May Events

If your child has missed the deadline for Impact and wants to go, I may still be able to get them in. Sign them up for our waiting list and turn in a deposit ($50) and application into the pink box. Checks will not be deposited until I have secured a spot for them. Tickets purchased after April 29th cost an extra $25 (from Lipscomb, not me).

May 2 - Film Making Festival
We will get together and make videos to be shown at the Spring Retreat. Invite your friends to come help and to join us at the Spring Retreat. Time will be announced soon.

May 3 - Last Day to Sign Up for the Spring Retreat
Information sheets are available by the pink box outside the youth room. A medical release form and payment ($35) is due to be signed up.

May 15-17 - The Spring Retreat at PBC

May 17 - Last Day to Sign Up for Murphy Mission Trip.
Look for information packets coming soon beside the pink box.

May 23 - 3 on 3 Basketball Fundraiser for Murphy Mission Trip
We will be hosting a 3 on 3 tournament to raise money to offset costs for our summer mission trip to Murphy, NC. Teams must contain one member of our Youth Ministry and one visitor who is not currently a part of our ministry. Each team may have one adult, but the adult must be a member of the Summerville Church of Christ. The cost is $5 per person with prizes for the winners (and not to mention bragging rights). We also will be selling drinks in the youth room and players waiting for their next game will be able to play video games. We need people to play (so we make a little money) and to help out with putting the brackets together and working in the youth room. See Seth Summers for more details.

May 30 - Service Task Force
We will be performing "hits" on yards for the Hilltoppers. We'll be cutting grass, raking leaves, cleaning gutters, and pretty much anything else we can do. The more people we have help out, the more people we'll be able to serve. It would be amazing to have parents help out as well. (cough, cough, hint, hint)

April's Discussion

Tell us about your favorite experience you had in church or in a church event when you were in middle or high school.

Help Talking About That Thing You Don't Want to Talk About...

The Providence Road Church of Christ in Charlotte, NC is hosting an "Ultimate Escape" Seminar on Sunday, May 3rd. There will be separate presentations for teens and parents. Unfortunately, the teen portion of the afternoon is too late in the day for it to really be a possibility for us to go as a group. But... it may be a great opportunity for you parents. The parents' session is from 2-3:30.

Steve Holladay is the Director of Ministry for Ultimate Escape, which is an organization that helps teens and young adults develop healthy vision of sexuality and overcome addictive sexual behaviors. Later in the evening there will be a dinner provided at 6, and Steve will speak to the teens from 7-8. Many of the youth ministries that participitate in Workcamp and other events with will be attending. If your teens have been to those events, this would be a chance for them not only to hear an invaluable, relevent presentation on a difficult subject, but also an opportunity to see some of their friends.

If at all possible, I would recommend taking advantage of this opportunity for you and your family. Steve will address many of the topics that your kids are curious about or are currently receiving very bad information about from the culture. He also will give you, as parents, tools to help your children develop a healthy and Godly viewpoint on sexuality.

Impact Reminder

Just a reminder that Sunday is the deadline to be signed up for Impact.

Lipscomb's Impact application and a $50 deposit is due to be registered.

I Thessalonians 5:12-15

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

Such great words. Ever since these these words of Paul have been pointed out to me, they have served as somewhat of a personal manifesto of how I want to approach ministry. I feel that churches need to take great care to appreciate the people who work hard to keep the wheels spinning. Those that are leading out front, and those working behind the scenes. There are too many to list here that work extremely hard to make our youth ministry as vibrant and healthy as it is. We have cooks who prepare food whenever we need it (and sometimes when we don't really need it, but it's always nice to have:), there are cell group leaders who have and are currently committing years of their life to serving teens on a weekly basis, there are teachers who will step in and teach a class of half asleep junior high students on Sunday morning - or a group of teens bouncing off the walls on a Sunday or Wednesday nights, we have chaperons who give up vacation time from their jobs to help drive us to out of town trips - just to name a few.

Then of course, there's you, the parents - who are trying every single day to instill Godly values into your teens and raise them to walk in the Lord. You get your child to cell group, you drag them out of bed on Sundays, you remind them of upcoming events, and you pay your hard earned money to cover registration fees for things like Impact and Winterfest. Don't think I don't notice.

Then we have the teens. Without the students putting forth the effort to grow in Christ, I'm afraid that much of the effort mentioned above would be going to waste. Fortunately for us, it seems as if we have been blessed with kids who tend to "get it". We have teens who plan events, who put it upon themselves to meet the new kids and visitors to the group, who will teach class, lead worship, clean, and pretty much do whatever needs to be done.

To all those people, we need to always be quick to show our appreciation and gratitude. So, if you are one of those people (you know who you are) - THANK YOU! If your teen is one of those teens, make sure you are acknowledging and encouraging them in their work for the church. According to Paul, we need to hold the hard workers among us in high esteem and give them our love and gratitude.

Then there are the others. Let's face it, not everybody in a church or a ministry fits that first category. Reading the book of Acts and the Epistles, it is pretty clear that church is an all-inclusive endeavor. Everybody should be considered equal, and everybody should be involved in the work that goes on. Paul seems to have three theories as to why some people don't roll up their sleeves and get dirty when it comes to the work of the church:

1 - They just don't want to. (the idle)
2 - They are capable, but too scared they'll fail. (the timid)
3 - God love 'em, they try, but they just aren't very capable. (the weak)


I love Paul's advice for dealing with each group.

To the lazy - "Get up and do something!" God has given us all talents and gifts, and we need to find what they are and get them working for the Kingdom of Heaven.

To the timid - "You can do it!" A little encouragement goes a long way. Some people need to know that their gifts and talents are needed and useful before they'll really jump in. I know that I have several key moments in my life where someone whose opinion I respect told me that I was going to be good at this ministry thing. I treasure those moments and am certain I would not be in ministry today without them.

To the weak - "Let me help." As Christians, I think its important that the strong don't run out and leave the weak behind. There is joy in serving - in fact, Jesus would say more than joy. Jesus would say that life itself is found in becoming a servant to others. We can't get too focused on accomplishing an end that we rush through the means. If someone isn't capable of doing a task that they set out to do, our response shouldn't be to snort and snatch that job away and then feel superior. Our response should be to help that person finish the work that Christ has given them to fulfill.

The final thing I want to highlight: be patient with everyone. Sometimes its hard to tell who fits in which category. Sometimes I wonder even for myself if I don't accomplish something just because I'm too lazy to do it, or because I just don't have the talent. It's way harder to tell in somebody else. Really, no matter which category someone falls into (or which category you think) they fall into, we have to remember to be patient with them no matter what - to love them and treat them with kindness.

So here's my advice for you on how to help us accomplish this:

Take stock in what your child is doing to contribute to the youth ministry.

If they are working hard to love and serve and learn: applaud them. Let them know that you respect what they are trying to do. Let them hear you speak well of them to your friends and family.

If they aren't contributing anything to the youth ministry, and you suspect its just because they're lazy: warn them (remember to be patient and kind!). Let them know why its so important that they get involved with their church family. They've been given gifts and they need to know to use them. You may also need to help your child prioritize if all their energy is going to something less fruitful.

If they seem like they want to contribute, but seem to be timid about it: encourage them. Remind them that everyone starts somewhere. Help them find what they are good at. Remember that teens are in a transition phase, so sometimes things that they used to not be able to do, they can now. For example, if a kid tried to lead a song once, and it didn't go so well because their voice cracked, encourage them to try again because maybe that phase of puberty is past. Whenever your child takes a stab at some kind of service or leadership, minimize the negative and accentuate the positive. Remind your child that they won't be perfect, but God will be glorified even through imperfection.

If they seem to want to contribute, but just can't seem to accomplish what they set out to do: help them. I know you're busy as a parent, but there's little that's more rewarding in life that working alongside your child in the kingdom of God. Remind them to fulfill commitments they make. Part of helping the weak get stronger is gradually letting them do more and more until they can stand on their own.

It is also worth mentioning that we all have our weaknesses. Those weaknesses may cause us to stumble or even fail from time to time. Remind your children that their worth to Christ and to the church is not based on their performance or their results. God uses the weak to his glory. In fact, God told Paul (a guy that I think we would all put in the category of "hard worker"), "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."