new website for CROSS STREET LIVE

Our family experience, Cross Street Live, now has its own website you can use to give other families info about this event. It is up and it is live at www.crossSTREETlive.com and I hope you will spread the word that we are back on September 20 / 5:30 PM @ Rossview High School. Also look for our add and article in Clarksville Family Magazine this month. We do this experience on Sunday nights so that it can be a community event. We believe every parent wants their kid to make wise choices and learn about God. We also think that process should be fun! If you have kids k-5 and you live in the Clarksville area come on out and join us for Cross Street Live.

details about our next REMIX location

Big news...REMIX is adding a 2nd location here in Clarksville!

We are so excited about the birth of our second REMIX location for Relevant Student Ministry in the Exit One area of our city. Yes we will still have our first REMIX location going strong at St. B, but now we will have a location targeted at reaching West Creek and Northeast High and the middle schools that serve those high schools. How are we going to start a new location? We are partnering with OneChurch (http://www.exitonechurch.org) to create another gathering for teens in a different part of town. We can partner because we have the same strategy and heart for reaching students. We can partner because it is going to take more than business as usual to reach students in Clarksville. Ryan Millard (the family pastor @ OneChurch) will be leading a new team of volunteers and a new band at our REMIX / exit one venue. Both locations will be teaching the same series, using the relevant students website, and focused on helping teens find community through small groups. For the address and more info about the ministry go check out http://www.relevantstudents.com

This is an experiment that we feel God has led us to take. Our hope is that Relevant Student Ministry will keep providing teens in a Clarksville a safe place to connect with others, rethink faith, and discover what life looks like as a follower of Christ. Please pray for both locations of REMIX as we strive to serve teens and their families! Are we done adding locations...you will have to wait and see!

OPERATION SERVE Sign Up...THIS SUNDAY

Every year at GCC we set aside one Saturday in September to unleash over 1,000 volunteers to do good in our city in the name of Christ. Our goal is simple. Serve our community. Our one and only focus is to serve this city we live in. We hope to make Clarksville a better place. If GCC was gone next week we pray we would be missed because we were known for serving our city and county. On September 26 we will once again experience Operation Serve here in Clarksville and we hope you will be a part of this mission to serve. Sunday morning right after the 9 and 11 AM service you can sign up in the Rossview High gym. After the 11 Am service there will be a cookout so stay and eat! Thanks to the Op Serve lead team, all our project leaders, and all our OP serve volunteers who make this happen. September 26 is going to be an amazing day!

empower teens to SERVE NOW

Teens are ready to serve others now. I am amazed by how many churches push kids to go into classes on Sunday mornings and miss out the chance to empower teens to serve. Schools all across America empower teens to serve in their school and community while the church ask teens to go to class and listen to a lecture. Every teen I know wants to do significant things with their life. Why don't we give them opportunities to do significant things right now in our churches? Last night at REMIX we cast a vision of what serving looks like for us. It was amazing to look in their eyes and see teens be encouraged to take action. We hope teens connected with REMIX will serve in their church, school and community. We had the chance to ask students to join our Operation Serve effort here in our city. We also are calling them to join God in bringing hope to people around the globe. This fall at REMIX we will be collecting donations for a new thrift store called Newspring Thrift Store in Hopkinsville. KY that will raise support for a ministry called Africa for Jesus. It was amazing to watch groups talk about what they could bring. Every 30 dollars this store will make can support a missionary in Africa for a year!!! Go check our Africa for Jesus here online and read about their effort in Africa.

coaching youth ministry volunteers to lead small groups

Finding great volunteers to lead in our student ministry is a challenge but training them to be great small group leaders is just as difficult. The reason training is so difficult is because leading a group is an art not a science. Every small group is unique. Every group has its own vibe. Every small group is full of teens with different personalities! Being a small group leader can be intimidating! Because of all these factors we want to work hard to COACH (not just train) our small group leaders and provide them the guidance they need to be successful. Our hope is to place our small group leaders with teens we think they will connect with, give them the training they need, and provide them the opportunity to invest and lead. It has taken us several years of small group LIFE to figure out a coaching strategy but this worked for us this year...

• We worked hard to put the small group team together and tried to explain our expectation right up front as we recruited leaders. We want to be clear up front about this adventure!
• We gave each leader a small group leader packet so they could read over our strategy for leading group. This packet had all the details so they could look back over it on their own time.
• We did a Sunday morning training with all our leaders. It was one focused 45 minute session but it was enough time to cast vision and work through the training issues we needed to hit.
• We gave our small group leaders the names and ages of the kids they would be leading early so they could be praying for their group.
• We launched groups and gave our leaders a chance to engage their groups. The only true way to learn about leading a teen small group is to do it!
• We followed up with leaders at the end of the night to encourage and coach more.
• We have plans to meet for training times one more time this fall and again in the spring as we continue to coach our group leaders! Waiting till later in the fall and spring gives us a chance to ask the leaders what areas they need help with! They help plan the coaching process!
  

what we don't do at Grace Community...

Every week I go to Grace Community and I am blown away by the stuff God allows us to pull off week to week. I have to say, our volunteers blow it out of the water every week and really help pull off some an incredible worship experience for adults, teens, kids, and preschoolers. How do we do it? We focus and keep it simple. We have realized that we cannot be all things to all people here in our city. We cannot empower or fund every ministry idea. We cannot take on every new idea that comes to us from passionate people. Our goal is to do a few things well instead of a bunch of stuff half way. At GCC we are passionate about creating environments for people to gather to worship God, helping people discovery community through small groups, and empowering people to serve in our church, our city, and our world. We have to do those three things well in every environment we have at GCC. These three goals have to be evident in our preschool area just like they are present for the adult ministries here. Keeping it simple and staying focused helps us to give our best each week. When you are focused even your "off weeks" can maintain effectiveness. This priciple is so evident in the fast food market. Chick-fil-a and Five Guys are simple and have focus. McDonalds and Hardees try to do everything. Which kind of fast food place to people talk about? Our ministries are trying to have focus like Chick-fil-a...lets do what we do with excellence. The things we choose not to do at Grace Community help us to what God has called us to do in our city. What about the ministry you lead...are you trying to do too much? Are you keeping it simple? What do you need to stop doing in order to move forward?

Bayne's FANTASY DRAFT 2009

I love the NFL and I have been playing in a NFL Fantasy League for the past 7 years. This is what I call my "Family League" since it is filled with my brother and a bunch of my other extended family. This league is like a family tradition and I have been close BUT never taken my rightful spot as champion. This may be the year...this is my favorite draft in a long time. I promise this will be the last night I blog about this (maybe)! Here were my picks, I PICKED 4th because my team last year was horrible...

CLARKSVILLE TITANS
4	Matt Forte, Chi
21	Peyton Manning, Ind
28	Dwayne Bowe, KC
45	DeSean Jackson, Phi
52	Thomas Jones, NYJ
69	Anthony Gonzalez, Ind
76	Jonathan Stewart, Car
93	Kevin Walter, Hou
100	Zach Miller, Oak
117	Eagles D/ST, Phi
124	Donald Brown, Ind
141	Jake Delhomme, Car
148	Mason Crosby, GB
165	Chargers D/ST, SD
172	Miles Aust

why we do small groups @ relevant

We launched our small groups at REMIX (our weekly gathering for teens) and it was an amazing night. 20 adult leaders stepped up this year to be small group leaders. I believe with all of my heart that the small group element of our weekly gathering is where life change takes place. I feel the community aspect of group moves our weekly event from seeking attenders to engaging participants. Small groups allow us to say to every teen, every week...YOUR VOICE MATTERS, YOU BEING HERE MATTERS, YOU BELONG HERE. Sure we still have our gathering with the band, the lights, the video, and teaching time but all of those elements drive our teens toward relationships in small group at the end of the night. Small groups...

• provide students a significant mentoring relationship in their life through our group leaders
• allow time for teens to TALK BACK, to express what they think about the message, their questions, their hope, and their doubt!
• enable us to empower many student leaders instead of just one or two from the stage
• make it possible to do small events that make a huge relational impact in a teens life NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE GROW AS A MINISTRY! a small group of 9 can do or go just about anywhere, try that same event with 200! (bowling, movies, concert, camping...ya know)
• ensure we can stay connected with kids on a weekly basis
• discover students that want to be discipled on a deeper level
• provide another adult leader who parents can know is spiritually investing in their child! Parents can know there is another adult out there that will care about their teen growing in their faith and will be a stable presence in a chaotic season of life.

Small groups matter for us at Relevant Student Ministry. I am so thankful we get to do more than just provide a gathering for teens in Clarksville. We have the chance to help teens discover that they were made for community. Following Christ is meant to be lived out in the midst of significant relationships with others. Thanks to our small group leaders who are going to pour their life into teens at REMIX. Small group leaders...what you do matters!

great video just for all you YOUTH MINISTERS...

This is just too good. I have been working with teenagers for more than 10 years and this is just too good not to post on the blog. Thanks youth ministers for all you do to invest in teens...now sit back and just take this in...

Communicating Clearly with Your Teen // GREAT article for parents!

Keeping the lines of communication open with your teen is hard work. I found this article by Karen Gross on http://www.gomestic.com through Mark Matlock on twitter and it is really good advice for parents of teens. Good reminder for all student leaders also to be clear with what we commit to teens we we communicate with them. Check the article out...

How to Communicate with Your Teens So They Can’t Blackmail You Later

by Karen Gross on Aug 18, 2009 with 4 Comments

Read more in Family

« Rewarding Your Children

How often have you heard, “But you promised!” when you have no recollection of ever discussing whatever it is that you apparently promised your offspring? I have heard it plenty of times, so I decided to write an article about how to communicate with teens, and then, hopefully, I will take my own advice.

Be careful what you say “yes” to:

If you do say “yes” to whatever it is that your teen asks for, make sure you put it in writing. This is especially important for parents who, like me, suffer from short term memory loss. I have also had the peculiar experience of saying yes to something my clever offspring have asked while I was sleeping, and then having no recollection whatsoever of this alleged conversation when I wake up.

Make sure that you include any foreseeable conditions under which your “yes” could be rendered null and void. For example, if my sixteen year old wants to go to a party on Friday night, I automatically state the proviso that her chores need to be completed before she can go. She knows this, but it still has to be stated, so that she can’t get away with a technicality.

Written promises should also include any conditions over which you have no control. For example, if you said, “Yes, this weekend we will go to the beach if the weather is nice.” This condition needs to be more specific, as the term “nice weather” is much too open to opinion.

Reserve your “no” responses for requests that are worth the battle:

Once you have said “no” to a request from your teen, you need to stick to it. If there has ever been an occasion in which you said “no” first and then gave in to whining, I am very sorry to have to tell you that you have just created a monster. A very whiny monster at that. I am speaking from experience, fellow traveller.

Choose your battles wisely! Parenting guru Barbara Coloroso advises parents to save your “no’s” to requests that are illegal, immoral, or life threatening.

Beware of when you’ve said “maybe”:

Your “maybe’s” will come back to haunt you. If you say maybe to almost every request, it gives your beloved offspring legal grounds to keep asking you, trying to wear you down.

When you say maybe, you need to set out the terms under which you will give a more definitive answer. Tell them to write out at least three very good reasons for why they so desperately need whatever it is that they are bugging you about. If their list consists of: “#1. I want it. #2 I need it. And #3 all my friends have one”, then you have a parental responsibility to ask them if they would follow all of their friends off a cliff; and to remind them that you are not their friends’ parent; and especially that money doesn’t grow on trees.

Don’t say maybe just to get them to stop bugging you now (I know this is very tempting, especially if your favourite show is on TV). If you need to know more details before you can give an answer, then say so - define the details you need, and then follow up quickly (once the show is over). Don’t keep stringing them on with maybe, or else they will never leave you alone.

Don’t let them use the old “two parent spin off”:

Be aware of this tactic, and don’t let them get away with it. This means communication with your spouse or co-parent. If you co-parent with an ex, then communication is much more difficult, but at the same time much more necessary. When your teen asks for something, try to remember to ask them if they have asked the other parent first. In our house, if dad said no, and then they come to me and I say yes - then there will be consequences to follow.

I do give my kids the option of appealing to Dad. If I say no to something, sometimes I tell them that they can ask Dad to see what he thinks.

If at all possible, try to say “yes” more often:

Here I am referring to their requests for your time, not for things that they want you to buy.

Don’t tell your kids this, and please don’t tell mine! I know that you are tired and that you just want to veg out and watch some TV. But if your teen asks you to help her with her soccer moves, or for your help on her homework, or for you to go with her to the mall; I just want you to know that these requests won’t keep coming if you always say no. Teens very quickly replace their parent’s values and counsel with that of their friends. If your teen is still seeking your advice, don’t lose the opportunity. They grow up so quickly, and soon will be out of your home. Don’t waste the precious time that you have with them.

If your teens are already dissing you (did I use that verb correctly?); if they are already dressing in black with black nails, lips, and eye liner; and if they are already down to monosyllabic responses to your questions - don’t lose hope! And don’t respond to their behaviour unless it is illegal, immoral, or life threatening. (If it is, please seek out appropriate help from police, clergy, or where ever you can find it). Don’t stop loving them, and for heaven’s sake don’t let yourself be sucked into unwinnable arguments. Do the best you can, treat them with respect (even if they don’t treat you with respect - you need to be the adult!) and have patience! Once they turn 30 and realize that not too many places will hire people who dress like vampires, they will hopefully add some colour back into their lives.

rethinking youth ministry

This past week I had the chance to speak at a back to school event put on by Patt Dennis at the Crossing (http://thecrossingworship.com) and a few other churches in Shelbyville, TN. I also got to meet and talk youth ministry with Marc Mclean at The Master's Church (http://www.masterschurch.com) today. It was great to meet people passionate about reaching students. Both encounters reminded me that we are going to have to rethink youth ministry if we are going to reach teenagers. As I look around the country I see guys finding the freedom to experiment and try new approaches. The best thing we can do for this next generation of student pastors is to help them dream bigger dreams and embrace creativity as we design what our ministries will be about. With twitter and facebook there is no better time to look around and learn from others. Instead of allowing our ministries to be about empowering our existing programs, let's experiment, take some risks, share ideas and reach teens in our cities.

your PACE and momentum

Every fall things get a little crazy around the office. People are back from vacations, ministries are launching, new staff is here, ministries are getting back to full speed. Every August it seems like I could work 7 days a week and not get everything done. The truth is that there are seasons in ministry that demand more from volunteers and staff. I believe that there is a connection between building momentum and work pace in key times during year. Let's be honest, in student ministry that time of the year is August and early September. In order to build and keep momentum we have to be willing to go all out during keys times in the year when we can connect with and lead people. I am all about time off, and guarding your day off but to be frank...there are times in the year when you have to be ready to plan, work, empower, and train at a different level. This all out pace cannot be sustained for long but momentum will fade if our teams are not willing to seize the moment and ramp it up. When you look at your year just know there will be times that life gets a little crazy in order to move the organization forward! I am so grateful for my wife who gets this principle! It has been incredible to watch her push me to seize the moment because she knows it is temporary and she feels she can help me step up my pace in key times during the year. Let's know that the there will be times we have to ramp up our pace in order to build momentum.

thoughts from night one of REMIX

We made it to night one of REMIX this year and once again I was blown away with how God worked. I wanted to take a minute and process what went well about the first night. I have so many people to thank so HERE GOES...thoughts from the first night.

• The REMIX band...WOW you guys did an amazing job getting ready for this fall and it paid off big Wednesday night. Will Mckelvy hit a home run leading.
  
• The Crowd...to all of you who came, YOU ARE AMAZING. We had one of our biggest crowds at REMIX and the energy was thick. We get to serve an amazing group of students here in Clarksville.
• our REMIX small group leaders...for tons of our leaders this was their first night at REMIX. We watched out new team get to know kids and serve and we are so stoked about this group of leaders. WE LAUNCH SMALL GROUPS next week!
• Katrina Watts...you did an amazing job getting all he administrative stuff ready to go. Thanks so much!
• Tech team did a great job dialing in the sound and video this week. Great job with managing the environment.
• Nate Edmondson, great job planning the worship set and producing the intro video. I am going to miss ya man!
• Parents...thank you for letting us partner with you to invest in your teens. Thanks to all of you who stuck around to experience night one at REMIX.
• Grace Community...thanks for supporting Relevant Student Ministry and allowing us to think outside the box as we invest in teens and families. REMIX is what it is because Grace Community has supported the dream financially. Thanks so much for believing in us!
  

REMIX starts tonight @ 7 PM

Tonight is the night. REMIX gets rolling tonight, 7 PM @ St. B Christian Church on Dunbar Cave Road. Hope you will take some time and pray for us as we get rolling. Every fall is a new chance for us to invest in students and we have an incredible team of small group leaders ready to go. You can get more info about Relevant Student Ministry and REMIX on our website . Here we go...

funny email I got TODAY (email of concern!)

During staff meeting today I got an automated email (let me say that again, AUTOMATED) from Nelson Searcy, Lead Pastor at Journey Church in New Your City. I have visited Journey Church one time and love the work they are doing in NYC. They have been selling resources the past few years on a website called Church Leader Insights and I get emails from them about products and training opportunities. Today I received an email from the same website and it read like this...

Fr: Nelson Searcy
Re: I'm concerned

Pastor,

I'm writing because I'm concerned about you.

For the last three months you've been hearing about my Senior Pastors Tele-Coaching Network that begins NEXT WEEK on Thursday, Aug 20. This network is all about helping you and your church go to the next level of growth and impact.

I've done everything I can to tell you about this network . . . I sent you a 30-minute Q & A video . . .I sent you the unedited testimonies from those who just completed the network . . . plus several other email and mailed invitations for you to apply.

. . . but I still don't see your name on the application list!

Frankly, I find that puzzling.

Look, if you are interested in seeing your church grow and your leadership ability increase, I urge you to apply right now.

. . . stop whatever you are doing and go to this Web site, download and complete the application:

WHAT? Nelson, have you ever read a Seth Godin book about permission marketing? I just find the email funny. I have never met Nelson. I am not sure why he is concerned about me. I am glad he is tele-coaching and I will apply if I want to. Who will read that email and say...WOW I THINK I WILL APPLY TODAY! It is never good to sell ideas and mentoring that hard. If you have to work that hard to get people plugged into a coaching network or sell a mentoring service you might want to rethink your strategy. So there ya go...just a little vent about a crazy email today. What do you think? Is this leadership marketing gone too far?

establishing routine's with your kids...

Here at the beginning of the school year we have the perfect opportunity to reinforce the routines we have and start some new one's. I am a dad and I am beginning to understand the importance of establishing some routine's with my girls. I am not sure about you, but I do not want my kids looking back at their childhood and remember me as that dad who sat in a chair all night and watched Sportscenter. There is plenty of time for that after they go to bed! The window of time from dinner to bedtime is a big block of time where I can show up and make an impact. At home I take care of bath time every night. My girls know I take care of all of that stuff and I help get them ready for bed. I am also the "CHEIF storyteller" at home. I tell a story every night and everyday my girls ask me what my story for the night will be. I also eat breakfast with my girls as many mornings as I can. We use breakfast to do our God's Time card we get from Cross Street (our kids ministry at GCC) so we can start the day off reading the Bible with our girls. My girls also know I will bring lunch to school and eat with them. That short lunch pays off BIG with one on one time. Like many other dad's I put a ton of time into my job and I love what I do in my career. I know for me I have to work hard to guard time with my kids and actually be intentional. The routine's that I set will help me protect time with my girls and give me a chance to be a spiritual influence in their life. There are a bunch of dad's around me who have some great routine's with their kids! What are some of your routines that you have at home with your kids?

2009-2010 Relevant shirts are HERE...

Every year the Sunday before Remix we give away our new Relevant shirt. If you were at GCC this morning you saw us set up. If you did not get one come on out Wednesday night at 7 @ St. B Christian Church on Dunbar Cave Road and get your shirt at REMIX. Why shirts? Why give them away? It is simple, we just want to ask students to help us spread the word about Relevant Student Ministry. We have designed this environment for teens and we just want teens to spread the word about it. This is going to be an amazing year, and we hope you join the Relevant movement. Get more info about Relevant and our weekly gathering called REMIX at http://www.relevantstudents.com

this year @ RELEVANT student ministry // expand

At Relevant we believe that we reach out to others through natural relationships. We will only grow if teens invite other friends and then we have the chance to invest in those relationships. People invite others to environments they are excited about and we are so thankful for how Remix has grown and expanded the past 2 years. This year we are praying teens will keep inviting their friends and we are looking at other ways to expand our effort to reach teens here in Clarksville.

Another way we want to expand is to partner with other ministries and churches. This year we are embarking on a partnership that we hope will take Relevant and our strategy to another part of our city. This fall Relevant Student Ministry @ oneChurch (http://www.exitonechurch.org) launches along with another Remix venue targeted at the exit one area! Yes, can you believe it, we are expanding through a partnership and we are partnering with another church. What unites our 2 churches is strategy and branding. This is a new effort and we are working out all the details, but we are stoked about the potential. Relevant Student Ministry is built around some unique principles that help us to focus on small groups, create engaging environments, partner with parents, and do less for more impact. We want to spin these values forward in our city through strategic partnerships and a multi site mindset. Our hope is students across our city will know that Relevant is not focused on building a group in just a single church but reaching students across our city with the message of Jesus Christ. Our prayer is that Relevant Student Ministry will continue to be a movement and not an institution. Look for more info about this partnership on www.relevantstudents.com!!

this year @ RELEVANT student ministry // serve

In most churches we ask teens to come on Sunday mornings and go to a class. How do I know that? I grew up in that model. Teens grow in their faith as they gather to encounter God, commit to live life with others through small groups, and SERVE! At Relevant we want to release students to serve NOW. We believe every student at GCC should have a place to serve and a cause to fight for. This generation is not willing to sit by and watch the world go by. Teens today want to make a difference and it is our hope we can help them move in that direction. At Remix we are going to be revealing some causes we support by week three and calling our small groups to fight to make a difference for one of them this year. Through Relevant we are going to help students to find places to serve in and outside the church. This is not just about Grace Community either. We have students each week at REMIX who go to churches all over Clarksville with their family. We simply want to call every student we serve. Why ask teens to sit on the sidelines and simply attend. Let's call them to make a difference NOW.

this year @ RELEVANT student ministry // engage parents

This year here at Relevant Student Ministry we want to engage parents. We are taking our parent strategy to the next level because we believe what happens at home matters. I love teenagers, but every parent I know cares more about their teen than I do. Parents feel responsible for their son or daughter's spiritual journey but many times do not know how to connect with their teen when dealing with spiritual issues. Relevant wants to help that process. We want to engage parents and partner with them as they invest in their kids. Imagine what student ministry and parents working together looks like! I know it is hard because parents usually just drop kids off at church and hope it might work. This year we are going to try to make it as easy as possible for parents to experience what happens in our weekly gathering as possible. We will continue our podcast so parents can listen in to the message each week. We will be launching a parent blog as a place where parents can interact, think, ask questions, and get weekly updates about what happens at REMIX. Also we are going to strive to make a digital bridge between our small group leaders and parents. Parents will get a weekly update email from their teen's small group leader to give the parent some insight about what we talked about at REMIX and some ideas about how parents can engage in dialogue with their kids about the same issues. Our hope is that parents will begin to TALK with their teens about faith. We want to give parents tools to make this process natural. Relevant Student Ministry and the home can work together to make a greater impact.

this year @ RELEVANT student ministry // create community

This is an exciting fall for us here at Relevant Student Ministry and Remix is back in just 8 days. Want to talk little each day this week on the blog about some goals we have this year. Some of the ideas we talk about this week are not new to us, they are foundational. Creating community is foundational. Our weekly gathering called REMIX is built around small groups. Yes we do an amazing large group experience. Yes, I love speaking, a great band, lights and video. With that said, the heart of life change each week happens when teens move from the large group into the small group experience with teens and an adult they meet with each week. Following Christ was never meant to be a solo act. Our hope each year is to give teens at remix an adult leader who will live life with them week in and week out. Creating community for teens means we have to give students space to question, dream, speak, think, and laugh TOGETHER. Community, that place where we belong, only happens we teens slow down and come TOGETHER. Our adult leaders and small groups help make the dream of community become reality. When community happens teens actually can invite their friends, they can be real, they can share their heart! When community happens God begins t0 revolutionize lives! Is it messy? YES! Is it worth it? YES!

what I learned over summer 2009!

I am in fall mode. I cannot help it. August comes and to me all I can think about is a new season of ministry, fall retreats, REMIX coming back, football, football, football, and school starting back. I thought this week on the blog I would look back at the summer and look forward to some new things we are focusing on with Relevant Student Ministry. We really have some big announcements to make at the end of the week BUT you will have to wait for that. (to make that clear we are still working details!) Tonight I want to look back at the amazing summer we had. Yes I did learn some things so I dedicate this post to that, WHAT I LEARNED THIS SUMMER...

• CAMP is an amazing week to connect with students. I needed to be reminded of that this year. When you have been in student ministry a while (10 years) you need reminders. We watched God work in the hearts of students at high school and middle school camp. Never discount what God can do in a life over a week.
  
• Connect Events worked for us (just fun events for us to connect with students like the theme park, game night, etc.) so glad we were able to bring students together just to connect all summer.
• Interns...are AMAZING. Nate and Lauren did amazing work all summer and went all out to invest in teens all summer. It was a great start to the intern process here at GCC.
  
• Momentum...I have been told by teens all summer that they cannot wait for REMIX to come back this fall. We have gained momentum by taking time off. Less is MORE! (yes I am glad Remix is back too!)
• Speaking...loved getting to speak at 2 camps this summer. It was great to connect with leaders and teens at both camps. Thanks Spring Creek, One Church and FBC Owensboro for letting me be a part!
• Family...loved having Chelsea and the girls at one of the camps I spoke at and our high school mission trip to New Orleans. It was great to have them with me serving. When I can have my kids with me at camps or trips I am going to try to make it happen. It works for our family.
  
• Flip video...having the flip video camera made getting great video all summer so easy. I also fell in love with IMovie 09 on my mac. Video updates from our events really helped us let folks back home know what was going down.
  
• Serve New Orleans...was amazing. Our team faced some challenges but going back to the same community to serve again this year was so rewarding. It was amazing to see kids this year we met in 2008! Committing to a city and investing is the best way to do mission trips with students. Stoked about 2010 already.
• Making memories matters...summer is a great season to make memories with teens. In the summer we help students have incredible relational and spiritual experiences. When I talk with former students we always go back to memories of past experiences. What we do during the summer matters. Summer ministry is significant. We have some crazy stories from this past year from all our events (bull horns, bathroom emergencies on vans, prune pong, where tennis shoes are made, RUDE) but you had to be there to get it!