Trunk Or Treat:

October is hands down one of the greatest months of the year. The weather is perfect. Football is on television and every town in the South is hosting some kind of fair or festival. It doesn't get much better than October.

At the end of October is a holiday which is controversial, to say the least among Christians; Halloween. Christians have a lot of different options on the holiday ranging from avoid it all together to embracing everything about the holiday. Some Christians do Trunk or Treats while others go out into their communities trick or treating.

When I was in Seminary and College I was an outspoken critic of churches hosting Trunk or Treats or Fall Festivals. If you search hard enough on my blog you will find old posts where I argued against Trunk or Treats or Fall Festival. I believed that churches hosted T or T and FF to avoid their pagan neighbors. I argued that Christians would rather congregate in holy huddles than be a light to their neighborhoods on a night in which unbelievers coming knocking on Christian doors. I saw Trunk or Treats/Fall Festivals as retreating from the Great Commission as opposed to advancing the Great Commission. (To Be Honest I still think some churches in my area are using Trunk or Treats/Fall Festival as an excuse to run away from the Great Commission but still pat themselves on the back).

After Seminary I moved to what could only be described as the "Rural South (I'm sure some people reading this will disagree) but when you live in a town called Tobaccoville than you must be in the "Rural South".  As a part of my job I was responsible for hosting the annual Trunk or Treat at the church. The first year I felt like a sell out. Here I had spent eight years speaking out against Trunk or Treats and now I was encharge of hosting one. I felt like a sell out.

I felt like a sell out that first year but went along because I didn't want to lose my job. The second year October rolled around and Trunk or Treat was coming up again. At this time I lived in a neighborhood and had a house. It was time to stop retreating to the church on Halloween but instead embrace my neighborhood and be a light to the children in my neighborhood. I began talking to neighbors and communicating with people in my town and I quickly learned an important lesson. My neighborhood has no street lights. It's too dark for anyone in my neighborhood to go Trick or Treating, so what do they do... they go to churches to do their Trick or Treating. As I talked with others in the community I began to learn that most people do not live in neighborhoods but live out all by themselves; therefore, most people are looking for churches, schools or community centers to go Trick or Treating.

I learned an important lesson last year. I need to contextualize my approach to sharing the Gospel so that it is relevant in the town I live in. To say it another way what works in the city does not necessarily work in the country; therefore, I need to adapt.

In College/Seminary I spoke out against Trunk or Treat because I was in a context where people went trick or treating in neighborhoods but now that I am living in the Rural South the majority of people do not have neighborhoods nor do they feel safe so they come to churches to go Trick or Treating.

If I had been stubborn and cancelled Trunk or Treat without listening to others I would have missed out on an event which serves hundreds of people and families in my community.

What's the lesson? We need to listen to others. It is easy to read a book written by an expert in the field but if he or she is not located in our town than he or she may not know the best way to reach our city or town or small rural community with the Gospel. We need to listen to others and host events/share the Gospel in ways which fit our particular culture.

In Stanleyville, Trunk or Treats are natural ways to be a light to our community and instead of running away from our community is a way we love our community and shine the light of the Gospel. In another town it might be something different. It is up to those of us who are ministers of the Gospel to listen and share the Gospel in ways which are culturally relevant.

I for one am glad I listened and I am glad we host Trunk or Treats. In fact of you are in or around Stanleyville on Monday, October 31st from 6:30-8:00 pm come on by First Baptist Church of Stanleyville and pick up some candy!

We Must Have Tar Heels:

The year was 1864, Robert E. Lee's army was being attacked on all sides. After one particularly heinous battle Robert E. Lee noticed that the section of his army which remained steadfast even in the thick of battle was the boys from North Carolina. Robert E. Lee commented that the boys from North Carolina held their ground like their heels were stuck to the ground with tar, hence the name tar heels. Since that day the nickname has stuck and individuals from North Carolina have gone by the nickname of tar heels. Tar Heels is not only a nickname for individuals in North Carolina or even the name of the greatest team in college basketball but rather it is a way of life which should characterize every Christian in the 21st century. Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground even in the midst of moral decline in our society.

For example,

• The Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God, Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• Marriage is between a man and a woman, no matter how hard the government or culture attempts to re-define marriage, Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to get to Heaven, Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• Life begins at conception and is valuable all the way until an individuals takes their last breath, abortion and/or euthanasia is not an option. Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• Hell is a literal, eternal place filled with horrific pain, and Heaven is a literal, eternal place filled with unending joy. Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• Evolution is a fairy tale for grown ups, Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• Our gender (male or female) is a gift of God and is not to be changed, Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• Christians must never sell their Christian witness for a seat at the political table. Morality matters for politicians. If the Republican candidate is immoral we should speak out against him or her. If the Democrat candidate is immoral we should speak out against him or her. Christians must never sell their witness for a seat at the political table. Christians must have Tar Heels and stand there ground on this issue.
• Every race is created in the image of God and ever race matters, Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and the miracles in the Bible really did take place, Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.
• Jesus Christ was beaten and died on the cross and than rose from the grave on the third day, Christians must have tar heels and stand their ground on this issue.

Tar Heels is not only a nickname for individuals in North Carolina or even the name of the greatest college basketball team but rather it is a way of life which should characterize every Christian in the 21st century.

Turning 30:

I'm not sure when men decided that 30 was the new 15. When men thought it was better to remain independent than making a commitment to another. When men we're courageous in business and battle but afraid to be fathers. I'm not sure when video games and "guy night" became more important than tee-ball and date night. When 4 year relationships weren't long enough for a proposal. When staying out became cooler than showing up. I'm not sure when men became boys.

Our culture has a boy problem. In Italy, they call it Peter Pan Syndrome. I call it immaturity and selfishness. Men so focused on their dreams, their visions, and their desires they find themselves wealthy, known, and alone.

The adult world doesn't need more boys. We need men who will grow up, know up, and show up. Who will fight for romance and commit quickly and stay indefinitely. To turn their hearts toward children and work to raise them well. To be friends who grow friends. Not just by compliments, but accountability and conviction. We need more men.

We need more men of integrity and character. Those who will hold a moral code and not compromise it. Those who love women, treat them as they would their own daughters and lead them when everything doesn't make sense... They would lead. We need more men.

This weekend, I turn 30. I'm a man. And I'm proud of that. 

Jesus And Politics:

People are freaked out over the presidential race.

Voters on both sides of the aisle are terrified of the proposition of the candidate from the other party taking office, with this year’s election becoming one of the most polarizing in history.

For Christians who believe in both praying for God’s will to be accomplished and the importance of submitting to governing authority, the 2016 election has left many conflicted. Not only is the political rhetoric increasingly anti-Christian in its tone, but both campaigns have, to at least some degree, relied on the same strategy when trying to convince voters to support their side: They are instilling fear at the prospect of what would happen if their opponent becomes president.

They want you to worry about what would happen if the other candidate took office.

But, for Christians, there’s an important fact we need to remember: Jesus never worried about politics.

Desperate Times?

Even though he was born in politically tumultuous times, Jesus maintained an interesting posture when it came to engaging the political infrastructure. It wasn’t that He was indifferent; it was that He chose not to worry about politics. It’s not that He didn’t care, but rather that He saw that politics wasn’t the main issue; people’s relationship with God was.

The political climate was so volatile at the time of Christ’s birth that the primary ruler demanded that masses of young children and babies be executed when a prophecy suggested that a new “leader” had been born, that he feared threatened his authority.

The adult Jesus lived in an occupied land, whose rulers routinely oppressed ethnic and religious minorities. The people He reached wanted a ruler who would deliver them from the political stronghold of the Roman empire.

But Jesus had a different agenda in mind. He understood a powerful truth: Even the most powerful kingdoms of man are temporal, but the kingdom of heaven lasts forever.

Even the most powerful kingdoms of man are temporal, but the kingdom of heaven lasts forever.

Jesus wasn’t out for votes. He was out for hearts. Yes, He wanted social change; but for Him, that changed started when He upended how people thought about their neighbors, not just their rulers.

He understood that to truly change culture, we must ensure that the “least of these” among us (the poor, the sick, the widow, the orphan and our “enemies”) are treated with dignity, respect and love. Leaders come and go. And in a democracy our votes do matter. But it’s our actions—our beliefs in practice—that lay the foundations for a kingdom that will never pass away.

Don't Worry

In Matthew 6, Jesus addressed the concept of worrying. It’s a notion that is based in the fear of what might happen. It’s also one of the most basic human impulses, and that’s why Jesus wanted to challenge it: He wants his followers to trade a human way of thinking for a kingdom way of living.

He told them,

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Yes, we can be politically engaged and work to enact change through the democratic process. But we shouldn’t be motivated out of fear or worry. Instead, even though circumstances may seem dire, Jesus gives this advice on how to develop the right perspective:

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

*Originally published in July issue of Relevant Magazine

Tough Question: Is the Safest Place To Be REALLY In God's Will?

Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who was imprisoned for helping Jews escape the Nazis, coined the famous phrase, “The safest place is in the center of God’s will.”

Sadly, we’ve twisted a phrase that came out of great suffering into a Christian cliché—misunderstood to mean that we are somehow “bullet-proof” if we are obediently following Jesus.

Corrie ten Boom knew what it meant to follow Jesus into dangerous circumstances and suffer the consequences. She and her family were responsible for rescuing nearly 800 Jews through an underground network of safe houses.

But just after midnight on February 28, 1944, the Gestapo burst into the ten Boom house and arrested the whole family.

Corrie’s 84-year-old father died soon after in prison. Corrie and her sister Betsie ended up in a concentration camp. Later that year, Corrie watched her beloved sister die with these words on her lips, “There is no pit so deep that He [God] is not deeper still."

Obedience to God’s calling doesn’t earn a Christian any kind of magical protection.

We will end up in places of suffering and brokenness. 

Perhaps it’s time we realized that the safest place, physically speaking, is NOT in the center of God's will. The center of God's will may, in fact, be one of the wildest, most dangerous places you could imagine.

He never promised you a rose garden. He never even promised to spare your life. Frankly, you could definitely be killed in the battle.

Without a theology of suffering—I would have given up this game a LONG time ago. If my only defense against pain was a pocket full of clichés and platitudes, I’d be unlikely to last.

What puts things in perspective for me, is the reminder that I follow someone who was beaten, mocked and ultimately executed—and who invited me to take up MY cross.

The center of God's will may, in fact, be one of the wildest, most dangerous places you could imagine.

This truth is the foundation of a Theology of Suffering. As Paul demonstrates, there is a cost in following Jesus...

"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. " (2 Cor 11:24-28)


We live in this "therapeutic" culture—even in missions and ministry circles—where plenty of people will tell you that you shouldn't have to suffer. We've allowed a healthy doctrine of self-care to negate a theology of suffering.

Self-care is meant to sustain us in the battle, not become an excuse to avoid the battle.

We hear it all the time: You deserve comfort. You deserve perfect health. You deserve this and that.

These statements are simply not true. Nor are they helpful. Would anyone dare say these words to a soldier in battle? Would you say them to a political prisoner? Or a sailor in the midst of a vicious storm?

When the focus is on ourselves, this pursuit of what we deserve makes sense. But when we step back and look at the wider battle, then this grasping after safety and comfort seems ridiculous.

Only the bigger picture gives meaning to our suffering.

Like the metaphorical ship in a harbor—yes there is safety to be found in calm waters. But our ships were never built to float idle in a harbor. These ships were built to sail the wild seas. And at times, our vessels will be battered by relentless storms. Along the way, a few of us will probably be lost overboard.

That's the hard truth.

So what does God promise through these trials?

His promise is simply this: He will never leave us or stop loving us. That's all. But it's enough.

He is with you in the storm because He loves you. And He will never stop loving you.

Corrie ten Boom lost everything following Jesus. Her dear father and beloved sister lost their very lives in horrific circumstances. When we count the cost of following Jesus we will surely weep with both sadness and joy.

Corrie ten Boom didn't live a safe life. She fought the good fight. She lived a wild, vibrant and FULL life of service to the most marginalized. And I know she wouldn't have had it any other way. Because she knows the truth and so do I: that there is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.

Why Teenagers?:

When people find out I am a Student Minister I am often asked if I have plans to one day become a Senior Pastor. I'm not sure my plans ten years from now but as of right now I love working with teenagers and wouldn't trade it for the world.

So, for those of you who wonder why people like me work with teenagers, let me give you some answers to the question “why teenagers?”

1. God has a track record of choosing teens to accomplish great spiritual feats.

From Joseph, to Timothy, to Esther (who won a beauty contest then saved a nation), God has used young people in big ways to do even bigger things.

In 1 Samuel 16 when the prophet Samuel goes to the house of Jesse, it's not the strapping, strutting older brothers of the house that God chooses to be king. It's the underage runt of the litter that got annointed as the future leader of Israel. One chapter later, this kid named David, who was delivering cheese and crackers to his older brothers in the war, got ticked off that a nine foot giant was talking smack against the God of Israel. His anger left an impression on Goliath…a deep one.

But its not just in the Old Testament that God demonstrates his predisposition to choose and use teenagers. For the most part Jesus mostly picked teenagers to be his disciples. In Matthew 17, when Jesus, Peter and the disciples go into Capernaum, only Peter and Jesus pay the temple tax (although all of the disciples are there!) According to Exodus 30:14 the temple tax was only applicaple to those twenty years old and older. If I’m reading that right, that means that Jesus was a youth leader with only one adult sponsor…and one really rotten kid.

And God used this "youth group" to reach the world! He can use yours to do the same!

2. God receives glory when the “foolish things of the world” confound the wise.

1 Corinthains 1:26-29 makes this crystal clear, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”

If this passage is not a case for working with teenagers I don’t know what is. Teenagers are foolish, goofy and hyper. I love it! God loves it! He wants to use them as twitchy revolutionaries to change the course of nations and to launch a global awakening of Biblical proportions just like his Son did 2,000 years ago!

3. It just makes sense.

Teenagers are wet cement. They form to the forms layed out for them. While working with adults is definitely important, sometimes a jackhammer and wheelbarrow is required before the wet cement can be poured in their souls.

Jonathan Edwards, perhaps the most intelligent scholar/preacher of the 1st Great Awakening, recorded that the “revival has been chiefly amongst the young….” Teenagers led the way for awakening in this powerful 18th Century revival. As a matter of fact, teenagers have been on the leading edge of every major spiritual awakening in the history of the United States.

Teenagers are idealists, visionaries and unrealistic. This lack of realism allows them to see visions and have dreams that those of us who have been worn down by the realities of life may no longer see. Adults tend to use microscopes while teenagers have a penchant for telescopes. We tend to get worn down by life and they tend to get fired up by causes. We wonder how much money it will take and they just don’t care.

An old French proverb goes, "The most dangerous swordsman in France is the one who has never wielded a sword." Why are they dangers? They don't know the rules so they just hack away and break the rules of engagement until they win.

Teenagers don't know the rules of engagement which can help them win souls. They can break the foolish patters of their forefathers which, for the most part, has kept the Gospel locked within the four walls of the church sanctuary.

They don’t know that they can’t reach the world for Christ just by spreading the gospel so they are willing to do it. They don’t know that they can’t reach their school for Christ without market research so they just reach it.

The average teenager has 425 online and face-to-face friends. They can use their social media clout to spark Gospel conversations in ways we could never imagine as adults.

Hitler hijacked teen culture and used it to advance the Nazi agenda. Communists harnessed and unleashed the idealism of teenagers to spread the message of communism. For years radical Muslims have recruited young people to spread a message of hate and, in far too many cases, trigger acts of terrorism around the globe.

If evil people and evil philosophies can mobilize young people for their causes then why can’t the Bride of Christ unleash young people to spread the gospel for the best cause ever, the spread of the gospel across the planet?

Teenagers are the most underutiziled, underestimated and underchallenged group of people in the church. As a result, our churches are dying.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto was asked about how he felt. His answer was stark, “I am fearful that all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with terrible resolve.”

It is time to awaken the sleeping giant in the church called teenages and fill them with holy resolve. To join the movement, click here.

No matter if you're a lead pastor, a youth leader or a volunteer, never underestimate the power of teenagers to change the world for Christ and transform this culture!

Random Thoughts During A Church Service:

Let’s be honest. We’ve all been there. 

It’s Sunday morning, and even though we’re in church, our brains are elsewhere. We’re not saying it’s a good thing to let your mind drift during a Sunday morning service, but it happens, OK? We’re not monks.

Look, it even happened during one of Paul’s sermons, and he was, like, the greatest preacher ever. (And side note: Even though that poor dude in Acts not only fell asleep but also fell out of a window, had to be literally be brought back from the dead and totally caused a whole scene, Paul was pretty chill about it.)

It’s literally been happening since the very first church services, so we might as well be honest.

Here are thoughts everyone has had while bored at church:

I hope my phone battery doesn’t die. Did I charge it last night?

Is the bass player’s amp even turned on? Seriously, I don’t hear him at all.

I’d feel pretty claustrophobic if I was stuck in that giant glass drum shield. I wonder how well he can breath in there? At least there’s that little fan.

Did I set my fantasy line up yet?

If I turn the brightness down on my phone, no one can tell I’m on Facebook not YouVersion.

Various thoughts about lunch.

Crud, Chick-fil-A is closed today.

Maybe I'll go to Taco Bell. I just don't like that spiced-beef aftertaste I'll have to deal with all afternoon.

Whatever happened to Quiznos?

Is the guy next to me pretending to text during the “greet people around you” transitional time? Messed up, man.

Are narwhals mythical? They can’t be real, right?

I’m pretty sure that PowerPoint slide has a typo. I should tell someone about that before the second service.

Never mind, that is how you spell "neighbor." Whoever came up with "i-before-e accept after c" rule has no idea what they're talking about.

Various thoughts about lunch.

Hypothetically, if I folded the bulletin into an airplane, I think I could land it in the baptismal.

Remember those foldable fortune-teller things? I wonder if I still remember how to make one.

From the looks of this mission’s display, there are a lot of variations of world flags.

Wow, Nepal has a cool flag. I didn’t even know that they were allowed to be non-rectangular. I wonder if there’s a law about that?

Various thoughts about lunch.

Is he wrapping? One more point usually means he's launching like a whole new acronym.

I’m going to covertly look around during “every head bowed, every eye closed” time. No one will notice … Uh, oh, the pastor just looked right at me. We made eye contact.

This is awkward. I think he thinks I was asking for prayer or something.

I have no choice. I have to go forward.

I really wish I had been paying attention.

Oh boy, people are clapping while I walk toward the stage.

Did I just volunteer to lead a missions trip?

Welp, looks like I’m going to Honduras.

Various thoughts about lunch.

*Originally published in August issue of Relevant Magazine

Monday Morning Humor:

Wednesday Worship:

Wednesday Worship:

Wednesday Worship:

Wednesday Worship:

Monday Morning Humor:

Fun Is A God Thing:

Let’s talk about fun. It’s pretty much impossible to stay in youth ministry for more than a few weeks without having at least some willingness to have fun. Even the most serious and Bible-focused youth leader needs to add fun as a value.

FUN IS A GOD THING.

God is the inventor of fun. God is the one who designed the sensation of the tickle. God created our mouths to involuntarily turn up into a smile. One might even say, with some theological accuracy, that God invented the “accidentally blowing Mountain Dew through your nostrils when caught off guard by something hilarious” response.

We often unintentionally teach a heresy about fun, that it’s all good and well, but isn’t actually spiritual. It’s our non-formal curriculum when we say things like, “Ok, we played that game, and it was fun; but now it’s time to get serious and turn to the Word of God.”

Fun is one of the last words most people would use to describe Christ-followers. It’s probably fair to say that fun would be a weak ministry value if it were your only ministry value; but let’s all stop apologizing, and add fun, with theological conviction, to the description of the vibe we desire in our youth ministries.

I just have to believe that Jesus and his boys laughed their heads off at times, especially after Andrew snorted and shot goat’s milk out of his nose.

FUN IS A CULTURAL VALUE AND YOUTH CULTURE VALUE.

There’s no question that having fun is a high value to teenagers. We’re called as missionaries, to bring a contextualized gospel to the world of teens. And since fun isn’t a value that’s in any way antithetical to the gospel, let’s at least start with the assumption that it’s morally neutral, effectively used for good or evil, capable of being experienced in a way that aligns with or diminishes God’s intent for our lives.

Of course, there are plenty of ways that fun can be destructive. All of those lesser-funs are a bastardization of fun, resulting in the diminishment of a human God so desperately loves.

But when we don’t embrace fun as a value, teenagers subconsciously think, “This place doesn’t line up with what is normal and valuable to me; so this place isn’t a good fit for me.”

FUN ENGAGES TEENAGERS.

We can’t hope to play a role in connecting teenagers with the love of Jesus unless we first engage them. You don’t shape a teen’s life simply by being in the same room.

Great engagement comes in lots of forms:

offering genuine belonging
listening
asking questions
connecting with various senses.

But fun is at the least one of those engagement tools in our kit. Attempted fun or forced fun can be massively lame; so there’s clearly a fine line to walk here. But fun can provide an avenue for engagement when even the most proactive conversational approach simply falls flat in a pile of good intent.

FUN LOWERS DEFENSES.

You know you have teenagers who are naturally defensive to connecting with you or your program. That’s particularly true if they’re visitors, or for some other reason, don’t feel a sense of connection and identification with the group.

But fun—particularly laughter—unfolds the arms, relaxes the tensed muscles, and helps a defensive posture melt away (even if only momentarily). This really is a physical issue—defensiveness is a mindset with an accompanying muscle tightening. Fun, even when it’s only observed, can cause a mindset change that naturally results in forgetting to hold the previously clenched muscle state.

FUN CAN FOSTER COMMUNITY.

One can certainly have fun when they’re alone. But the best fun is usually a shared experience. That sort of concurrent fun amplifies the fun for all involved, and plants seeds of community.

Because, really, when you boil it down, community begins, and is sustained by, shared experiences. Allow fun to be a regular aspect of that communal life. A word of caution community building fun must be inclusive; carefully guard against exclusive fun that leaves some out.

FUN CREATES MEMORIES.

A major part of any community (and the identity formation that comes with it) is shared memories. Those communal remembrances are major fodder for sustained “life together.”

Of course, it’s great if some of those memories are of tender times, or times of overcoming adversity, or of an intense shared experience of God. But shared memories of fun can fill in the gaps to create full portfolio of stories worth retelling, stories that say something about who we are together.

FUN DECREASES DIFFERENCES.

I suppose this reality is complimentary to the “fun can foster community” reality previously discussed. But here’s an important reality: in our current context, youth culture has splintered into hundreds or thousands of cultures (this is new in the last decade or two, by the way). That means that every youth ministry is a multi-cultural youth ministry (unless your youth group is three home-schoolers from the same family).

One of our greatest goals in youth ministry should be the creation of a new Kingdom culture that supersedes the many cultures represented in the population of your youth ministry. I’ve found three things that act as kerosene on the fire of decreasing cultural differences: serving together, worshipping together, and having fun together. We tend to elevate the first two over the latter, as they seem “more spiritual.”

But remember where we began this exploration: fun is a God thing.

September Parent Newsletter 2016:

Dear Parents,

A new church year is upon us and there are a lot of exciting events taking place in CREW Student Ministries. Below is a yearly breakdown of our events. We look forward to seeing your son or daughter at the events.

Bible Study:

Wednesday Nights: During the month of September there will be no Wednesday night CREW        
 meeting. We will begin meeting again in October. We will once again be focusing our Wednesday nights on topical studies; discussing issues which students deal with on a daily basis.

Sunday Mornings:  The Gospel Project Chronological. We will continue to work chronologically verse by verse through the Bible.

Activities:

This year we are going to be utilizing sign up sheets for every event. Please encourage your son or daughter to sign up for each events.

September:               Saturday, Sept.17th. Bike Riding on the Virginia Creeper. 8:00 am-5:00 om

                                   Cost: $20

                                  

                                  We will be attending Ridgecrest in November but you need to sign up for

                                  Ridgecrest by September 30th.

October:                  Wednesday, Oct. 5th. Dixie Classic Fair & Concert. 4:00pm-10:00 pm

                                  Cost: Free with donation of 5 cans.

November:               Friday, November 18-Sunday, November 20th. Ridgecrest Youth Conference.

                                  Cost: $50

December:               Saturday, December 3rd. Christmas Party @ T and Julia's. Cost: FREE

January:                  Saturday, January 21st. Skiing and Snowboarding. Cost: $50

February:                Sunday, February 5th. Superbowl Party. Cost: Side Dish

March:                     Service Amazing Race Style

April:                       Lock-In

May:                         Community Free Car Wash

June:                        Monday, June 19th-Saturday, June 24th. Caswell Summer Camp.

July:                        Weekend White Water Rafting Trip in West Virginia.

August:                    Lock-In

We are excited to see what God is going to do in the lives of our students in 2016/2017.

Reaching, Teaching and Releasing,

Pastor T Welch