First some news:
Our interns have arrived! We have some familiar faces back with us; Beth Hewitt who interned for us in 2007 and Chase Clayton who served as a member of our Servantship Team for 4 years in high school and as a school-to-volunteer intern in 2006-2007. I look forward to having them working with us this summer. Make sure you take the chance to get to know them both.
May 30 - Service Task Force
We will be meeting at the church building at 10 am on a Saturday to serve Hilltoppers in the church who need yard work done. We are looking for a big turnout from the teens, and we can use as much adult help as we can get. Lunch will be provided.
June 6 - Nicaragua Fundraising Day
All day Saturday the Nicaragua Mission Team will be raising money to help pay for their trip. They have asked the teens to help out with a car wash in the parking lot. Please talk to Heather King or David Henniger for more details.
June 12 - Feed the Public Servants
An all-nighter where we cook and serve meals to police officers, firefighters, EMTs, ER doctors and nurses. This is our way of saying "thank you" to the people who stay up all night to keep us safe. Teens are encouraged to stay the whole night, but if they can't, they should come and help out for a little while. Talk to Risean Green for more information on this event.
June 15 - Thriftstore Formal Extravanganza
Chase and Beth are putting this together as a way to welcome our rising 7th graders into the youth group. If you have a child who is currently in 7th or 8th grade, they will be getting you all the details very soon.
June 17 - Workcamp Registration is Due
Workcamp is August 2-7 in Greenville, SC. All the information should be available by next Wednesday Night (the 27th) in the hall outside the Youth Room.
June 18 - 22 - Junior Impact
We will leave at 10 am on Thursday morning. On Thursday night we will stay at my parents' house in NC so that we can be to Nashville in time for the start of Impact on Friday afternoon. If you need a packing list, email me and I will send you one.
June 22 - 27 - Senior Impact
The bus will roll out at 7:00 am on Monday Morning. If you need a packing list, email me and I will send you one.
June 29 - M&M Monday
For 6-8 grades
June 30 - Beach Day
For 9-12 grades
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Spring Retreat Reminder
We leave at 5:45 pm tomorrow from the church parking lot. Please remember to have your kids eat before they come, as there won't be a dinner stop on the way up. They will need money for lunch on the way home on Sunday.
Another important reminder - video games, ipods, or any other personal electronic devices are not allowed on this retreat. They will be taken up if they are spotted on the bus or at the camp. Cell phones are allowed, but they must remain in the cabins while we are camp. If you have any PG or G movies, they can bring them to watch together on the bus ride up.
Another important reminder - video games, ipods, or any other personal electronic devices are not allowed on this retreat. They will be taken up if they are spotted on the bus or at the camp. Cell phones are allowed, but they must remain in the cabins while we are camp. If you have any PG or G movies, they can bring them to watch together on the bus ride up.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Only Thing We Have to Fear....
I once taught a lesson on a Wednesday night about fears and doubts. I asked all the kids to write on little slips of paper things that made them afraid. The responses ranged from, "I fear that I'll fail my math class" to "I'm scared of dying and going to hell" to "I'm scared I'll end up in prison like my uncle." I expected some pretty heavy responses, but it turned out to be even a more sobering illustration that I had planned.
There is much in this world to be afraid of - just take some of the news making items this week:
The Taliban is gaining a footing in Pakistan, a nation with nuclear capabilities.
The swine flu is spreading all across the globe. Even a case in Charleston.
Hundreds of thousands more people registered for unemployment benefits because they had lost their jobs.
And this wasn't a particularly crazy week as far as news headlines go. Add that to all the worries of every day life: Bills, work, bills, kids, did I mention bills? You can see how we get so stressed out. Our kids don't get a pass on the worries of life either. Sometimes we're tempted to think that since they don't "grown up" problems like mortgages, then they're living the good-life and should just enjoy the ride of carefree youth. They have to worry about grades, college, which friends are actually friends, whether or not a boy/girl will ever love them for who they are, and they even have to worry about the question, "Who am I, really?"
I think as a youth ministry we need to be teaching kids how to have peace in the face of fear and uncertainty. I think I John 4:18 is the perfect place to start the conversation with our kids. It says: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out all fear, because fear has to do with punishment. It starts with the dedication to tell and show kids that they are loved. Not just by their parents (although that's hugely important) or by me (though I hope they know they are) or by their cell group leaders - but by God. That perspective makes all the difference in the world.
Jesus puts it this way in Luke 12:4-6: 4"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. (Luke 12:4-6)
If you stop after verse five, as people are known to do, this could actually seem to make things even more scary. It makes it sound like Jesus is saying - "You think these people are bad? Just wait until God gets a hold of you. He can kill your body and soul." But verse 6 is important. God doesn't let birds suffer, because he cares so much about them. You, and our kids, are more important to God than birds. He will take care of us. Even though this world can hurt and even kill our bodies - it cannot touch our eternal soul.
As Christians, we are not given a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline (I Timothy 1:7) and if God is for us, then who can be against us (Romans 8:31)? As such, we should not live in fear about the things of this world. If the world seems to be getting worse around us (which its always been pretty bad), we need to know that no matter how bad it gets, we have the peace of knowing that our souls can be entrusted to God.
There is much in this world to be afraid of - just take some of the news making items this week:
The Taliban is gaining a footing in Pakistan, a nation with nuclear capabilities.
The swine flu is spreading all across the globe. Even a case in Charleston.
Hundreds of thousands more people registered for unemployment benefits because they had lost their jobs.
And this wasn't a particularly crazy week as far as news headlines go. Add that to all the worries of every day life: Bills, work, bills, kids, did I mention bills? You can see how we get so stressed out. Our kids don't get a pass on the worries of life either. Sometimes we're tempted to think that since they don't "grown up" problems like mortgages, then they're living the good-life and should just enjoy the ride of carefree youth. They have to worry about grades, college, which friends are actually friends, whether or not a boy/girl will ever love them for who they are, and they even have to worry about the question, "Who am I, really?"
I think as a youth ministry we need to be teaching kids how to have peace in the face of fear and uncertainty. I think I John 4:18 is the perfect place to start the conversation with our kids. It says: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out all fear, because fear has to do with punishment. It starts with the dedication to tell and show kids that they are loved. Not just by their parents (although that's hugely important) or by me (though I hope they know they are) or by their cell group leaders - but by God. That perspective makes all the difference in the world.
Jesus puts it this way in Luke 12:4-6: 4"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. (Luke 12:4-6)
If you stop after verse five, as people are known to do, this could actually seem to make things even more scary. It makes it sound like Jesus is saying - "You think these people are bad? Just wait until God gets a hold of you. He can kill your body and soul." But verse 6 is important. God doesn't let birds suffer, because he cares so much about them. You, and our kids, are more important to God than birds. He will take care of us. Even though this world can hurt and even kill our bodies - it cannot touch our eternal soul.
As Christians, we are not given a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline (I Timothy 1:7) and if God is for us, then who can be against us (Romans 8:31)? As such, we should not live in fear about the things of this world. If the world seems to be getting worse around us (which its always been pretty bad), we need to know that no matter how bad it gets, we have the peace of knowing that our souls can be entrusted to God.
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