Quick Reminder and a Request

Fall Retreat - October 2-4 - Mentone, AL

This Sunday (September 20) is the deadline to register for this year's fall retreat.  You can do so HERE.  The cost is $55.  I also want to ask you guys to begin praying for this weekend we will have together.  Retreats are such a vital part in our group growing together.  It's a chance to get away and devote an entire weekend to drawing in to God's Spirit.  Pray for God to use this time we have together to impact His kingdom by transforming our hearts to line up with His.  

HELP!?

There are several students who want to be able to go on the retreat but have conflicting commitments on the Friday evening we leave.  I was hoping that someone would be willing to take one for the UY team and drive them up late Friday night so they could be a part of the weekend.  You are more then welcome to stay the weekend with us or return home whenever you desire.  Depending on how many kids will be wanting to come late, the small bus is available for use.  If you have a larger vehicle that will hold them, we will reimburse you for the gas.  There are no guarantees but Im pretty sure this single act of service will grant you a full size Jacuzzi in your mansion in Heaven.  If you would be willing, please let me know.  Thanks

Wednesday, Sign-Up's

This Wednesday Night - September 9

We are going to be doing a little something different this Wednesday night and will be partaking in a movie outing.  For those families who are interested, we will be gathering at Cobb Theater for the 6:50 showing of "War Room".  If you aren't familiar with the movie, here is the TRAILER.  I know some people my have other class responsibilities so in any case where your teen wants to go but you can't or if someone just needs a ride, Ill be driving the bus, leaving from the building at 6:20pm.  We should be back at the building by 9:10pm.

UY Small Group Sign-up HERE

Fall Retreat - October 2-4 - Sing up HERE

Tubes, groups and sign-ups

This Weekend

I know there may be some going out of town for labor day weekend but for those teens hanging around we are going to be doing a couple of different things.  

-Tubing the Cahaba River - This Saturday, September 5th

We are going to be heading to Brent, AL, about 30 minutes away, to tube the Cahaba river.  We will be leaving from the building at 10:30am.  The cost will be $20 and they will need to bring a sack lunch with them.  Pick-up from the building will be at 4:30pm.

-Hang night - This Sunday, September 6th 

We will be gathering at the building at 6:00pm to hang out.  They can eat before they come or bring their dinner with them.  We will wrap things up at 9:00pm

Small Groups

I try to keep communication between those in the UY small group and those who aren't separate. Since there is no official sign-up this year, I need to know who plans to join the UY small group so I can communicate appropriately.  So, if your family is intending to be a part of it, I need you to click HERE and enter your family’s name in the space provided.  Also, we will not be meeting as a small group this upcoming Sunday but will begin our regular gatherings on September 13.

Fall Retreat Sign-up

Registration for our Fall Retreat, October 2-4, is now open.  Click HERE to register your teen(s) to be a part of it.  Cost is $55 and deadline to sign up/pay will be September 20th.

Moving forward

Parents,

I do try to be as concise and to the point when I communicate with you guys on here, but from time to time I think its beneficial to share some thoughts concerning our direction and road map as a youth ministry. That’s my way of saying this is not going to be concise.

If you may remember, a year ago I explained our 2014-15 school year plan which included the idea of equipping your teens with opportunities to be active in their faith, specifically related to their spiritual gifts.  This was extracted from an Ephesians 4 mentality that we gain unity in Christ, maturity, and the fullness of who He is through obedient and intentional action.  It has been an awesome experience to see the different ways your teens have stepped up to lead, plan, teach, and serve in the name of advancing the Kingdom.  This mindset will continue to be a part of the DNA of this youth ministry as we move forward but over the past few weeks I have felt God calling us into something more.

     

This summer was one of the best I have ever been a part of while doing youth ministry.  I observed a tremendous amount of spiritual growth in so many of your teens.  From Knoxville work camp to IMPACT to camp and everything in between it was apparent that God’s spirit was moving in so many of their hearts.  With such a great summer comes the quite and sneaky temptation to be complacent.  

"Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth," -A.W. Tozer

For the 2015-16 school year we are going to be dialing in on what it means to be living out a life on mission.  The great commission isn't a choice for us to consider… it’s a command we are to obey.  In order for us to get to a place where this is reality, we must dive in to a passionate devotion to pushing ourselves deeper.  Now, before you find yourselves thinking “Yeah that sounds great and all, go ahead and challenge my kid to do those things”, let me say that this is beyond just your kid. You’ve heard me say it before and Im sure this wont be the last time but the most effective arena for genuine spiritual growth in a teenagers life, is within their own families. With that being said, I want to invite you into the initial step.  As communicated in the previous blog post, we will be gathering together this Sunday night to launch our small group for the semester.  Ill put the when, where and other tidbits of detail below but I want you to understand that we will be unpacking our direction together after we eat.   If you can make it, I believe it will be beneficial.   Even if you have no intention of being in this particular small group, you are invited to join us.  

I wont ramble on any further but I look forward to where God is leading us and hope you can make it Sunday.  And now a few dates and reminders:

This Sunday Night - August 30 — 6:00pm - at the building

Dinner will be provided 

Fall Retreat - October 2-4 - Mentone, AL

Hoedown - October 18th - Smelser’s home

A couple of things

Parents,

I hope everyone has had a successful transition time from summer to school.  I just wanted to make you aware a couple of different things real quick.  

Hang Night - This Saturday, August 22 - 6:00pm - 9:00pm

The teens will be gathering together at the building to hang out together.  They’ll need $3 to help cover dinner and drinks.  For those teens who have a desire to be on our leadership team (E4), and can make it, I have asked them to be here at 5:00pm to help plan and map out our direction for this school year.

Small Groups

To my knowledge, there is no official “sign-up” for small groups this year.  So, this is how this is going to work. As always, if you and your family are already connected with another small group, that is fantastic and you should continue doing so.  If you have been a part of this one, are new to the group, or don't currently have a small group… here you go:  

On Sunday, August 30th at 6:00pm we will have our initial small group kick-off gathering/meal.  All families of teenagers are invited to be a part of this group.  

If your family has not been a part of a small group in the past or if you are unsure if that is even something you would want to do, I would encourage you to at least show up to this initial gathering as we will be laying out our vision for where we want to go with this.  If you have any questions about this at all, please feel free to contact me.

Fall Retreat - October 2-4

We will be returning to Mentone, AL this year for our Fall Retreat.  Registration for that will open up around the first of September but I wanted to go ahead and get it out there so you could put it on your calendars.  

Wrapping up the Summer

LOCK-IN - This Wednesday, July 29th

We will begin the lock-in at 8:00pm at the building and pick up will be 8:00am Thursday morning.  If it fits your schedule to come get them earlier then obviously I am ok with that.... seriously, come get them.  They will need to bring $5 to help cover the cost of drinks, Snacks and some breakfast items.  

Lake Day - Saturday August 1st

We will be having our final lake day of the season this Saturday.  If girls could bring canned drinks and guys could bring side items to go with chicken, that would be splendid.  Starts at 1:00pm and wraps up at 7:00pm.

Good Bye Intern Party - Sunday August 2nd

We will be gathering at the building at 6:00pm to share a meal and some memories from the summer. I thought we could do a good ole fashion Money/Gift Card tree for them, so if your heart is moved to do so, you can come willing to donate to give them a little gift as they depart.  Food will be provided, but in order for me to have a good understanding of how many to expect, I will be sending an RSVP text later in the week.   

Camp departure, xbox cabin, wrapping it up

Camp 2015
If you have a participant in Camp this year, you will need to click HERE to get all the pertinent information to prepare for departure.  If you don't have a participant, you can ease on down to the next section.

This Wednesday night
We are going to mix things up a little for this Wednesday.  The girls will be having a sleepover at the Sunshine Pointe Cabin and the guys will be spending some time gaming.  

Girls
Meet at Sunshine Pointe at 5:30pm.  They will need to eat dinner before they come but plenty of snacks will be provided.  Pick-up will be 9:00am on Thursday morning.  If there is a transportation issue picking up (as I know many of you have real jobs you need to be at) let me know, and we can figure out how to get them home.  

Guys
They will meet at the building at 6:00pm on Wednesday night and will wrap things up at 9:00pm.  No need to bring anything.  

A few dates to keep in mind as we wrap up the summer.
Monday, July 27 - Enocity #3 
Wednesday July 29 - Lock-In
Saturday, August 1 - Lake Day
Sunday August 2 - Intern Goodbye bash