Compiled by Gavin Wark and John Quanz
JR Pitch was established in 1993, by Youth Director Gavin Wark, partly to take pressure off of the swelling attendance of Pitch & Praise but also to provide a more tailored ministry to Junior High students in grades 6-8.
It took place annually near the end of September at Stayner Bible Conference Grounds. In the first year, 250 students from 17 churches across the province attended. The numbers increased rapidly each year drawing over 1100 students from 65 churches by 2009.
Many churches both within and beyond the EMCC Denomination found JR Pitch to be a great fall kick-off to their Junior High Ministry. It accelerated the development of relationships between students and leaders which paved the way for more effective ministry over the remainder of the year.
While JR Pitch shared some similarities with Pitch & Praise, from the beginning the programming was geared to the needs and interests of Junior High students.
Point leaders for JR Pitch over the years included:
Gavin Wark 1993-2002
Brian Courtney 2003-2007
Jeremy Shuart 2008-2012
Mark Anderson 2013-2015
Jill Zettler 2016-2018
Lori Abrams – “And the branch off of Pitch & Praise into JR Pitch, that’s wonderful. We’re not only affecting the 1,100, 1,200, 1,300 kids here now, but in September, another 500 kids, and it’s growing every year. I think it’s great too, the relationships between people, between the kids, the Christian friends that our children gather as they come to a place like Pitch & Praise, and the strengthening that that brings about because of the contact and the friendships.”
JR Pitch ended in 2018 when neither Mark nor Jill felt they could continue under the denominational leadership at the time. A new event for Junior High students (grades 6-8) called Reboot started in September 2023. It is a Retreat for JR High Students, a high energy kickoff to the school year featuring dynamic teaching, music, games, sport tournaments, activities and events, all geared toward JR High students!
REBOOT is designed to support students and youth groups by acting as a high-energy kick-off to churches’ JR High ministry year, inspiring and creating opportunities for faith and character-building in JR High students, creating opportunities for relationship building within each group encouraging and supporting youth pastors and leaders in their ministry.
— JR Pitch —