves are being a youth pastor, his wife Marie, his son Simon, cycling, trail running, fly-fishing, and the Dodgers.

Email Caleb with Questions about High School Ministry.

Katie Shara – High School Associate

Katie received her BA in English from Westmont in 2013. She taught at Trinity Preschool for four years, helping develop their Bible curriculum and concurrently studying child development. Katie came on staff in 2018 after leading a small group for 8 years and has enjoyed helping oversee the high school ministry as well as the college ministry. You can find her practicing yoga, running or surfing when she’s not planning youth group or grabbing coffee with students.

Email Katie with questions about High School Ministry.

DISTINCTIVES

Our youth ministry exists to cultivate in young people a love for God, for His word, for His church, and for His world in order that they might be conformed into the image of Christ.

We pursue our mission by:

Committing

To the consistent teaching of God’s word in youth group and small groups
To the intentional pursuit of long-term discipleship relationships

Connecting

5th-12th graders to one another through small groups with peers that are led by a mature believer
Young people to God’s church, both local and global

Equipping

Our youth for a life of evangelism and servant leadership
Young people to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God

SMALL GROUPS

Starting in 7th grade, we put together groups of 4-8 kids with a leader who will walk with them through high school. In junior high, small groups meet every other week and then move to meeting weekly in high school. Small groups are the cornerstone of our youth ministry, providing opportunity for long-term discipleship with a leader, fellowship with other students and the experience of pursuing a Christian life in community.

“Small group is one of the best things in my life. It is a space I feel safe and heard, an important touchpoint in my week, not to mention it’s a lot of fun. The relationships I’ve made in small group are important to me and my leader has inspired me to be an intentional, devoted, and God-loving person. I look up to him and to the guys in my group. Meeting weekly is something I look forward to and I am very thankful for it.”

–A sophomore boy reflecting on his small group experience.

For more information about small groups, please contact Mandy for Junior High and ">Caleb for High School.

CALENDAR

CAMPS & RETREATS

SB Community Church Youth Ministries go to Forest Home for a weekend in the winter, and a week in the summer. We’ve been going to Forest Home as a church since 1995. We LOVE it there!

HS Fall Retreat 2020

This year’s high school fall retreat will be at Forest Home Ojai!

HS Fall Retreat – October 23-25

Winter Camp – 2021

We go to winter camp at Forest Home’s main camp center in Forest Falls.

⅚ Winter Camp – January 29-31
JH Winter Camp – January 29-31
HS Winter Camp – February 26-28

*It is still unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic with affect both Fall Retreat and Winter Camp. Neither has been cancelled by Forest Home at this time, we will keep our families updated if that changes.

GET CONNECTED

The easiest way to get more information about how to get your son or daughter involved with our youth group is to get on our email lists.

We send regular updates and communication for each of our age groups via Community Connect.

To be added to one of our email groups, first, follow the instructions on this page to create a login for Community Connect, our online community.

Then, email Mandy Dupar for ⅚ and Junior High and/or Caleb Bagdanov for High School requesting to be added to these email groups.

YOUTH GROUP ON SUNDAYS

During this unusual season, our youth group is meeting outdoors and socially-distanced on our church campus on Sunday afternoons. Masks are required and beach chairs are recommended.

5th & 6th: 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Junior High: 3:30pm - 4:30pm
High School: 5:00pm - 6:00pm

5th & 6th

We seek to engage our 5th & 6th students in new and meaningful ways as they transition from Sunday school to youth group. In order to meet our 5th & 6th graders where they’re at, we focus on both concrete teaching as well as beginning to introduce them to more abstract thinking when looking at the Bible. At 11am on Sundays, 5th & 6th graders start off in the sanctuary and then are dismissed to their youth room after worship. Additionally, there is no youth group on the fourth Sunday of every month so that students can worship and learn corporately with the whole church body. For more information regarding our 5th & 6th ministry, please contact Mandy DuPar.

JUNIOR HIGH

Asking questions is a big part of junior high adolescence, and we desire to meet them in the midst of that. On both Sunday mornings and in small groups, we aim to create environments where junior highers can seek Christ and unpack Biblical truths together. Our junior high youth group meets on Sundays at 11am in the Christian Education building for games, worship, and teaching. Additionally, there is no youth group on the fourth Sunday of every month so that students can worship and learn corporately with the whole church body. For more information regarding our junior high ministry, please contact Mandy DuPar.

HIGH SCHOOL

In our high school ministry, we aim to build a community where students belong and can be equipped to follow Jesus after they leave high school. Through our time on Sunday mornings, small groups, and our events we hope to help students integrate their faith into every area of their lives. Our high school youth group meets on Sundays at 11am in the Upper Room. Additionally, there is no youth group on the fourth Sunday of every month so that students can worship and learn corporately with the whole church body. For more information regarding our high school ministry, please contact Caleb Bagdanov.

“…speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ”

Ephesians 4:15