Mission Trip 2014: Birmingham, AL

In 2011, the largest outbreak of tornadoes in US history swept across the south leaving devastation behind. Many people were left without homes, lost loved ones, and nowhere to turn. Next Step STORM is an organization that is bringing about restoration to the areas surrounding Birmingham, AL.

Monte and Kim Brenneman were working in Gulfport, MS aiding in the restoration after Katrina before moving to Alabama. They have a desire to see the area restored, not just physically but also emotionally and spiritually. We will get the privilege to work with the Brennemans this summer. The projects could include everything from roofing to visiting homeless shelters to bring hope and the Good News to those who desperately need it.

This is a mission trip that I am very excited about. I believe that God is going to do amazing things in and through our group. I hope that you will consider being a part of this project if you are a student (7-12 grade) or sending your teenager if you are a parent.

We have our first training meeting for any student who is interested in participating. These meetings are not optional. Even if you are on the fence about whether you will go or not, I would encourage you to at least come to this first meeting so you can see what we're doing.

Mission Trip Details
Dates: June 29-July 5
Cost: $375 (Covers everything. We will do three fundraisers to bring this cost down)

Expert Teaching from Homeword.com: Social Media

Here is another edition of Expert Teaching from Homeword.com. In case you've missed previous posts, Homeword.com was started by Jim Burns, a youth ministry veteran. His organization focuses on helping families. I encourage you to go to www.homeword.com to check out the resources they have available. Here is an article on social media:

Social Media 101: Teens Are Fleeing Facebook
By HomeWord.com

A recent report from iStrategy Labs has provided estimates of the numbers of young users leaving Facebook in the last few years. According to the report, Facebook has lost over 4.3 million high-school aged users, amounting to over 25% of its users in the 13-17-year-old demographic since 2011.

The report adds significance to the anecdotal evidence and Facebook’s own admission that teens are leaving Facebook. But where are teens moving to among the social media universe?

Hard data is unavailable but anecdotal evidence and news reports are painting the picture that teens are moving to services that provide more privacy, fewer parents, and less drama. Teens are gravitating to specific-use social media apps (as opposed to Facebook’s all-in-one package) like Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, and messaging apps like WhatsApp, and Kik.

What it means for parents… Teens are known for their early-adoption of new technology and social media apps. Parents (and older adults, overall) tend to be slower to engage in new technology. It stands to reason then, that kids are always going to be one-step ahead of their parents – and they like it that way! When parents catch up, it’s time for teens to start looking for something new.

As with all aspects of youth culture, it’s up to parents to strive to keep up to date with how their kids are engaging the culture. Social media is no exception.

Here are a few rules of thumb for parents in regard to managing teen’s interaction with social media:

1. Discuss social media with kids. Focus on both the positive and negative aspects, as well as the importance of protecting one’s reputation.
2. Set reasonable expectations and consequences for social media use, for limiting the sharing of personal information, and for which apps can be downloaded and used.
3. Set and use app or site profile privacy settings to limit content access.
4. Learn what apps are on your child’s phone, tablet or computer – and which ones they use the most.
5. Learn what these social media apps allow your kids to do. Engage in discussion with your kids about how they use them.

So what about you? What steps are you taking in understanding and discussing social media with your kids? I would love to hear some ideas on how to stay connected and informed on social media with your kids.

Flipped Part 2: Losing Control

We're in the second week of our series Flipped. This week we're going to be talking about about control:

Who really calls the shots in your life? Think about the most powerful person you know. Reality is, no matter how powerful that person is, there are some things he or she still can’t control. Jesus met a man like that. This guy had assistants for his assistants. Everyone followed his orders. But at the end of the day, someone he cared about was really sick and there was nothing he could do to change that. However, he understood something about authority that we could all learn from. He understood that when his ability had run out, Jesus’ ability kept going. And trusting Him to be in charge flipped everything.

I have been on a journey with God discovering this truth in my life. Things have not always gone my way. In fact, there are some very significant things in my life that seem to be bad from the outside looking in. But God has taught me so much about His goodness and faithfulness in all of my mess.

I hope that you can join us this Sunday night at 5:45 pm as we discuss how losing control could actually be a good thing.

-Norm

New Series: Flipped

Have you ever had a moment that made you stop and think, "Wow, this changes everything"? Maybe it was finding out you didn't make the team or that your parents were splitting. Maybe it was finding out that you were good at something you didn't expect.

In these moments our lives change direction quickly. The funny thing is, nearly everyone who met Jesus had one of those moments. They cam in with a plan, a direction, and identity. And as soon as they spent any time with Jesus, those ideas were turned upside down.

Over the next few weeks we're going to look at four stories. We will find that an encounter with Jesus has the power to flip our lives, much like it flipped the lives of people 2,000 years ago.

If you've never been to VIBE I want to encourage you to check it out this week. We meet Sundays at 5:45 pm. VIBE is open to anyone in 7-12 grade. Come see how Jesus can flip your world upside down.