IMPORTANT INFO: Student Life Conference

Student Life Conference 2015 is almost here!  Here is some general information you will need in planning for this event.

Schedule:

We will plan to meet at the church on Friday, March 13th at 1:15pm.  That way you can plan to be checked out of school, if you need to be, at 1pm.  We need to leave the church no later than 1:30.

The conference ends on Saturday at 4pm.  After stopping for supper, we should return to the church at approximately 8 or 8:30pm.

What to Bring:

Your Bible
Toiletries
Appropriate clothing
A completed Permission Form (Under 18) - You can download/print one here.
Money for meals
     Friday Supper
     Saturday Lunch (Has been pre-purchased).  Please bring $7 in EXACT CHANGE on Friday!!)
     Saturday Supper
Extra money for Conference Merchandise (NOT NECESSARY)

You may bring cell phones, but they will not be allowed to be used during worship services.  You have to be responsible for any other expensive items, such as cameras.

Jason's cell # is 336.583.5375 in case you need it.  We will be staying at the Comfort Suites at 10415 Centrum Parkway, Pineville, NC.  The phone number there is 704.540.0069.

The conference is taking place at Calvary Church at 5801 Prineville-Matthews Rd, Charlotte, NC.

You can find out more information about Student Life Conference here.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask.  Looking forward to a great weekend!!

Reflection for Faith Talks

From 641Worship: February 8, 2015

I introduced our theme for 2015 on Sunday Night: Authentic.

We spent our time together on Sunday night defining the word Authentic and how we pursue it.  I laid out the following 4 questions as we begin to shape this vision:

What does authentic look like?
How do I authentically love God?
How do I authentically love others?
How do I continually assess this?

We live in a world of FAKE.  A lot of people talk about loving God.  A lot of people talk about loving others.  So, in the midst of that, what would be the greatest difference people can see in us?  The answer: authenticity.

• So, how can authentic be defined?  From dictionary.com we find the following definitions...
• Not false or copied; genuine; real
• Entitled to acceptance or belief because of agreement with known facts or experience; reliable; trustworthy

Experience is an interesting word there.  We talked 2 weeks ago about the difference between knowing things about God and actually knowing God.  What is the difference between the 2?  Experience.  Do we know things about God, or have we experienced him?  The difference will have everything to do with how authentic our love for and relationship with him will be!

We walked through Paul's prayer for the Colossian church found in Colossians 1:9-14.  Notice Paul's central prayer found in verse 9:

"...asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding..."

Paul is praying primarily for the believers there to know God through experience.  He is praying that they would not only know God, but grow in the knowledge of his will, or the grand story of God through history, of which we are a part!  Only when we come to know God in that way will we then "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him..."  Paul then prays 4 implications that will be the byproduct of growing in such knowledge that will work its way out in the outward expression of our lives.

1. A life that bears fruit (v. 10b)
2. A life that increases in knowledge (v. 10c)
3. A life that grows in the strength of the Lord (v. 11)
4. A life of deep gratitude based in hope & our reality in Christ (v. 12-14)

Simply put, when we authentically seek God, we will grow in authenticity in the outward expression of our lives.

We closed by reading through 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 together.  From that passage we were challenged to be people who (1) spread the fragrance of his knowledge, (2) are the aroma of Christ, (3) offer authenticity in the midst of "peddlers."

I closed by offering the following 4 questions for reflection over the next week:

1. On a scale of 1-10, how authentic would you say your love for God is right now?
2. What is the first step you could take to begin to move that number?
3. What would it look like for you to be the aroma of Christ among those in your circle of influence?
4. Are you offering an authentic alternative in a world full of "peddlers?"

PARENTS: Ask your students what stood out to them from our time in the Word together.  Ask them how they are processing through those questions for reflection.

2 IMPORTANT Updates Concerning Upcoming Events

(1) Student Life Conference: Parents will probably be THRILLED to hear this...students perhaps not so much.  But it's all good.  I've been trying to figure out some way to save families money...I know many of you have a student or even multiple students who have signed up for multiple big events for 2015.  I know that can get costly very quickly.  SL Conference this year is closer (Charlotte) than it was last year (Atlanta).  Staying 2 nights last year made sense due to the distance we had to travel to get home.  However, it doesn't make as much sense this year.  So I have decided to just stay one night (Friday the 13th, not the movie).  I am also going to take food out of the overall event cost and just let each student take care of the meals, themselves.  This is going to be huge for your pocketbooks!  This brings the total cost of what you will pay to the church down from $120 to $70.  This will cover the conference fee and lodging.  The only thing left will be food for the weekend, which I will lay out soon so you can be planning.  If you have already paid more than $70 for this trip, we will be glad to move your overage to another trip or simply reimburse the remainder.  Just let us know.  We should now plan to return home on the 14th by around 9:30pm.

ALSO...

(2) We sent in our down payment for camp (FUGE - North Greenville University - June 15-20) today.  We *may* have a spot or 2 open if you would still like to go.  It looks like right now the students who will be going are the following:
Grace R.
Isaiah R.
Michael G.
Alex C.
Brandon Y.
Nikolay C.
Bryce G.
Matthew W.
Joshua W.
If you feel you should be on this list and don't see your name, please let me know ASAP!!!  As in by tomorrow.  If you would like to be added and go, you MUST let me know by tomorrow.

If you have any questions about any of this, please do not hesitate to ask.  Thanks!!

Parents Meeting Info (From 12/7/14 Meeting)

In case you couldn't make the parents meeting this past Sunday night, here is the information I passed out.  

You will notice that a BIG change has occurred in our Canada trip with the date.  We will also not be leading a baseball camp this year.  This was per Ron's request.  They are simply condensing what has been 3 weeks of sports camps during the summer down to 2.  This has resulted in baseball camp being cut.  So, instead, this year we will be traveling there in April to participate/lead in a retreat with the students there.  We are also looking at offering an evangelistic outreach to other students in Rawdon while we are there.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

A couple of important notes:

* Students may sign up on the back wall of the student room, but are NOT officially signed up to participate until they have paid a down payment or have had a conversation with me in which we work out alternative payment plans.

* In an effort to be more precise with payments coming in for events, we are asking that all payments be made on Sunday nights.  I would prefer parents bring that payment up (preferably between 7:45-8pm).  All money collected on Sunday nights will be documented and turned in to Jennifer the next morning.  She will keep a list of all monies turned in so that we can all confidently be on the same page.

Important 2015 Dates:

1. Student Life Conference

            * March 13-15

            * Charlotte, NC

            * Cost: $125

            * Sign Up Deadline: December 21st 

            * Down payment Due: $40

2. Canada Mission Trip

            * April 6-11

            * Rawdon, Quebec, Canada

            * Cost: $450

            * Sign Up Deadline: January 4th 

            * Down Payment Due: $100

3. FUGE Summer Camp

            * June 15-20

            * North Greenville University (SC)

            * Cost: $280

            * Sign Up Deadline: January 19th

            * Down Payment Due: $50

·      No Student Ministry next week (12/14)

·      Caroling & Christmas Theme (12/21)

·      Family Discipleship Summit (1/9-10/15)

CLARIFICATION FOR WATER DAY TOMORROW

CLARIFICATION FOR WATER DAY TOMORROW (please read ALL of this post):

I am still trying to get back on my feet after being gone practically all of July!  As I have been known to do, I printed one time on our schedule and then announced a different time last night.  I apologize for that.  So, let me just completely change plans on you again, just for good measure! ;)

WE WILL MEET HERE AT WESTWOOD TOMORROW AT 3:00pm.

We will plan to be here until about 5.  We will NOT cookout or provide supper, but will have some snack stuff.  We will have fun with some water games at 3.  We will enjoy some snacks and then play some volleyball in the gym after that.  So, there is the plan!

If you would be willing, I could use some help getting some water balloons filled up.  If you would help with that, plan to come at 2 and comment below to let me know you are coming.

Thanks!

Final Camp Info

Alright students and parents.  The time has come.  We leave for camp on Monday!  Here is (hopefully) all the information you will need.

First, here is a link to a checklist for what to bring and what not to bring, as well as some information on how you (parents) can participate in camp while your student is there!

http://studentlife.com/sms/uploaded/files/2014%20Camp%20Prep%20Center/Original/YouthParentFlyer2.pdf

PLEASE pack as lightly as possible.  Our space is limited.

The biggest difference to the information on that link is that you do NOT need to bring bed linens.  They will be provided.  You will, however, need to pack a towel and wash cloth.

Also, although they allow tank tops to be worn that have at least 3-inch straps, I do NOT allow any tank tops.  All shirts need to have sleeves.

Students are welcome to bring extra spending money, but they will need to be responsible for it.  There are snacks and souvenirs available at Ridgecrest for purchase.

Students may bring phones, but again, they will be responsible for them.  They will NOT be allowed to carry them to their activity stations during the day or to worship times.

As for schedule...

We will meet at Westwood on Monday at 8:45 with a goal to depart by 9am.  We will stop for lunch, so everyone needs to bring money for that.

We will wrap up on Friday at 10am.  After stopping again for lunch on the way back, we should return by 2:30 or 3pm.

A copy of our daily schedule can be found here:

http://studentlife.com/events/3069/original-camp-schedule

You can also listen live to our worship times, as well as find your student, send emails to them and purchase gift certificates at studentlife.com/events/camp

DO NOT FORGET TO BRING YOUR STUDENT'S PERMISSION FORM.  IT MUST BE SIGNED AND NOTARIZED.

If you have any other questions, please text me with them at 336.583.5375 or email me at momentumsp@gmail.com.   I will probably answer those on our Facebook page for everyone's benefit, unless they are personal.

Thanks so much!  Please be praying in advance for our group!

Canada Update #5

Well, Friday has come and gone, and we are here at Ron's waiting for midnight to roll around so we can begin our trip home.  Today was a great close to our camp.  JT shared during our devotion time, and he used my gospel glove to walk the kids through the gospel story (using the colors).

During the cookout, MANY parents stayed, which is always a huge answer to prayer.  A guy loosely associated with Ron's church shared the gospel through his unique ministry of chalk art and storying. Pray that the seeds planted during that time would result in further conversations and ministry opportunities!

This evening, our team spent some time in the village.  We shopped a little, and then some of the local kids treated us to a very traditional Quebecois supper!  ;)

We then spent some time walking and fellowshipping together through the town.  We did some shopping in Dollarama, and now we are ready to come home!

Thanks so much for praying, and we appreciate further prayer for our safe return tomorrow!