Impact City Church Youth
Your people are here.
Ask the questions you're not supposed to ask. Build something that still holds up on Monday morning.
6th–12th grade · Sundays 10:01 AM · Detroit
What actually happens at 10:01
You'll hear the gym before you see it. By 9:45 there are basketballs, volleyballs and footballs flying — check in at the kiosk, grab your name tag (we want to know your name; "aye you" is a little rude), and get in a game.
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The gym
Doors at 9:45 — and by 10:01, when church starts upstairs, you're already mid-game. Basketball, volleyball, football, soccer. And yes, that's food you smell. We feed you. If it worked for Jesus…
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The room
10:30 we move to our space. Quick icebreaker — name, age, school — then a 30–40 minute lesson that's actually about your life. Practical, interactive, no thee and thou here. Phones go up: TikTok can't sit in your face while you're locking in.
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Pray out
That's the only way we leave the room. Then it's back to the gym or hang till your ride comes — and after every lesson, if you want to go deeper, a leader or a small group is right there.
So: gym from 9:45, the room at 10:30. If you show up at 10:01 like the sign says, you're walking into the middle of a game — perfect. No dress code, ever.
In the room right now
Fruits of the Spirit
Nine weeks in Galatians 5 — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. One fruit at a time, and every one of them aimed at your actual week.
This part of the building is yours
Not a borrowed classroom. Actual space, set up for actual teenagers.
Your own room
Where the lesson lands and the real conversations happen. It's not the sanctuary and it's not a Sunday school room.
The gym
Games every week. Basketball, whatever's running that Sunday.
The gaming room
Yes, really. Most churches don't have one. We do.
No fake answers.
No off-limit questions.
These are things students actually bring up here. Nobody gets a lecture for asking, and nobody gets a Sunday-school answer. And after every lesson there's a standing offer: go deeper — one-on-one with a leader, or in a small group.
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Why does God feel far away?
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How do I stop caring what everybody thinks?
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What do I do when my family is falling apart?
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Can I love God and still have doubts?
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How do I know who my real friends are?
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What happens when I mess up again?
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How do I forgive somebody who hurt me?
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Does God actually have a purpose for me?
Bring the one that isn't on this list. That's the one we want.
The year ahead
Nobody joins a youth group for one Sunday. Here's what's coming — and what we're not telling you yet.
- 01You are here
Sundays
Every week — gym 9:45, the room 10:30
Big group, small group, game time. The thing everything else is built on.
- 02
IGNITE XP goes live
Coming
The new name, the new space, the whole thing announced properly.
- 03
NERF WARS
Sunday, August 23
The gym becomes a battlefield. Bunkers, barriers, and absolutely no mercy.
- 04
Hope 4 the Holidays
Late September
The church's biggest outreach of the year — and students aren't spectators for it.
- 05
Hero Fest: After Dark
October 31
Families get the day. You get the night — the whole thing flips over once the little kids go home.
- 06
The split
Coming
Two rooms instead of one: SPARK and BLAZE — named by the students themselves.
- 07
???
Not announced
Locked means we haven't announced it, not that it doesn't exist. We'd rather leave it dark than promise you something we haven't planned.
Next Drop
NERF WARS
Sunday, August 23
The gym becomes a battlefield. Bunkers, barriers, and absolutely no mercy.
That's all we're sayingTwo rooms, one movement
A 6th grader and a senior are not the same person, and they shouldn't be in the same conversation. So they won't be.
6th–8th grade
01
SPARK
Middle school. Where it starts — figuring out who you are, with people going through exactly the same thing.
9th–12th grade
02
BLAZE
High school. Harder questions, real leadership, and conversations that don't get talked down to.
Right now everybody's together on Sundays. The split is coming — and SPARK and BLAZE were named by the students themselves.
Who you'll actually meet
Daniel Winston
Youth Pastor
More than 25 years ministering to and mentoring young people. Whatever your student walks in carrying, he has seen it before — and stayed anyway.
Da'Mya McCarthur
Youth Ministry Group Leader
Mesha Jenkins
Youth Ministry Group Leader
Da'Mya and Mesha lead alongside Daniel, with a team of adults who show up every week. More from them, in their own words, soon.
IGNITE XP
For parents and guardians
The branding is for your student. This part is for you — plainly, without the slang.
- When
- Sundays. The gym opens 9:45 AM with games and food — the 10:01 service hour starts there — and the lesson space begins at 10:30
- Who
- 6th through 12th grade
- Where
- Their own space on campus, plus the gym and gaming room
- Check-in
- The same kiosk as children's ministry, inside the iKIDZ i-Land entrance — the arched door with the palm trees over it, on the school side. Name tags are a security measure, not a formality
- Pick-up
- Usually from the same iKIDZ i-Land area; when lessons run long, from the youth space
- What happens
- Open gym, an interactive 30–40 minute lesson taught in multi-week themes, prayer, and hang time — with a deeper one-on-one or small-group conversation offered after every lesson
- Who leads it
- Daniel Winston, Youth Pastor, with Youth Ministry Group Leaders Da'Mya McCarthur and Mesha Jenkins
The room's three non-negotiables — plus one house rule
- A mature space
- Young people will say and do young-people things. When it becomes a distraction, it gets addressed.
- A respectful space
- Nobody gets talked over, and no conversation or action should make a young person feel less-than. All disrespect gets addressed.
- A safe space
- Physically and emotionally. Any physical or bullying situation is automatic removal. Zero tolerance.
- Phones up during the lesson
- Not a punishment — focus. It's hard to lock into a lesson with TikTok sitting in your face.
Being finalized before we announce
- Adult leader screening and supervision
- Emergency procedures
- Photography and media policy
Our full youth safety, check-in and media policies are being finalized and will be published here before we announce IGNITE publicly. In the meantime, ask us anything — we'd rather answer you directly than post something we haven't confirmed.
There's room for your story here.
You don't have to have it together, believe the right things yet, or know a single person — you'll never sit by yourself, and you can always bring a friend. There's a purpose for you now, not someday. Show up Sunday and see.
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