Introducing our Head Youth Group Leader

Stephen Thomson has been attending Patuxent Presbyterian Church for nineteen years and counting. He graduated from college in May of 2019, and is back working locally for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball team. While in high school, Stephen was an active member of Youth Group at the church. He has been drawn back to Youth Ministry due to the profound experience he had as a student. Both regular Youth Group meetings and retreats had a deep and positive impact on his spiritual development. Now as an adult, Stephen feels called to be the Youth Group Leader for the next generation of youth at Pax Pres, helping the current youth cultivate their spiritual lives the way JD Garris and Lauren Cross did for him.

Life Verse: 

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.  

~ 1 Timothy 4:12, NIV

Introducing our Interim Director of Youth Ministry

Tom Schumacher came to the Southern Maryland area for school in the late 90s and returned with his family in 2003, joining Pax Pres in early 2004. Leaving the service in 2010 he has remained in the area working for the Navy at NAS Pax River. A native Minnesotan, he has adapted well to being in a “kind of southern” area with his wife Patsy (a native New Yorker) and their son, Peter, who was born in California.

He has to laugh a little at finding himself involved in Youth Ministry. God touched him during some challenging times as a freshman in college and he came to have a personal relationship with Jesus at that time. Involved in various campus ministries such as Navigators and The Great Commission Church he saw how God transformed lives when people met with Him regularly. Those experiences led to varied involvement with churches and small groups ever since. After marrying Patsy in ’95 they have regularly hosted small groups & Bible Studies and have been active in music and teaching ministries. A recent conversation with Patsy should have been a harbinger, as they were talking about future plans and Tom quipped, “I’d like to teach, but definitely not Middle School”. God must have laughed because Pastor Mike soon after asked Tom to help with 6th and 7th grade Sunday School; 6 years and a couple of Great Escape Retreats later, Tom is having a great time doing stuff with the youth, especially the last two years helping with Youth Group. He is excited for the foundation that is being formed with the Youth Ministry team. 

Current hobbies are spending time with Patsy and Peter, and this year their exchange student Aliya; learning guitar and general sound production, and seeing God touch our adults-in-training through the Youth Ministry. 

His life verse has been Prov 3:5-6 since coming to the Lord, and still is his foundation today:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart 

And do not lean on your own understanding.  

In all your ways acknowledge Him, 

And He will make your paths straight.”

As a life mission he would quote the Navigator’s moto as he learned it: “To know Christ and to make Him known.” With the current Youth Leader, Kate, moving on to her family’s next military assignment, Tom is excited to see what God in mind for our youth ministry. 

The Tune of Kate's Ministry

SPREAD LOVE ~ The Tune of Kate’s Ministry 

With the breath of Fall, comes the breath of change. Kate Dickens, our Youth Ministry Director, is gearing up for some pretty significant changes in the upcoming months—which includes her ordination, an overseas move to Japan, and the hope of continuing her ministry abroad. Over the past three years, she has dedicated much time, talent, enthusiasm, and open-hearted love to our youth and their families. When reflecting on her time at Pax Pres, she spoke of how much she has loved the people here and how much she values the support of her colleagues.

The tune of Kate’s ministry is to SPREAD LOVE, citing 2 Peter 4:8 - “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Her unwavering focus has been to create a loving community in a negative world—for the youth of Pax Pres to feel known, to feel valued, and to know how much they are loved. “I never want to close the door on anyone—in order that the youth will are able to build trust, to be honest in hard situations, to think about things more broadly, and to affirm the beliefs of one another,” stated Kate. “This is so important in building relationships, there is never a need to tear someone else down.”

When asked where this comes from, Kate shared about what is was like being raised by Jewish parents. She studied Religion at Emory University, where the Holy Spirit led her to Christian belief and a relationship with Jesus. Her family continues to be her biggest support system.

Kate joined our staff after graduating with her Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary. During her time here, she successfully passed all of her ordination exams, gave birth to her third child, and lived into the call God placed in her heart to serve as our Youth Director. And through all of the joys, sorrows, and challenges, she has remained grateful. “I am thankful to have learned some things about myself—how to name a problem before it becomes a problem and how to find gratitude—always—amidst the grumbling.

This attitude of gratitude will serve her well as she, Matt, and the kids head to Iwakuni, Japan in 2020. Her hopes are to continue her ministry work assisting the chaplain on base and leaning into the call God has placed in her heart to help develop and plant a military young life club beyond in Iwakuni. She remains excited and open to how God is using her to SPREAD LOVE to His people.

Let’s keep The Dickens family in prayer!