LAST WEEK'S CUE SHEET, DISCUSSION GUIDE AND MESSAGE - GAMEDAY: GO TEAM

Ok, here's last weeks cue sheet, discussion guide and message - typo's and all. I have no idea if it's helpful because I have no idea who's reading this blog. Since I got a couple of emails and comments asking how I break students out, someone is reading it. I'm sure there is something I can attach that would help me to know; however, I spend too much time reading blog stuff as it is. So if you dig this, send me an email at jgregory@gccwired.com or post a comment. If I get enough response, then I'll try and post a few more in the future.

As far as this week goes...

What I wanted students to know:
1. Oasis' Traditions and Expectations
2. They need Jesus first and foremost, but they also need to link arms with people whose feet are pointed in the same direction as theirs. Eagle's Nests (breakout groups) will help them do that.

What I want students to do:
1. Live up to the traditions and expectations out of love and respect. If they don't live up to the traditions and expectations, the consequences should not be a surprise.
2. I want students to link arms, make friends with, those whose feet are pointed in the same direction.

Props to Andy Stanley. I used some of his friendship stuff found in Seven Check Points. And of course, Mark Beeson, who continually challenges us to consider which direction our feet and life are pointed. One of the most simple, but not easy, visual illustrations to remember and try to live out.

Oasis - Cue Sheet
GameDay – Go Team
10.04.06

6:25 Walk-In Guy’s Paintball Video

6:30 Welcomes and Intro’s Worship – Judy

6:32 Worship

6:45 Teach Time (Group 1) / Eagle’s Nest
(I’ll call for them as I need them)
PowerPoint GAME DAY Slide Up
TRADITIONS AND EXPECTATIONS PowerPoint Slides
REMEMBER THE TITANS Clip
PowerPoint GAME DAY Slide Back Up
3 PowerPoint VERSES

7:25 Announcements PowerPoint Slides and Giveaways - John
Guy’s Retreat
Skateboarding Trip

7:35 Teach Time (Group 2) / Eagle’s Nest
(I’ll call for them as I need them)
PowerPoint GAME DAY Slide Up
TRADITIONS AND EXPECTATIONS PowerPoint Slides
REMEMBER THE TITANS Clip
PowerPoint GAME DAY Slide Back Up
3 PowerPoint VERSES

8:15 Game (Doors open for Eagle’s Nest 2 at 8:10) – John and the gang
If we don’t have enough time, we’ll make throw out a couple of Total Recall Questions instead



EAGLE’S NEST, THEN MESSAGE
Relentless – Atrium Skylight
Engage – Atrium Stage
Wildside – Great Room
Eagle One – Penguin Room
Soul Candy – In Front of the Wal-Mart Doors (New Entrance)
180 – Bottom of Stairs by Wal-Mart Doors (New Entrance)

MESSAGE, THEN EAGLE’S NEST
Crossfire – Atrium Skylight
Rock Solid – Atrium Stage
The Force – Great Room
Elevate – Penguin Room
Testify – In Front of the Wal-Mart Doors (New Entrance)
High Voltage – Bottom of Stairs by Wal-Mart Doors (New Entrance)




Oasis – Eagle’s Nest Discussion Guide
GameDay – Go Team
10.04.06

Note to Leaders: You are amazing…as I said in my email to you yesterday. Don’t ever doubt that! The future population of heaven will be increased because of what Jesus does in you and through you this year. I’m totally, totally serious. When students (and adults) choose Jesus, future generations of families are changed forever. It begins here and now. Thank you for showing up to love not on “my” students, not on “their” students, but “our” students. As Jeremy Post would say, “Good Work!”


Sub-Divide Your Eagle’s Nest into Smaller Groups – 5 minutes

Sub-divide into as many small groups as your leadership base can handle. Chris will be coming around to check on you. If you need an additional leader, we’ll figure out how to get you one. Remember it will be a little chaotic tonight, so breathe deep. If you remain calm, cool and collected, so will the students.



Take Attendance – 5 minutes (Coaches, please assign one person to pick up your box each week)

This is huge, not so much for this week, but in subsequent weeks. Begin by practicing today. Have each student fill out a small card with their FIRST and LAST name on it. They think it’s for the drawing and they are correct, in part. It’s for us to know who showed up too, everyone doesn’t always check in. The little cards help us to monitor attendance, so that we can send them a note if they stop coming. Check the cards as you collect them, our students have a sense of humor sometimes.

If someone is new, ask them if they filled out a big card at the registration table (if not, give them one of the big cards in your box). How do you know if they are new? Just ask out loud, “Is this the first week for anyone to be at Oasis?” Whether they get birthday cards, newcomer cards, notes of encouragement, flyers, etc., rises and falls on you…no pressureJ You’ll do just fine.



Discussion Questions – 25 minutes

1. Go around the circle and have them tell their name and 2-3 things they absolutely love to do.
Do names around the circle a couple of times…fast, slow, go around the circles backwards, forwards, etc. Ask for a volunteer or two and see if they can remember the names of all the people in the circle. Give candy to the first person that can say all the names correct (candy is in your box). If all of your students know each other, see if they can say all the names (for your sake, not theirs) and at least one thing each of the people in the group loved.

2. Talk about what Eagle’s Nests (break out groups) are about. (Ex. It’s a safe place to get to know each other. It’s a place where you can come and learn, grow and talk about what’s going on in your life. It’s a place where someone will pray for and encourage you.)

3. Dream the dream. Ask them what they would like the Eagle’s Nest time to look like. How do you want it to feel? What will it take to make this the best year ever in Eagle’s Nest?

4. If you knew that whoever you invited to Oasis could be in your breakout group, who would you invite?

5. Go around the circle and talk about ONE of your best friends. I know you have SEVEN of them, but just choose one. Tell us a little bit about them and how you met. Who made the first move toward friendship – did you choose them or did they choose you? (i.e. who made the first step toward friendship)

6. Close in prayer; however, before you do talk about it. What prayer is (a conversation with Jesus), why you pray, etc. As you get deeper in the year, you can do popcorn prayer. Tonight, just close in prayer as the leader.



Oasis – Message
GameDay – Go Team
10.04.06

This is our fourth week of Oasis together. I missed you so much last week when I was in California, it just about killed me not to be here. I kept looking at my cell phone time. I wanted to call and check in how your night was. 4 p.m (7 p.m. your time)…no, 4:30 p.m…no, 5:00 p.m…no, 5:30 p.m…no, ugh finally 5:45 p.m. rolled around (8:45 p.m. your time) and I was dialing. I love you guys. And now that we are four weeks in, we’re hitting our stride. The people around you are who we’re going to do life with for the rest of the year. This is your family, this is your team. There’s nothing better than family, there’s nothing better than team. There’s nothing better than doing life…together.

Tonight we’re going to lay the foundation for the next 8 or 9 months. We’ll begin by talking about the traditions and expectations of Oasis. The traditions and expectations not that you have for me or I have for you, but we have for each other – out of love and respect.

I remember one student last year who literally made my day, actually made my month when he made this comment when asked who was one of his heroes and he said “Judy, you are”. I asked “really, why”. His answer, “because you respect me.” I want you all to be able to say that, not only of me and your leaders, but those in this room as well.

Knowing the traditions and expectations help us to do life well. It will help Oasis to be the best it can possible be. It puts us all on the same page…no surprises. So let’s hit the big 10 out of the gate.

TRADITIONS AND EXPECTATIONS POWERPOINT SLIDES

1. APPROPRIATE PHYSICAL CONTACT. No hand holding, kissing or stuff like that. We'll leave that stuff for the married people to do...at home. High fives are great.
2. STAY ON CAMPUS. Once you are dropped off here, here is where we’ll stay.
3. RESOLVE CONFLICT THE RIGHT WAY. No fist fights or anything like it.
4. ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE. NO CUT DOWNS OR INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE. We want Oasis to be different than a lot of other places in the world. We want it to be a safe place, a place of encouragement, a place of hope.
5. GUARD THE EYES OF THE GUYS (AND GIRLS). Wear appropriate clothing. If we see a girl or guy that has inappropriate clothing, we have t-shirts they can wear. We won’t embarrass you in front of your friends, but will pull you aside and help you out.
6. KNOW THE PLACES YOU CAN HANG AND WHEN YOU CAN HANG THERE. There are plenty of places you can be – atrium, café area, grassy area outside main doors, sidewalk, coned-off blacktop area. Just a couple places you can’t be – lower level outside and inside (except pre-Oasis prayer time and Eagle’s Nest). After Oasis, you can be on the sidewalk in front of the building or the Atrium only.
7. IF YOUR PARENTS ARE PICKING YOU UP EARLY, THEY MUST COME IN AND GET YOU. No big deal.
8. CHAIRS FOR EVERYONE. I know six of you can fit on one chair, but we’re not going there. We have enormous amounts of chairs, everyone gets one of their own to sit in.
9. R-E-S-P-E-C-T YOUR LEADERS…AND EACH OTHER. Nearly 100 leaders come here each week for one reason and one reason only…you! Talk when it’s appropriate. If a leader asks you to do something (like move over, quiet down, or sit up), do it as if it were Jesus himself asking.
10. BATHROOM BREAKS…PLAN AHEAD. You can use the bathroom before or after Oasis or make a quick restroom stop between going in and out of the Auditorium for breakout groups. That’s it. Now if you are going to bust a gut, we will let you out one at a time.

We’re in this together friends. We’re apart of the same family, we’re apart of the same team. And when the team is on the same page, they’re virtually nothing you can’t accomplish.

What does team look like? SHOW REMEMBER THE TITANS MOVIE CLIP

I love that movie. It’s full of great lines, “You want him to take your spot, you go give it to him.” How much guts did it take for him to give up his spot…that’s huge…to realize he was the better man for the job. It’s full of passion for the team, the coach “he’s lining up off sides!”


WHO'S ON YOUR TEAM? WHO'S IN YOUR HUDDLE, YOUR INNER CIRCLE?
Who won the Notre Dame game last weekend? Notre Dame did, but when it comes to football who do they typically attribute the win to, what player? Should it be that? Who helped Brady Quinn to look good on the field last week (or at least in the fourth quarter)? Coach, offensive line, defensive line, his mother. It took the entire team to succeed on the field.

It takes an entire team to succeed in life too. When it comes to life, Jesus is a given, it takes him to succeed in life…really…He’s the coach. If you don’t have Him, you will run around pursuing this, that and the other, money, power and fame, but you will never experience true love, joy, peace, eternal life. You’ll come up empty because we all have this spiritual hole inside of us that only He can truly fill.

However, a close second to Jesus, to succeed in life you have to be careful to choose the team you surround yourself with, who you line yourself up with, who’s in the inner circle – your huddle. You’ve got to be careful because often times you don’t choose your friends and I don’t choose my friends, but they choose me. Anybody have a clue what I mean by that? Let me illustrate.

I had this fascinating conversation with a guy a couple of weeks ago. I’m serious, for me, it was as if God spoke straight to my heart through this guy. He used to be deep, deep, deep into a homosexual lifestyle, drugs, alcohol, you name it…as a teenager. It occurred for a number of reasons, he was sexually and physically abused, he felt rejected and alone in his messed up dysfunctional family…all the classic reasons. He started over here in the middle – good friends, good influence over here (point to the right), but instead of walking that way, he turn toward others who felt just like him - rejected, confused, alone (point to the left). These guys over here (left), intentionally or not intentionally, pulled him into the drugs, alcohol and other stuff – pulled him right in. Why? Because they knew exactly what he needed – acceptance, a place to belong, a place where he felt like he fit in. Yes, he walked that way, but it was almost like there was a super magnetic draw that pulled him that way as well. It was as much as his friends chose him, as he chose his friends.

I’m telling you my friends, most of you in this room are the friends over here (point to the right). The right kind of friends, who will not only accept people, but will love them as well. However, you struggle with what I do sometimes, we don’t make ourselves known. We don’t pull people our way. Honestly, what this young man needed, was a stronger pull from these guys over here (point to right). As he walked this way (point to the left), he needed someone to step in between him and the group that would soon lead him further down the path of alcohol, drugs and whatnot.

Some of you might be thinking like, Judy, those people (point to left) need the right kind of friends, the right kind of love, the right kind of influence too and you’re exactly right. Jesus loves them just as much as he loves you. It’s true. They needed and still do need people to intercept on their behalf. And you just might be the one called to do that. However, this group over here (on the left) should never be your inner circle of friends. Why? Their feet aren’t headed in the same direction. You should surround yourself with people whose feet are headed in the same direction as yours. Because as surely as this guy got off on the wrong path, so can you if you’re not careful.

What do you think this verse means.

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.Proverbs 13:20 (Message)

A wise person is someone who knows the difference between right and wrong and chooses to do what’s right – even when it’s hard.

A fool is someone who knows the difference between right and wrong but chooses to do what is wrong.

So you have to link arms with people who are like-minded, want to love and honor God with their lives. This is the place to do just that, this is the place it’s happening. Check this out.

BRING THE GROUP UP. I pulled these guys up because when we put you in groups this week, they were all interconnected when it came to who they requested to be with. They’re linked. (Hold up 2 x 4 cards taped together).

Tell your name and your school. How did you meet each other? How have they helped you to stay on course?

GROUP 1 – ROCK SOLID – 5 Schools
Nikki - Schmucker
Becky – Discovery
Peyton – Schmucker
Valerie – Schmucker
Olivia – John Young
Skylar – John Young
Brianna – John Young
Kelsey – Jimtown
Megan – John Young
Felisha – John Young
Chelsea – John Young

GROUP 2 – 10 Schools
Neil – Home Schooled
Andrew – New Prairie
Cory – Elkhart Christian Academy
Grant – LaSalle Academy
Austin – LaSalle Academy
Brendon – LaSalle Academy
Dalton – Schmucker Middle School
Patrick – New Creation Academy
Josh – Home Schooled
Kennedy – Holy Cross
Wesley – John Young
Zeke – SB Junior Academy
Levi – Veritas Academy
Wesley – Home Schooled

We need to link up and do life with friends with their feet pointed in the same direction. The Bible is loaded with examples of friendship like this. One in particular, is David. We’re in a series on the weekend, you should come and hear more about him. In a nutshell…

David and Jonathan – Jonathan protected David from his own father.
David had these guys – known as his mighty men – who had his back. Crossed enemy lines to get him water.
David and Nathan – Nathan was a true friend who didn’t just accept David, but loved him enough to confront him when he messed up with a girl.

In a friendship where acceptance is the only glue holding people together, there will be little confrontation. No one will be willing to risk upsetting the other person. No one will say the things that need to be said. But true friends are more committed to their friend than to the friendship – more concerned about what’s best for their friend than about being accepted by that person. Andy Stanley

I have friends that do that for me –
Chris, Karen, Loretta, Wendy, Roxanne
Naomi, Jeanna, Jerica and Ruby
There would be a dozen or so connected to me. How about you? You might not be there yet, but you can be.
Do your friends encourage or hinder your walk with Christ?
Linked arms with the right people. Your friendship will help to determine the quality of your life. I have a friend who says, “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.”

Close in prayer.

THE PROCESS

I've had acouple people ask me about my process of putting students in groups. Since I forgot a thing or two the first time I responded, I thought I'd just post it for all to read.

The first three weeks of Oasis we do not go into breakout groups. Instead, we are having them fill out registration cards with the usual info on them, plus answer the question "If you could be in a breakout group with two friends who go to Oasis, who would they be?" Then we go into a lengthy process.

a. Enter the cards into our database.

b. Pull pertinent info from a report and print on a 2" x 4" cards...
NAME
GRADE
CHURCH (we get a few)
INVITED BY (we ask this also)
SCHOOL
FRIEND 1
FRIEND 2

c. Begin linking the cards together by friends they requested. We try to give them both of their friends, but only guarantee them one.

d. Once everyone is linked, we put the 6th and 6/7th groups on one table and the 7th, 7/8th, 8th on another table.

e. Then we begin arranging them by school and affinity (skaters, athletes, etc.). We try to make sure there are a core group of students in each group.

f. The last thing we do is put the "best fit leaders" with the group.

g. Last week there were about 35-45 kids in each of the 12 groups. Each of the 12 groups is assigned a name and location in the church. We put 5-8 leaders in each group and let them subdivide themselves once they get to their location when it comes to discussion time. That way, if one leader is gone, they can figure out how to redistribute and don't depend on me.

h. Each of the 12 breakout groups has a coach or two to help facilitate the group.

i. After the first week of breakout groups, we will tweak where we need to. If we did it right, like this year, it's not time consuming.

The students breakout group name is printed on their label when they check in. When we didn't have a check-in system, we printed labels just like you would for a mailing except it just had their name and breakout group on it. They would then just get their sticker as they came in.

The first 4 or 5 years I did this, I did it alone. That wasn't too bright. This year, six volunteers did the majority of the work. From beginning to end, my guestimate is that they put in about 80 hours total, I put in 20 and my amazing AA put in 40. We got the whole thing done over a five day period. Had I done it alone, it would have taken FOREVER!

IT WORKED!

I'm going to talk numbers just for illustration...we have a big church, so we should have big numbers in our youth ministry. Remember, numbers in youth ministry do not always equate to health. While I think we're pretty healthy, we can do better...and have some ideas for 2007/2008 I'm pretty excited about and think will work incredibly well.

We are currently bumping 500 in our middle school program. That means we have students sitting over a dozen rows back. Every year as we've grown, focus has become more and more of an issue. In my mind, that's totally understandable. Personally, I can't sit more than four or five rows back; otherwise, my eyes and focus start to drift even though the messages are absolutely amazing, new and fresh. So, I shouldn't be surprised, when it happens to students. (Note to parents: maximize the time and impact of church - sit your family as close to the front as possible).

So, what's the solution you might ask? Well, here is one that I think is going to work for us. We have limited building space. It's being used by many. Adding another day of youth ministry to the weekly schedule by subdividing the ministry further is just not an option at this moment. Therefore, we tried a new thing this past Wednesday. After worship, we sent half of the group out of the main auditorium into breakout groups, while I taught the half that stayed. Then, about half way through the evening we switched, those that heard the message went into breakout groups and the other half came in for the message. It went shockingly smooth the first night. We still have a timing and transition issue to get master, but I think this is going to seriously work for us. Nearly three dozen of our leaders have reported back that they absolutely loved it. Can you tell I'm excited about the whole thing?

The other thing I'm excited about is the breakout groups (aka Eagle's Nests). We worked really, really, really, really hard getting them just right, hooking the right students to the right leaders. Never before in the history of Oasis did I hear so many leaders afterwards say, "Judy, I love my Eagle's Nests." That's the power of team. I had numerous leaders do the preliminary work so that I could pour over the final connection stage. I think if I had done all the initial linking of students with friends, I would have been just about ready to puke when it came time to for the final connection stage. Actually, I've been to that point in previous years. By the time I reached the final stage, I wasn't as careful making the connections as I was this time around. It was quite the process putting 700 students in breakout groups. To hear the words I heard the other night, it was worth every second. Don't get me wrong, we still have some tweaking to do. One group in particular had too many guys and one had two few. We'll adjust a few things this week and keep tweaking as we go.

TRADITIONS AND EXPECTATIONS

For veteran Oasis students out there, this is old skool. If you're new, below are Oasis' traditions and expectations. Why do we have them? Becasue you're too important not too! We want Oasis to be the greatest place ever! A place to run to, not to run from. A place of refuge. A place to breathe deep, hang out with a friend and get to know Jesus...together is better!

1. APPROPRIATE PHYSICAL CONTACT. No hand holding, kissing or stuff like that. We'll leave that stuff for the married people to do...at home.
2. STAY ON CAMPUS. Once you are dropped off here, here is where you'll stay.
3. RESOLVE CONFLICT THE RIGHT WAY. No fist fights or anything like it.
4. ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE. NO CUT DOWNS OR INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE. We want Oasis to be different than a lot of other places in the world. We want it to be a safe place, a place of encouragement, a place of hope.
5. GUARD THE EYES OF THE GUYS (AND GIRLS). Wear appropriate clothing. If we see a girl or guy that has inappropriate clothing, we have t-shirts they can wear. We won’t embarrass you in front of your friends, but will pull you aside and help you out.
6. KNOW THE PLACES YOU CAN HANG AND WHEN YOU CAN HANG THERE.
7. IF YOUR PARENTS ARE PICKING YOU UP EARLY, THEY MUST COME IN AND GET YOU.
8. CHAIRS FOR EVERYONE. Everyone has their own to sit in.
9. R-E-S-P-E-C-T YOUR LEADERS…AND EACH OTHER. Talk when it’s appropriate. If a leader asks you to do something (like move over, quiet down, or sit up), do it as if it were Jesus himself asking.
10. BATHROOM BREAKS…PLAN AHEAD. You can use the bathroom before or after Oasis or make a quick restroom stop between going in and out of the Auditorium for breakout groups. That’s it. Now if you are going to bust a gut, we will let you out one at a time.

Kay Warren - Oh my goodness

"A seriously disturbed, gloriously ruined woman" are the words Kay Warren used to describe herself today as she talked to the Gathering. I don't know how those kinds of words could be an understatement, but they are. She rocked like no female presenter I've ever heard...ever (although Jeanne Mayo and Lori Salierno are right up there)! I was deeply, incredibly, wonderfully moved by her presentation about HIV aids and how God changed her heart. She's deep, she is real and she has chosen to be in the trenches, refusing to give up. Wow! I just need to go off somewhere and weep...seriously.

Early today we heard from a guy named Bill Daily on how to market your ministry. He was awesome as well. His words rang true; however, the thoughts he provoked were pushed to the side when Kay talked. I'll have to go find and reflect on them later.

I LOVED IT

Here are my last three days

Tuesday
In for staff meeting at 10 a.m., then the race was on...big time! Dancing with Fellowship One, putting leaders in Eagle's Nests, getting all the right info on little cards so Karen, Evan, Hilary, Zach, Dave and Loretta could start putting the Eagle's Nest together, a mass mailing to leaders reminding of the meeting the next day, updating PowerPoint slides and thinking/writing some new stuff for workshop the next day, answering phone calls/email...and the list goes on. Time I left the building 6 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Wednesday
Slept from 6-7 a.m. (that's right, one hour), then showered and off to workshop. Arrived at the workshop at 7:50 for 8:30 start. Taught two of the sessions (wow, 3 hours...that's a lot of talking). It went great! Corey is hilarious and creative so his stuff kept me smiling. Finished at 4:30 p.m., questions until 5:15 p.m. Went upstairs and typed the discussion questions for the Oasis leaders meeting at 6:30 p.m. Left and grabbed some pizza and pop for the leaders group at Dave's house. Met there from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Left Dave's and came back to work to do a little bit of email stuff. Home by 10:30 and crashed hard at 11.

Thursday
Up at 6:30 a.m. for 7:30 arrival at church to clap for ICC conference attendees as they came in (we had the whole red carpet thing and all). Easily could identify the extroverts who loved it and the introverts who hated it...clapped regardless. Sat through the majority of the conference in between getting a few things here and there for youth pastors (they're awesome). Mark, Tim and Rob did an amazing job. Corey and I did a breakout session. It went great...but more talking. I don't know if you can talk so much that your stomach lungs hurt, but mine do. Left the church at 5:30, got Applebees Carside To Go, took a 15 minute nap, back to church for Shane and Shane, along with the Film Festival. Now I'm off to help housekeeping set up for tomorrow because my heart says to despite my body wanting sleep.

It was a lot, but I loved every minute of it.

STUDENT MINISTRY 101

WOO HOO! Today is the day over 50 youth pastors and leaders from CA to FL will pour into the Penguin Room to hear Corey and I tell them pretty much everything we know about youth ministry. It should be a blast. Pray for us...and them. The workshop is from 8:30a.m. - 4:30p.m....it's so jammed packed, it's like drinking from a fire hose.

LEADERS MEETING

If you didn't get the email or voice shot, here are the details for Wednesday, September 20 leader's meeting.


GROUPS 1-4 MEET AT DAVE PAYUMO’S
ADDRESS: 5719 Knobel Court, Granger, IN 46530
DIRECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH:
Right (west) out of church parking lot onto University Drive
Left (south) at light onto Main Street
Left (east) at light onto Douglas
Left (north) into Main Street Villas onto Cottage Parkway
Left (west) onto Knobel Court (fourth street)
Dave’s house is the first one on the right
TIME: Arrive between 6:30-7:00 for pizza, meeting is 7:00-8:00 p.m.

1. CROSSFIRE
Jeremy Law – Coach
David Payumo
Matthew Rendall - HS
Jeanna Tripp - Coach
Naomi Seifert

2. ENGAGE
Dave Anglemyer
Kerry Beasley
Brent Yoder
James Stogdill – HS
Jerica Trip - Coach
Gail Anglemyer
Kasie Kyle – HS Coach

3. THE FORCE
Bob McFarland – Coach
Dan Clark
Levi Riggenbach – HS
Craig Eanes – HS
Karen McFarland - Coach
Tammy Lausman
Deb Born
Shelby Renes – HS

4. ROCK SOLID
David Jacobs
Trevor Young
Zach McFarland – HS
Ruby Moyer – Coach
Susanna Martino
Michelle Brown
Courtney Anderson – HS Coach



GROUPS 5-7 MEET AT CHRIS INFALT’S
ADDRESS: 52882 Camellia Drive, South Bend, IN 46637
DIRECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH:
Right (west) out of church parking lot onto University Drive
Right (north) at light onto Main Street
Left (west) at light onto 23 (stay straight at Mall), which turns into Cleveland
Right (north) onto Camellia Drive (past Castle Point Apartments)
Chris’ house is the last house on the right with the split rail fence)
TIME: Arrive between 6:30-7:00 for pizza, meeting is 7:00-8:00 p.m.

5. SOUL CANDY
James Kytta – Coach
Jason Law (Starting December)
Scott Infalt (Starting December)
Patrick Hester – HS – Coach
Lisa Garritano
Erin Harlow
Kara Weaver – HS – Coach
Stephanie Park – HS

6. TESTIFY
Jeremy Post – Coach
Corey Mann
August Garritano – HS Coach
Loretta Crespo – Coach
Chantelle Casey
Sherri Stewart

7. EAGLE ONE
Jeff Banicki - Coach
Michael Infalt
Evan Bronkema - HS
Adam Bujulski
Wendy Seifert
Joy Bohlmann
Hilary McFarland – HS Coach
Shelby Trusty – HS




GROUPS 8-11 MEET AT THE VINCENT’S
Kelly and Laura Vincent
ADDRESS: 11186 Mayapple Trail, Osceola, IN 46561
DIRECTIONS FROM THE CORNER OF DAY AND BITTERSWEET
East on Day Road
Right (south) onto Birch Road (Birch is between Day and County Line/Ash Rd.)
Go over railroad tracks and turn Left (east) into Birchwood Farms Subdivision
Right at dead end onto Mayapple Trail
Vincent’s house is the gray two story on the right after the bend in the road
TIME: Arrive between 6:30-7:00 for pizza, meeting is 7:00-8:00 p.m.

8. ELEVATE
Kelly Vincent
Adam Weaver – HS
Chris Cartwright – HS
Richie Mead - HS
Laura Vincent – Coach
Candace Shea – HS
Gwen Fleming – HS

9. HIGH VOLTAGE
Phil Whybrew – Coach
John Olashuk
Adam Wack - HS
Georgia Fawcett
Cheri Huntington
Brenda Balbo
Alison SilverRaven

10. 180
Jason Simnick
Mike Rairdon
Patrick Guibert - HS
Carole Marzke – Coach
Bridget Harlow
Debbi Walters – HS
Shawna Byrd - HS

11. RELENTLESS
John Keim - Coach
Rich Landgraf
Kyle DeWitt – HS Coach
Derek Cameron – HS
Tara Willis
Amy Beringer
Danielle Tomchak – HS

GROUP 12 – MEETS AT MAUST’S
Seth and Sarah Maust
ADDRESS: 1522 Rockne Drive, South Bend, IN 46617
DIRECTIONS FROM THE CORNER OF IRONWOOD AND EDISON:
South on Ironwood
Right (west) at the first light (a 5 point intersection), the right is more like a 45 degree angle
Go down about ½ mile. Seth’s house is on the left side (brick with cream’ish yellow siding)
TIME: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

12. WILDSIDE
Seth Maust - Coach
Tony Morgan
Evan McFarland – HS Coach
Steven McClean – HS
Sarah Maust
Rosalind Ruiz
Kathryn Marchand

I Did Not Do This Book Justice

I read Andy's book while on a mini-retreat at Manowe. The time at Manowe was AMAZING and this book is AMAZING. I thought I had already read this book, but I think it was one of those times I read the titles of the chapters and just chalked it up to "I know what he's going to say". Boy was I wrong. If you're a youth pastor or a parent, this book on what every student must know by the time they graduate from your youth ministry is a must read (parents, I think it could be translated to what every student must know by the time they leave your home).

Shawn Harper at Oasis

Shawn Harper with Champions for Today will be at Oasis tomorrow night! Shawn is a fromer linebacker for the INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (yes, that is correct the winner of the Manning vs. Manning showdown this weekend). He loves football and, more importantly, he loves Jesus. I'm grateful that we have him and guys like him who "get it" when it comes to reaching the next generation for Christ. They "get" that if you want to reach our kids for Christ, you need to get in "proximity" with them. Which reminds me of one of our middle school guys at the baptism this weekend...when asked whether he wanted to wait to be baptized until his family could be here (he had written permission, but they didn't show), he said "you are my family."





















Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

A Picture Worth a 1,000 Words

I like this pic. I'm not going to get into why, but if you know our history, a picture really is worth a 1,000 words. This one speaks.

Word from Tim's blog is that it was 59 degrees. Word from Tony's blog is that there were over 380 people baptized. You know you're ready to go public when you'll wait in the rain in a ginormous line to step into the water when the air temperature is 59 degrees. I can't even begin to explain the flood of emotions I get thinking about that. I'm proud of them. I'm proud of the people standing on the shore cheering them on. I'm proud of the dozens and dozens of volunteers who helped with smiles on their faces...seriously I was looking and they were smiling. You had an incredible crew Mark Waltz and Shelley A. You did an amazing job Ginny Lawley. How about the same time, same place next year? 59 or 95 degrees...I'm in!

Baptism...The Rain Couldn't Stop Us

Yesterday was cold and rainy, but that didn't, shouldn't and couldn't stop hundreds from publicly declaring their faith in Christ at Life Action Ranch. It was incredible! Corey, John and I got the pleasure of baptising scores of people. It was awesome to have the team assembled and dunking...together.

As far as the cold, it was the oddest thing. Normally, I'm the first to turn on the heater...just ask those in the youth loft when I create a mini sauna in my office. However, for some reason, no matter how cold it is, I'm fine in the water when it comes to baptising people. Yesterday, I was grateful for that.

My most memorable dunks were some Oasis students and my friend, Kira. September 10, 2006 was their day...a day not soon forgotten.

And the survey says...657

I'm over the my database blues.The numbers from the 2006-07 Oasis Kick Off Bash are in...

Total number of middle school students ... 553
Total number of adult and high school leaders ... 104
Grand total ... 657

For those non-middle school types that think that's scary, consider this...at the kick off bash three years from now we will be over 1,000. Now that my friend, even makes me suck air.

You Can't Convince Me

I've been fighting databases for the last three years. Everyone keeps trying to convince me, this one is better, better than the last two, just wait and see Judy... just wait and see. We'll...waiting...waiting...still waiting. Each time, I stand disappointed. A stack of 600+ cards are starring me in the face. Because of what we're trying to accomplish in a record amount of time, we need to get the info on these students entered and processed. I've been trying to do a simple search for the last 15 minutes on one student...one student. I get the same answer. "This page has encountered an unexpected error..."

Oh, my ACCESS database, why did we ever abandon you?

The Kick Off

The inflatables have long been deflated and loaded back on the truck, the skittles picked up and the overflowing trash emptied, the toliets flushed and the lights turned off. It was a great, great kick off. The official total is not in, but we know the count was over 625. Over 625 lives Jesus entrusted to us tonight. I hope...no, I believe...we honored Him in it.

The line up...
1. Inflatables, cafe, video games from 4:45 - 6:45 p.m. Wow, there were a lot of inflatables. We even got a few extra thrown in there for free. Too long of story and too late to tell why, just know I'm grateful to Kevin over at Metro Inflatables. Thank you Jesus for sunshine...I'm grateful for that too.

2. We started the programmed part of the night with one of Johnny's most incredible video creations to date. It was a great summer recap.

3. The minute it was over Trace, Jeff, Adam and Brenden struck their first cord. Can you say AMAZING! They played Stars, Forever and Ever, I am Free and Undignified.

4. Johnny welcomed the crowd and had them take a quick time out to fill out a registration card...got to do the registration cards...Eagle's nests (breakout groups) are right around the corner and in order for them to work you've got to break them out just so. As an incentive to get them done quickly, a few Ring Pops tossed here and there motivated them.

5. Then it was off to the races...the pony races. Section 1 won the tasty, but ever so cheap, Air Heads. Hey, when you're looking at giving away candy to over 250 students in one of four sections, you gotta go cheap. We'll save the Reeses for next time. Johnny closed with an ever so kind intro for me. I felt blessed.

6. I prayed and gave the message God put on my heart...Click Moments.

Here it is in a nutshell...
Began by taking pictures of kids, talking about click or Kodak moments and how Jesus has me take pictures every once in a while...not necessarily physical pictures, but mental ones for me to remember with all of my heart, mind and soul when he's shown up in a big way or wants me to learn something. Ex. camp, mission trip and veterans meeting.
...Showed Tyler's blob clip (thanks Corey) and talk about the nudge I had not to let Corey do it.
...Showed Ricky's picture and talked about fingernail clippers and sleeping bag.
...Talk about veterans meeting and how I felt Jesus saying "Judy this is how Oasis is supposed to be" after walking in and feeling so loved by those around me. It was like walking into a reunion.

Which led to the vision for Oasis.
...Illustrated with Lord of the Rings video clip of army outside of the Black Gate and Frodo and Sam tired and dehydrated nearing Mount Doom (thanks Johnny). Challenged students to find the three "click" friendship moments.

Gimli: I never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf. Legolas: What about side by side with a friend?
Vision for Oasis to be a place of acceptance. Doesn't matter size, shape or color of your skin (or how pointed your ears are).

Sam: C'mon Mr. Frodo, I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you.
Vision for Oasis to be a place where we'll walk through life...together...carrying each other when necessary. Ex. Caleb walking with the Israelites the 40 years in the desert, carrying their burden, lending his leadership. It wasn't his mess...he could of bailed, thrown in the towel on his relationships, but he didn't. The dude was old...85 years old to be exact...when it came time to take what he knew the Lord was capable of giving them 45 years earlier.

Aragorn: My brothers, I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. The day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bounds of fellowship, but it is not this day. This day we fight for all that you hold dear.
Vision for Oasis to be a place where we fight for what we hold dear...Our King...to know Him and make Him know. Ex. Story in Brennan Manning's book of Tim Casey and Jack Robinson. Tim falling on a grenade for Jack. Tim's mom to Jack: "What more could he have done to show his love for you Jack." Similar to Jesus when we wonder whether He truly loves us, think "What more could he have done for you."

7. Had them reflect on that as they watched the SPLAT EXPERIENCE. Very cool. The students loved it! You should have seen how many were taking pictures with their cell phones. Evidently, it was a "click" moment:)

8. Closed in prayer...then announcements and giveaways.

It was an awesome night. It's 3:45 in the morning now, I think I'll go home. After all, haircut at 10:30 and Bible study at noon.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you John, Chris, Corey, Trace, Jeff M., Adam T., Brendan, Jeff G., Adam C., Zach, Hilary, Patrick and the COUNTLESS leaders (seriously, there were like 100 of them) who made it happen! Words cannot express how truly grateful I am. Couldn't and wouldn't have wanted to do it without you.

I love Oasis...I love our team...I love Jesus...enough said.

September 6 - Inflatable City

Our KICK OFF is right around the corner. It's going to be amazing. The MESSAGE is in my head, the contracts for the INFLATABLES (seven to be exact) have been signed, we sealed the deal on the SPLAT EXPERIENCE, Trace is putting a rockin' BAND together and the GIVEAWAYS are in the closet. Even better, I don't know who is more excited...the leaders or the students. We had a great time at the ADULT AND HS LEADERS MEETING on Tuesday. A lot of new faces...which is very cool. Then, seeing the scores of students at the VETERAN STUDENT MEETING on Wednesday put a smile on my face. It was like hanging out with 110 of your closest friends and family. This years theme is ENGAGE. Be praying that our students find this an easy invite for their friends.

T.D. Jakes - Excellence at Every Level - Priceless

When I have leaders meetings, I like to discuss some, teach some and play all or a portion of a killer leadership video. My pick tonight was T.D. Jakes at the 2004 Willow Creek Leadership Summit. Below are the notes I typed up for my leaders beforehand. There are some nuggets in there that are priceless, that truly change my life. The line-up for my next leaders meeting is Tim Sanders at the Catalyst conference when he taught on an abundance vs. scarcity mindset. I wish I could remember the year. That might help in locating it.

In the society that we live in today, excitement is infectious and contagious and we are never going to be able to draw the people that God would have us draw if we look bored, defeated and sorry to be in the house of God.

T.D. Jakes, “My leadership book is the Bible. I believe it’s the best leadership book in the world.”

The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah] because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands." Exodus 17:5-9

Every leader must have a personal encounter with God. You cannot take people where you have not been.

We miss who we can be by emulating other people. Are you going to be an original or a cheap copy of a great original?

You have to have a personal encounter of God – develop your own flavor, your own style of delivery and be comfortable in your own skin.

Are you willing to take the risk to be different? Nobody is attracted to ordinary and average. And if you are willing to be different, I want to warn you leaders are always controversial. Followers fit in. Leaders are controversial. Don’t be different for the sake of being different. The goal is to function independently of what others think or say about you to the point that you earn the right to be a leader…and to be comfortable in your own skin enough to know that you have seen something face to face with God that is important enough that you do not allow face to face with people to intimidate what God has placed inside of you.

Moses is fully persuaded of the power of God being with him and on his side. You need to be fully persuaded that what God gave you works. You have to have confidence in your own giftings. You have to know that God has given you what it takes to accomplish what he has sent you to do. Until you have confidence in your own giftings, you’re not ready to face Pharaoh. Do not despise the day of small beginnings. Sometimes God puts you in a small setting so you can practice your gifts. Bloom where you are planted and learn what you’re supposed to learn in the season that you’re in.

When block layers go to build a wall, they don’t set out to build a wall, but lay a course. Whether you are to lay one course or ten courses, you only can do it one course at a time.

If your leadership style doesn’t change as God sends more people into your congregation you will asphyxiate the growth of your church. You will stop it. It will be your fault.

When God got ready to change Israel, he didn’t talk to a nation, he talked to one person. The change begins with you in ever leadership situation. Until you assume the responsibility that God sent you into that situation to change it rather than to complain about it, you don’t earn the right to be a leader. Leaders don’t whimper, they don’t cry, they don’t complain…leaders make changes. Develop a list of the top ten changes that you are going to do in your area of ministry.


Three different moves that Moses makes in the exodus text

1. Moses starts out with the people in the trenches.
It’s where you inspire with your influence using a hands-on style of leadership – a family style of pasturing where you can’t commission people to go for you, you must go yourself. It’s at this point you are branding a church. Branding: What is it about your ministry that is distinctively and uniquely different? No one can determine or do that for you, Jesus did that himself. He infected, inspired and trained twelve men.

There are no bad people, just misplaced people. Putting people in wrong places is an injustice to them and an injustice to you. Be watchful of criticizing people who are at another stage or on another course than you

God wouldn’t give me a chair if he didn’t have a person to sit in it. No more empty seats.

Learning to lay the next course requires a paradigm shift in my leadership style in order to take it to the next level. Moses knew to make the shift when the people started bickering, murmuring and complaining. Moses walked with them and then he walked in front of them.

2. Moses moves in front of the people instead of walking with them.
The stage of separation. I’m no longer involved with the murmuring and complaining that are going on in the congregation. You don’t allow the bickering to become the focus of your ministry. Instead keep on doing what God told you to do.

You must wean the congregation from being totally dependent upon you for everything. It cannot be where they have to have you for everything. Weaning them from their dependency on you makes them eligible to have a personal experience with God so that they can reproduce. This place of weaning is as hard on the leader as the people. Most leaders need to be needed and draw validation and affirmation from it. This co-dependency will cut off your growth until you wean yourself off your need to have your hands on everything.

Good leadership anticipates problems. Good leadership develops solutions for those problems. That’s how you got saved, God anticipated problems. What plan do you have for the problems you will face? Any problem that you don’t conquer, will conquer you.

3. Moses goes above the people to a place of elevation.
You cannot fight today’s problem with yesterday’s weapon. New levels bring new devils, but greater is He who that is in you than he who is in the world. There is a reason they call you the watchman on the wall. If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always be where you’ve always been. Delegate the responsibility to someone else. If you are still doing what you used to do, you are stunting your own growth. The more Moses raises his hands, the more the enemy is defeated in the valley…and Moses isn’t fighting in the valley, Joshua is. Find the Joshua’s in the church. To him who much is given, much is required. You are a limited resource. You need some Joshua’s who can run things in your absence.

You need to have some support ministries who go up on the hill with you and lift your hands up. Definition of weariness: to have your sense of pleasure exhausted. Moses hands got tired, but Aaron and Hur were called to stand up under him. Moses had his hands up, Joshua had his hands on, Aaron and Hur had their hands under. Jesus had Peter, James and John. When Moses lowered his hands, Joshua was starting to lose the battle.

You will understand what you are called to do by what you can’t stand. And until you take that complaining, frustrating and agonizing feeling and turn it to something productive, your church will not be what it ought to be.

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh

I've taken five bags of trash out of my office and it still doesn't look good...better...but not good. What are you supposed to do with all the "stuff" anyway? Oh well, I tried. In honor of my attempt I went out and bought three pair of Nikes to replace the ones that reek from getting wet and nasty one too many times at the two weeks of camp and a mission trip this summer. Youth ministry jobs should come with a summer shoe allowance.

...And suddenly I felt very old

I looked at what it would take to get my Masters degree at Bethel on Thursday. I think I could handle the course work, but felt really old amongst the 20 somethings walking around campus. It kind of felt like going into a middle school lunch room for the first time as an adult.

Back to Reality

It's been a GREAT summer...a long summer, but a GREAT summer. I officially closed the door on summer after our mission trip picture party on Monday night and then proceeded to take Wednesday through Saturday off. I didn't do a whole lot of anything except rest, which was good and hard at the same time. I think I slept more in those four days than I did the entire summer.

While I closed the door on summer, there are a memories I won't soon forget. Gulfport ones are below in no particular order.

Shopping for clothes with Andrew, Becky and Garrett for Rickey, the homeless man, we met in Gulfport. In particular, the finger nail clippers and the sleeping bag decisions.

Watching Dalton be out of his comfort zone, but choosing to continually pushing through it to help people in need.

Talking with Kelsey outside the church one night in Gulfport.

Becky talking about how people shouldn't have so much fun painting as she, Peyton, Craig and Kelsey had that day.

Jerrod as he bounced through the food line to help the next person carry their stuff.

Hilary leading the trim painting team out underneath the tent.

Evan doing one of the many things he does best...helping out wherever he is needed most. Up until the last day when his eyes looked a little glazed over from fatigue, you would have no clue that he spent the previous week working in blazing hot Mexico.

Meeting Pastor Harper and his wife.

The upstairs of the church after we painted the dark paneling and laid new carpet. It looked sweet.

The two quiet times we spent at the beach just talking with Jesus.

Looking for an adapter all night long to get the trailer lights to work that was connected to the 15 passenger van.

Austin Brooks when he got to cook.

Austin Patterson when he helped load the trailer.

Watching Chris do the trip with two of her sons.

Grocery shopping with students each day. Pushing four carts through the store at Wal-Mart with them. Trying to find taco shells (especially given that I hate tacos).

Trista making sno-cones (or as they call it Gulfport...sno-balls).

Kaela handing out hotdogs with a huge grin on her face.

Gabby asking if she could clean the bathrooms.

Jeremy showing one of the students how to use a power tool.

Andrew and Dave singing in the sanctuary.

Walking along the beach one morning with a handful of students. It wasn't even 7 a.m. yet and it was already blazing hot by the Gulf. Seeing strung out VHS tapes and other family memorabilia near the edge of the water. Seeing chicken bone after chicken bone on the beach as well (evidently railroad cars of chickens were at the docks when the storm hit).

The snapshots we have of...
Craig at the church.
Neil and Grant.
Austin at the airport.
Jeremy and the guys exhausted on their air mattresses,

Just Chillin'

The last three days have been nice...real nice. Spent Tuesday up at the lake with Chantellle. Today at Manowe with Roxanne. It feels good to stop and just breathe deep.

Leadership Summit

Once again the leadership summit was amazing. My favorite session, probably because I once was a business geek, was the harvard professor and Jim Collins. That was until Wayne Corderio took the stage. Here are my notes, typos and all.

Illustration:
Wayne: Praying and praying for no rain for his outdoor service. It rains and he talks to God about his frustration that he didn’t hold it back.
God: “Wayne, you want the absence of rain, more than you want the presence of God.”
Judy: Ouch…been there, done that.

We don’t forget that we are pastors, but sometimes forget that we are human. Don’t fry your circuits. The road to success and the road to a nervous breakdown are sometimes the very same road.

Sometimes the only way radical change happens is through radical pain. Sometimes when you are on the gurney going in, your heart is open and you’re willing to learn life long lessons. Don’t forget the lessons you learned when your belly was scraping the ground.
Illustration: Plane dropping from 32,000 feet and you’re trying to pull up. You’re paying real close attention.
Parameters, navigation beacons, price tags and set points need to change.
Illustration: Dismantled motorcycle engine. When he put it back together, looked the same but insides were totally different. I see what I have ahead for you and I need you to have more horse power.

1. You have to know what drains and fills your tank. Write it down. If drain becomes greater than input, alarms will go off – anxiety attack, then emotional breakdown, then nervous breakdown. It’s suicide when you have an increased drain and shut off your input.

What fills my tank – what am doing, who am I doing it with and where am I doing these things that when I do them I fill the most alive and I fill the fullest - might save your ministry and marriage.

2. Understand balance in life.
You can take the Holy Spirit out of half of the churches in the US and they will keep on going. Your family is your ministry. If an elder goes south, we keep going. If my spouse goes south, we DON’T keep going.

Principle of the folcrum. Move your heart toward where God is putting His finger on your life.

3. Learn to lead out of rest. Don’t violate the Sabbath rest, you’ll fry your circuits. We don’t mess up because we are evil, but because we are frail. Schedule my rest points. Birth activities out of rest. Genesis: evening then morning. Your day does not begin when you get up, but when you go to sleep. Learn to sleep in on the front side of the clock, not on the back side of the clock (11 a.m. to 3 a.m. – REM). Cooperate with the design of God. Otherwise, soul is gone, dead leader running.

4. Find a lighting rod. You need someone to talk to. You can vomit on and they ground it.

5. Discipline your daily devotions. Self-feeding program. Lifejournal.cc - journal starter kit. Deuteronomy 17 – God required of the King to write and read the law daily.
SOAP
Scripture (write the one that the Holy Spirit highlights (maybe a promise – Jeremiah 17)
(don’t make permanent decisions on temporary setbacks).
Observation
Application
Prayer. Only one book God has promised to inspire. You don’t have the wisdom necessary when you begin – might have zeal, call, but don’t have the wisdom. His promises and instruction will save you a lifetime. Daily devotions will heal you from the inside and fill your tank, so that you can minister to others.

When the Olympics were in Atlanta they started a 119 day run with the torch. Run without the fire – comes in with extinguished wick – I don’t know but I made good time – the goal was not to get their in breakneck speed, but to protect the flame. Some running with an extinguished wick, but you are running fast. How do we reunite the torch, you have to reignite the flame. Come to me those who are weary.

DAY 4 - GULFPORT

AMAZING! Today was absolutely amazing! The entire team hit a new level today and pushed hard through the end of the last work day.
Here's a little recap on what we've accomplished:
-Painted 6 of the 7 rooms on the second floor at the church here.
-Carpeted 6 of those 7 rooms, tiled one, carpeted the entire hallway and tiled the top landing before the hallway.
-Applied transitions in all the doorways to prevent the seams of the carpet from threading.
-Cleaned this building top to bottom, inside and out.
-Installed baseboard trim through all 7 of the rooms and the hallway. Trim that was all painted by our crew too.
-Cleared the entire basement of another church.
-Primed and painted that entire basement.
-Baked hundreds of cupcakes for VBS.
-Served over 200 hot dogs, around 30 lbs. of sloppy joes and countless chips, cookies and pop.
-Distributed over 4,000 pounds of food, canned goods and personal care items.
-Planned and led two VBS programs for kids that included worship, skits, crafts, games, memory verses and testimonies.

This has been an incredible trip and the kids finished well today! Pastor Tim here lined things up for us to actually get a chance to go swimming at a local Holiday Inn which was a great afternoon treat. Then later this evening we all enjoyed some Dairy Queen and a moonlit stop at the beach together.

Your kids have represented the church well, they've represented your families well and ultimately they've represented Jesus well! You should be proud of them! The pastors of the churches we've been working with could not stop saying great things about this team.

Tomorrow we will pack things up and do one last clean up of the church before hitting Gulfport's waterpark on the way out of town. We will spend the evening in Birmingham and then catch our flight home on Saturday.

Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for your encouragement and comments! We really could not have done this without your help! Your prayers, your finances, your words are what have helped this team become what it is and we count it a blessing that you've been a part of this team alongside us!

This will likely be the last post until we get home, so be praying for our travel and we'll see you all soon!

DAY 3 - GULFPORT

It's hard to believe it, but it is already day 3 down here in Gulfport! The team worked, worked, worked, worked...worked today! We finished up all but some final touches on the carpeting and painting here at the church. Throughout the day we had teams getting things ready for tonight's VBS/Block Party at a partner church. We had teams cooking cupcakes and then later cooking hot dogs, making sno-cones and serving up meals.

Another team was working at the partner church all day painting some of their classrooms from which they cleared all the junk yesterday. The pastor told some of the leaders how special this was to them. The church's congregation is largely elderly and they are not capable of moving all the stuff we moved yesterday and doing all the paint work. That team got quite a bit accomplished physically, but more than that they were able to breath life into an exhausted pastor, give him hope for the future and show him that people still care.

During the afternoon, teams handed out flyers through 3 different FEMA trailer parks inviting kids to the VBS and inviting families to come for a free meal and food to take home. We handed out food to 89+ families! We served around 250 hot dogs along with pounds of shaved ice in sno-cones! The VBS schedule didn't quite go as planned, but the children had fun and the adults were given some hope and a meal. We shared stories tonight for about a half an hour on the conversations and time we spent with the people as we helped them make their way down the line gathering their food for them. YOUR kids did amazing! All in all it was a 12 hour workday! I think they're going to sleep well tonight!

Keep sending your comments and your prayers. Pray specifically that we would be able to finish our work projects strong tomorrow as it is our last full work day to finish up our big projects! We love you guys and appreciate your prayers and encouragements!

Gulfport out.

-Johnny

DAY 2 - GULFPORT

Day two down here in Gulfport and a bunch more projects got marked off the list here at the church! The students all responded really well to hearing what Pastor Tim had to say about what all has been happening through this tiny church and I believe that inspired everyone to work hard and press in to get as much done as we could!

The painting crews got 99% of the painting finished, which has been a hefty project. We are painting over wood paneling which requires 2 full coats of primer/sealer and 2 if not 3 full coats of paint. The crews finished up 2 more rooms, all the doors that were left and nearly finished a 3rd room that just needs some touchups after we get more paint.

The carpeting crew continued to crank things out finishing another two full rooms that the guys are now happy to be sleeping in instead of the unfinished floor model that my guys are sleeping in for one more night!

An outside crew went to town clearing trash, empty boxes and other miscellaneous items from under the food tent. This was a huge help to the church as they are getting ready to reopen their food bank August 10. That same crew also helped pick up trash on the property and helped do some weeding in the front of the church.

An entirely seperate group headed off to a partnering church where we will be having VBS tomorrow afternoon. They were able to help prep things for not only VBS, but for the church to finally be able to have Sunday school again. The team cleared out piles and piles and rooms and rooms of old stuff that was destroyed by the hurricane. They then got to cleaning and got the rooms all ready for things to come.

Judy kept busy making runs to Wal-Mart and Lowe's to keep our very fast moving work crews equipped for their next jobs and I made a quick jaunt to Alabama with Sean, one of the key volunteers here at the church. We hopped in the large box truck and Sean let me drive to Theodore, Alabama which was about an hour away. We met Pastor Tim and his wife at the Bay Area Food Bank where we picked up around 3600 pounds of food and personal care items that we will be able to unload, pack and distribute over the next two days.

While I was gone, a pretty cool thing happened. See all week long there have been people that would stop by the church asking if there was any food and unfortunately we had to tell them the distribution center wouldn't be open till the 10th, but as we could we handed out a few sandwiches and bottled waters. One story turned out a little different.

Ricky, stopped by in the afternoon and began talking to some of the leaders. Ricky is a Vietnam veteran who had lost much of what he had and had just gotten out of the hospital today after having a heart attack. When he came to the church, many of the kids and leaders got involved. Some were hearing his story (alongside plenty of adult supervision) while others jumped in the van with Judy for yet another run to Wal-Mart to get some items for Ricky. While in Wal-Mart, Garrett H. suggested they get him a sleeping bag, so they did. Becky suggested that he might need some finger nail clippers, so they got them. They got him a rolling suitcase so that he would be able to take his things with him, without having to carry them all. As they got back and walked up to Ricky to give him the items, one of the leaders said aloud, "Look Ricky! It's a sleeping bag like you just told me you wished you had!" And as Judy went to shake his hand, she noticed that he had overgrown and undercleaned fingernails which would likely get good use from those finger nail clippers.

The kids are being the hands and feet of Jesus down here in Gulfport. They aren't talking about how someone should make a difference, they aren't complaining that nobody is doing something down here and they're not complaining that they are the ones to be doing this. These kids, YOUR kids, get it. They know what it means to show people Jesus and they are doing that everyday through their actions and words! You should be proud! Proud of their work, proud of their encouragement and proud of their attitudes! I count it a blessing that I am able to be down here with your kids, serving the people of Gulfport!

Tomorrow holds wrapping up a few more work projects at the church along with some food distribution work and preparation for VBS in the afternoon! It will be a great day!

Continue to post your comments! That has become a very enjoyable and looked forward to time of the day when we take ten minutes to read aloud your encouragements, prayers and even your "I love you"s !

-Johnny-

Gulfport Day 1 Continued-WalMart Theory

Ok, so I have this theory. You want to hear it? I believe if you take a student to Wal-Mart a couple of times on a mission trip, you will never have to deal with homesickness. After 9 years, I have yet to be proven wrong. Why is that? Well, glad you ask. Every Wal-Mart is pretty much the same when you walk in the door, the gummy worms are over here, the t-shirts over there and the energy drinks in the grocery section. It the same everywhere, in Indiana, in Tennessee and even in Mississippi. It's an instant connection and very calming, like comfort food when stressed.

However, the interesting thing about this team is that they already seem like they're at home. Going to Wal-Mart today was nice, but not a necessity. I think it might be due into part that we worked, played, ate and slept at the church today. We weren't frantically running to and fro. We had the chance to get comfortable right where we're at. I think that might become a theory...work the first day on site so they can adjust to the new environment with ease.

As John wrote about so wonderfully, we truly did have a great day. I got to spend time with students here and there. Hilary was helping to head up the crew of those painting the trim outside. They busted through big time! Craig, Olivia, Trista and Stephanie were out there when I buzzed through. We played a round of the "If you could...", before I had to head off to Lowe's for some more paint. Craig talked about wanting to become a youth pastor. I think he'd be an incredible one. Olivia talked about wanting to work with the younger kids downstairs. She'd be amazing at it. Trista and Stephanie are awesome as well. They were like machines when it came to painting the trim.

I'm still working on getting the three Austin's and two Garret(t)'s down. I know who they are, but for some reason I want to call the Austin's Garrett and the Garrett's Austin. Here's some info on them. Austin Brookes cracks me up, he's so fun. Austin Patterson I really didn't know much about before the trip, but can tell that he's an amazing guy. Austin Fox-Welter will always hold a special place in my heart. Garrett Hess cut his finger on the trowel today (don't worry mom, it was the equivalent to a bad paper cut). I offered to sew it up and let him pick the thread color, but he opted for a bandaid instead...smart boy. Garret LaCluyse picked out some pretty cool shades at Wal-Mart. He's a lot of fun too!

Thanks for allowing your students to join us! Thanks for the encuragment notes as well. They mean a lot. Day one has been incedible. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds. We'll I got to go. It's late and I sent you kids to bed awhile ago at 10:45 p.m.

DAY 1 - GULFPORT

Hey guys, Johnny here again and wanted to give you an update of what we did down South today.

Today was a HUGE work day and the team got a ton accomplished. We are actually living at the church this week. The pastor turned their children's classes into "dorms" for youth groups and mission teams to stay at the church to do relief work (more on that in a minute).

We divided into several teams and got to work right after breakfast. A good handful of students got to work in the fellowship area of the church, where we are having our meals and storing some of our stuff. They cleaned up chairs, floors, refrigerators and cabinets. After how many people and materials filter through here it was time for a good 'ole cleaning. Another team was outside in the tent, working on painting trim board that we had brought with us from Indiana. Their was an absurd amount of boards to paint, but they rallied together and finished painting all the trim in spite of some rain that slowed the project for a bit. Upstairs, the carpeting process began and two whole rooms got brand new carpet put down, students helped with the fitting, glueing and smoothing of the carpet. (Don't worry parents, none of the children were allowed to use the razor blades! )
Several more painting crews went to town and got two rooms completely painted from start to finish. A third room needs only a final coat, a fourth room got a full coat of primer and the fifth room got the finishing touches of primer added to it. A couple of detail workers started priming the doors for 4 of the rooms so that those too can be painted. We got things cleaned up, had an amazing spaghetti dinner and then had a bit of free/shower time. We gathered as a team to talk about the day, spend some time in worship and hear from YOU! I read your comments from yesterday's blog and they were a huge hit! Everyone was very excited to here from home, so keep writing!

We then gave the kids some time to journal their experiences so far. Not only did we give them the time, we gave them the journals. Not only that, but we gave them the coolest journals I've ever seen in my life. Laura Vincent, Oasis leader and scrapbooker extraordinare, put together a journal/scrapbook for every student. Each one is unique and has several pages already scrapbooked and ready for pictures of this trip. There are also several lined pages in the middle for journaling throughout the trip. The kids were very excited and the impact of the journals was huge! They will be able to remember their time spent here and what God does for a very long time. Laura, we are so grateful!

Pastor Tim came in and spent about an hour with us telling us the story of when Katrina hit and how things unfolded here. I had NO clue what we were in store for!

Here are some facts about when Katrina hit that I had no clue about:
-There was over 1 million acres of Gulf Coastlands that was obliterated by the hurricane.
-The amount of destruction in New Orleans pales in comparison to how much was wiped out in Gulfport. The only difference is that for several reasons, the news coverage was in New Orleans.
-The waters rised and moved inland as the storm approached. When the worst winds hit 35 to 42 foot waves rose and instead of breaking on the shore, went across all the water that had already risen and the waves broke directly on top of homes 2-4 blocks inland past the beaches. All the houses that got flooded, didn't have gradual water rising in the basement and at the foundation. The flooding came through the torn off roofs and second floor windows.

Now for some reasons why we are spending a good majority of our time working here in this church instead of out in more demolished areas:
-This church was literally the connection between Gulfport and the rest of the world. It was the hub that connected all ministry efforts.
For instance:
Larry Jones didn't only send his team down, but he himself came down to Gulfport and stayed 7 days here at the church in one of the dorms to help assess the damage.
Pat Robertson came personally and spent time with the pastor, helping use his influence to get things rolling.
Convoy of Hope, Randy Johnson's "God's Pit Crew", Compassion Alliance, CBN, 700 Club all came to THIS church to help out.
A Disney producer came over to work and told the pastor "Don't tell them who I am, I just want to help work."
President George W. Bush was here and spent some time with Pastor Tim and told him that what was happening here at the church was more than the government was even able to pull off.
This church can house around 50 volunteers and in order to help the sustaining efforts to rebuild and give hope to those in Gulfport, we are helping to strengthen this ministry so that it can continue to help meet the needs of the community.

If you're wondering exactly what they were able to pull off, here ya go:
-In 7 days they were able to distribute over 50 truckloads of food, each truck's goods averaged a retail value of $50,000.
-6,000 hot meals were served the day after the storm, 9,000 the second day and then were able to setup several more distribution centers in the community at partnering churches and parking lots.
-They continued to serve 8-12,000 hot meals a day for 5 weeks.

They had food, they had hands and hearts, but the main thing they needed was fuel to pass out along with the 3,000 generators that were given so the community could have power back long before utilities infrastructures were rebuilt. Through a quick news interview, word spread across the country of the need of fuel, since Gulfport gas stations were wiped out and didn't being having gasoline for weeks. Truckers began pulling in off the highway saying, "Pastor, take 25 gallons out of my tank" College students from Chicago drove 17 hours with a trailer full of 55 gallon diesel drums. Farmers donated thousands of gallons of fuel that they had on their farms for their equipment.

And Pastor Tim was the first to admit that no entity, this church included, could have done what was accomplished. The CHURCH did this. And that is why we are here.

WE HAVE ARRIVED!

We have officially arrived down here in Gulfport, Mississippi. We had fantastic travel the whole way through. The flights went well and we got into Birmingham safely. We met up with our luggage caravan at the airport and got a quick bite to eat before we made the 5 hour trek from Birmingham down to Gulfport. We pulled into the church where we will be staying, talked to the pastor's wife for a bit and dropped some of our stuff off.

We loaded everyone back up in the vans and drove down to the main road that runs along the beach here. For awhile we drove down this street just taking in exactly how much damage there was and still is from the Hurricane. We saw entire blocks where houses were just washed away and all that remained was the concrete slab that was the foundation. Giant trees were leaning over, while still some others were completely uprooted. We stopped by what used to be a gated community with condominiums/apartments, something that would be equivalent to Main Street Villas/Apartments back home. The damage that we saw looking in from the front gate was horrific. All the students really began to fully grasp how drastically people's lives were altered.

We spent a few minutes on the beach debriefing the day and really focusing in on why we're down here and how we're going to honor, serve and love each other as well as those that we are here to minister to. The team is ready! They are eager to serve and work hard! They are ready to love on the kids at VBS! It's going to be a great week!

We're turning in for the night, but we will be posting our activities regularly while we're here. If you want to leave a comment for your student or the team as a whole, go ahead and we will try and read some encouraging notes from home!

-Johnny

Gulfport, MS - It Just a Matter of Time

Just a few more hours and we'll be on our way to Gulfport, MS. Yes!!!! The only thing you'll be seeing on this site are updates...so stay tuned.

The van with all the luggage took off today. We hit a little bump in the road with the trailer lights. I now know more about trailer light adapters than I ever knew or wanted to know. Did you know it's almost impossible to find a small five prong (pole) round adapter to fit into a flat four trailer plug. The six prong adapters were too large in diameter and the four prong adapters were perfect in diameter but, of course, didn't line up with the five prongs. Who knew? (Never mind, someone probably does out there somewhere). No luck at Auto Zone, Pep Boys, Auto One, Wal-Mart, Meijers or U-Haul...ugh. The guy at U-Haul was awesome and saved the day, he rewired the thing in 15 minutes and they were on their way.

A side note about the team. They're awesome. They all seem to get alongs so well. It's going to be amazing! Pray we have eyes to see and ears to hear what Jesus wants to do in us and through us. I know a lot of friendships are going to be formed in the team this week as well. Pray that they are friendships that will last...that our students will have someone to love and serve Jesus alongside them for a long time. More later.

Box Score for Camp Adventure 2006

22 Accepted Jesus into his/her heart for the first time.
160 Recommitted his/her life to Jesus.
4 Learned a lot, but haven't made a decision to follow Jesus yet.
8 Had an amazing time.
2 Not present at commitment night due to a baseball game (ugh!!)
___
196 Students Total

I'm grateful for many things at camp this year.
1. We go to a church where the gospel is presented very clearly a number of times a year. Way back in the day you would have seen a higher number of students who accepted Jesus into his/her heart for the first time at camp and a lower number of recommitments. I love the progress we've made in recent years to be very intentional about leading people to Christ and helping them to remember exactly when by marking the moment through the bridge, rocks at the cross, signing their name on the last supper pic, etc.
2. Being led by an amazing senior pastor...seriously, his wisdom...words cannot express. He's been directing Camp Adventure for nearly four decades...yes, you read that right, decades. The fact that he's passing the baton off to the three of us - Corey, John and I - is a privilege and honors that, once again, words cannot express.
3. Rockin' both weeks with the Mann and Keimster. I am grateful. My prayer is that our stance on top of the blob tower (forming a triangle, having each others back) be not only a symbol of today, but things to come.
4. The week with Rob, who infused his passion in me for Jesus years ago. I owe you a lot brother. I am who I am today because of your faith in me over a decade ago. Thanks for being a Joshua.

I'm Comfortable in My Skin

I've been thinking through some things lately, so this blog is more for me than for you.

I continually want to take my "next step". I want to grow wiser, get better and all that good stuff. I don't know if it's age (I'm very close to being yet another year older) or what, but for perhaps the first time in my life, I'm rejoicing about who I've become. Instead of wishing this or that, I'm content with who I am. Maybe it will last for a moment, maybe for a day, hopefully, forever.

One area I'm content in is my leadership. Don't get me wrong, I've got a lot of growing to do and a lot of insecurities to get over, I'm not arrogant or naive enough to believe otherwise. I could give you a list of my weaknesses, but would rather not. However, here are five areas where I've discovered who I am and where I land, despite whether others around me agree is correct thinking in regard to leadership.

1. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. I have this theory that leaving a room as good if not better than you got it is just plain the right thing to do. After the kids are gone, I still help clean up until the job is done and the lights are turned off. Granted I have a team that helps make it a whole lot faster, but I think there is something in them seeing me flush toilets, clean tables and take out the trash. Some would say that me vacuuming is not a good use of my time and, if I did a whole lot of it, I would agree with them. However, a few minutes here and there, keeps me grounded, keeps me humble and reminds me of how I got to where I am today. I like that about myself.

2. Some would say that all of your time and attention should go to the leaders of leaders, to which I agree...kinda. While I try to focus on the leaders of leaders the most, I ensure that those behind the scenes, who may not feel like they matter as much as the high profile person, get my prayers and attention too. I try to be very intentional about telling them how grateful I am and how much what they're doing matters - that what they do does not go unnoticed. I like that about myself.

3. I'm conservative, but not oblivious to what's going on around me. Someone once told me that I don't see what's next, but what's five years up the road. I see how one decision will lead into the next and where that will take me or someone if we venture down that road. I could go into a thousand different ways on how that affects my decision making, but I won't. However, I will say that it's prevented a lot of train wrecks from happening in my life and I like that about myself.

4. I'm loyal to the core. Sometimes what people who matter most to me do drives me absolutely insane, to the point where I feel like throwing in the towel on the relationship. However, I've watched people throw in the towel and have realized that once you throw in the towel the first time, it's easier to do it the next...so I just refuse and I like that about myself.

5. One of my areas of giftedness is in discernment and problem solving. I see things in body language and hear things in voice tones that others don't. This lends itself to being a good problem solver and the one people look to when "issues" arise. Someone recently told me "Judy, you're good at that. It's shaped based stuff." My first thought was, "I don't think I want that shape, often times it's not very fun." Upon further thought, despite how draining it can be, I've decided I like that about myself...at least for the moment.

This is not meant to be an ego stroke kind of blog. I'm not sure where I've landed is even right, but it's who I am...and I'm ok with that.

Put the Razor Away

Lesson 4: Remind counselors to keep their razors in their bag.

While one of our guy counselors was in the bathroom, one his campers decided to "borrow" his razor and give himself a reverse mohawk. I was dreading that call to the mom. Gratefully, she was amazing and said that she totally understood...that her son was always five steps ahead of her and that she was more concerned with whether he had connected with anyone (which he totally had). After some evening out, his cut looked normal...well almost.

Celebrate the Victories

Lesson 3: I can do a thousands things right and one thing wrong and, you guessed it, I park on the thing I did wrong (or the things I could of done better). I've decided not to do that anymore...or at least try not to. It sucks the life right out of you. It makes things not fun!

Don't get me wrong, you need to evalute yourself in regard to what went well, what can be improved upon and where "you blew it". That's not the point. The problem is parking on the "you blew it", even when it's few and far between.

The other thing I noticed is that people have a tendancy to help you park on the "you blew it" moments. People are too quick, in church and life, to remind you of the "you blew it" moments and not remind you of the "you knocked it out of the park" moments. Why is that? Insecurities in themselves, we're an ungrateful people, that really is what we remember...whatever it is, we need to reprogram our minds.

It was worth it!

Lesson 2: Do Whatever It Takes

Two girls at camp were homesick last week (actually only one, the other one was just being sucked into it). There were many extenuating circumstances that I can't go into that required excessive amounts of TLC. I knew if I could keep them through Tuesday night, everthing would probably be ok. So I worked it...big time! I stayed in contact with the moms and they worked it...big time! At one low point, I wondered whether it was all worth it. There were 122 students at camp and these two, while they were amazing, were consuming enormous amounts of my time just to keep them there. The answer to whether it was all worth it came Wednesday night at Commitment Night when the two girls rasied their hands when asked "who accepted Jesus into their heart tonight". These weren't "recommitments" but "first time commitments". The next morning when I heard one of the girls say it out loud to her mom, it truly blessed my heart. I was glad I stuck with it. I was glad I had the opportunity to witness it. I loved it and I love them. They're pretty amazing girls that have seen and been through more than middle school students should ever see or go through. Satan truly is battling for the hearts and minds of our kids. You can't have 'em dude!

My Knight in Shining Armor (ok, maybe it was a t-shirt and jeans)

What haven't I done lately...many lessons learned. I'll share a few in the coming days.

Lesson 1...

Soap in the eyes + more soap in the eyes + more soap in the eyes = Allergic Conjunctivitis - or as I say "With (Spanish word "Con") Junk in the Eyes".

Corey had this amazing idea (it really was amazing and I'd do it again in a heartbeat) of us (John, Corey and myself) getting totally suds up for the Friday night Camp Adventure mass slip and slide so he bought three colors of dish soap and we poured it on big time...head to toe. Unfortunately, I didn't tighten my goggles enough and a good portion of it went straight from my head into my eyes.

It hurt and hurt bad! 20 hours, four showers, an eye rinse by nurse Jody and a jump off the high dive didn't stop the tears from streaming down the left side of my face or prevent my eye lid from swelling three times its normal size. Fortunately we were in our final hours of camp.

So, camps over and we're having our annual post-camp gathering at McDonalds. I call my amazing administrative assistant, Chris, to make sure the camp bus got back ok and she willingly calls my eye doctor for me to see what my eye remedy might be (I'm thinking a whole lot of Visine - you know, "get's the red out"). Word back...If her eye is still bothering her that much she needs to come in right away cause something could have detached from something and that's not good (I'm not sure what she said, but in my mind it was like the retina from the cornea)...oh yeah, and she shouldn't be driving!

Chris, predicted my response..."oh, somethin' somethin' didn't detach from somethin' somethin'... and I can drive just fine...as long as I keep my left eye shut anyway." It was, however, just enough to freak me out a little. I ditched them at Mc-a-dee's and went staight to my eye doctor, which I had exactly 8 minutes to see before I had to head out for a two hour drive to a wedding. I'm praying on the way in, "please Jesus don't let there be any one waiting." Unfortunately, there was. The doctor was in with someone and had another guy waiting. However, the guy waiting sees the predicament I'm in and offers to let me go first which was very cool. He was like a knight in shining armor. I was grateful.

And...as it turns out...somethin' didn't detach from somethin'. I just had an eye infection, which would only have gotten worse as the weekend progressed.

Camp Adventure Week 2

We're hours away! Friends, family, fellow bloggers...be praying. I'm excited that I'm just as much excited about week two as I was about week one. This is the first time we've done two camps, so I wasn't sure how it or I would feel. We have 121 campers who will have an opportunity to figure out their next step for Jesus this week. Pray that they not only discover it, but take it too! I love Camp Adventure! The focus will be the five wins...

Invest and invite
Take your next step
Have a friend, be a friend
Serve (at least once a month)
Read your Bible

Camp Postings Later...

Went to the Silverhawks game last night with some great friends - two of which got recruited to be vegetables. It was absolutely hilarious. No clues on who they are... it just might show up as a Camp Adventure Bible Quiz tie breaker. Ok, maybe just one clue, one's the corn and the other the carrot (neither one could see a thing). Good times.

Hmmmm

Looked at a house today - small and clean with a killer yard. I want it, but will probably refrain from buying it. Turns out a pastor lives on one side and a "confirmed bachelor" lives on the other. I'm not sure why the seller used the words "confirmed bachelor" over the phone when I called for an appointment to see the house, but I thought it was pretty funny (I'm not thinking it was prophetic at this point). I told Johnny I was going to check it out yesterday afternoon and his response was "What the house or the bachelor?" I thought that was pretty funny too. Good one John:)

Under the Overpass

After hangin' out with Kurt Salierno, who chooses to spend three nights on the streets of Atlanta each week, I picked up this book. It's a good easy read. It's talks about the adventure and learnings of two middle class guys, Mike and Sam, who chose to live on the streets as homeless men for five months.

627 students and leaders - it was a party!

My last time with the 8th grade students was incredible. I love and will miss them dearly. The last three years was an awesome journey. There's nothing better than middle school ministry!

The first "official" time with the incoming 6th grade students. I'm looking forward to getting to know them. I've met a number of them already and they seem incedibile.

I'm excited to get to spend one or two more years with the incoming 7th and 8th grade students. Let the party continue!

Cadre Promo

I've been a part of a mentoring program with Jeanne Mayo, affectionately known as the Cadre, over the last 9 months. While 95% of the time my life is very, very, very good, there are times I feel alone on an island as a female youth pastor. In addition to Jeanne sharing her incredible wisdom and ideas, I've meet some of the most authentic, caring people ever by being a part of the Cadre. If you're a youth pastor (male or female) find out more info about the Cadre here. In addition to having an incredible Home Team here at Granger, it's great to connect with others in the trenches of youth ministry outside our four walls.

What in the World?

Don't you wonder what's going through this poor pony's/horse's mind?