Devo 2 Go

// January 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

Here is a great resource for your teenager and I highly recommend it. I am recommending that you buy it for your teen to use during the next series that starts on Wednesday. It is a daily devotional that they can put on their ipod and it also comes with a study guide. I think this is a great way to encourage teenagers to start doing their daily devotions. Here is a link to the site: http://www.devo2go.com/ The website also lets you download the first week for free, so you can get a feel for how it all works.

To Save a Life

// January 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

If you haven’t heard anything about this movie yet I suggest that you check out their website and the movie trailer. This movie is going to have a huge impact on our group and deals with a ton of things that our kids are dealing with. I had the opportunity to watch a pre-screening of this movie and it is extremely well done. It opens this weekend (January 22nd) and we want to try to get a group of youth to go down on Saturday morning. We are planning on leaving the church at 9am on Saturday January 23rd to make it to the 10:30am showing in Coon Rapids and we should be back around 1 or 1:30p. The cost of the movie ticket is only $5.

We are hoping that we can get our entire group to see this movie. We realize that the time on Saturday might not work for everyone and are planning on making another date available to take a group down if necessary. If you have any questions feel free to send me an e-mail.

Winter Retreat Recap

// January 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Events

The best way to explain how this weekend went is with a big WOW! We not only brought everyone home safely but we brought everyone home with memories that will last them a lifetime. God was very present this weekend as we went through our sessions and we saw many of our kids stepping out in their faith like they never have before. One of the things that fueled this was the great conversations that were had by all. We had leaders having good conversations with the youth and with each other but the youth were the ones that stood out. All of the leaders were very impressed with the depth of the conversations youth were having with each other and the willingness they had to help each other through the struggles they were going through. As a result of this we saw our entire group grow extremely close and many new friendships were created. As we left we told all of them that not to think of it as the end of a great weekend but the beginning of a changed life. Our goal now is to continue to help them grow and to encourage them to use the tools that they learned this weekend. We also ask for continued prayers for our group as they try to learn how to use those tools in their everyday life.

I feel the best way to end this is to say……….God is good……….All the time!!!

Our Waterfall Hike

// January 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

This morning we took the group on a hike. We hiked in to Potawatomi Falls and carried our rocks with. At the beginning of the hike we told the group that the hike would be hard but it would be worth it in the end. There were points where we had snow that was over knee deep to walk through and other times the path was easy. The group walked away from that hike definitely feeling like it was worth it. They were able to see a beautiful aspect of Gods creation and they were also able to get rid of their rocks. The rocks had been a representation of our fears that weigh ia down and golf is back. We talked about turning them over to God and then pitched the rocks off of a cliff. Our prayer is that this group will remember how it felt to cast off their burdens and not hold so tightly to the things tha golf is back. It was definitely a great morning!

Really Good Morning

// January 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

Winter Retreat Updates

// January 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

We all arrived in Wakefield safely and we actually made good time and had good roads the entire way up. One of the challenges that our students have been given this weekend is that they have all been assigned a rock that needs to be carried with them throughout the weekend (in stores and everything). We had a lot of funny looks as they had the opportunity to pick out their own rock but they have had fun bringing them into McDonalds and gas stations.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the weekend. I will be adding photos and posts to the website as we are on our different adventures.

Winter Retreat Packing List

// January 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

SKI GEAR AND CLOTHING:

· Sunscreen and lip balm

· Ski jacket

· Thermal underwear

· Insulated ski pants

· Gloves

· Hats, fleece or baseball cap

· Goggles and Sunglasses

· Face mask for skiing in snow

· Ski socks

· Plenty of layers

· Fleece shirt or coat

Hunting or snow boots!!

REGULAR CLOTHING:

· Jeans

· Underwear

· T-shirts

· Socks

· Belts

· Slippers

BASICS:

· Snacks

· Eyeglasses

· Watch

· Backpack for day use

· Book to Read

· Bible

· Flashlight and batteries

TOILETRIES:

· Prescriptions and other medications

· Toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss and mouthwash

· Deodorant

· Hair brush

· Shampoo

· Soap

· Shaving gear

· Towel

SLEEPING STUFF:

· Pillow

· Sleeping Bag

STUFF NOT TO BRING:

· Electric Guitar

· Video Games or Consoles

· Alcohol or Tobacco

· Movies

· Anything that will keep you from being social and having a good time.

The Fuel Station

// January 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

We are excited to be kicking of our Fuel Station this week. The Fuel Station is a place where youth will be able to purchase various types of drinks and snacks after youth group on Wednesday nights. We are still in the developmental stages but as of right now we are offering a variety of Italian Sodas, Various flavored Ice Teas, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Shirley Temples,  and some hot Tea as well. Any profits made at the Fuel Station will go into a scholarship fund to help youth go on some of our trips they can’t afford.

We will have $5 and $10 punch cards available to purchase but students will also be able to buy beverages individually.  On top of this we have created a bring a friend card that youth can hand out and will allow their friend a free drink on their first visit. We are really excited to see where this could go and have a lot of ideas for the future but for now we are going to keep it small. Last time we met the group really seemed to enjoy it.

Note: We will still be having our normal treat schedule going as well. The Fuel Station is just over and above that.

Registration Forms Due!!

// January 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

I just wanted to send out a reminder that the Winter Retreat registration forms and money are due this Wednesday on January 6th. If you are still deciding about whether you should go or not….You should go!! We want you on this trip and will do whatever we can to make it possible for you. If you need a registration form, Click Here or there are some on the Connection table at Bethel Church.

We Got In!!

// January 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Youth News

I just received the letter in the mail saying that we got into the Platte, SD SERVE site!! I am very excited because we turned our forms in a little later than planned and I was worried that it would fill up fast. I was right about one part as it looks like we were the last group to get into the site. If you want more info on the site you can check out this link.