SOAR 2009

Click Here for Photo Album.  This was our first year to attend the SOAR student conference, and I was pretty impressed with the outcome of it. They brought in some awesome bands, and youth pastor/speakers from various parts of the states. This year’s theme was “FELLOWSHIP” focusing on connecting, unity, and oneness. The conference was a 3 day event held at the fabulous Gaylord Texan Hotel in Grapevine, Texas. The hotel alone was worth the trip. It was a gorgeous facility with beautiful trails and scenery. Room rates were affordable, and the service was five star.

The conference was very organized, and you can tell a lot of hard work was put into the planning of this event. I would like to thank Donnie Parish, Steven Carroll, and everyone else who worked so hard to make this event happen. On day 1 we arrived, checked into our rooms, and registered just in time for the welcome and session 1. Solace Found kicked things off with some rocking praise music followed by a message from Adam Thomas on the fellowship of the Trinity. Afterwards we went and ate dinner at a genuine Texas steakhouse the “Salt Grass”. Session 2 kicked off shortly after dinner where Clif Johnson spoke a message from the book of Genesis titled “Why our World is so Jacked up” SOAR Village was next followed by a late night with comedian Tim Hawkins. Now this guy was hilarious.

Day 2 was just as exciting. We started the morning off with my favorite band Building 429. Some of our students actually got to go up on stage, and dance with them. Too Cool! Team SOAR brought a presentation, and after that we actually got to meet, get autographs, and take pics with the band. After that we had an afternoon of free time in which we went to the Bass Pro Shop where I put my head into the mouth of a 27 foot Great White Shark, followed by an afternoon at the Grapevine Mall. We hung out at the skatepark, got some hermit crabs, and had dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe. During Session 4 Scott Attebery presented an awesome testimony that humbled all of us. Many of our students were impacted by his words. The evening closed with an awesome concert by Hawk Nelson. Many of our students are crazy about these guys.

The conference came to an end all too quickly, but it was great while it lasted. Friday morning during session 5 Solace Found led in another awesome time of worship followed by a message from Steven Carroll “Vision + Preparation + Action = Outcome” from Acts chapter 10. Each session was tied together by innovative videos on fellowship to make this event complete and concise. Each of our students left with a sense of greater understanding of fellowship and unity which made this event as a whole a worth while event.

This week would have been perfect if it had not been for the two times that we broke down on the way home, but fortunately both times God provided some great people to help us out. One of which was from Iowa. Other than that this event will go down in the books as one of our greatest events of the year. Can’t wait til next year.

Refuge Street Faith 2009

Refuge Street Faith Poverty Simulation April 24th - 26th

(CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE PHOTO ALBUM)

Day 1: Friday April 24^th

2000 hours: Students arrived with smiles on their faces not realizing what they were about to encounter. I had marketed this three day event for the last two months as a local mission project and it was, but it was much more than that. The students began to fellowship with one another, and mingle amongst their belongings. (MP3s, IPODs, cell phones, teddy bears, comfy house shoes, and so on) I addressed the students when I entered the room with an abrupt tone in my voice. I was determined to strike fear in their hearts, and I did just that. I then herded the students into a small classroom in which I called the conference room or command central, and I laid out the startling truth. For the next 40 hours they would have all of their possessions removed with the exception of bedding, and one item that they brought. (NO Electronics!) The second thing they came to realize they would be sleeping outside and under cardboard boxes. Then I revealed unto them that they would have to work for their food. This in its self was a culture shock to our students. We showed a few short videos on poverty, and then I gave them two minutes to select one item. I was amazed at how quickly the girls were able to put their heads together to obtain all of the vital hygiene products. As far as the guys go we had a wallet, a roll of Duck tape, a book, and a pack of gum. After the items were selected we immediately locked away the rest of the possessions beyond the student’s access never to be seen again until Sunday. The time had come when stomachs began to rumble, and there was no food in sight, so in order to counteract this feeling many decided sleep was the best answer.

2200 hours: Students began setting up their bedding outside not knowing what to expect. For many of them it was their first time sleeping outdoors. It was still fun and games to many of them, but that was all about to change. I warned them that the temperature would be dropping soon, and it would serve them best to go to sleep so they might sleep through it. They didn’t listen. The cold a.m. winds came rushing over the hillside, and the wet morning dew began to settle upon them like rain. Some told me that they were not even able to sleep, and they wish they would have listened to me. Maybe they will take closer heed next time.

Day 2: Saturday April 25^th

0600 hours: The morning had all come too soon for some, and too late for others, but as for me I was content. I didn’t mention this in day 1, but I had all the adult sponsors participate too. Prior to re-entry into the facility it was necessary to clean-up their sleeping quarters, fold bedding, and form an orderly line at the door. As we entered back into the facilities just before the crack of dawn we immediately were grateful for shelter and the warmth of its walls, but that comfort was quickly shattered as students were reminded of the hunger that dwelt with-in. The breakfast bell rang and the students came running, however they found themselves very disappointed with just the two pieces of plain toast that lay before them. We allotted 8 minutes for breakfast before we headed off to our first service project.

0700 hours: We arrived at Helping Hands a local community help center in Bentonville, Arkansas, and I had each of the students wait in the same line that homeless and poor wait in on a daily basis Monday through Friday. They didn’t really understand why they had to just wait there, but it was simply for perspective and principal. After an hour of waiting we finally went inside and began to do our service project. Many of the students worked in the food pantry, while others worked on the back dock, and the remaining few on the floor cleaning shelves and straightening. We put in about three hours of labor, and it was time for us to be on our way.

1100 hours: Hunger was really starting to hit some of us at this point so we headed off to get in line for our soup kitchen style luncheon. We waited in the hot sun reflecting on our lives for over an hour when we were admitted in for lunch. Lunch was made of the mere basics such as tomato juice, noodles, and some vegetables. Add a couple crackers in there, and we had a meal fit for a king for all we were concerned.

1300 hours: We were off for our next mission/service project. This time we found ourselves at Memorial Park where we gave away over 150 icicles. Then we proceeded on to one of our church widow’s house where we cleaned windows, vacuumed, swept, mopped, did dishes, etc… We also had a crew working in the yard where we did some gardening for about 3 hours pulling weeds, trimming bushes and shrubs, and removing tree limbs. To top it off we hauled in a yard of dirt, filled a sink hole, and planted some grass seed. We put down a layer of hay, and called it a day at the widow’s house.

 

 

 

1600 hours: At this point each of us were filthy and stinky as we sat down to eat some bologna sandwiches. For some of them this was their first time to ever eat bologna, and they didn’t much care for it. As I watched these exhausted teenagers I found myself very proud of them. I didn’t want this event to be a complete torture so I decided to take them to TEAM IMPACT for a little entertainment. Here was the catch: they had no other clothes to change into, and they did not have the ability to bathe. Young men and women who on a regular basis walk around in the finest clothes, had to humble themselves to the level of poverty to experience humility and filth first hand. TEAM IMPACT was awesome, and they presented the Gospel in a powerful way. Many of our students were humbled in ways they will never be able to realize.

2100 hours: We finally arrived back at the church, and we all only had one thing on our minds: SLEEP! Unfortunately we had one last task to accomplish before lights out. We gathered back in the conference room where we discussed and watched a video on Cardboard Testimonies.

 

Day 3: Sunday April 26^th

0600 hours: Morning had come once again, and watching these students crawl out of bed was like watching a worm crawl out from under a rock. They did eventually surface out from under their beds, just in time to get to work. We divided the church activity center into multiple teams where we tackled the weekly cleaning list before church services that morning.

0800 hours: We sat and ate breakfast before we headed off to Church in the Wilderness. We went to Tanyard Creek Trail where we hiked to the Cave of Darkness and Destruction, on up to the Waterfall of Life, and finally around to the Swinging Bridge of Decision. I discussed how we can live our lives in a state of darkness and destruction or we can live our lives like an overflowing body of water pouring out in the form of a waterfall. When we came to the bridge of decision I challenged each of them to make a choice to live in a way that God’s love pours out of them daily. After Church in the Wilderness we gave the students the opportunity to go home bathe and take a nap, and then they would return that evening for the final report.

1800 hours: We did Cardboard Testimonies, and closed the evening off with a series of focuses and experiences, and a message from Philippians chapter 2.

Our 3 focuses were:

1. To whom much is given, much is required from Luke 12:48
2. Goal was to be made in the image of God
3. Key Word: Perspective

The 10 things that we experienced over this weekend were:

1. Loss of Possessions
2. Slept on Ground / Lack of Sleep
3. Hunger / Thirst
4. Loss of control of Time / Patience
5. Lack of Hygiene
6. Recjection / Embarrasment
7. Frustration / Exhaustion
8. Dependance / Teamwork
9. Faith beyound the church
10. New Perspective

3 Areas of Service:

1. Helping Hands
2. Memorial Park
3. Widow’s House

The message was from Philippians 2:1-11, 13-14, 17-18

3 Exhortations from Paul:

• Encouragement to Unity in the Faith - vs. 1-3

1. Open Your Eyes - vs. 4 (Look - Greek - Skop-eho - to scope out)

• Christ’s Ultimate Example of Service - vs. 5-11

2. Get Your Hands Dirty - vs. 13-14 (Work & Do - Greek - En-erg-eh-0 - to exert energy)

3. Pour Out Your Heart - vs. 17-18 (Offer - NKJV - Pour)

Overall it was an awesome weekend. I think my students gained more from this event than any event I have overseen all year. The Lord has really blessed the Refuge.

Young Christian’s Weekend @ Silver Dollar City

This had to be the most wonderful miserable trip we have ever had.  Day 1 we arrived at the park where weather conditions were cold, but tolerable.  That quickly changed.  After a matter of minutes it did nothing but rain and pour.  The temperatures dropped rapidly.  Our students ventured off into this nasty weather while us adults waited it out in a bakery.  I have to say that there are very few other places I would rather have been than in that bakery at that moment.  We did finally make it to see Jason Lowery speak, just before it began sleeting on us.  After that we went and hung out in a Soup and Sandwich shop.  We eventually all met back up, and went and ate in the bus.  Student’s with their frozen fingers begged to go back to the lodge, but I declined thinking we would watch Kutless.  The weather only got worse, and Kutless was snowed in up North.  We had, had enough.  We went and checked into the lodge where we enjoyed the afternoon playing games and fellowshipping.  That evening we went to Wal-Mart, ate at McD’s, and went to the coolest $1 shop in the world.  While in the dollar shop it began snowing like CraZy.  We rushed back to the lodge to spend the evening in relaxation.  Day 2 was much better.  It was a little chilly at first, but ended up being a beautiful day.  Students got to ride rides, listen to Leeland / Kutless / Joe White, and eat a wonderful lunch together.  Overall it was an awesome trip.  Everyones’ spirit was high and lifted, and their faces bright.  Bright with sunburn that is.  :)  Be sure to check out the photos of this amazing trip.  >>>Click here for Photos

Winter Jam

I had an awesome time last Friday, when we took our youth group over to Tulsa for Winter Jam 09′. I was kind of worried about picking all of my students up from school, because I thought I would have some trouble from school administration for having to leave so early. I did have some opposition from some secretaries, but as soon as I told them that I had spoken with their Vice-Principal I had no problems. It is good to network with your local school officials.

We were right on schedule by hitting the road shortly after 1:00pm, and the trip was a blast. You know the usual, kids laughing, screaming, and farting, and so on. We arrived around 3:00pm, and the lines were already backed up around the facility. The doors didn’t open until six so we had to wait for over three hours in the freezing cold. It was all worth it when we found out that we were actually at the front of a line to the side entrance, and we were some of the first to get in and get good seats. We got settled in, and The Access kicked the event off. All youth pastors were called to a Pastor Prayer Meeting where I had the privilege to meet Toby Mac, Brandon Heath, the guys from Hawk Nelson, Shon Lock, Stephanie Smith, Tony Nolan, and more. I only wish I would have had a pen or a camera. What was I thinking? I have to say that Hawk Nelson was pretty awesome, until Toby Mac came out. You can’t even compare the two. Toby Mac blew the roof off that building. That was one of the best performances I have ever seen.

We finally were able to get out of the building around 11:00pm, and we were back on the road only to take a short dinner break. I was thinking it is going to be awful finding a place to eat this late at night with over 50,000 teenagers in the area. We were extremely lucky to catch a McDonalds on the out skirts of town just about to close down for the night. I felt bad afterwards, because as soon as we left 3 other buses pulled into the parking lot. Someone got some overtime. We eventually arrived home shortly before 2:00am. It was a very long day, but it was so worth it.

Red Barn Dinner Theater

I would first like to start off by saying Thank You to everyone who helped make this event possible.  A special thank you to Mrs. Stephanie Dye, Amber Dye, and Katie Williams who worked hard all week decorating for this event.  A special thank you to Nathan Toney who managed and overseen the kitchen through out the event of whom we couldn’t have done it without him.  Then last but not least every youth who served in some capacity whether it be in the kitchen, serving tables, or watching children.  Thank You!

We fed over 100 people, and served a four course meal in a timely manner.  The atmosphere was filled with laughter and bluegrass music.  It was un-like any Valentines dinner people had ever seen.  We recieved nothing but positive feedback.  This is what it is all about, getting youth active inside and outside of the church walls.  I hope that if you were able to make it that you had a good time.  We look forward to our next service project.

Refuge Super Bowl Party

I have to say that XLIII was one of the best Super Bowl games that I have seen in awhile. I was originally rooting for the Steelers, but the day prior to the big game I decided to change my mind. I didn’t really care for either team, but I was pretty confident that the Steelers were going to win. I started thinking about the fact that if they did win they would take the title of “Most Super Bowl Wins” away from the Dallas Cowboys. I couldn’t be cheering for that. I also started thinking about Kurt Warner’s testimony, and that is why I switched teams.

I was really getting discouraged about the game with the Cardinals being down until in the fourth quarter they ran the football for a huge touchdown taking the lead. Everyone in my house with the exception of a few started yelling and going crazy, but our joy quickly crumbled when the Arizona defense threw the game away. It was a sad day in NFL History.

Besides the outcome of the game, it was an awesome night. We had 12 teenagers all hyped up on caffeine at our home, which resulted into an energy packed night. We had students having light saber / Nerf wars, playing video games, chasing our poor dog, and all kinds of other crazy things. At one point I think they were trying to see how many people they could fit into a small bathroom. To top it all off one of our students picked up our nervous dog, and it peed all over him. We watched a 3D preview of Monsters vs. Aliens followed by a devotional from Ephesians chapter 6 titled “Put on Your Football Pads and Get In the Game”. It was a blast I couldn’t have asked for a better Super Bowl party. Below are some of the pictures. They aren’t that great, because I took them with a camera phone, but you get the idea.

-

Servants

I would like to first start off by thanking all of the students who helped rake Mrs. Violet’s yard and painted the youth room: Zach, Chandler, Nathan, Josh, Billie Jean, Christa, Emily, Jacey, Jessica, and Brittany.

God rewards those who have a servant’s heart.  I want to encourage all of our youth to get involved in our next service project.  Seeing the faces of those we serve are worth all the reward.  Look at my face for instance.  They served me by helping paint the youth room.

Fall Fun

I just have to say that the month of October has been eventful, and extremely fun.  We had Trunk a Treat where the teenagers got to get involved with helping out the little ones, and just get together and bond.  We also took a small group to “Final Destination” on Halloween Night.  It was freaky, but it really opened up your eyes to the choices you make in life.  Followed by our church’s Fall Fellowship this last Saturday.  I have to say that was my favorite part.  Getting to play tackle football with the guys, and not to mention throwing hay and climbing on hay bails with the girls.  The funniest part was the hay rides.  Just getting to bond with one another as a youth group, and be there for one another was a special time.  For those of you who missed out.  Too bad, and too sad the time has gone.  BUT there are all kinds of cool things to come.  Be sure to check out our event section.

Beacon Youth Rally

We had a good time the other night at the Beacon Youth Rally, and all we brought were a bunch of girls.  I felt so out of place.  What was even worse about the whole thing is I was asked to open up the event in prayer, and it so happened that a couple of my teenage girls just put some bows in my hair.  You talk about embarrassing.  Over all we had a great time.  The University of Arkansas ABS praise band was there, and the speaker was Brad Harris.  Afterwards we all went and ate at McD’s & Chick-fil-a.  Then someone got this crazy idea in their head to go, and wake up the pastor in the middle of the night and sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas!”  What can I say, I work with teenagers.  Be sure to check out our next event.

Corn Maize Mania

We just recently got back from Verona, MO. where we attended a corn maze.  We had an amazing time.  The bus ride up there was a little crazy though.  One of our students found a dead bird on the bus, and it just so happened to be Zach.  You had to have been there to understand.  Anyways, we arrived safely, and we were pumped up.  We played in corn, rode on a silly cow train, shot some corn out of a cannon, sling shot some pumpkins in the air, played with some animals, got inside huge robots and beat each other up, went on a hay ride, and even went into a haunted corn maze.  It was an awesome time.  We also sat by the camp fire, and had a devotional.  This was an excellent bonding time.  The best part was pulling into the driveway with a bunch of exhausted teens.  It just reminded me that they had a good time, and God was blessing our group.

Next Page »