Church Stories

Squire Prince officially accepted the full time position of Director of Youth Ministry. We are delighted that he will be with us long term. The youth, church staff, and youth ministry leadership teams have all enjoyed getting to know Squire and appreciate his strong leadership, genuine faithfulness, and heart for prayer.

When I sat down to talk with Squire for this newsletter, I asked him what his favorite youth group game was: Catacombs. Easily the most beloved youth group game at Kenilworth Union (a brilliant adults-vs-youth combination of hide and seek and tag). Squire said it is “top of the chart” because it is “pure fun” and “I get to be a kid again.”

Favorite youth group snack/food? Without hesitation: pizza. He said, “The apostle Paul says ‘Be content in all things’ and I could be content eating pizza all day every day.”

Squire grew up in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and preached his first sermon at age 11 signaling a lifelong sense of call to ministry. He graduated from Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep in 2014 and Illinois College (studying music and theater) in 2018. He thought he might go to New York City for acting after graduation, but God had other plans. After college, he was hired as the Director of Student Ministries at a United Methodist church in Jacksonville Illinois, where he was mentored by Pastor Joseph.

When asked what grounds his call to youth ministry, he told me that there is a song called “He Will Hold Me Fast” with the line “When I feel my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast.” Squire said he sees “a hunger for the love of God in youth, and I hope to instill an openness to the unmerited abundant and almost overwhelming love of Christ. Youth are looking for that love, and Christ has been pouring love into them all along.”

Squire looks forward to connecting with the congregation—especially youth and their parents—this summer. He will attend both the IMPACT Mission Trip and the Confirmation Wilderness Trip, and will be leading bible studies, JYG, and IMPACT this fall. Watch for updates as he forges new programming like an Acting Guild: he brings unique gifts to this ministry and it is exciting to watch it all unfold.

Please introduce yourself to Squire when you see him at church, and pray for a gentle, good, and holy start to full time ministry here among us. You can email him at Squire Prince.

P.S. We are working with the ministry search firm Ministry Architects as we seek to find a new staff person in the wake of Silvi’s retirement effective August 1. Pray for that search process as well.