First Day of Camp

We have officially finished our first day of camp and things went great. Even though it rained most of last night;Worship was tremendous: great drama, great music, great videos, and a awesome message. We learned that we the Jesus said follow me 38 times in the Bible. It is great to believe in Jesus and trust in Hm to be your Savior. But He alos needs to be our Lord. Someone who directs our actions daily. In the Lords prayer, Jesus prayed for God's kingdom to come to earth. A relationship with Jesus is not about waiting for heaven. It is about daily living with God. It is a relationship that we can have with Him NOW. We are now looking forward to our second day; our first full day. Pray Psalm 5 over us today. "In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait it expectation." God is going to do great things today. We are just waiting to see what.

pictures from camp

First night of camp

We have arrived at Student Life Camp. Everything is going great. Pictures to follow. Pray that lives will be changed.

10 things parents should know

Really enjoyed this article, thought you might too. I liked number 4 the most.

Top 10 Things Parents Should know about Youth Ministry - for Parent Meetings

It takes a few years to build consistency, trust, communication, and individual growth.

Wes' Week 5-10-09

What I am working on

Preparing for The Trip, helping Craig clean out the Adam’s property, making a grad DVD, and planning out summer schedule.

Cancelled

Last week I had to cancel our trip to M-Fuge. We only had 4 people sign up to go. So what killed this trip? It could have been a number of things. 1. We have gone to M-fuge a lot, so maybe the youth were tried of it. 2. We changed locations. Maybe Alabama was not as attractive as Charleston. 3. I think that this is the real reason: Ocean City, MD. We offered our Ocean City mission trip up to our 17 year olds and above. This meant that our seniors and most of our juniors could go. This only left two grades for M-Fuge.

After we cancelled M-Fuge, we decided to open up Ocean City to the whole high school. This bumped registration from 14 up to 25. It should be a great trip and I am realy looking forward to it. Be in prayer for July 4-11. We will get to minister to a large array of people (children, carnival workers, lifeguards, internationals, etc.) Pray that God will open doors for us to present the gospel. All we have to do is present it, God convicts and changes the heart.

Shocco Anyone?

Student Life is fast approaching. It is now less then a month away. I am so excited! I have never been to a Student Life camp. It is going to be awesome! We still have one spot left if anyone would like to join us. June 4-7, $100 for students, free for adults.

Currently Reading

Still reading “Let the Nations be Glad” by John Piper. (70% done)

Finished Refuel by Doug Fields and “It is Easy being Green” by Emma Sleeth.

Reading “Following Jesus into College and Beyond” by Jeff Baxter (50% done) I am getting ideas from this book for our new Senior SS class we are starting in the fall. When SS promotes in the fall, we are going to make a Senior coed SS class. It is going to be part regular SS, part college prep. We will teach the students how to survive/thrive as Christians in college.

The Final Countdown

5 days out and still no baby. And still no name. Which will come first?

The 4 for 4-20-09

Here are your top four youth announcements for this week:

1. No school Friday means no open gym.

1. Moonlight Madness this Sat. Meet at the church at 6 PM. Free food, wear camo.

1. 8th graders and up, sign up for G4 retreat, May 1-2. $25 covers food, lodging and materials.

1. Last chance for high schoolers to sign up for M-Fuge. $50 deposit due by Sunday.

Wes' Week

Last week

was my first Holy Week in Greeneville and it was amazing. I was humbled to be in the drama Thursday night. We have so many talented people here. Sunday morning left me speechless. What an experience! It is one thing to hear the gospel, but to experience it visually. It cannot help but change you. How can we ever say thank you enough to Jesus? His passion for us and His love for His Father is amazing.

What I am working on

Preparing for The Trip, putting together music books for our youth praise band, booking our 20s ministry spot to the Passion Conference, planning the G4 retreat for the youth, fixing two staff computers, sending out letters for Student Life, and making a brochure for your college and youth ministry.

What’s on the iPod

Just bought Jack Johnson’s CD “In Between Dreams.” I discovered him after watching Curious George with my son. Nothing mellows you out better then listening to a surfer/singer/songwriter.

Currently Reading

Still reading Let the Nations be Glad by John Piper. (40% done)

Started reading a short book called Refuel by Doug Fields (60% done) It is going to be most of my talk for the G4 retreat. It talks about how one can reconnect with God. Just bought “It is Easy being Green” by Emma Sleeth. It is a resource for our next sermon series, Save the Planet.

The Final Countdown

Right now my wife is due with our fourth child in 4 weeks and we still have not decided on a name. I wonder how long a kid can go without a name. Right now we just refer to it as number 4. This is what the kids are calling it. George Castanza wanted to name his kid Seven. Maybe Four will stick.