| WITH ALL WE ARE...LOVING GOD AND LOVING PEOPLE THROUGH CHRIST | |
 |
|
| January/February 2009 Student Life |
|
|
|
| Dare 2 share Dare 2 Share was quite a training ground for our students. In addition to worshipping with thousands of other believers, being taught through drama, video clips & sermons, the main thrust of the event was evangelism training, to be better witnesses for Christ – that is, always ready, not just when we’re “supposed” to. We focused a lot on becoming more comfortable in sharing our faith in normal conversation and to listen to people we interacted with throughout the weekend – waitresses, people on the light rail or the bus or in the park. Our desire in listening to people is two-fold: 1) to demonstrate we are invested in them, eager to learn & to care about & for those we listen to and 2) in listening, we may hear an opportunity to ask questions that help direct the conversation, eventually, to the heart of every matter – Jesus, Lord & Savior! When we understand our role as mere messenger we are free to exercise within that role not bearing any guilt, burden or responsibility for the salvation of anyone! It is when we confuse our role that we stand idle, bound by fear or uncertainty, which then opens the door to fill that void with other distractions and a life of complacency. All of our students engaged someone in conversation during the weekend. Several reaped a harvest of fruit for their faithfulness. One young lady led a friend to place his faith in Jesus as his Savior through texting & cell phone calls. Another began a dialogue with an atheist friend at home – a conversation that continues to this day! Three of our crew engaged a Buddhist and an agnostic in an hour long conversation that resulted in compliments from the non- Christians. They thanked our girls for listening & asking them their views on matters of faith and being so gracious & clear about the gospel message and the point of the scriptures. The agnostic even pledged to give the Bible another chance – to spend some time investigating its claims! Acquire The Fire What do you get when you mix 10 junior high students with a road trip, loud God-honoring music and an extreme amount of candy? Pure, unadulterated, impressionable, wired up Jesus Freaks! Every one of our junior high students got their “socks rocked off” at ATF in Billings, MT. |
 Oh, we worshipped! Uh huh, we learned from the scriptures! Yep, we discovered how to honor our parents! We even confessed & forgave others! But most importantly, hands down, we all discovered for the first time or rediscovered our need for Jesus! Becca Hamilton and Conner Seeton both realized their need for Jesus as Savior for the very first time at ATF. The rest of us either reaffirmed our need for Jesus as Lord & guide or rediscovered that he should be Lord and thereby surrendered our will to His! What a weekend of transformation. Praise God for such a wonderful team of servants we have for our student ministries. I couldn’t do all that needs to be done were it not for the Dream Team!! Moms, dads, college grads, 20-somethings, 30-somethings – you name it & they’re serving! CHANGES We’ve made some changes both in our environment and in our identity within First B Student Ministries. Common Grounds has been transformed with input (and a little work) from the students. Bright colors on the wall, bean bags & some booth like tables, a rocked up audio/video system and a more utilized coffee/concession bar are among some of those changes. Wall removal between the coffee area & meeting room is on the schedule for 2009! Other changes include the students adopting a slogan that represents all our student ministries. The slogan originates from the sentiments of Joshua & the Jews recorded in Joshua 24:15-18 and from Paul’s prayer in Romans 15:5- 6 – One Voice, One Choice. The HS students selected 5 Star! as their group name – from the 5 tenets of 1 Ti 4:12 – while the Jr High selected Ascent as their group name – from Col 3:1-3 & Php 3:12- 14! The students have also begun to financially & prayerfully support two young children from Uganda through Compassion International. The kids’ support helps Compassion share the gospel with these children in addition to feeding, clothing & educating them. Our students give their own money through concession stand donations & generous offerings to make sure the $64 monthly support costs are met!
|
 |
|
| BACK TO THE TOP | |
