DRIVEN Youth Ministry

Night of Worship

2010-10-09T14:22:00.002-04:00

October 15th is our next "Night of Worship" at Christ Community Church. This is a highlight event for many of the youth at our church. We hope to see you there from 7-9pm.

Who: Open to the entire community
What: Night of Worship
When: Friday, October 15th from 7-9pm
Where: Christ Community Church in Huntersville, NC
Why: Worship
Cost: None

Centrifuge 2009

2009-07-16T01:00:00.003-04:00

We're over the halfway mark of summer camp!

Here are TEN things to ask the students about when they return...

1. the camp pastor and "ruint"
2. the energy of the worship leader
3. recreation
4. late night fellowships - Carson: bubble gum, Abby P: gummy worms, Colby: paper, Tyler: crackers
5. church group devotions - street signs, candle devo,
6. MEGA-RELAY
7. Loveless Cafe in Nashville
8. track times
9. The new dorms and rebuilding of Union (EF-4 Tornado hit the campus in February of 2008)
10. The AM Show: GLAD GLOD, Adventure Now videos, Terry & Teri, etc.

We're having a great time! The amazing thing is that it's hard to top your first Centrifuge experience, this one is off the charts!!! It doesn't matter if this is your first Centrifuge, second, or you've been to a dozen... it's awesome. Please continue to pray for our students as they grow in their faith!

Student Mission Team 2009 (Eleuthera, Bahamas)

2009-06-28T21:41:00.002-04:00

Our access to the internet is very limited. Things are going great and the students are doing a fantastic job. We've already completed one day of VBS (Saturday), we've also helped set up for a large outreach camp that begins next week (Saturday), we attended a Haitian church for worship this morning (Sunday), and the students have enjoyed snorkeling, kayaking, and swimming in the ocean.

We start construction work on the property for Camp Bahamas tomorrow morning (Monday).

Keep praying for us!!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-09T21:12:00.002-05:00

It seems like today we hear a lot of people talk about putting "Christ" back in "Christmas." Christmas is a great time of year, but it's my prayer that we put "Christ" back in our families all year long! I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Christ-centered 2009!

National Youth Workers Convention 2008

2008-11-20T14:48:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting in my hotel in Nashville, TN just a few hours away from one of my favorite events each year: The National Youth Workers Convention. It's an opportunity to discover the latest trends in youth ministry and reconnect with other youth pastor friends of mine! I'll be joining thousands of other youth pastors with gotees, spiked hair, blue jeans, and untucked shirts.

Running Strong...

2008-09-18T09:00:00.003-04:00

The Youth Ministry of CCC is back in full swing. Here are some of the things going on right now...

Sunday mornings...
DRIVEN, our Student Worship Experience, is packed with 100+ students! We've set a new goal of 145 for this quarter and 175 for this school year!!! We met our goals last year and we believe we can do it again.

FUEL is a Student Growing "U" course that meets on Sunday mornings at 9am. This course is taking students through the Old Testament. If you're serious about growing in your biblical knowledge, this course is for you!

Sunday evenings...
Saturate is a Student Growing "U" course that meets on Sunday evenings from 6-7pm. This course is training students on evangelism. If you're serious about learning how to share your faith, this course is for you! ( Course is limited to the first 15 students to sign up. )

Tuesday evenings...
The DRIVEN Cafe is open from 6-6:30pm on Tuesday evenings for students involved with ministry teams. Bring about $5 and grab a bite to eat before your ministry team meeting.

The Student Worship Band is rehearsing from 6:30 - 8:00pm on Tuesdays. If you play an instrument, consider joining the Student Worship Band on Tuesday evenings.

The Student Choir is rehearsing from 6:30 - 8:00pm on Tuesdays. If you enjoy singing, consider joining the Student Choir on Tuesday evenings.

Wednesday evenings...
The DRIVEN Cafe is open from 6-6:30pm on Wednesday evenings for students involved with small groups. Bring about $5 and grab a bite to eat before your small group meeting.

We currently have 5 small groups for students on Wednesday nights. some of these groups aren't so small and we need more adult volunteers! All of our small groups are organized according to gender and some are also grouped by affinity (i.e. Skaters, Gamers, etc.).

Other things...
In addition to our weekly schedule, we have road trips, theme nights, conferences, and other events on the calendar. Check out the youth website, subscribe to "the411", subscribe to "on purpose", pick up a student bulletin on Sundays, listen to the improv comedy announcements at DRIVEN, etc. There are so many ways to find out what's going on.

Centrifuge 2008 (7/20 We're Home!)

2008-07-20T20:01:00.004-04:00

We're safely home from our 2008 Summer Camp!

Thank you parents for being there and ready to help unload the cargo trailer upon our return. Your willingness to jump in and help clean out the vans was truly ministering to me.

Thank you students for being a fantastic youth group! We didn't have any "drama" to deal with and your behavior is to be commended.

Thank you counselors for being available to the students. I hope you saw a glimpse of what an incredible blessing it can be to work with teenagers.

Thank you Centrifuge staffers for being godly role-models for our youth group. Our teenagers need to see more adults (both young and old) take an interest in ministering to younger generations.

Thank you CCC staff for being prayer warriors for our youth ministry. Your prayers for our safe travel and prayers for effective ministry to the students was truly answered this week.

Thank you Cheryl for being an incredible wife to put up with a pastor who is called to work with teenagers. It's hard to believe we've done this 16 times (longer than most of the students we took have been alive)! Of the 6.8 billion people in the world, YOU are my favorite. I love you.

Thank you Mom for reading my blogs this week. Love ya!

I'm going to sleep well tonight!!!

I hope you guys enjoy this video I found on YouTube!

Centrifuge 2008 (7/19 Departure)

2008-07-19T23:25:00.004-04:00

We loaded the cargo trailer before breakfast this morning and headed off to breakfast, Bible study, and the closing celebration. We were finished by 10:30 a.m. and on the road shortly after that.

We stopped at a McDonald's on the east side of Memphis for lunch. We past a giant pyramid in Memphis. I found out it's the third largest pyramid in the world! It's known as the Pyramid Arena and is known for hosting major national sporting events. It seats over 20,000 people!

We're in Nashville for the evening. We got here around 5:00 p.m. and checked into the hotel. We then went to the Opry Mills (similar to Concord Mills only much larger and more crowded). After dinner at the mall we returned to the hotel where the students spent the remainder of the evening swimming in the indoor swimming pool. We're back in the rooms now and expecting 6am to be here very soon.

We'll see you tomorrow!!!

Centrifuge 2008 (7/18 The Final Night)

2008-07-19T00:32:00.004-04:00

Today was the last full day of camp. The students have enjoyed phenomenal Bible studies, understood missions more clearly, and developed a heart for worship!

Tonight's worship was very meaningful. Austin said, "Tonight I really worshiped God. I wasn't just reading the lyrics or mouthing the words. I was singing to God."

Abby B. inspired me to worship this evening. I watched her sing with her whole heart. It was like watching a student that was totally consumed in the presence of God and nothing else mattered.

At one point during the worship music, I turned to check on the row behind me. I noticed that all of the guys on that row were singing and I watched Logan singing and worshiping God with lifted hands. Some of the students expressed that they had never worshiped God with their posture (lifted hands, kneeling, prostrate, etc.). I watched many of our students express their worship non-verbally for the first time! Our students participated in singing, praying, and giving.

We gave $195 toward the missions offering tonight! They'll share what the total missions offering was tomorrow morning.

Our last Church Group Devotion was tonight. It was our annual "Candle Devotion." This is where the students are not allowed to talk unless they have possession of the candle. The candle is passed around the room and each individual is given an opportunity to share whatever is on their heart. Tonight's Candle Devotion went extremely well. Students were encouraging to one another and shared from their heart.

I believe every student has been motivated for life-change that will effect the home, their schools, our community, and even our church and youth group! I can't wait to see what God is going to do next!!!

Students are currently packing their bags and preparing an overnight bag for tomorrow night. We'll be loading the cargo trailer tomorrow morning from 6:30 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. At 7am we'll be heading to breakfast. Followed by our Hang Time and final Bible Study. At 9:45 a.m. we'll wrap things up with the Closing Celebration. We'll be on our way to Nashville by 10:30 a.m.

We should be in Nashville around 4:30 p.m. tomorrow. Nashville to Huntersville is 7 hours without stops. We'll be making food stops, gas stops, and restroom breaks. Which may add two hours to the trip. We also lose an hour as we cross the time zone. If we leave at 7am (Central), we should arrive between 4-5pm (depending on how many restroom breaks we have to make).

Pray for safe travel tomorrow and Sunday!

Centrifuge 2008 (7/17 Teachable Moments)

2008-07-17T16:30:00.000-04:00

The Centrifuge staffers as well as our own counselors from CCC are looking for "teachable moments." There are numerous Bible studies and are grouped according to age. I'm sure it may not be the first thing they talk about when they return, but every activity has some type of biblical life-application. For example, when they're finished with recreation, the Rec. Director has a biblical principle to share with the students. They're also learning about the importance of mission work around the world. They've learned specifically about the Roma people and the work happening through the International Mission Board as well as the need for church plants in Canada through the North American Mission Board.

The following video clip is the trailer for a mini-series that LifeWay has put together specifically for summer camp called "Adventure Now." Each morning during "The AM Show" (morning celebration), they show the next scene from this mini-movie. The video is really funny and is building up interest in the "teachable moment" when the movie concludes.

Centrifuge 2008 (7/16 Bonding)

2008-07-16T23:21:00.000-04:00

This is a video from Fuge. I'm sure your teen will tell you all about Carter and the t-shirts.

Today was a great day for all of the students. Chris H. wasn't feeling well this evening. Nothing to worry about. I think it was mostly fatigue. The students are beginning to see the importance of developing spiritual disciplines into their lives. We talked about developing six Spiritual H.A.B.I.T.S. into their lives that are not dependent on an event or program.

Here's a list of the Spiritual H.A.B.I.T.S...

Hang Time with God - This is where most of the students said they need to improve. Many of our students developed some type of plan of action for when they return home. Some have committed to read through the New Testament before the end of the year. Some have committed to a specific Book of the Bible, some have committed to reading something on a daily or regular basis.

Accountability in a Small Group - This is something many of our students are already committed to.

Bible Memorization - This was the second most desired spiritual discipline among our students. Some students have committed to begin memorizing the key tags. Abby B. has committed to memorizing all six series of Hidden Treasures by the end of this year! Way to go!!!

Involvement in a Ministry Team - Some of the students are ready to lead by serving. Some students decided tonight that they are ready to commit to a student ministry team.

Tithing Commitment - Some students said they know they should tithe, but often dismiss the offering time because their parents tithe. They simply don't think of tithing as their responsibility. I hope that more of our students discover at a young age the joy of giving back to God.

Sermon Notes - This is the most common spiritual discipline among our students. Nearly all of our students take notes during DRIVEN. Statistics have shown that the memory retention increases greatly if something is written down. Even if they never look at the notes again. (NOTE: I've also heard that 90% of all statistics are made up.)

It's weeks like this that I'm reminded of what a fantastic group of students we have at Christ Community Church. The behavior of the students has been great. The older students have been excellent role models for some of the younger students. It's a joy to see godly high school students modeling Christ-like behavior for some of our younger students. The lifestyle of a godly high school student modeled before middle school students is like a well delivered sermon. The impact is far reaching!

Michael and Jason have been fantastic male counselors this week. Their servant's heart attitude has been great.

Gayle and Patti are the two rookie counselors this week. I appreciate their love for the teenagers and concern for the spiritual health of our teenagers.

My wife, Cheryl, is a summer camp veteran. She has been by my side for 16 summer camp trips! She's the brains behind any successes I've had!

I can't say enough about the adults we have on this trip! They truly are fantastic. Could you please say a prayer for them today? Pray that God would multiply their rest. I know it's challenging to keep up with the pace (especially for Gayle). (NOTE: I have to pick on Gayle every now and then, she's always picking on me.) Please pray for them to have opportunities to minister to the spiritual needs of students in our youth group. Pray that God would give them wisdom as they encourage our teenagers.

It's hard to believe another day has gone by and we are half way through camp. I look forward to reading your comments.

Centrifuge 2008 (7/15 Messages)

2008-07-15T23:53:00.001-04:00

Here's an idea! Would you like to write a message to someone at camp? Let us know that you're praying for us. Say "hello" to your teenager. Let us know what you're doing. Simply post a comment to this blog. You don't have to join Blogspot, you can simply choose the Name/URL option and leave only your name.

Today was the first full day of camp.

Here's a snapshot of a typical day a camp...
7:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:00 a.m. Morning Celebration
8:40 a.m. Quiet Time
9:05 a.m. Walk to Recreation
9:20 a.m. Recreation
10:40 a.m. Walk to Bible Study
11:00 a.m. Bible Study
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:20 p.m. Track Time Rally
1:30 p.m. Track A
2:30 p.m. Track Time Rally
2:40 p.m. Track B
3:30 p.m. Free Time (Cell Phones Available)
5:00 p.m. Dinner
6:30 p.m. Worship
8:00 p.m. Church Group Devotions
9:30 p.m. Night Life (Camp-wide Fellowship)
10:15 p.m. Free Time
11:00 p.m. In Dorms
11:30 p.m. Lights Out (This doesn't necessarily mean they're asleep. It just means the lights are out.)

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Tonight's worship service was very inspiring. Many of the students have expressed that the worship and church group devotions have been their favorite parts of camp!!!

Centrifuge 2008 (7/14 Arrival)

2008-07-15T00:14:00.003-04:00

We have safely arrived at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas! Some of the students have been up since 6am this morning ready to go. We stopped at Shoney's for breakfast before getting back on I-40. We traveled another 200 miles and stopped at an extremely nice mall in Memphis for lunch. Some of the students rode the carousel in the mall.

Shortly after Memphis, we crossed the mighty Mississippi River into "The Natural State." The travel went by quickly as we played games like "The Psychologist" and problem solving riddles.

We pulled into ASU around 3:00 p.m. We were greeted by a group of Centrifuge staffers who quickly welcomed the students and engaged them in an activity, while I was registering the group. It was well organized and they did a great job of making sure that everything ran smoothly. Everything about the campus seems new, everything looks to be newer than 4-5 years. The dorms we are in are only 2 years old and each person has his/her own private bedroom!

After registration we unloaded the luggage into the dorms. Unfortunately, the guys took much longer than the girls in getting ready (I know it doesn't make sense), and they missed dinner. Which closed at 6pm. So, Cheryl went to McDonald's and bought several cheeseburgers, McNuggets, and fries for the guys to enjoy.

At 7pm we went to Opening Celebration. The theme, Kilimanjaro, was introduced with a video. Randy Sutherland is the worship leader for the week. The band was good, but WAY TOO LOUD. Which is saying something, because I really like loud music. Anyway, the camp pastor is James Tealy. He has a unique style of preaching blending his own music with the message.

At 8pm the students were divided into Bible Study Groups according to their age group (7th graders with 7th graders, 8th graders with 8th graders, etc.). The adults remained in the auditorium while the students went to Bible Study and the remainder of the staff talked with the adults about the week.

At 9pm we met back up with the students to go to our church group devotions. Tonight we simply went around the circle and everyone shared their name and a movie title that described their life! It was a fun ice-breaker and a great way to kick off the week.

After the church group devotions the students had a few moments of free time before the 11pm curfew. Well, it's almost midnight and breakfast is at 7am. Thanks for praying for us! I'm looking forward to a great week at camp. I'm praying for the students to be encouraged to grow in their faith in Jesus Christ.

Centrifuge 2008 (7/13 Travel Day)

2008-07-14T03:24:00.000-04:00

It's approaching 3:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) and we're finally settled in at the hotel in Nashville. We ran into construction on I-40 in Knoxville. We had to take the bypass completely around Knoxville. Once we reached the other side, I-40 was closed from Knoxville to almost Nashville. The detour took us to Chattanooga, then into Georgia, then we took I-24 North to Nashville. We're going to get about six hours of sleep and then back on the road to Jonesboro. Wow! What a start...

PowerPlant 2008 (Day 7)

2008-06-20T15:19:00.001-04:00

We're back! Our trip home was fun. A few of us played the Alphabet Game (where you each try to race through the alphabet by identifying the letters on signs, billboards, etc.). We stopped for lunch at Wendy's just before entering into North Carolina.

To the CCC Student Mission Team...
Thanks Katie for your leadership!
Thanks Josey for your heart for Jesus!
Thanks Anna for your servant's heart!
Thanks Carson for your prayers!
Thanks Charlie for your enthusiasm!
Thanks David for your attitude!
Thanks Ryan for your faithfulness!

To the 2008 PowerPlant Team...
Thanks for your godly leadership and example!

To the people of 1027 Church...
Thanks Tim for your friendship!
Thanks church for your partnership in ministry!

To the financial sponsors of the mission trip...
Thanks to everyone who gave financially to make this trip possible.

To the parents of the Student Mission Team...
Thanks for raising godly children!

To my wonderful wife...
Thank you for supporting God's call on my life. (And thanks for the JEEP too!)

PowerPlant 2008 (Day 6)

2008-06-19T23:15:00.002-04:00

Today was our last full day of the mission trip. During our last day of the soccer camp, Charlie and David shared their testimonies. After the soccer camp was over I led the children through a quick presentation of the gospel and 12 students accepted Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Pastor Tim Wolfe followed up with the children and informed them of 1027 Church and where they meet.

After the soccer camp was over, we celebrated at the Cheesecake Factory. We briefly witnessed to the waiter and he shared some prayer requests with our team.

During our worship time (The Gathering), Church Planters, Kerry and Twila Jackson from Bezalel shared about their church. Their church focuses on reaching the artistic and creative arts community. Kerry is an artist and painted a life-size painting of the crucifix. He painted it on six separate canvases and then pieced them together. The amazing thing was that he painted each section upside-down!

During our church group devotion, Pastor Tim Wolfe came by and we said our "good-byes" until we see him again. He said that he will come visit us in Charlotte soon. The students are excited about him visiting.

Some of the guys did some pranks before going to bed, but you didn't hear that from me. I can't wait until tomorrow!!!!

PowerPlant 2008 (Day 5)

2008-06-18T22:12:00.003-04:00

We started the morning already exhausted! It was a bit more difficult to get up at 6:00 a.m. In fact, I recall hitting the snooze button on my alarm a couple of times.

Today was an adventure. While we were at lunch at the park across from where 1027 Church meets, the students were returning coolers to the vans. I gave my keys to one of the students to return some of the coolers. When they came back to pack the remaining coolers, they realized they locked the keys in the van! We were only 40 minutes away from the start of our soccer camp and now we cannot even get in the van. I was able to stay with the church van with Cameron from 1027 Church, while we waited for a Locksmith (thank God for cell phones with internet). We were able to send a few of the students ahead to the soccer field with church members from 1027 Church. Finally, the Locksmith came and we headed to the soccer field. We got there by 1:10 p.m. (only 10 minutes past our start time).

After the soccer camp, we went to Ansley Mall to prayer walk. It's not too far from where the church meets and Pastor Tim usually sets up his office at the Starbucks in Ansley Mall. While we were there we saw several openly gay men and the students commented on how "spiritually dark" the community was.

After a short detour, we stopped for dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. It was another great experience and the students loved it.

We had a fantastic church group devotion tonight that brought our team even closer together. I'm hoping that the unity and the lessons we have learned as a group will overflow into our youth group as a whole.

Pray for us! Only one more FULL DAY remaining...

PowerPlant 2008 (Day 4)

2008-06-17T23:36:00.002-04:00

Everything was a normal schedule until 3:00 p.m. During our lunch time, we went to a park located across the street from where 1027 Church meets. After we ate, the students walked around the park and prayed for the families and even talked with some of them inviting them to 1027.

Ryan and I sat down with one man named, Grady. He was a homeless man who said he hadn't been in church since 1959 when he was a kid. I asked him, "In your personal opinion, what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven?" He responded with a typical "works" answer. After talking for a while, he assured me that he asked Jesus to be his Savior when he was younger. I asked Grady, "Do you have anything that you would like for me to pray for you about?" He said to pray that he could get a car. I have a feeling it had more to do with shelter than for transportation. Regardless, Ryan and I prayed for Grady and encouraged him to spend some time talking with God in prayer before he went to sleep tonight. We gave him a card with the church's information.

While Ryan and I were talking with the homeless man about salvation, the rest of the group was inviting others to 1027. There was a young woman who seemed very interested and was encouraged by our team. The team gave her a card with the church's information.

Afterwards we went to Target and a woman asked what we were doing (because of our matching shirts). Some of the students shared that we were there doing a soccer clinic for 1027 Church. She was interested in the church and we were able to give her a card with the church's information.

Once we were back to the BCM, we got ready for our "free night." This is the only night we have open to visit some type of attraction around the Atlanta area.

First, we went to the ESPN Zone in Buckhead. It was a large two story restaurant with a massive screen and TVs everywhere showing sports games. The top floor was an enormous arcade with life-size hockey, two bowling lanes, basketball, and dozens of video games. The students enjoyed a little recreation while their orders were being prepared. The food was fantastic and afterwards we went back upstairs to play a few more games as a group. You can visit http://espnzone.com/atlanta/ to see what the restaurant was like.

Afterwards we reloaded the van and went to Stone Mountain Park. It was a laser light show that is shown on the side of a large carving in the side of the "stone mountain." This is the 25th year anniversary of the laser show. It was a fun event and entertaining as well. During the evening hours, the parking and admission to the park are free. During the day, there is an admission for the park, but it has a ton of things to do for all ages. They even have a multi-level ropes course (the largest one I've ever seen and I've seen several). The laser show was over around 10:15 p.m. and we stayed for a little while a just "goofed off." Anna seemed most excited about visiting the barn. Throughout the evening, Anna was telling everyone about "the barn" with styrofoam fruit that you can throw. Once we go there, we did see "the barn," but I didn't see any "styrofoam fruit." I just saw multi-colored styrofoam balls. I guess you can call it fruit. We have tons of pictures we can show you later. (NOTE: I was going to add pictures to these blogs but we left the camera bag, even though it was prepped and ready to go with us. Fortunately, Katie and a few students brought their cameras.)

We got back to the BCM a little after 11pm (The BCM doors were actually supposed to lock at 11pm). We pulled in at the same time as another group, and barely beat them to the door. So, technically, we weren't the last group! It's been an extremely long day. We can't wait until tomorrow!!!

Pray for us to have strength and energy on Wednesday!

PowerPlant 2008 (Reflections from the students Day 3)

2008-06-16T21:08:00.002-04:00

hey this is josey.
today was so amazing. i really did learn so so much. especially in worship. they played a video of Jesus when he was being tried, then whipped, then soon after nailed to that cross.
it was so difficult to watch all of that go on. and i was so angry at the people that were cheering as Christ died. but then i just shrunk and cried because i realized.. it was NOT just those people. It was everyone, including me. I held Jesus to the cross, it was my sins. Not just Pilot, not just the soldiers, not just the un-saved. Everyone in the world. And you know what, he NEVER did ANYTHING wrong. All he did was love us with a love that knows NO bounds. And even after we did that to him, he stil loves us just the same, with that same unfailing, unchangable love. and he always will. he is our father and no matter what sins we commit he will always be there to be with us.

-Carson
I think today has just changed my life on the way i view some things and at our soccer clinic the kids there were just lit up when they saw us and just the look on there faces just made my day, then after doing the prayer walk and just praying for all the things. At the gathering was just a time were everyones spirit just opened.

-Charlie
Today i realized that the people that i was close to are right there in front of me. I also realized that God knew it was time for my grandfather had to go. That God is also right there in front of me and he is leading me.

Hey this is Anna,
Wow, what a day! We have grown so closer as a mission team but even more to God...these kids that we played with are just amazing they are so innocent and just want to be loved and encouraged, i had such a special time with all these kids who dont usually get encouraged and would come up and hug us and hold our hands! please pray that we will show God's love through our actions...then we had one of my favorite things that we have done all trip we did a prayer walk which was sooo moving to just walk down the block and pray for everything we saw and everybody, i have learned more than anything this trip that prayer is sooooooooooooo important in our daily lives, i have a wonderful great grandmother who is such a prayer warrior and i would so much like to someday be like that, it is so moving to know that there is always someone to listen and who loves me so much! this week has made a huge impact on my spiritual life and prayer life and realizing that God IS always here and how much he loves us which i think we all learned tonite through that movie which was so hard to watch and then really praying for others and my own life!

Ryan
i though that tonight was an very emotional night for everyone at PowerPlant. the lyrics of the music were very touching to me because tonight was a night where i actually thought about the meaning of the words in long time. Power Plant is probably the best way 2 get 2 know God more spiritually and mentally. if you ever want 2 get closer 2 God, i would suggest 2 come 2 Power Plant.

Hey its David,
Today was very cool because we got 2 teach 6th and 7th soccer 4 most of the day!! Just seeing all of the kids reactions from us playing with them and showing them love like they usually wouldn't get. Later when we got back 2 the BCM, we went 2 The Gathering, which is a time of worship 4 us, and it was a time of complete repentance. It started by us praying to God asking for forgiveness, along with giving Him the praise. It was a really moving time 4 the whole group. The music was great and it really impacted me. They showed the "That's My King" video which described God to the fullest. They also showed a clip from "The Passion" which showed how much tht Jesus went through to pay 4 our sins. Hope 2 c u all at home real soon!!
Peace Out :)

Hey its Katie,

Today was an amazing day for me. I was able to experience all of the amazing things that the students did, but I also got to see 6 teenagers catch a vision for missions and strengthen an already amazing walk with God. During a prayer walk with Anna and Josey I was able to see the Holy Spirit move through the lives of those two girls. Hearing them pray for the people and community, along with the students at the school we worshiped at almost brought tears to my eyes. They really got it. They understood that God loved all of these people, regardless of their choices and decisions and they cared for them the way that God cares for all of us. I will never forget hearing how their hearts were breaking for the children, people, and community that we are ministering in. It helped me to renew a passion for missions and a brokenness for my own family and friends that to not have a relationship with God.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for the team and the mission project until we return.

PowerPlant 2008 (Day 3)

2008-06-16T19:27:00.003-04:00

Today was incredible! Most of us woke up and started our day by 6am. PowerPlant provided daily devotionals for all of us to read each morning. Breakfast was served at 7am. Since I'm trying to eat "healthier," I enjoyed my "Fiber Bar" while the students enjoyed eggs, sausage, gravy, biscuits, etc.

At 8:30 a.m. we kicked things off with what they call "Good Morning PowerPlant!" It's a couple of games and songs to get the students awake and ready for the day. Today's first game was for all of the adults. We had to form a straight line with toothpicks in our mouths and pass a LifeSaver from one person to the next in line. There were two lines competing against each other. My team lost and Katie Carlo's team won.

The next game was a game that our students had played before in our youth group. We call it, "The Human Knot." Our youth group came in first place! We solved the puzzle so quickly the staff said it was probably a new record.

At 9:00 a.m. we heard from two Church Planters. The first was Pastor Tim Wolfe from 1027 Church (the church we attended this past Sunday). We read from Acts 11:19-30 and then learned six characteristics of a church plant. The second church planter was Pastor Todd Briggs of Epic Village. He brought an encouraging word about regeneration.

By 10:30 a.m. we began packing our coolers and preparing for our mission site. Once we were finished packing our equipment we stopped for lunch at a park and ate sandwiches for lunch.

Around 12:30 p.m. we stopped at Target on our way to the mission site (where we will lead the soccer clinic) and we witnessed to the cashier at Target. She asked us to pray for her family, she also requested that we pray for her to find a job as a school teacher before this fall. She has a degree in Elementary Education and lost her job last year due to downsizing and now must work at Target. We gave her a contact card for "1027 Church" before we left. The entire team prayed for her when we got back to the van.

From 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. we hosted a Soccer Clinic at the Boys & Girls Club. We had 40 elementary age children attend. Our students did a fantastic job of encouraging and leading the children. David and Anna led today's Bible study with the children and did an incredible job. I was extremely honored to be the youth pastor! You would have been proud too! One of the professional soccer players from the Atlanta Silverbacks (Greg Chevalier #20) was there to demonstrate the drills! Check out www.atlantasilverbacks.com and you can see a picture of the guy we worked with on the roster.

After the clinic we went to Zesto's. If you want to see what it was like visit www.zestoatlanta.com. We cooled down from the soccer clinic and ate some ice cream.

After ice-cream we went to the school where we worshiped this past Sunday and we walked around the neighborhood praying for the church and community.

At 5:30 we went to the "world famous" restaurant across from Georgia Tech. called "The Varsity." You can check out that restaurant at www.thevarsity.com.

We're back at the BCM at Georgia Tech now and about to go to worship (8:00 p.m.). We'll have a church group devotion at 9:30 and head to the rooms by 10:30 p.m.

Lather, rinse, and repeat tomorrow!

Pray for us!!!!

PowerPlant 2008 (Day 2)

2008-06-15T22:16:00.001-04:00

The day started at 6am getting ready, quiet time, and breakfast. After breakfast we got together to practice "Arise My Love" before we went to 1027 Church. You can learn more about the church we have been partnered with at www.1027church.com.

1027 Church is a portable church plant that meets in a middle school auditorium in the heart of Atlanta. The church usually arrives around 9:15am every Sunday with a cargo trailer filled with all of their equipment. Pastor Tim and a few others from the church arrived right on time. The students jumped in and began to help them unload the cargo trailer.

One of the church members showed up a little later and said, "Wow, you guys are almost finished unloading." I realized at that moment that they usually only have a very small handful of people there each week to unload. What took our team and their church a few moments to unload would normally take much longer! The students came to the same realization. Anna commented to me, "I had no idea it was this much work to set up a church!" I was thinking, "Yeah, and we've got to put ALL of this back after worship." I think so many of us are used to leaving immediately after church and going to lunch. I'm so thankful for those who SERVE JESUS by taking down the chairs in the main worship service, or clearing the tables and straightening the room in DRIVEN.

After worship and returning everything to the cargo trailer, we went to Pastor Tim's house for lunch! His family prepared an incredible Italian lunch with homemade noodles, fantastic meatballs, and so much more. The students loved it!

For the remainder of the afternoon, Pastor Tim showed us around the areas where we would be ministering. We previewed the area where we will host the soccer clinic.

We spent the evening learning myths about living in the city and discovered more about the importance of church planting.

Pray for us as we begin our first day of the soccer clinic tomorrow!

PowerPlant 2008 (Day 1)

2008-06-14T16:32:00.003-04:00

We're in Atlanta this week with PowerPlant. It's a ministry of the North American Mission Board of the SBC and works with church plants around the country. We're providing a soccer camp for a church plant called "1027 Church" and helping them develop a community presence.

The trip so far has been great. The students have had fun playing the game "The Psychologist."

I hope to update this blog throughout the week (but you know how that can go). I hope to post pictures too (but someone has to take them first).

Wishful thinking,
Chris

Pirates!

2008-04-12T14:01:00.003-04:00

We're approaching the second week of an eight week series called, "Pirates!" The devil's tactics (although they haven't changed in millenia) seem effective with each generation. The devil wants nothing more than to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to rob you of God's best. The devil knows that if you belong to Christ, that he can do nothing to snatch you from the hands of our Heavenly Father, but he can tempt you and as a result, make you ineffective as a witness for Christ!

I hope that through this series, the devil will be exposed as a thief and a liar, and the students will discover how to respond to temptation. This series has great potential to impact the lives of the students and ultimately to impact the community of teenagers in North Mecklenburg.

I can't wait to hear how this series has encouraged or impacted your walk and your witness for Christ!!!

Classic Rock

2008-03-20T16:28:00.005-04:00

We're in the middle of a series called "Classic Rock!" The series has been about classic "rock" stories found in the Bible. With the popularity of "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero," we decided to set up the game for students to play before the student worship service began. We set up an actual stage in the middle of the room complete with lights, fog, trussing, two large screens with projectors, and the equipment from "Rock Band."

I believe the series has challenged the students with both familiar and not-so-familiar events of the Bible. My personal favorite (so far) has been Moses striking the two rocks. We discovered that Moses struck the first rock out of obedience to God's command. As a result, the water brought forth water and provided "salvation" for the people of Israel. The second rock, Moses struck out of anger and disobedience to God's command. God had instructed Moses to simply speak to the rock and it would bring forth water for the people of Israel. Instead, Moses followed his own plan and struck the rock. This decision would ultimately lead to Moses' death. However, it's a beautiful picture of Jesus who was "struck" for our salvation. Jesus suffered and died once for all. He will never be "struck" again. Instead, we simply speak to Jesus and He provides our salvation, living water for us. Jesus is the ROCK of our salvation!!!

Dying to Live (Green Pines Baptist Church Youth Group)

2008-03-09T14:12:00.007-04:00

Jonathan Homesley, one of my former students in the youth group at Christ Community is now a youth pastor in Knightdale, North Carolina at Green Pines Baptist Church. I spent the past couple of days hanging out with the youth group of Green Pines as the guest speaker for their D-Now weekend. The church is blessed with teenagers who are eager to learn from God's Word as well as a volunteer team that made Jonathan look really good. THANK GOD FOR VOLUNTEERS!!!

Here are my hopes and prayers for the students as a result of this weekend...
1. I hope that the students will begin to see things from God's perspective.
2. I hope that the students will discover that they will make mistakes, but God's grace is sufficient.
3. I hope that the students will build a strong foundation in their lives by spending time in God's Word and making wise choices.

Here are my hopes and prayers for the youth ministry volunteers as a result of this weekend...
1. I hope that the volunteers were given a renewed passion for ministering to teenagers. It can be a thankless job, so on behalf of the students... THANK YOU for all that you guys did this weekend!!!
2. I hope that the volunteers were encouraged through the messages along with the students. One of the volunteers said, "I know this is for teens, but I got something out of it too!" I responded, "My philosophy is simply to teach God's Word. Because when you teach God's Word... you win! It doesn't matter what the age group may be."

Here are my hopes and prayers for Jonathan Homesley as a result of this weekend...
1. I hope that God smiles upon Jonathan and says, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." and entrusts Jonathan with an outpouring of more students to disciple in the youth group.
2. I hope that Jonathan has grown as a leader and organizer of student events.
3. I hope that Jonathan invites me back. :) I would love to work with you again.

I've never worked with a Pope before! Thanks Mike Pope for leading the worship. You are extremely gifted and I hope our paths cross again in the future.

Thanks for a wonderful weekend Green Pines Baptist Youth Group! The "Kingdom of God" came near to you this weekend, and you were there!!! I look forward to hearing from you.

Fish Stories

2008-02-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard someone share a "fish story"? Most fish stories seem to get more exaggerated each time the story is told. These biblical events may seem beyond belief, but these "fish stories" actually did take place.

As we unpack these three events, (Jesus Fills The Nets, Feeding the 5000, and Jonah) it's my desire that you'll "catch" the three overlying emphases: accepting God's help in life, becoming aware of the world's needs, and empowered to follow the call of Christ. This three week series will begin on Sunday, February 10, 2008.

I look forward to reading your comments!

The Ultimate Road Trip 2008

2008-02-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

I must admit that I was extremely honored to be your youth pastor on the road trip this past Friday night! Your actions demonstrated maturity and Christ-likeness. Our time at the Ice House in Pineville seemed to zoom by, as well as our time at LaserQuest.

The female marshall at LaserQuest commented to me during the last game that our group was the best group of any church youth group they have seen at LaserQuest. She said that all of our students were respectful and listened well. It's moments like these that remind me just how awesome our youth group really is!

Thank you for being like Jesus!

What did you think of "The Ultimate Road Trip"? I look forward to reading your comments.

One Minute Bible

2008-01-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

We've given away nearly 100 copies of the "One Minute Bible" to students in our youth group. The challenge is simple: spend at least one minute a day reading the Bible and these "bite-sized" devotionals. Students who come to DRIVEN, our Student Worship Experience, can pick up a FREE copy of the book.

I was wondering today how many students in our youth group are using their copy of the "One Minute Bible." I prayed that God would stir the hearts of the youth in our church to daily read God's Word.

I thought I would create a blog post for students to share their thoughts on the "One Minute Bible" and how God is using this tool to help them grow in their faith. I look forward to reading how God is working in your life!

Simplify Your Life

2008-01-04T22:40:00.000-05:00

We're starting a new series this coming Sunday at DRIVEN. I believe it was Martin Luther who once said, "If you're too busy to spend time with God, then you're busier than God intended you to be." Simply put, "You're too busy!" Through this series, we'll look at how the abundance of things to do can deplete any time we may have to spend developing our relationship with Christ and the people most important to us.

This series will challenge students to prioritize their time. If students apply these biblical truths to their lives, it will help them develop healthy priorities that will have a positive impact on their spiritual, school, and home life.

The God Zone

2008-01-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been "in the zone"? Whether it's sports, dating, or even your faith. Have you ever had those moments that you just know you're getting it right? I wish more teenagers would get "in the zone" when it comes to their faith in Christ. Many teenagers (and adults for that matter) are living compartmentalized lives. Their faith only matters at church, their education only matters at school, etc. I can't imagine living life in compartments. My faith in Christ is my life. Every decision, every choice, every purchase, every friendship, everything is influenced by my values. The question then arises, "Where do our values come from?" We must live life according to God's standards as revealed to us through the Bible. When Christ-followers understand and develop a biblical worldview, they have entered... "The God Zone."

We just finished a series of messages in our youth group called, "The God Zone." My hope and desire is to help students understand that "The God Zone" is where we begin to see things from God's perspective. I want to help students jump into "The God Zone" and see the things that break God's heart. I want to help students discover that His ways are not our ways. I want to help students know the heart of God. It's during those moments that our faith is "in the zone."

One week during this series I taught a message from Luke 10 that explains that some people are going to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ with open arms, while others are going to reject the Gospel. My heart breaks for the students who attend our youth group and don't even realize that "the kingdom of God came near" and they missed it. I'm praying that this generation of teenagers will join me... in the God Zone.