Uses For the Ipad In Youth Ministry

This past holiday season I pulled the trigger on something I've been contemplating for a long time. I joined the masses of people who are proud Ipad owners. After shopping around I found a great used setup on Ebay that included several extras plus a wireless keyboard. This is not an ad for Apple or any of the tools mentioned below it is just one guys thoughts on some ways to use a tool to see Christ's kingdom come. One of the deciding factors of picking this up was that it lends itself so well to the nature of youth ministry.  Here are some ways I'm thinking about using it...

• Youth Group Check In : We've made great strides over the last 18 months to be sure we are tracking attendance. Currently our system is that students highlight their names on a list then later that week the names are added into the database. It's not super time consuming but if we continue to grow it will get tedious. I'm sure there's some way to position a leader at the welcome table with this tool and electronically check in students.  Saving time that could be allotted to something else.  The same process would be good for parents gatherings and leader meetings. 
• Media Consumption : Let's be honest this is what the Ipad was designed for. I'm already blown away by the Flipboard app which pulls in all kinds of news services into one place. There's a tremendous amount of free quality content on the web that keeps youth ministers sharp and challenged. Everything from blogs to podcasts can be great free resources. 
• Digital Picture Frame: As I'm at my desk rocking out the administrative side of ministry it's great to have the slide show feature on rotating through students pictures. This is great in two ways first it provides a visual reminder to pray for each student the scrolls across the screen. Second it provides a visual reminder to anyone who stops in the office as to what we're all about. I can tell you how great last November's Impact Fall Retreat was but until you see the pictures you won't get the full idea. 
• Portable Presentation for Small Groups: When talking to small groups of people and sharing the visions or values of our ministry the larger portable screen will be great to help illustrate our ideas. I've already found a great whiteboard app to feed my white board obsession. 
• Youth Big Group Presentation: Hook up the VGA adapter and with the flick of a finger presentations can be shown to as big a group as you'd like. One of the deciding factors of my purchase was a few months ago I was trying to illustrate a point using some presentation software in front of a full house when my laptop came crashing off the music stand. This time nothing was broken but it distracted from the message and was incredibly frustrating. Now gravity affects an Ipad too however seeing how it weights less and has a much lower center of gravity I think I'm in the clear. Also I hear there's a rock'n app with Pro Presenter that makes this process work great. 
• Scripture Study Aide : Applications like YouVersion and Logos put an entire resource library at my finger tips. It's a great help to studying God's word. 
• E Reader: Both the Kindle and Nook have free apps that allow you to access your entire library from anywhere. I've been using a Kindle for about a year now and love the ability to share and highlight my notes. The layout is beautiful and easy to read on the Ipad. Not only are ebooks cheaper then paperbacks but if were on a long bus ride to a retreat of mission trip I can read the same book on my phone, then pick up my kindle or Ipad and the book automatically syncs to the furthest page read. So it's always current. I just started John Piper's new book Think.
• Social Networking Nothing beats face to face communication. I see social networking as a way to set up those important gospel sharing conversations.

Do you work with teenagers? What are some creative ways you would use this piece of technology? 

Sir Francis Drake's Distrubing Prayer

This was posted over on Leadership from the Heart it's Dave Kraft's blog. If you haven't read his book on leadership yet you're missing out. 

"As you move into 2011 this week, how about asking God to disturb your traditional thinking, safe praying and small dreams and move you to another level in the coming year? 
Here are some thoughts a friend sent me from the explorer Sir Francis Drake. 


Sir Francis Drake's prayer before circumnavigating the globe:

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore..."

To read the rest click here. 

Sun Stand Still

Over my convalescence I've manged to knock a few books off the old reading list. One of those was Steven Furtick's book "Sun Stand Still" . Steven spoke at a middle school event we held several years ago and was one of the most passionate and challenge speakers we've ever had engage students. I've heard of great things happening in Charlotte NC where him and his team have planted Elevation Church. He's a passionate lover of Jesus and is doing some great things to see his kingdom come.

I picked up his first book "Sun Stand Still" after several people I know mentioned they were in the process of reading it. My thoughts on it are somewhat mixed. It's based off the story in Joshua 10 where Joshua prays an audacious prayer the the sun would not set and God answers in a big way.  Much of this book felt like a pep-talk. It had the feeling of being in a high school gym or in a field at a bonfire listening to a coach motivate the fans. I think there's an important place for that yet that kind of encouragement will only get you so far. Some of Steven's thoughts on where faith comes from and how that operates in our lives I think I'd have to take issue with but the cross is big enough for all of that.

Despite it's fluffy and clique at times nature I think this book shows there's a real place to pray prayers that are so big only God can answer them. For me the take away is a good look at what kind of prayers am I praying as we begin this new year? Are they prayers that are so audacious so grand in their scope that if God in his sovereignty chooses to answer them only he will be able to get the glory?

Tim Keller on Christmas

This came across The Resurgence's twitter feed and really places the holiday in perspective...

Tim Keller: "Christmas is telling you that you could never get to heaven on your own. God had to come to you."



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Scary Ghost Stories??

Can anyone clear this up for me. What does "Scary ghost stories" have to do with Christmas???

From the song "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" that says "There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago."

Every Heart Prepare

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on Christmas this year... 

 "Help us our God, to prepare our hearts to receive again the gift of your peace. May we be filled with gentleness, courage, and wisdom, and with the spirit of love that will make us worthy stewards of your newborn hope. May this new spirit not be a joy that we covet unto ourselves in these grey winter days, but may we be so bold as to live it out so that those we know might share our trust in you."

 Thanks to Anthony Kowbeidu for sharing this on Facebook. 

A Christmas Special

A few students in our youth group have put this together....


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Merry Christmas! 

Resolve for Monday

Every Monday I'm going to post one of Jonathan Edwards resolutions. He penned these while still a very young man and used them to guide his life. What am I using to guide me, my family, my ministry??

46. Resolved, Never to allow the least measure of any fretting or uneasiness at my father or mother. Resolved, to suffer no effects of it, so much as in the least alteration of speech, or motion of my eye; and to be especially careful of it with respect to any of our family.

• Let's talk about the 10 Commandments. When the law comes to mind I find that people proudly respect the likes of... do not murder or do not commit adultery.  How about the commandment of...honor your father and mother? 
• Now if righteous was possible through the law then this would be a big deal but it does point out our need for a savior because even in our best moments we mar and scoff at the relationship that is at its core to mimic that of a loving God and  his creation. Edwards saw this and tried with all aspects to keep it central. Even with his eye motion! 
• How many young people (teenagers) are making such resolutions let alone those of us who are older? Family can be a sticky thing some times yet how we treat it often reflects our own view of the heavenly relationship we have with our perfect father.

Parent Resource: Quality Vs. Quantity Time

Here's a thought that has been bouncing around in my head lately. As a parent do I aim for quality time or quantity time when it comes to time and my daughter?

In my life the most precious commodity I have is my time. How I balance all the plates and still prioritize enough so I'm not short changing those who are closest to me is a constant challenge.
So the question stands.. In the big picture is it more beneficial to get 30 min of focused quality time a week with my daughter or 1 day a week where we might be doing chores, or running errands too? Honestly a strong case can be built for both.

Where I've come down is how Jesus interacted with the disciples. We see much of their journeys: going to this town, sitting in the back row while Jesus teaches, camping out in a city, having conversations around a fire, etc. To me this looks like quantity time being spent. Yet in the midst of all that quantity there is a real sense of quality moments. For example the transfiguration in Matthew 17, or when Peter walks on water in Matthew 14. It looks like out of the large amount of time they spent together quality moments happen. I'm not sure it's possible to say "Alright honey this afternoon we will have quality time together." Those special memories, and life shaping moments happen in the midst of the time we  spend with one another.

Quality out of quantity.

I'm not saying don't plan. What I am saying is that this kind of time needs to be intentional. I'm to undisciplined and the task to important to let it fall to chance or into reality on its own.


Wayne Rice in his book "Generation to Generation" writes about a weekly breakfast he and his son planned and had on a regular basis...

"I made a promise to myself that our weekly conversation would be positive, no nagging about chores or things they've done wrong. Instead, I wanted to find out what was going on in their lives and give them some insight into mine... I've learned that you can't plan or program quality time. All you can do is provide the environment and the opportunity for it to happen. "

How do you spend time with your child?

What We Value As a Ministry: Part 2

Earlier this week I posted some thoughts that came out of a team meeting earlier this semester. The post listed 5 things we value in the youth ministry God has entrusted us with.

Those 5 values we would like to take and make into...

  5 Promises We Make To Parents...

1. We promise that the measure we use to gauge success will only be if we are helping you and your family to change "from one degree of glory to another" (2 Cor 3:18) as you lead your family to be more like Christ.
2. We promise that the adults whom we allow to interact with your students will have your students best interest in mind at all times and will be eager to show them the love that their savior has for them. 
3. We promise that the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ will be the bedrock of every youth group, every small group, every pizza order, every frisbee toss, it will be the foundation of everything we do.
4. We promise that we will be in accountable relationships, so that as we lead it will be from a place of humility and example. 
5. We promise to rightly handle scripture and allow it to lead, guide, correct, and instruct us.

Knee Update *Be Warned

Well I had knee surgery last Wednesday.  It was absolutely amazing what modern medicine can do. They removed a 3mm section of a tendon in my knee then cleaned out my old ACL, threaded up the new tendon arthroscopicly through the top of my knee, and stitched me up.

For the next 24 hours I couldn't feel or move my right leg. It was wild. Coming home they put me in a machine that moves my knee constantly all day all night and ices it down.

So today I went to my first physical therapy. It was the first time I got a look at the incision. If you are a person of strong fortitude I'll post some links. Enjoy. 

• Pic 1. The Reveal   
• Pic 2.  Electroshock

What We Value As a Ministry: Part 1

About a month ago we sat down as a leadership team and talked about what it is we value. We wanted to keep the list short enough to be remembered yet descriptive enough to really reflect the unique calling we feel God has placed on our hearts. 

Here's the list we came up with...

• Transforming families and their teenagers.

• Healthy Christian adults in relationships with students.

• The gospel of Jesus Christ communicated to every student every time no excuses no compromises. 

• We operate as a team.

• The transformational nature of God's word.

12 Doctrines of Christmas

The next great worship song to sweet the charts?




Props to The Ox

Expect Some Quiet

I wanted to post this to let you know that tomorrow I'll be having my right knee reconstructed. The ol blog will be quiet for a while as I recuperate. Hopefully not to long seeing how it doesn't take my knee to use a computer. If you pray I'd appreciate it. 

Merry X-mas

Was asked this question earlier this month. Here's a great article. Thanks R.C. Sproul..

"First of all, you have to understand that it is not the letter X that is put into Christmas. We see the English letter X there, but actually what it involves is the first letter of the Greek name for Christ. Christos is the New Testament Greek for Christ. The first letter of the Greek word Christos is transliterated into our alphabet as an X. That X has come through church history to be a shorthand symbol for the name of Christ."

Read the rest here.

p.s.  FYI R.C. Sproul is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan!!

Hope and Union

Enjoying some time with a buddy this early morning at Hope and Union coffee. Neat place good coffee.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Repost "For The Grieving"

This was in the news a few years ago but I think offers some thoughts on a current situation...

"For the grieving In the midst of such loss and pain it might take some time for an adolescent to process exactly how this has affected them. Everyone processes grief differently.
The process of grief is slightly different for everyone. Because of that, Youth Pastor David Libbon with St. Andrew’s Church in Mount Pleasant is working with the youth at his church to help them cope. In addition, he’s provided their parents with helpful resources thanks to the advise of professional counselors in the area.
He views it as a framework in which to begin to answer the many questions students will be asking about these sad events.
“We approached a recent tragedy in three ways and three aspects across the board,” said Libbon. “One was that we acknowledged it is a tragedy. A lot of times churches and sometimes parents gloss over the issues because they don’t know how to engage the issue. We wanted our engagement with our youth to be real rather than use the mask we are all so tempted to put on,” said Libbon.
“The second way we engaged the students and others is by ensuring a safe environment to allow the students to process what was going on in the context of relationships.”

To read the rest of the article please click here. 

Parents Resource: Tips for Praying

I came across this article on the web...

Each day of the month, in addition to my prayers for their safety and for the concerns of that day, I also pray for a specific character trait, virtue, or fruit of the Spirit to be planted and nurtured in my children, through my efforts (and my wife's), through the influence of others, and through Aubrey and Aaron's own actions and decisions. At the end of each month, I begin praying through the list again, combining traits when the month is shorter than thirty-one days.

Following is the list I have developed, complete with brief suggestions for prayer from Scripture. Feel free to duplicate it--or improve upon it--to help you pray specifically and purposefully for your children to experience and evidence:

1 salvation "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10).

2 growth in grace "I pray that they may 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'" (2 Peter 3:18).

3 love "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to 'live a life of love,' through the Spirit who dwells in them" (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22).

4 honesty and integrity " May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Psalm 25:21, NLT).

5 self-control " Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be 'alert and self-controlled' in all they do" (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Be sure to read the other 26 suggestions from Bob Hostetler 
and props to Dave for the article.  

Lightsabers + Princess Bride = Legit

Props to Church Crunch

To SOA / Academic Magent Students

Dear SOA / Academic Magnet students,

    

I'm greatly saddened by the events over the past few days involving Aaron. I've been praying and hope you have too. I also have heard many rumors about what has happened and why. There is very little being said about what really happened only what people have heard. I'd encourage you not to jump to conclusions or base you thoughts on what people have heard. That said if you would like the opportunity to pray and process some of these events I will be home tomorrow after school. You and whoever else are welcome to come over. Apart from that know that I'm here for you and continue to lift up SOA / AM in prayer.

Husbands Date Your Wives

Found this in my RSS reader this morning as I was skimming the headlines. It got me thinking about some fun holiday dates my bride and I could go on. It's been a very busy fall and I'm really looking forward to getting some time with my girl.

10 Holiday Date Ideas

by Brett on December 6, 2010 ·

Not to toot my own horn, but I think I’m pretty good at a lot of relationship stuff. According to Kate, I’m very supportive, respectful, and trustworthy, am able to be the rock in a crisis, and have achieved the tricky balance between being nice and being a wiener.  But, as Kate can also attest, I struggle with a few things, and one of them is being romantic. I find it difficult to turn my thoughts and good intentions into spontaneous acts of affection.
Which is why I love the holidays.
This time of year takes all the work out of creating romance; the elements for it are already in place. We’re naturally feeling less guarded and cynical and are primed for bonding and cozy intimacy. Christmas lights and decorations set the scene and provide the requisite warm fuzzies. There’s magic in the air before you even lift a finger. The holidays are like a pool teeming with fish; all you have to do is let down your net to pick up a great bounty. The romantic atmosphere is out there; you simply need to take advantage of it. Here are 10 ways to do just that.

1. Looking at Christmas Lights

The warm twinkle of Christmas lights can set the heart of your special someone aglow and give you both the childlike feeling of magical possibilities. Ordinary houses and trees are transformed into something extraordinary.
Most towns have hot spots for Christmas light decorations. Some neighborhoods compete in an annual arms race to see which house can create the best display. Their neighborly pride is your gain. After you map out your route, create a holiday music mix that you can listen to while you’re driving around. You can never go wrong with classic Christmas crooners like Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, and Frank Sinatra.
Also be sure to check out the massive displays that are sometimes put on in parks by community organizations, where you can walk around in a winter wonderland of millions of lights. Check your local papers and ask your friends and co-workers to find out where they are. And try to go during the week as they can be especially packed on the weekends.
The final touch to this night of romantic holiday lights is a thermos full of thick, delicious hot chocolate.  Sip on it while you take in all the wonder. Your date’s heart will melt....

Read the rest click here.

Repost : Resource for Parents "Age Of Opportunity"

Several days ago I sat across a table from a group of parents. Almost all of them had students who were about to enter our middle school program as rising 6th graders this summer. Their number one questions was what do we do now that we are going to have teenagers in the house?

It's a question I get more often then not because of the situation many parents find themselves in.

Paul Tripp does an excellent job in his book "Age of Opportunity" to guide parents with a tender but firm hand through the struggles and triumphs of raising teenagers in the faith. This book is a must read for all the parents of our students. It's a good balance of both the theory and practical side of passing on the faith to our loved ones. Paul isn't afraid to lay out that the foundation of the family is that it is designed to be a theological, sociological, and redemptive community (Ch 4) Which exists to, at every turn, encourage the next generation on in the faith.

The book warns of the dangers of viewing the teenage years as years of trouble. It condemns all the times we view teenagers and say "oh that's just their hormones" or worst "boys will be boys". Paul references that this over simplifies this God given time and relegates into mere biology.

One of the things that I really appreciate about the book (yet didn't discover until the end) is that there is a really strong study guide in the back. It's pre-set for a group of parents to walk through or better yet a husband and wife. Weather on your own or with a community this book is the most solid, biblical, and encouraging text on parenting teenagers i've seen yet.

Resolve For Monday

Every Monday I'm going to post one of Jonathan Edwards resolutions. He penned these while still a very young man and used them to guide his life. What am I using to guide me, my family, my ministry??

 45. Resolved, Never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion. Jan. 12 and 13, 1723. 

• Please don't get caught up in Edwards use of the word religion. In his context he means Christianity in ours that word has some different connotations. How are you at using language everyone can understand? 
• In this resolution Jonathan Edwards aims to take all of life's experience the grief, joy, sorrow, affections, and afflictions under the mantel of Christ. How good are we at seeing all things as His things working out for his purposes? 
• What in this life helps our faith? I often ask students what their circumstances were when they felt close to God? The answer I get often is that they feel the Lords presence closest to them when they are walking through hard times. When do you feel the Lord close to you? What helps your faith?  

 

A Great Weekend

This weekend I get the privilege of spending it with my daughter while mommy is out of town with a friend for a little girls weekend in Charlotte.

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Nywc Seminar 1: The Leaders GPS

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend with our team the National Youth Workers Convention in Nashville Tn. If you've ever been to something like it you understand that really all you can do is soak it in then try to process and apply it later. Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll use this blog to help process some of what I took from the time. Hope you find something of meaning in it too.

The first seminar I attended was on leadership.  Straight out of the car from the 9 hour drive I was ready to dive in. What I found, and what I firmly believe the Lord had for me wasn't the fire hose of teaching right away but a gifted leader saying that if you're going to grow as a leader you need to be able to take personal inventory or you'll have no foundation to push off of as you grow.

That's where the GPS comes in. We were asked the question that if a GPS shows you where you are based off of several satellites then as a leader who or what acts as those positioning satellites? The teacher went onto give us 40 or so questions designed to help us recognize where we were and where we need to grow.

·      Where have I begun as a leader?

o   Past

o   What is my emotional intelligence?

o   How do I grow in these areas?

Intra-personal skills

o   Emotional self awareness?

o   How well can I exhibit my emotions and talk about them?

o   Self regard / self actualization 

o   How does this define how I interact with my team and how I look for potential team members. What are outward indicators of this health?

Inter personal skills

·      Empathy?

·      How can I relate or take the emotional temp.

o   Over away of others feelings or under aware of what reality they are look at?

o   Social awareness?

o   Where do I want to grow in this area?

·      How can I accurately measure this? ?

Stress Tolerance

·      How do I manage stress in a healthy way?

·      Anger/ Frustration/ Disappointment

·      Any experience of poor stress tolerance skills?

o   Result is those around become cynical.

Adaptability

·      How are you at change?

·      Overly flexible?

o   New Ideas

o   Team Change

o   Relational change?

Happiness and optimism

·      Joy in the moment = happiness

·      How’s the future = optimism

·      Where have I been where am I and where do I want to be? 

Who are the leaders I’m leading?

·      How well they are executing the tasks the have been given or how they are growing personally?

·       Who are the leaders I look up to and where do I perceive they are?

o   Who are the sound boarding people in each of these?

 (This next section i found especially helpful)

Learning?

·      5 things that you’ve learned in the last week

·      What have I learned on purpose?

·      What is the one thing that I’m going  to learn the next week?

   

·      Continuum

o   Out of teaching or leading vs. In of learning: This refers to how much am I pouring out vs. how much is being poured in through learning. 

§  Is it %50/50       %20/80  ?

Personal wholeness.

·      Rest, etc…

·      Time line of life and what are the major events that have affected the following…

o   Self

o   Family

o   Vocation

o   Community

o   Spirituality

·      Death divorce new job etc…

o   A change that impacts all 5 domains become a cross roads events. Most people have 5-7 crossroads events in a life time.

·      Those 5 domains for those in ministry become fused for those in ministry.

·      When a pastor looses their job in a quick way, because these are fused, they fall

·      Every event becomes a cross roads event.

o   Tom Paterson

·      How are we working to keep these separated in a healthy way?

·      Do you have activities that have nothing to do with your ministry?

·      BOUNDRIES

o   Day when I’m not working

o   Experience a worship service without being in a working mode.

o   What are the rating scales… 1-10?

o   Sentence that starts with…

§  I want to… I need to… I must…

Vision

·      What is my vision for my leadership journey?

Values

·      What are my top 5?

·      How do I define these top 5?

o   Do my checkbook and calendar define the same things?

o   Run through with students?

Influence

·      Who has held the light and the branches back for me?

·      What do I plan to do in the next week to thank them.

o   Note / email/ phone call

·      Who have I held the light for?

Love That Never Fails: Sarah's Story

 Sarah from St. Andrew's Church on Vimeo.

I love hearing stories about how Jesus moves in peoples hearts. Here's Sarah she's a senior at Impact. 

Don't Raise Your Kids to Act Like a Christian Raise Them To Love Jesus

Here's a great article that appeared over at The Resurgance.com I think it highlights the need for the home to be viewed as a place of discipleship.

Pastor Your Family by Winfield Bevins

The Puritans remind us of the value and importance of family ministry. Family worship was one of the hallmarks of the Puritan era and one of their greatest legacies. The Puritan pastor Richard Baxter knew the importance of family ministry:

We must have a special eye upon families, to see that they are well ordered, and the duties of each relation performed. The life of religion, and the welfare and glory of both the Church and the State, depend much on family government and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all…. I beseech you, therefore, if you desire the reformation and welfare of your people, do all you can to promote family religion.

Your Home Is a Church

The Puritans believed that their home was their church and the primary place of learning the Bible and moral instruction. They knew the call to “make disciples” begins in the home. Discipleship begins in our marriages, by loving our spouses with the love of Christ and by teaching, loving, and disciplining our children. The Puritans believed that it was a parent’s spiritual responsibility to disciple and teach their children about the faith.

“ Family worship was one of the hallmarks of the Puritan era
”

As Christian parents, we should also want to raise our children to grow up to love Jesus and know the Bible. It is important for children to begin learning about God and the Bible at home. If every family in every church got serious about making disciples in the home, it would change our nation and our world.

How are you creating good discipleship in your home?

Dear Basic Impact Family

Dear Basic Impact Family,

            As we enter this Advent season I'm tempted to pull out my wish list and view all the things I want to see under the tree on Christmas morning, but with Thanksgiving only a week ago I want to instead share with you something I'm very thankful for. Here at St. Andrews we have a great team of passionate, caring, and fun loving leaders in the youth ministry. Without them there would be no small groups, acolytes, confirmations, youth groups, or retreats. They put in long hours and cherish the opportunity to be part of your child's faith journey.

            Because we realize that we are only part of that journey, we also understand that it takes a kingdom to raise a child. In King Jesus' kingdom he often moves his subjects around on new adventures to see his light shine in some dark places. Elizabeth Wheat and her husband Chris have heard the call of their King and are responding. This summer they will be moving to Chicago, Illinois, to be a part of a team that is planting a church in downtown Chicago.

    I won't say that it is bittersweet, but instead say that it is bitter-exciting to see them step into this new area of life. It is bitter in the sense that Elizabeth has been part of the youth ministry core team since I arrived here at St. Andrew's. Elizabeth has been involved with leading small groups and has been in charge of communications for the youth office. While we are sad to see her go, we are very excited to see what the Lord has in store for her and Chris as they step into this next big adventure. If you would like to read their story behind this decision and keep up with them as they move through this process, you can visit their blog at www.ChrisAndLizzie.com. Please join us in praying for them as they prepare for this move and for Elizabeth as she finishes strong with this ministry.

                                                                                                Sincerely

                                                                                                David Libbon                       
                                                                                                Youth Ministry Team Leader
                                                                                                St. Andrews Mount Pleasant