Field of Blog

This Sunday we will be continuing our Sermon Series called The Best Christmas Ever.  I need your input.    If you leave a comment answering my questions, you will be entered into a drawing to win Skillet’s C.D. “Awake.”   Thanks for your help!  Try to write your answers before reading everyone elses!  I want your thoughts.

1.  What is Greed?
2.  In what areas of your life do you struggle with Greed the most?

The success of any ministry lies in the Men and Women who are allowing God to use them in the ministry.  In the church world these men and women are usually unpaid volunteers.  We have been blessed with some of the best volunteer youthworkers I have EVER SEEN.  They have a passion and love for Christ and to see HIM move in our students that is inspiring.  
What can sometimes happen is volunteers get asked to do something else, then something else, then sit on a committee, etc.  Factor in family issues, hobby’s, etc and even though they have a passion for youth, their calendar gets full and they miss.  If you want youth to grow closer to Jesus , volunteer consistency must be a reality.
In 2010 We are asking around 8 Men and Women to committ to being @ every Wednesday Night meeting for the entire year (obviously they will miss for vacation, etc- but you get the point.)  1 Year.  52 weeks. 365 days.   It is a huge committment, and I am confident that lives will be changed because of it.  It’s not supposed to be easy.  It takes sacrifice.

The plan is to have a Saturday training in late December or early January (4 hours.)  Then we will have a monthly meeting (30 minutes.) These meetings will be full of training, devotions,  and most importantly prayer.

We had a great vision casting/informational/training  meeting with our Sunday School teachers last night.  2010 is going to be an incredible year for our youth on Sunday mornings.  We are changing the format of our Sunday School hour, and I can’t even begin to express  how excited I am.  If we follow through with the vision God has given us, I believe that many students who attend on Wednesday nights will become connected to our church, not just the youth ministry of our church.  This is vital so that when they graduate High School, they won’t graduate from church.  Our new Sunday School Format:

10:00 a.m.     All Students and Teachers  meet in Fellowship Hall
this will be a time of general youth announcements, games, challenges, etc.

10:10 a.m.  Students will be dismissed to their class (by class)

10:20a.m.-10:50 a.m.  Teaching time.  You will have 30 minutes a week for the lesson.  Please try to get conversation and interaction to happen in your lesson. 

10:50 a.m. – 10:56a.m. Prayer requests and prayer. 

10:57a.m.  dismiss.

There will be several Sunday School class events, challenges, and games this year to create excitement and to help our students connect with each other. 

Please pray for our great Sunday school teachers as we prepare for the new format which will start on January 10.  Please pray that our students will be excited about Sunday mornings and will make it a priority to attend (even if their parents don’t.)

A few months ago we switched our Wednesday night service from having a preaching emphasis to having a small group emphasis.  Our services conist of worship through music, some games, video, scripture,  a brief devotion/lesson and small groups.  Our student leadership felt that not having the preaching was leaving some gaps in our Wednesday  nights.  The small groups are vital in students connecting with other students and adults, but the preaching needed to be there too.   Our new format starting on January 13 will be to start our Wednesday night service at 6:45 p.m. and end at the current end time of 8:00p.m.   The extra 15 minutes will allow us to have all of the key elements that we feel we need (music, preaching, small groups.)  Instead of altar calls we will end our services in small groups so our students can discuss the sermon, share prayer requests, and share any decisions they may be dealing with.

To have a strong youth ministry, you have to have strong student leaders.  In 2010 there will be 3 main groups of student leaders (or at least student leaders with defined roles.)

1. We will have 2 key student leaders.  They will hold several responsibilities and they will be leaned on a great deal to find out how we can better our ministry from a students point of view.  We will have one student of each gender.  Our student leaders for 2010 are Mike Hodge and Rachel Cook.
2. Our worship planning team is made up of 3-5 students who are always on the team, and 2-3 spots that will be filled by other students on a time to time basis.  These students will plan our Wednesday Night services, games played, songs sang, sermon series taught, etc.  This team is vital to making our worship services relevant to our students.
3. Praise Team – Our praise team will be made up of 2 adults, 2-3 student vocalists, and a few student instrumentalists.  They will be responsible for leading us in worship through music on Wednesday Nights.

I am really excited to to see how God uses our student leaders in 2010 to impact the lives of everyone around them.

Everyday this week I will be talking about some of the exciting things happening with-in our youth ministry in 2010.  I am excited about What God has been showing us and I ask you to please be praying as we prepare to make several changes to what our youth ministry looks like.
In 2009 our them was “SERVE” and we focused alot on serving others.  In 2010 we will be focusing on the word SHARE.  We will be looking for, praying for, and giving our students opportunities to share their time, their possessions, and their faith with others.    As John prepared the way for Christ to change lives, it is our hope and prayer that God will use us to prepare the way for Him to move in a mighty way through our sharing.

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
   ”A voice of one calling in the desert,
   ’Prepare the way for the Lord,
      make straight paths for him.’
Matthew 1:1-3

Here is what I know.  If we ever save more money than our emergency fund, something happens that drains it (and maybe even our emergency fund.)  With that being said I know that my God has always provided for us.  We try to always be faithful to Him, but He has always remained faithful to us.  We don’t always get what we want, but I am thankful that if we really need something, He provides. 

I just had $350.0 of work done to our Ford because a ground squirrel chewed the fuel line in two, and ate a wiring harness.  I hate him. 

He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.   God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.  
1 Corinthians 1:8-10

There are a few sites I check daily or at least weekly.  These sites have great deals and give an opportunity to save some dough on occasion.  Please list any of your favorites not listed in the comments section.

Woot
They have one item a day, that’s it.  Occasionally they have a “wootoff” which is when they clear remaining inventory at  ridiculously low prices.  On “wootoff” days they have several items throughout the day.

1saleaday
This site is similar to woot, but they have several different categories of items.

Amazon’s Gold Box
We do the majority of our Christmas shopping at Amazon.  The link I listed has one item discounted all day, and other items throughout the day.

Musicians Friend Stupid Deal of the day
I buy almost all sound equipment, cables, and lighting gear from Musicians Friend.  The link is for their daily “stupid deal.” 

Newegg
If you are looking for electronics, go to here.

Goodwill Auctions
This is the new auction site for Goodwill.  Some great deals can be found, and not too many people know about it…yet.

Hip2Save
This is a new one for me, but there seem to be some great ideas, coupons, and even freebies here.

If you are a leader, on any level, people will misunderstand you.  They will have their own thoughts on what you should and shouldn’t do.  When you go against what they want, they may complain.  Hopefully any complaints made will be directly to you, but chances are that they will be made to other people.  Here are some ways to survive when you find out someone is talking negatively about you:

• Be honest with yourself.  Remember how many people you have talked negatively about.  This will help you remember that although it is painful to receive, you have been the sender too many times to hold a grudge.  This should help you to stop talking about others.
• Be even more honest with yourself.  Is their any validity to the complaint?  Even if you disagree, see if there is anyway you can use this information to grow in anyway (sometimes you can’t, but we need to try.)
• Be confident.  God called you to lead whatever you are leading.  You are the person God created to lead what you are leading!  There is great strength in that. 
• Wait.  If you feel like you need to address the situation, cool your jets.  Don’t be defensive.  Care more about the person you are talking to than defending yourself.  Christ does that constantly for us, we are too be Christlike.  I wish I could say “don’t take it personally” but I always take it personally.  I invest so much into what I do, that it is apart of me.  I take it personally, but it doesn’t mean I have to react to a negative in a negative way.
• Read James 1

James 1:1-2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.