Student Ministries
The Harbor is a safe space where we learn to love God, love others, and love ourselves.
Student Ministries
If we’re honest, the life of a teenager can feel like a storm. With schoolwork, sports, home life, and just learning how to grow up, there is so much pressure our Students can be under. The Harbor exists because of these storms. As people we need a safe place to rest. Here at The Harbor, we believe Jesus is that rest (Matthew 11:28-30) and that Jesus can calm these storms of life (Luke 8:22-25). We want The Harbor to be a place for students to meet Jesus.
It is our hope that students not only find themselves a part of a Safe community of friends, but that they are equipped for the journey ahead by being given a foundational Faith that lasts. This is accomplished by our vision of learning to Love God, Love Others, and Love Ourselves.
What to Expect
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Our Students
You’ll find a welcoming community of students who are excited to meet you! We are a pretty laid-back group that enjoys both fun and engagement. At The Harbor we have students from all over the local area: Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, and even Clayton, ranging from 6th to 12th Grade.
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Our Leaders
Directed by Rachel Ingram and Matt Doherty, The Harbor brings together leaders both from within and outside our Church. This includes College Students, other Adults, Parents, and Student Leaders. Our Leaders are trained to Listen to, Learn from, and Love our Students! All SM Leaders are trained through and agree to our WCPC Child Protection Program.
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Our Program
We divide our Ministry into two categories: Events and Programs. Events may include Service Opportunities, Outdoor Adventures, Scavenger Hunts, Summer/Winter Camps, and can happen on a monthly basis. Our Weekly Programs meet on Wednesdays 7:00-8:30pm for Middle School, and Thursdays 7:00-9:00pm for High School. We also meet all together on Sundays during Middle Hour 10:00-10:50am.
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Our Vision
The Harbor is a Safe Space where we Learn to Love God, Love Others and Love Ourselves. We believe a good Student Ministry starts with creating spaces of openness, honesty, and trust building. From there we have the foundation to learn and have fun together. We believe that our ministry will be successful if our students can walk away having been loved, understood, and have learned more about what it looks like to Love God, Love Others, and Love Ourselves.
Middle Hour
Sundays
10:10-10:50 AM
We gather every Sunday between services to build community and engage with spiritual practices.
Midweek Program
Wednesdays
7-8:30 PM
Come join us for fun games, intentional teaching, and small group discussions with students and leaders who are excited to meet you!
Middle School
We love our Middle School students, and hope that we have the chance to meet yours as well! At The Harbor we lay the foundations for taking life, faith, and friendship seriously. Through fun games, bonding time, and intentional teaching, we want our students to ask good questions, learn to think critically, and build deep bonds between each other.
We want to create a fun and welcoming space that anyone would feel comfortable joining. We aren’t afraid to approach challenging questions: learning about God, the Bible, and confronting our own thoughts, doubts, and questions. We also seek to provide opportunities for service within our own church and the local community.

Open Gym Basketball

Foster the City Interest Meeting

Habitat For Humanity Unity Build

Deuteronomy with Tommy

Backyard BBQ Neighborhood Party

MOPS Summer Park Playdates

High School Summer Kickoff Beach Trip

Summer Women's Bible Study

Middle School Summer Kickoff Pool Party

Student Ministry Disc Golf Day

Women's Book Club

CARE-a-Van Packing Day

Project Peace Day of Service - Featuring the CARE-a-Van

Care Cottage Restocking Day

Jonah with Bart

High School Summer Camp - Ponderosa Lodge Week 2

Middle School Summer Camp - Ponderosa Lodge Week 3

High School Mystery Trip 2023

MOPS
MIddle Hour
Sundays
10:10-10:50 AM
We gather every Sunday between services to build community and engage with spiritual practices.
Midweek Program
Thursdays
7-9 PM
Come join us for fun games, intentional teaching, and small group discussions with students and leaders who are excited to meet you!
High School
Our High School Ministry hopes to build lifelong disciples, authentic friendships, and set our students up for the challenges that go along with being in High School. This includes questions about personal identity, culture, doubts, and calling. It is our goal that The Harbor is a Safe Space where we can pursue these questions, and have a ton of fun along the way.
We want to create a fun and welcoming space that anyone would feel comfortable joining. We aren’t afraid to approach challenging questions: learning about God, the Bible, and confronting our own thoughts, doubts, and questions. We also seek to provide opportunities for service within our own church and the local community.

Open Gym Basketball

Foster the City Interest Meeting

Habitat For Humanity Unity Build

Deuteronomy with Tommy

Backyard BBQ Neighborhood Party

MOPS Summer Park Playdates

High School Summer Kickoff Beach Trip

Summer Women's Bible Study

Middle School Summer Kickoff Pool Party

Student Ministry Disc Golf Day

Women's Book Club

CARE-a-Van Packing Day

Project Peace Day of Service - Featuring the CARE-a-Van

Care Cottage Restocking Day

Jonah with Bart

High School Summer Camp - Ponderosa Lodge Week 2

Middle School Summer Camp - Ponderosa Lodge Week 3

High School Mystery Trip 2023

MOPS
FAQ
Actually, no! Our group has no requirements for our students to be believing Christians. We want our students to feel comfortable expressing what they really think. While we will be always talking about Jesus, and are Christians ourselves, we don’t force any of our students to agree with us. We believe honesty is the best way for Students to approach their burgeoning faith and engage with their growing life questions.
We have three main ways of keeping in contact with parents and students! We have our Parent Newsletter and Instagram, which you can find below. The last way is to get added to our “Remind” text message threads, which you can sign up for by emailing Matt or Rachel.
Absolutely and always! We welcome all students to bring a friend to any of our events and programs. We are happy to meet everyone, and excited to welcome students from all walks of life.
Our name “The Harbor” was born in collaboration with our students! We went through a multi-month process of brainstorming things we felt defined the group and what we wanted to become. Through this we realized that our group was to be a safe place of refuge from the storms of life, and a place where we get equipped for the journey ahead. WCPC Student Ministries then became “The Harbor” starting Summer of 2019. We hope to welcome you and your students into our ministry!
Visit Us
Ready for a visit?
Have Another Question?
Choosing a student group can feel overwhelming. If you have any questions about how to get connected or if you would like us to set up introductions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Matt Doherty
Director of Student Ministries
“I love what I get to do! It’s amazing what we can learn when we take the time to listen and get to know our students. Where else could you go from talking about Minecraft to discussing Justice in the Bible?”

Rachel Ingram
Assistant Director of Student Ministries
“I am so lucky to be a part of The Harbor. My favorite part is engaging with students on how we live out our mission statement of loving God, loving others and ourselves. Everyday is different in student ministry—and I absolutely love it!”