Each year about this time I usually send out some long entry describing our direction and vision for the upcoming year as far as it pertains to our youth ministry. The reason is because at this point each year I usually try to take some time to step back and remind myself why we do what we do as a youth ministry. After the summer happenings have settled and your kids are back in the books, it is a natural breaking point to evaluate and assess how things are going. My thoughts have been jumbled at times but I feel very strongly that God is calling us to the ground floor. Ill explain what I mean by that in a second but what I'm getting at is that I have no definite path, no initiatives, no neat curriculum or 10 step program to lay out there. Im saying that I think it is a season that we should collectively humble ourselves in diligent prayer asking God to take us where He wants us.
Last Wednesday night, the teens took some time to look at a very simple passage out of 2 Corinthians 13. Paul is wrapping up his letter to the people in Corinth as he says:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Now, I know this verse is laced with typical church verbiage, so I think we might could just read through that without allowing the magnitude of what he is desiring for them to sink in. I mean after all, this is a sentence with the words Jesus, Love, God, Grace, Fellowship, etc. all jammed in there…. Haven't we all heard some version of this sentence before over and over? Now, go back and read it again, allowing the definition of each word to wash over you as though you were hearing and understanding it for the first time…. seriously, give it a shot.
The GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ… that’s a biggie.
The LOVE of God… um pretty incredible
The Fellowship or friendship of the HOLY SPIRIT…. Yeah
Paul is wanting these three things to be with them, to be a part of who they are, for them to be woven into the essence of their DNA. He is praying that God deliver a deeper understanding of who He is into who they are.
So here is the question, do we want and have a desire for these things to infiltrate who we are as a faction of the body of Christ? And maybe an even better question is, have we taken the time to genuinely ask God for it? God is real clear that if we ask him for something that fits into His will, He will deliver. Clearly I lack a lot of knowledge, but it seems to me that somewhere in God’s will would be a chapter or several chapters that have to do with His people drawing near to him in a deeper understanding of his grace, love, and spirit.
Ok, so Ive rambled on and you are probably wanting me to get to the point, so here it is. For the month of September, I am committing, and several of your teens have committed to praying for very specific things that fall in the basket of asking God to be revealed and move among us. There has never been a strong movement or growing that has occurred that didn't begin with a group of people petitioning God to do so. Where did the disciples head when Jesus left them?…to a room to pray. What came next? Well, some pretty crazy powerful stuff.
I will be texting a group of teens, those who indicated they wanted me to, throughout the month of September (Mon-Fri) something specific to pray for. If you have any desire to be added to that list, you can let me know. The point here is that we draw back and regather our focus. Clarity is best delivered in the arms of Christ and I know I fall victim to getting so wrapped up into other things that I tend to lose sight of what the purpose here is. We are to make disciples who make disciples. May God lead us into the path where our surrender is required and His Glory is shown.
And now, a few tidbits of info and a request.
Small Groups
We will begin our small group season on September 11, at 6:00pm in the teen area. Ill check back next week with a few logistics and what to expect but I hope you and your family will be joining us this year!
Fall Retreat - Sept 30 - Oct 2 - $65
This year we will be going to Camp Timberlake in Millport AL. The cost is $65 and deadline will be September 25.
Feedback Please!?
Some of you may remember at the beginning of the summer we handed out a “Spiritual Discipline Guide” for anyone who wanted it. I need your help in gathering some feedback on how that went. This is something I have never done before and it would be really helpful to know a few things just to see if it is the sort of thing I may try again in the future. Below is a link to an anonymous survey….. there is no way for me to know who submits what so please just answer the questions honestly. You aren't going to hurt my feelings and I really do want a true measurement of how it went for most everyone. So… if you literally took the booklet home and never touched it again, please still fill the survey out. This has no affect on your eternity. Thank you for taking the time to do this, it really will help. Click HERE to take the Survey
