A NOTE TO OUR STUDENT MINISTRY

Hey everyone, wanted to communicate just a few things to all our students and parents.

1 - I'm praying for you - especially all of our seniors that are about to step onto a college campus. it is tough no matter how you slice it. But i do want you to know that I am not just praying that you survive college ok, I'm praying that you CONQUER college. you are not there to just make good grades and get in a good frat or sorority. God has positioned you there on purpose. i hope you can be an incoming freshman that is a leader of all the others that arent ready.

2 - Take you aim - As you guys get ready for the fall i am praying that you are aiming at something worth while. i told our group on sunday morning that we as a student ministry need to be after a MOVEMENT OF CHIRST and not just a MOMENT WITH CHRIST. what are trying to become this year?

3 - Lets get it done - There is so much that we can accomplish this year and i pray that everyone of our students this year walks away with an incredible testimony of how God did IN them and THROUGH them.

God is moving and I pray that we are humble before Him and then confident to lead the way for this city.

THE HALLWAY IN OUR OFFICE

So several weeks ago I was walking into my office and noticed that the long hallway going into my office was looking a little bland. There was so much space for something cool and we had nothing there. I was thinking of some cool mural or painting or something and then the thought left me. Later that day I was praying about our student ministry and so desire for this next year to be outward-focused. As christians we can be so focused on ourselves as we live in a culture that consumes. This year though we want to follow Christ's examples and be about seeing the lost be found. So back to the hallway. I thought instead of a painting or mural we have chosen to give that whole wall to our students. We have cards that we printed up and are asking our students to write their name on a card and put it on the wall. What that single card means is that they are actively praying for, witnessing, and serving a single person that they want to see come to know Christ. Each day since we started this I have prayed over these cards and for the lost souls that they represent. I am so amped up by what this whole process has meant to me and to our students. I am excited to see more and more cards up on the wall and then finally see those cards come down as we will see those lost students come to know Christ.

READY TO CHANGE

I am so excited to see all the things God is doing in our student ministry. Week after week I have been able to engage in conversations with students that have begun to truly walk with Christ. Yesterday I shared 4 verses that I feel are becoming more and more real in our student ministry. I shared with a group of teachers after church that I was so excited that I could share that message and be sincere. I wanted to highlight one point that was made yesterday here in this post. Although God is doing incredible things and we are seeing students move onto the NEXT step with Christ, I know that we still have students that are flat out bored in their walk. Listen closely, I think that is a very dangerous place to be and want to help out any way possible to get any student out of that place. Here is what I want you to know if that is where you are finding yourself. You may be bored, but it is not because you are following Jesus. Somewhere you got off track and stopped following HIM and you started following rules. Get off that track fast. Now I'm not saying you should do whatever feels good and don't worry about boundaries, but don't ever worship the boundaries over loving Jesus. Jesus is more concerned with your heart than your behavior.
I am excited for the future here in the student ministry. It is going to be AWESOME. We have a new theme that we will launch in September so be looking for that.