Contagious Last Night

For a change of pace we tried something different last night.  Students gathered briefly together before going right into their family groups (sand pods) for their Bible study time.  Tonight the bulk of the lesson was accomplished in the family group.  Change is good and this was a test flight for the Sundays that I'll be gone on vacation.

We looked at the parable of the soil and broke that down by looking at some case studies for each type of soil.  Students were challenged to think about which soil type they are.   We continue to use the One Minute Bible as the basis for our lessons each weekend so student's reading from the week ties in with the lesson on the weekend.

The One Minute Bible is a great tool for parents to use with their teens.  The student can read the daily reading in a matter of minutes and then there is some more scripture to go deeper.  Parents could use the "related texts" as a family devotional time in discipling their teen.  To get a copy from Simply Youth Ministry you can click the "ad" on the sidebar.  Their is a sale that wraps up today on these Bibles, $9.99.

Turn out wasn't as strong due to a holiday weekend but we still had a large group.  Students from a local group home joined us.  This group home helps at risk kids and they bring their students to youth group and Sunday worship whenever they have kids in the home.  We had a few guests last night which seems to be the norm as of late which is super cool.

The students seemed to make it through their first week of school okay and I'm sure are sleeping in and enjoying their holiday today.

40 Days of Prayer

Tonight at midnight our church kicks off 40 days of prayer.  Our church has committed to praying around the clock, 24 hours a day, for the next 40 days.  Someone from NHC will be praying every minute of everyday lifting our church to God in prayer.  I believe we are going to see God move in our church during this 40 day period.  Perhaps God is moving every week but we just aren't aware because we aren't tuned in.  During the next 40 days we will be tuned in.  I'm already pretty much stoked about our worship gatherings next Sunday morning and our Lord's Supper gathering next Sunday night because I believe this prayer will draw us closer as a church to God and closer to one another.

One of our students approached me and asked if she could lead a prayer time with the youth group.  So before Contagious each Sunday night students will get together ten minutes before Contagious begins students will gather together and pray for their youth group.  Sweet!!

Parents can download a prayer sheet and prayer journal to use with their children.  Hopefully some parents will use this as an opportunity to teach their children how to pray.  What will be super cool is that some parents will begin now a habit that will impact and change their families as they begin the habit of praying together daily.  Part of discipling your children and teens is teaching them the importance of prayer and how to pray.

Tomorrow morning at 12:00 am the 40 days launches.  I get my first turn on the prayer calendar at 6:15 am.    I think there are going to be some awesome testimonies spring out of this focused prayer time.  What would happen in your own life if you really spent time daily in prayer?

Football Team Devo

This season I have the privilege of sharing a pre-game devotion with the Manteo Redskins football team before home games.  Last night was the first home game so the first crack at the devos with the guys.  I was impressed how quiet the team was during the pre-game meal, I thought they were in trouble but  it is their way at focusing on what they need to get done on the field.  The meal was great, grilled chicken, mac and cheese, green beans, bread and fruit.  ( I only mention the meal because I know that theADD readers love to comment on posts that include food).

We met under the goal post for the devotional and most of the team came over for it and the guys were very respectful and quiet (quite different from youth group).  I shared with them a little bit about me and my life so they could sort of get to know me a little.  My devotional thought for them is that everything we do in life as believers should be an act of worship.  In 

I Corinthians 10:31 we are told that everything we do in life, even the "small" things we do in life on a daily basis, should be done to the glory of God.   That's worship!  

"When you step on to the field tonight don't play for your own glory.  You are a team and this game isn't about one individual.  When you step on the field play to please your coaches and do your best but it's not for your coaches glory.  When you step onto the field play your hardest and your best to bring glory to God.  This game won't matter in 20 years but what will matter is that in life, even the common every day things,  you lived to bring glory to God."

What is your church's vision?

I recently heard of a church that hired a youth pastor for 5-month period.  Now I’m not sure of the details as to why only 5 months but I have also heard of churches hiring youth pastors for a year at a time.  I’m not sure of the thinking or reasoning behinds such decisions.  What I do know is that it screams “No vision!”  What is the vision of a church if it is only looking months ahead and not thinking long range?  What would you do as a parent of a teen in this situation?

How does a youth minister function in that setting?  I know, because I’m a family man, I wouldn’t take on a position in a church with no vision.  I need to know I have a job longer than 5 months or a year.  I also want to be part of a church with vision, huge vision.

Some steps a youth pastor in this type of situation can take:

1. Find out the leadership’s expectations for that small time period.
2. Pray for God’s vision for both the youth ministry and the church.
3. Plan out a year’s calendar even if you won’t be there when some of those events or activities are scheduled to happen.  Don’t just fill the calendar for the sake of activities but plan on purpose with the goal of building a healthy youth ministry.
4. Map out Bible studies for youth worship gatherings.
5. Keep church leadership informed on what is going on in the youth ministry.
6. Build and equip a youth ministry team because one person can’t effectively minister to all the students.  This will also equip a team to carry on the ministry should your position truly only last 5 months or a year. 

Youth Ministry Team Meeting

Last night our youth ministry team got together for a meeting.  With the start of the school year and a few changes coming we thought it would be a good time for a team meeting.  To sweeten the deal we had pizza.  Now I know everyone in youth ministry groans at the sound of the word "pizza" but last night we had, in the words of one or our team members, "adult pizza".  We broke away from the usual cheese and pepperoni and had the good stuff from Slice, meat and veggie, triple meat, white pizza with spinach and tomatoes and ricotta, and of course pepperoni.  Point is this - take care of your team.

Our agenda from the meeting:

1.  Are we ready?

It seems we plateau every now and then in our growth.  Several factors play into this.  The one we focused on was answering the question of are we ready?

Someone recently shared with me that the church in South Korea is praying that God opens up the borders to North Korea so they can go in and share the gospel.  The church isn't just praying for it they are actually preparing believers to get ready to go in when the borders do open.

We pray that our youth ministry will grow, not for the sake of numbers, but because there   are thousands of students here on the Outer Banks that need to be reached.  But are we prepared?  If we are asking God to grow us shouldn't we be preparing our team for growth and actually have the team in place to handle the growth?  So we are going to start promoting the ministry team among our partners at NHC and getting more adults on board with reaching students.

2.  Contagious Youth Ministry Team Handbook

In planning for growing out team and to help everyone on the team understand their role and expectations on the team I put together a "handbook" for the team.  We passed it out last night, it is the rough draft, to get the team's input and thoughts as well as help with editing.

3.  SHAPE and Personality Profiles

To be a better team leader I need to know our team better.  So I will be giving the team members links to online spiritual gift and personality inventories to help me better understand how God has shaped the team.

4.  Be the best youth ministers:

Our team should be leading the way in youth ministry in our area and setting an

example or model for other churches to follow. I am not the youth minister, I am one of the

youth ministers. Everyone on our team is a minister. To be the best youth ministers we can be

this fall we need to :

>watch our attitudes

>have Holy Spirit controlled emotions

>invest in students lives

>keep contact with our students

>look for conversation opportunities

5. Family groups for the new school year

each student is part of a "family group" and that is where they have prayer and discussion

at out youth worship gatherings

I shared with the team a quote that Nate shared with me from that great show John and Kate Plus 8:

"Don't do what is easiest but do what is best for the kids"

We closed with some prayer time.

That's a look into a NHC youth ministry team meeting. Bet you wish you were there, at least for the pizza.

Blue 42! Blue 42! Hut Hut!

I'm pretty stoked about Friday evening.  High school football kicks off for the season.  (I'm so punny) What has me so stoked is not the game, the fans, the hot dogs, the hot chocolate, I'm stoked about the team.  This year I have been asked to do the pre-game (volunteer) devotion for the Manteo Redskins.

I have done ministry in the schools in the past but never in this sort of capacity.  I'm excited that God has given me this opportunity.  This Friday night, following the team pre-game meal, I get to share for the first time with the team.  I've been thinking about what to say.  These guys don't know me so I think I'm going to drop in a practice this week and just hang out.  I'm also going to share Friday night a little bit of my story so they can get to know me.  Everything I do in life, as a believer, should be an act of worship to God.  I think this Friday night I'm going to share with the team that as they take the field to play not just for the coaches, not just for their school or parents, but to take the field and play to the glory of God.  

I'll update the blog here and let everyone know how this goes.  

Deal or No Deal

I just heard Kashka on Deal or No Deal say, "I believe that if you say it and believe it then it will happen."  She has obviously been watching some televangelists.  She was down to two cases, a $5000.00 case and the million dollar case.  She believed for four years now that she would be the first million dollar winner.  She was offered over $500,000.00 and said, "No deal!"  She knew that amount of money would set her up and take care of all her bills.  But she believed she was going to be the millionaire!

Lesson in life:  If what you believe is not true then what you believe is false no matter how hard you believe.  If what you believe is false then what you believe doesn't really matter.  Apply that to eternity.  If you believe all good people go to heaven but what you believe isn't true then what you believe is false.  If you believe religion will save you but what you believe isn't true than what you believe is false.  I don't know about you but I'm not willing to risk my eternity on a false belief system.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but through me."

Kashka should have taken the $500,000.  But she believed!

Contagious Tonight

Contagious tonight was cancelled, well sort of.  Tonight we gathered at NHC with 7 other youth groups from area churches.  We had a great turn out from the students.  

The Line Up:

• Cookout of burgers and dogs.
  
• Impromptu game of ultimate Frisbee on the parking lot
  
• Lots of little clusters of students and volunteers sitting around chillin
  
• Trivia Game
  
• Milepost 13 Band
  
• See You At The Pole Video
  
• FCA interview with a student
  
• Prayer for teachers and faculty
  
• Message - Reaching the hurting.  What will you do this school year?  Luke 10:25-37
  
• Commissioning prayer for students committing to reaching their school campus
  
• Prayer time with students in prayer groups
  
• Ice Cream compliments of Cold Stone Creamery in KDH
• Thunder on the Ridge - sliding down Jockey's Ridge.  It was sick! (video on Youtube tomorrow)
  

It was a great night and the end to a great and long day.  Pray for our students as they go back to school tomorrow as they enter the hallways once again.  I fully expect this to be an awesome school year for our students. 

This whole evening was put together and sponsored by the Outer Banks Youth Ministry Network.  

Food

Two topics that draw comments from the blogging world almost guaranteed:  Food and Politics.

I posted on politics and got some comments.  Now lets see what this stirs up (plus I'm hungry).

I created a squash recipe (sorry no cool pics like the pioneer lady or other world famous cooking blogs).  (notice I use ( ) a lot, it's because thats what I'm thinking but not what I'm really writing)

Ladies and Gentleman, The Fetasan Squash:

Take the beautiful yellow squash, at least 3 big ones or several small ones.

Slice them about 3/4 of an inch thick to 1 inch thick.

Slice some red (actually purple) onions in thin slices.

Melt a couple of Tablespoons of butter into a sizzling hot pan.

Dump the squash and onion into the pan and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Stir often and allow the squash to get a light brown crunchy crust on them.

Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan.

Then top with a healthy helping of crumbled feta cheese.

Pull it off the heat and place under the broiler to melt the cheese real good.

Put a heaping helping on a plate.

Place plate on top of your head.

Watch your tongue try to slap your brains out trying to get to it.

If it doesn't taste good to you then you didn't cook it like me.

Great served with any meat grilled, fried or baked. (spam doesn't count as meat it is it's own food group)

Politics

I'm tired of politics.  I can't wait for the election to be over with so we can move on to whatever and whoever is next.  I think I'm closing in on deciding who I'm gonna vote for.  

Wouldn't it be great if we had a normal regular person run for president and the nation got behind him or her?  Imagine having a president that could relate to making a mortgage payment every month on a $40k a year income?  Wait better yet what if we cleaned out the house and senate and put all "normal" people in there.  Then something would probably happen for the good of the nation and not a political party or party agenda.

There, I feel much better now.  I'm going to go wash cars for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation now.

Washing Cars for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Tomorrow Team Contagious Youth will be washing cars at Atlantic Financial Services in Kill Devil Hills to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  CFF is key in helping those with CF and also in researching new medications and treatments.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that:

• clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and
• obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.

In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.

If you are out and about in our area stop by and let me and our team wash your car for a donation.  All proceeds will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Don't forget, if in our area to stop by Wendy's for lunch and mention CF when you order and 20% will go to CFF.  

If you are not in our area and would like to help you can go to my home page and donate to CFF online and help our team reach our goal of $1500.00.

If you live in the OBX area and would like to participate in the Great Strides walk we have plenty of room on our team, you don't have to be a teen or parent of team to be on Team Contagious Youth.

To find out how CF has impacted our family and church go to http://www.cfhusband.blogspot.com