ServeSunday Signup and Orientation

ServeSunday Signup

ServeSunday Signup

Serve Sunday is back!

Everyone who has been serving, wants to, or will be serving needs to come by the youth room during one of the two services on Sunday, October 7th!  We’ll be having signups and a brief orientation.  It’s open house style, so stop in whenever you can.  As soon as you’ve signup you can leave!

Kicking things off

October 14th is the first official day of Serve Sunday returning.  All youth who are serving will meet in the youth room at 8:30am for a short meeting, and then be released to Serve by 9:00am.  They’ll be meeting with their ministry leaders to learn more about their positions.

Serve Sunday is still relatively new, so if you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Night of Silence – 4/14

silence

Something Different

This is our second Night of Silence.  I received so much positive feedback from our first night, that I’ve been eagerly anticipating our next!  Same format as last time, a night of complete silence, allowing our youth to encounter and engage God in a different way.  We’ll have stations spread around a few different rooms, each allowing a different way of worshiping and experiencing God, His Word, and His Community.

We are meeting at our normal time, 6:30-8:00pm!

What Does a Night of Silence Look Like?

Checkout our post on our first Night of Silence.  One big different between this Night of Silence and the last one, is that we are using our weekly chapter from The Story as the foundation for building what each station looks like.  I want to continue to challenge our youth to be engaging scripture for themselves, and this will provide them with different opportunities to do just that.

We start the night together, overviewing the stations and explaining the purpose of each one, as well as the purpose for the whole night.  Each station is designed to be highly repeatable, meaning that these aren’t one-time experiences that they will never be able to have again, but rather a fresh encounter with a tool for knowing God more.

Sticky Faith – Date Change

Sticky Faith - Thrive Youth Ministry

Sticky Faith - Thrive Youth Ministry

Update – SIGNUP @ The Welcome Center.

We need to have an idea of how many people are interested in participating in this class, so signup ASAP at the Welcome Center!

What?

Parent’s, your voice, your life, your relationship with Jesus, is the LOUDEST curriculum your children will hear.  Research is showing this to be true now more than ever.  Sticky Faith is a 5 week class for parents (and grandparents) that will help us think critically about how we are raising our children to be life-long follower’s of Christ.

This is a DVD based curriculum that will offer practical steps towards creating a lasting faith within our families, and allow us as a church to work together.  The “dropout” rate is as high as 85% for youth graduating high school, and none of us want to live out the reality of that statistic.

Let’s join together, and reinvision what it takes to foster an authentic and lasting relationship.

Checkout this video for more information:

 

When and Where?

Right now, we’re planning on launching this 5 week series on Sunday, April 15th!.  It will be offered during the first service at 9:00am.  It is open to all parents within our church, wether you have toddlers, or high school aged youth.

 

Sticky Faith

Sticky Faith

Sticky Faith

What?

Parent’s, your voice, your life, your relationship with Jesus, is the LOUDEST curriculum your children will hear.  Research is showing this to be true now more than ever.  Sticky Faith is a 5 week parent class that will help us think critically about how we are raising our children to be follower’s of Christ.

This is a DVD based curriculum that will offer practical steps towards creating a lasting faith within our families, and allow us as a church to work together.  The “dropout” rate is as high as 85% for youth graduating high school, and none of us want to live out the reality of that statistic.

Let’s join together, and reinvision what it takes to foster an authentic and lasting relationship.

Checkout this video for more information:

 

When and Where?

Right now, we’re planning on launching this 5 week series on Sunday, February 5th.  It will be offered during the first service at 9:00am in the youth room.  It is open to all parents within our church, wether you have toddlers, or high school aged youth.

I’ll be in Cambodia for our second session, but Nan Brooks will be leading our conversation for that day.  There might be a slight chance that we postpone starting the class until I return, so make sure to subscribe to our email updates.

Extend an Invitation – Lesson FollowUp

Extend an Invitation

Thriving Parents!

Extend an InvitationWe’re continuing our group series on friendships, and this week we used the biblical example of Matthew to encourage and inspire our teenagers. Matthew was one of the first disciples chosen by Jesus, and after responding to Jesus’ call, he turned around and invited a whole bunch of friends to his house for a banquet with Jesus.

We told our students that one of the best ideas to help friends learn more about Jesus is to invite them to an appropriate setting within our youth ministry where they will feel welcome and accepted. Everyone loves being invited to fun, exciting places. Matthew understood this idea and created an opportunity to introduce his friends to Jesus.

This week, I encourage you to find time to talk with your child about the principle of inviting friends to places they feel welcome:

• Do you have specific ideas for making your youth group a friendlier place for your non-believing friends?
• Would our home be a place where your friends could hang out and interact with some friends who follow Jesus?
• How can I help support your efforts to have a positive influence on your friends?

Have a blessed week! Thanks for your prayers and your support!

The Jugglers Puzzle – YouTube You Can Use

juggle_rubiks

The Jugglers Puzzle

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhkzgjOKeLs&Topic: OmniscienceBible: Matthew 10:30

Discussion starter:

Think about all of the complexities and skill that go into juggling two Rubik’s cubes with one hand and solving a Rubik’s cube with the other. Motor skills like balance, catching, tossing, and flipping. On top of that there are the problem solving skills of solving the puzzle.When we see things like that we get a glimpse of how amazing humans are. Videos like this give you a glimpse of the complex tasks that humans can master.The Rubik’s cube trick is tough for a human. But it’s nothing compared to all of the complexities God juggles at once.

The earth’s population will reach  7 billion people today. Jesus says in Matthew 10, “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” It’s unfathomable how God knows the current status of every star while also knowing the current status of every hair on every head in the world. Go ahead, pull one out right now. God just subtracted that from His count while making sure that the tide is balanced perfectly.

Three questions:

  1. What is the most complex thing you have ever done?
  2. Which super hero superpower would you rather possess, invisibility or flying?
  3. Have you ever wondered how God knows every thought, choice, and action of 7 billion people at the same time?

Chew on this: 

If God already knows everything you are thinking than why does He care so much about our choices?

Pray for Your Friends – Lesson FollowUp

PRAY

Thriving Parents,
This week we started a new group series talking about the role of friendships in teenagers’ lives. Our focus is on the importance of telling our friends about Jesus—not in a pushy way and not because we see our friends as “spiritual projects.” We looked at words Paul wrote in Ephesians 6, asking other Christians to pray for him as he spread the message of Jesus.

Paul asked his friends in Ephesus to pray for God to open the right opportunity and the right timing to share the message of Jesus with people. In our lesson, we challenged our students to pray for God to open up opportunities for their friends to hear about Christ. Our teenagers can ask God to open their friends’ hearts and provide the boldness to talk about Jesus.

I’d encourage you to find time this week to talk with your teenager about the importance of having spiritually focused conversations. Remember to offer stories and examples of how you do this in your everyday life or how you struggle with it.

Here are some possible questions to ask:
• What are some opportunities you regularly have for talking to your friends about Jesus?
• Which friends or groups of friends might be most interested in a spiritually focused conversation?
• What fears might you have in taking steps to talk about Jesus?

Pray with your teenager that God would give the right words, the boldness, and the conviction to share the good news of Jesus. Thanks for your prayers and support for our ministry!

Night of Silence

silence

(Update) Lesson FollowUp

This was an amazing night.  Over an hour of listening to God, in silence.  Our youth did an amazing job surrendering this time as an offering to God.  Rather than go into details of the night, I’ll simple include our “guide book” for you to explore that walks you through 5 stations, and to use as a conversation starter with your youth.  These were simple experiences, that are easily for anyone to do at home or at school.

Click here to download the guide.

Something Different

This Wednesday, we’re taking a break from “the norm” after finishing up an AWESOME lesson series about finding our purpose in God.  The idea of listening to God was something that carried throughout all of our lessons.  So, this Wednesday we are taking some time to do just that.  Through silence, we’ll have several different experiences in which we will practice quieting the rest of our life, so that we can listen to God.

These experiences are highly practical, in that they can be used just about anywhere and anytime.  There’s nothing magical in them, except that they help us pay careful attention His Voice.

We’re still meeting from 6:30pm-8:00pm.

 

Honoring God In Everything – Lesson FollowUp

School

Thriving Parents!
We finished our five-week group study designed to help students understand God’s purposes for their life. The first week, “Reaching Out to Your Friends,” focused on helping students understand that we are created in God’s image and we have the opportunity to share God’s love with the world. Week two, “Making Significant Connections,” focused on understanding the basic need that humans have to be connected with others on a deeper level. Week three, “Growing in Your Faith,” focused on the truth that we were created to know God and grow spiritually by spending time with God.Week four, “Serving in Ministry,” focused on the truth that God’s unique design provides us with the privilege to serve others. This week our final study was “Honoring God In All That You Do,” and we focused on the truth that God rested on the seventh day to show us the importance of taking time to stop and express our love and worship for God. Using Genesis 2:2-3 and Psalm 46:10, we saw that we were created to honor God.

Sometime this week, generate some discussion with your teenager about honoring God:

• What are some traits of a healthy attitude toward worship?
• As a family do we honor the Sabbath as a day of rest, or does it look just like every other day of the week?
• What are some great ways to prepare yourself to worship God when you come to church?

Thanks for your love for God and your love for your teenager. Have a blessed day!

YouTube You Can Use

joy_ride

Joy Ride!

Topic: Becoming a Fool for Christ
Discussion Starter: 

Apparently, you can do anything on the freeway in Russia. Who knows how they came up with this idea but it sure is awesome.In some ways this video is a picture of a life spent following Jesus. Everyone around you thinks you are losing your mind while you have the time of your life. People point fingers and make fun of you, but you’re living the life they secretly dreamed they could live.You stand in good company. Throughout the ages Christian men and women have been accused of losing their minds. Even on the day the church really began, the Day of Pentecost, some people pointed at Christ followers and said, “They must be drunk!”
Three Questions:

  • In the video, would you rather be playing the drums or driving the motorcycle?
  • What was a time where everyone thought you were doing something dumb, but you were having a good time?
  • Have you ever been laughed at or mocked for your faith? How did that make you feel?

Wrestle with this: 

In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul says that Christians are “fools for Christ.” If people who don’t know Jesus look at us as foolish, how are we to be taken seriously?