Chill with Phil Christmas Extravaganza

We had a great night with our Christmas edition of Chill with Phil.  25 teens and four adults attended the event making it the highest attended CWP event in history!  Several WOL alums were able to participate which accounts for the historic numbers.  It's a blessing to have them back and in on the fun. 

We had a fun time "chillin'".  We enjoyed playing Euchre, Bananagrams, Guesstures and catching up from the break.  Nineteen of us participated in the grab bag gift exchange.  I ended up with a groovy M&M t-shirt.  Other gifts included candy and pop, playing cards, compass/whistle/thermometer combo keychain, Chill w/ Phil shirt, more candy/food and a dancing Christmas turkey!  Thanks to all those that were able to make it out!

RPD Breakfast

We took the opportunity this morning to serve breakfast to the Rensselaer Police Department.  We very much appreciate those on our local police force who give of themselves to protect and serve our community!  This was a small way we could say 'thank you' for the job that they do. 

We had eleven teens and eight adults invade City Hall, as well as others who donated coffee cakes, fruit, juice, etc.  This was a great serving opportunity between our WOL Club and the Men of Valor ministries. 

Tyler, Zach, Jake, Ashley, Reagan and Grace with Chief Phillips

Revelation

Our Quiet Time devotions are currently taking us through the book of Revelation.  While it's a difficult book to understand, it is important to stick with it.  Look at what verse three of chapter one says:

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

So be encouraged! You will be blessed for reading it! Parents, encourage your teens to press on, read the passages along with them and talk about it together.

Youth Work Day

20 teens and 5 leaders from our youth ministry showed up to serve today. We had a productive morning spreading gravel, stacking wood, washing windows, cleaning gutters and raking leaves. (I believe the final count in the leaf raking was 363,274 leaves.)

It was a beautiful day to be outside and wonderful to have the opportunity to help others! We had a great time working together and had a little time to play too!

Thanks for all the willing hearts and great attitudes.

(Jake and Zach excited about finishing the leaf count.)

Gull Lake - Biblical Worldview Retreat

We made it back safe and sound from Gull Lake this afternoon. 27 teens and 7 adult leaders made the trip up to Michigan this weekend. It was a tremendous blessing to get away and spend some quality time with the teens learning about a Biblical Worldview and building relationships.

We learned a lot over the course of the time there. Some of the things we learned are that we need to have a Worldview that matches up with God's Word and the only way to know what that is is to be in the Word. We need to be studying the Bible in order to know what it says so we can know how to respond to situations in life. The Bible is the mind of Christ and we need to have the mind of Christ. The answer to all of life's questions can be found in the Bible.

Everyone has a worldview, it's either God-centered or Self-centered. What's yours?

Pictures from the weekend below:

UPCOMING: Biblical Worldview Retreat

October 23-25 is our retreat to Gull Lake Ministries in Hickory Corners, MI. We are planning to leave at 1:00 pm CST on Friday 10/23 and return around 2:00 pm CST on Sunday. The cost for the weekend is $50 per person. Teens need to have a permission form completed as well.

We'll be staying in dorms so plan to bring your own linens, bedding and pillow. Also make sure to bring your Bible and a notebook.

The purpose of this retreat is to impress upon our teens the importance of thinking biblically in EVERY decision with which they are faced. Every person has a “worldview”, and that worldview affects the way we think, thus affecting our behavior. PJ will present five teaching/discussion sessions challenging our teens to filter all decisions and actions through the grid of Scripture for God-honoring results. Your teen will be stretched and challenged to THINK. The best $50 you could ever spend on your teen.

Parents Seminar - Coming Soon!

We will be having a Parents Seminar on Saturday, September 26 at the church from 1-4 CST. We'll talk about how you (the parents) can partner with us (the youth leaders) in discipling and ministering to your kids. YOU are invited whether you're a new parent or are a grandparent. The more that come the more we can learn from each other.

Jim LeFever, our Area WOL Missionary will be sharing with us as will Phil Conrad, TCBC Youth Leader. In addition to the speaking sessions, we'll have a session of sharing parenting tips with each other in regards to what has worked and what hasn't worked in teaching, disciplining and raising our children.

We will provide babysitting for those that need it. Please RSVP to the church via email or phone (866-0432).

I hope to see you there!

Paint Job

Tonight was our first club meeting in the repainted room. All that hard work paid off! We spent a week in August sanding, priming and painting. It looks great and it's nice to have a new paint job.

Kickoff

Wednesday night was our opening night "Kickoff" event for WOL. We had a fun Amazing Race activity. A combined twelve teams participated. Each team had about four teens. The challenges included a "Tow" or "Show", where teams had to go around a course in a wagon or perform a skit, a Doghouse challenge, where teams got to share a meal at Devon's Doghouse, and a frisbee game where they had to toss a frisbee from one cone to another cone without it touching the ground, similar to Ultimate Frisbee.

Many parents served as taxi drivers and at the end, we all met back at church for a nacho bar.

The winning Sr. High team:

The winning Jr. High Team:
(real men look at the camera!)

Home from Camp

We made it home safely from camp yesterday at 11:30 am. It was a great week of getting into God's word and growing in Christ. We all had something to take from camp and we all have things in our life we want to change. The challenge now is to effect that change for God's glory.

Below are a few more pics from the week.

Growing in Jesus

The week has gone by quickly. Today is our last full day here. Yesterday seemed to be a key day of spiritual growth for many of our teens. We sit down together as a group and chat about what we learned. God is showing more of Himself to all us through this experience. It's been a blessing.

Last night was the Talent Show (emphasis on "Show") and we shared the "Fearless Heart" routine that we did in Brazil last year. It was a lot of fun to do but more than that, another connection we could all make together as we regularly had time to practice after lunch.

Continue praying for us this week and beyond as we learn more about Christ and grow in Him but then also take what we've learned and make it a part of our lives. The goal is to change and become more like Christ every day of our lives, not just during the week at camp.

A few pictures from the past week are below. The first night was Jumbo Hasbro Night 'O Games and Mr. Potato Head was the MC. We also had a '50's night that was a ton of fun too!

Summer Camp!

We are spending a week at Gull Lake Ministries in Hickory Corners, MI this week for our Summer Camp. We are having a great time and being challenged to grow in Christ. We had an injury though. Lynn scrapped his knee and hand and hurt his wrist while playing capture the flag. He continues to participate in other games though so seems to be healing well.

It's been a fun week so far, making friends, getting to know the counselors, etc. Parents - feel free to call my cell if you want to talk to your kids!

Marengo Cave

This past weekend 27 brave souls had the opportunity to "prove themselves as men". We ventured down to Marengo Cave Park and took an adventure through a cave. This is an experience we will not soon forget. We were joined by Scott Tiede, and his son Caleb, from Bethel Bible. Scott shared with us on what a man is and how to get wisdom. It was a great weekend of growing in the Lord, fellowship and danger! See the pictures below:

Tourney Time

With Spring Break beginning next week, WOL Club meeting will be cancelled on March 25.

We will, however, be holding a Father/Son 2-on-2 double elimination tournament for the Jr. High guys on Wednesday (3/25). There are currently seven teams signed up. The tournament tips off at 6:05 pm CST at the TCBC Arena.

If you would still like to sign-up, contact Josiah or his dad, Pastor Andy. If your dad can not make it that night due to work, illness, etc. you may recruit a DIA leader to play with you.

Note: Congrats to Matthew and John Rodibaugh, 2009 Tournament Champs!

TI Service

Sunday evening, our teens held a TI service for our church as they prepare for Area Teens Involved coming up in March.