THELO Conference is about one week away, and I'm getting pretty pumped! I really believe that this will be an incredible year that God moves and challenges us. I have some important information that you may want to know if you or one of your teens are going to THELO Conference, so pay close attention.
We will meet at KLMC at 5:15 a.m. on the 28th. There will be a time of prayer and some instructions before packing up, so parents and guardians are encouraged to stick around for that.
We will arrive back at KLMC around 1:00 p.m. on the 30th. We will make sure to call you if our arrival time is more than 15 minutes off.
What to Bring
Bible, notebook, pen
A couple changes of clothes (make sure to bring warm clothes-there is a tubing hill but you have to have warm clothes to go i.e. coat, pants, etc...and you will have to walk outside to get from place to place)
Bedding (we will be staying in heated cabins and sleeping on bunk beds, but the beds have no sheets, blankets, or pillows)
Breakfast food (we are not being served breakfast on the 30th, so bring things like Poptarts, donuts, etc...)
Money for two fast food stops and snacks
What Not to Bring
Cell phones
MP3 players and other electronics
Weapons (guns, knives, etc...)
Drugs, cigarettes, alcohol
Please pack light. The more stuff you bring the more uncomfortable the ride is going to be for you on the way up there. Keep everything in one bag if possible. Duffle bags and backpacks are preferable because they store easily. We won't have the trailer this year so all of your stuff will be going on the bus with you.
We will stop for breakfast on the way up to Camp Michindoh. Lunch and dinner will be provided on the 28th, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided on the 29th. Breakfast on the 30th will be up to you to bring things like Poptarts, donuts, etc... We will stop for lunch on the way back to KLMC after THELO. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
It's December, and that means one thing. THELO Conference is coming! Well, it also means that Christmas is coming, but then right on the heels of Christmas is THELO Conference. This year is going to be epic, and you are not going to want to miss it. We are bringing back some of the best things from the first THELO Conference. Here are some things that will be going down:
Dodgeball
Floor Hockey
Tubing
Digging into the Word (Karl Black, our speaker, is amazing!)
Eating Pizza (You can't have a conference without pizza)
Eating some other great food...seriously, the food is great
Music
Tons of games (pool, arcade, ping pong, air hockey, etc...)
and lots of time to hang out with friends
Here's the catch...your registration forms and money are due this Sunday! You may be thinking, "What, this Sunday?" And I'm thinking, "Yeah." So here's what you need to do: bring your form and money to VIBE this Sunday night (if you bring it in the morning I probably won't accept it because I'm likely to lose it).
One more thing about THELO Conference. I know that it is costly and can be difficult to pay for. Don't let money become an issue. We want to see everyone have a chance to experience this awesome event. We do have some scholarships available for people who need just a little help in going. If that is the case, call, email, or Facebook me and we will see what we can do.
This Sunday is our last VIBE of 2012. Can you believe it? So we're going to go out in style. We're going to have a huge Christmas party. We'll be serving some cookies and punch, playing some crazy Christmas games, and you'll have a chance to win money towards your small group's Christmas project. The party is at the same time as a normal night of VIBE - 5:45-7:15 central, slow. Hope to see you all there!
This Sunday at VIBE
Have you ever had doubt about your faith, about God, about what you believe? I think that at one point or another most of us have some kind of doubt. I remember having doubts when I was a teenager. But then I remember feeling terrible about having doubt and that I had somehow let God down. I thought that maybe I fell out of favor with God when I began to doubt, so I kept my doubts a secret, not letting anyone help me reason.
Would it make you feel better to know that even Jesus' own disciples had doubt? The disciples saw Jesus as he took his last breath. They watched him die and new where his tomb was. Yet, just days after his death, Jesus appeared to his disciples.
"Why are you frightened?" he asked. "Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it's really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don't have bodies, as you see that I do." (Luke 24: 38-39, NLT)
It was more plausible for the disciples to see Jesus and think that he was a ghost than for him to really be standing there. That defied all logic and understanding, yet there he was.
We're going to be talking about doubt this week. And by we, I mean all of us. What kind of doubts do you have? What are some things that are hard to believe about God, the Bible, Jesus? Is it OK to have doubt? What do you do with your doubt? Those are some questions we're going to be asking.
THELO Conference/Calendar Fundraiser
Registration forms and money for THELO Conference are do next week at VIBE. If you are unsure of how much you owe check with Ingrid or me this Sunday night.
Calendar forms are due this week at VIBE. Bring the order form and the money. Calendars will be ordered this week and will be available by December 9th.
At some point, this thing that we call life is going to end. There will come a time when some of the things we thought were important are no longer valuable. The only things that matter after you are gone are 1) did I know and follow Jesus, and 2) what did I leave behind to help others know and follow Jesus? When you are gone, what will you leave behind. Will you leave hurt, anger, bitterness, selfishness, or just a bunch of stuff that doesn't mean anything to anybody? Or will you leave love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and an example of what it means to follow Jesus?
The thing about leaving a legacy is that it starts now. You current actions will dictate the legacy you leave when you are gone. Far too often we think, "I can take care of that later. I have a lot of time to figure that out." But then, in the blink of an eye, it's all gone, and the only thing left here on earth is your legacy. What will people remember of you?
Leaving a legacy has everything to do with how you live your life. Paul left a pretty awesome legacy. He lived his life in a way that everyone observing him could tell where his allegiance was. He summed up his life in these words:
For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).
For Paul, if he was breathing, his whole life would be devoted to Jesus. And he knew that when he died the troubles of this world would be over and he would see Jesus face to face. Later on he urged people to follow his example (Philippians 3:17). I read and re-read his words, that we should follow his example, and I asked myself, "Could I encourage others to follow my example?" Then I asked myself, "What kind of legacy would I leave if I felt comfortable enough with my walk with Christ that I could tell others to follow me?"
What would the impact be if you lived in a way that you felt comfortable allowing other people into your life, comfortable enough with yourself and your relationship with Jesus that they could follow your example? What kind of legacy would you leave if everything you did was for Christ? You only have one life, one chance to leave a legacy. Will your legacy help others to know and follow Jesus?
We took a few moments in VIBE this past week to write our own funeral speeches (what we hope others will say about us when we die). What do you hope people will remember you by? I encourage you to take five minutes and write those thoughts down, then ask, "Am I living in a way that people will remember me by what I just wrote down?" If not, what things need to change in your life?
It's been quite some time since the last blog, and I apologize for that. A lot has gone on in the last couple months. We've been busy, from the Girly-Burly retreat, the Fish Fry, a great night with Andy Collins as a special speaker at VIBE, to our current VIBE series YOLO. It's been a great time, but now we are getting into a new season. It's a busier season for many, so we slow down just a bit. But there are still some things coming up you should be aware of.
THELO Conference - December 28-30
Every year there is some type of conference on the exact same dates, December 28-30. Mark your calendars for 2016 that there will be a conference. But which conference may change. 3DYC is the conference that we used to participate in every year. A couple of years ago the 3DYC staff announced that it would only be offered every other year. So we decided to do our own conference on the off years, and we named it THELO Conference.
THELO Conference is $130 this year. It includes transportation, food while we are there, and lots of fun! We will stay at Camp Michindoh in Hillsdale, MI. There are many things to do while at THELO: Floor hockey, dodgeball, tubing, hang out, and eat lots of good food (fried macaroni and cheese anyone?). There will also be times of music and digging into the Word. If you're like me and don't just have $130 sitting around, you could....
Sell Calendars!
We are right in the middle of our calendar fundraiser. The calendars are high quality and, of course, pretty! They sell for $7/calendar, and $4 of each sale goes into your student account to help pay for THELO Conference. It doesn't take long for the calendars to start adding up. Money and order forms are due back by DECEMBER 2ND. The calendars will be ordered during the week, and you will receive them on December 9th. All money has to be in by December 2nd in order to secure your calendars.
YOLO
We are going to be wrapping up our current message series YOLO this week. We've been looking at part of Paul's life at a time when he was writing to the Philippians. Paul was someone who had courage and was not ashamed of Jesus, even when he was in prison because of following Him. The main question through this series has been, "What if I lived my life with courage and not ashamed of Jesus."
So we'll be wrapping up the series this week, then we have a week off because I'll still be sleeping off the turkey. Then we meet on December 2nd and December 9th, and that is it for 2012! We will have a Christmas party on December 9th, so plan for some chaos! Well, this has been long enough, so I'm going to sign off now.
Ever feel like this when dealing with your teenager?
One of our main missions as a youth ministry is to partner up with parents. We want to give you all the tools and resources we can to help you become the main spiritual care-takers of your home. And that's why I'm super excited for an event that is coming up.
A few years ago Tara and I went to National Youth Workers Convention and attended a breakout session called, "Marriage and Ministry," by Jim Burns. Several things that Jim said stuck out to us, and there have been things that we do differently now because of his influence. We were introduced to his organization called Homeword, which is an organization that helps resource families. They focus on marriage and raising kids.
A couple years later I discovered that Homeword has people trained around the U.S. that specialize in giving seminars for parents and youth workers. One of these seminars is called Understanding Your Teenager. Since we are dedicated to help resource parents, this seminar jumped out at me.
We are bringing in Dave Veerman from Naperville, IL, on November 10th. Dave worked for 26 years with Youth for Christ, and was the national campus life director. He has authored more than sixty books, mostly about parenting and teenagers.
But we are also bringing in some other voices. We have a couple of people confirmed, and are awaiting confirmation from some others. Derry Prenkert from Nappanee Missionary Church will be sharing about how to help a teenagers faith to stick after high school, and Brad Thornton from Bremen Missionary Church will be sharing on the Balancing Act of having teens active in after school programs (sports, band, etc...).
For more information check out our church website (www.klmc.us). You can register online or send in a registration. You should be getting something in the mail if you are on the mailing list. This seminar will be perfect for anyone with kids in 5th-12th grade. I hope you consider joining us.
Trust me, you won't want to miss VIBE this week. Well, maybe you do want to miss it, but I would not advise it. The most important thing that has ever been said at VIBE will be said this Sunday. Let me repeat: There has never been a more important statement at VIBE than there will be this week. So what is the all important statement? You'll have to come to find out.
There are a couple other things going on. Next weekend is Girly-Burly (if you don't know what that is look back a couple posts). We are accepting registrations this Sunday if you didn't get it to me last Sunday. I think that it is going to be an awesome time. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with the guys.
We also have registration forms for THELO Conference available. I'm putting out a signup sheet this week to get a gauge of how many people will be going. Make sure to sign up (you don't need your money or registration form in to sign up). Also, make sure you are selling Fish Fry tickets to help reduce the cost of THELO for yourself! Every ticket will bite off a bit of your total registration.
That's all for me. Hope to see you this Sunday. Until then....
We continued our Rescue series last night. A couple weeks ago we looked at how God created everything beautiful and marvelous. It was perfect. And a part of the creation is human beings. God did not make a mistake in creating humans. In fact, He was pretty happy with what He had created. You are created on purpose and for a purpose. You are not an accident, but a marvelous and beautiful creation.
But last night we looked at a glitch in the system. Adam and Eve decided to veer off the path and, in doing so, introduced what we call "sin" into the world. The relationship between God and humans, and the relationships between human beings was broken when they decided to do their own thing. While God created everything beautifully, we broke it (see Genesis 3).
But fortunately the story didn't end there. The rest of the Bible is all about God trying to restore His creation and His people. And so we're not going to end there either. Actually, God showed some grace by not allowing Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of life. If they had done that, we would have to live in this broken world forever. But God has a plan. And God's plan is to restore beauty once again.
I really hope that you will join us this next week to see how that plan is unfolding. I believe that God is going to move in a huge way if we are open to His leading.
On a different note, I am extending the Girly-Burly registration to this upcoming Sunday. But you have to tell me that you are going by Wednesday. That will help in the planning process. Oh, and enjoy this PSA from a couple friends:
I've been slacking on writing these blogs, but no more! Here we go with a fresh Monday morning blog, and there are some big things coming up. But first, let's look back at last night.
VIBE was pretty epic with all new (to us) games and giveaways. Let's Make a Deal was pretty sweet. I do feel bad that Allen turned down several Gathering Bucks for a can of corn, but I guess that's the nature of the game. We also opened up our September series: Rescue. Here are some things we talked about:
1) Everything that God creates is marvelous and beautiful. He said so Himself! Genesis 1:31 says that, "God saw all that He had made, and it was very good." From the first light to the first humans, God liked what He saw. Which brings us to our next point:
2) Every person, including you, is a marvelous and beautiful creation. At least, God sees it that way.
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me
in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!Body and soul, I am marvelously made!I worship in adoration—what a creation!You know me inside and out, you know
every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I
was sculpted from nothing into something.Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the
stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before
I'd even lived one day. (Psalm 139:13-16, The Message)
That means that each person was created on purpose and for a purpose. Even when it feels like you are nothing but an accident, someone of no worth, someone who no one else likes, even then you are a marvelous and beautiful creation, created with a purpose for a purpose.
3) Because everyone is a marvelous and beautiful creation, we should treat others as God sees them. How do you think God feels when His creation, the creation that He loves so much, destroys itself? Even the people who are the most difficult to deal with are part of God's beautiful creation.
At the end of this blog is a video of the song "Everything Glorious" by David Crowder. We sang this song yesterday, and it's simply a reminder that everything God creates is glorious, and we are a part of that creation. Not that we are to be prideful that God has created us beautifully, but mindful of this, and constantly worshiping Him because of His grace.
OK, so that was last night, but in a couple weekends we have a big deal coming up. Our first ever Girly-Burly retreat is coming up. This upcoming Sunday is the last Sunday that you can turn in permission slips/money to be secured a spot, and as of right now I have 3 permission forms turned in. This is going to be an incredible time!
For those asking, "What's Girly-Burly," let me explain. We are doing three retreats in one weekend. The guys will be going with me to the luxurious Super 8 in Plymouth to have an excellent night of video games, swimming, pizza, and talking about what it means to be a man of God. The Jr. High girls are going to Lita Hall's house to do their girly thing (movie, food, painting fingernail? I don't know what girls do at over-nighters) and the high school girls are going to Lori Pucel's for a girly night as well. This runs September 28 at 4 p.m. central/slow time through September 29 at 1 p.m. central/slow time. You will be responsible for your own ride to and from the event.
We also have the Fish Fry coming up, and I didn't get those tickets out last night. So if you want a jump start, come get your tickets from the church office sometime this week. Sell tickets, earn money towards THELO Conference (more details coming soon!).
Hey guys, we have a really cool opportunity coming up next Saturday. We will be heading out to Elkhart to an organization called "Feed the Children". We will be packing boxes of non-perishable items to send to local families in need. The last time we went it was a huge success, and they called us back to see if we could come again. Again, that's September 8th.
After we pack boxes in the morning, we will head out to Ox Bow Park. There's all kinds of things to do there: football, volleyball, frisbee, hiking, eating hot dogs and burgers! It's going to be a fantabulous time. The one thing that would really help is if Jr. High could bring snacks and High School bring drinks.
When: Saturday, Sept. 8 - 6:45-3:30 central (slow)
Where: Feed the Children/Ox Bow Park
What: Packing boxes of non-perishable items for local families and lots of fun!
Why: To serve our local community and have fun while doing it
How: Riding a bus! Who loves bus rides? This guy!
Also, remember that there is no VIBE this Sunday due to Labor Day. But come to the Donut Booth at the Blueberry Festival and visit me. You will probably want about 80 dozen donuts while you're there too.
Last night we talked about being called. Moses was called for a very specific purpose. God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses didn't feel like he was good enough for the job God gave him. Have you ever felt not good enough? I often feel that I am not equipped to do the work God has called me to. Yet God's promise to Moses, that He would go with him, remains true for us today. In Matthew 28 Jesus gave us what is known as the "Great Commission":
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The call from Jesus is clear: make disciples and teach them to obey everything He commanded. We may not feel like we even know where to start, but we aren't doing it alone. Just as God promises Moses to go with him, Jesus promises His followers that He will always be with us, even when it doesn't seem like it.
Here are some steps to take this week:
Step 1 - Ask God what He is specifically calling you to. Is it a friend who needs to hear about Jesus? Is it sitting by someone who simply needs to feel noticed? What is God calling you to right now?
Step 2 - Start simple. If you feel a friend needs to know about Jesus, but you don't know where to start, invite them to church with you. That simple step could open up the door to another conversation. You never know what God will do with the small/simple things that we do. So listen to God, then go to work. That's it!
Don't forget, we have no VIBE next week because of Labor Day. So, if you invite a friend to VIBE, make sure you invite them to come on the 9th! In the meantime...
Have you ever felt called to do something, but couldn't muster up enough courage to do it? I have. And I often ask myself, "Why do I have so much trouble following through with what God has called me to." It often has to do with fear. Fear of rejection or failure, or that I didn't really hear from God.
What would happen if every person who followed Christ actually acted upon every call that God had placed on them? Could you imagine how the world, your world, your school and home, might be different? But instead, we are often too worried about what others think and how we might fail.
This week we are going to be talking about Moses. He was a guy that, like most of us, was afraid of the call that God placed in His life. Yet God kept pursuing and calling him. He didn't let Moses off the hook.
Here's the big question this week: If you knew that you would be successful no matter what, as long as you were following God's call, would that be enough to answer the call? I guess a follow up question would be, "What is success?" Those are all things we will be discussing this week at VIBE.
Hope to see everyone there this week. Remember, the Gathering Cafe opens at 5:15 central/slow, and VIBE kicks off at 5:45. Don't be late! You may miss an opportunity for a free Subway footlong!
Welcome to our very first blog! This is going to be a place where you can get information on what's going on, catch a quick devotional, and see a recap of what's been happening. This blog will be helpful to students and parents.
Every Monday I will post a recap of what happened at VIBE. The recap will include a quick overview of the message, some questions our small groups discussed, and some activities that were memorable. This is a great way for parents to see what we're doing, and it gives some background so that you can have informed conversations with your teens about VIBE.
Every Thursday you can check to see what we're going to be doing that upcoming Sunday. I may ask questions to get students thinking about what we will be discussing, drop clues as to what kind of activities you can anticipate, and talk about anything special or any changes that you need to know about.
Then you can tune in throughout the week to read a devotional, get a peek at upcoming events, watch an interesting/entertaining video, or maybe even read an article. I hope you will check back often. Feel free to leave some feedback in the comments section so I can feel the love.
