LIFELINE

Brazil Mission Trip Video

2011-09-11T20:05:00.002-05:00

Check out a slide show from our trip to Brazil! The song, "Quebrantado", is "Sweetly Broken" but in Portuguese.

Also on the vimeo site is our "Something Beautiful" dance video.

Quiet Time Journals

2011-09-05T17:07:00.000-05:00

This year as we go through the daily Scripture list, instead of using the Word of Life Quiet Time diary, we'll be using a regular notebook. However, we will still be using the WOL Scripture list for the year. You can find a complete list in PDF format at http://www.tcbcindiana.org/ministries/lifeline.

As you complete the reading for the day, write down the date and Bible passage along with your thoughts about the text you read.

For example, apply some truth to your life. If you have difficulty in finding an application for your life, think of yourself as a Bible SPECTator and ask yourself the following questions:

S - is there any SIN for me to forsake?
P - is there any PROMISE for me to claim?
E - is there any EXAMPLE for me to follow?
C - is there any COMMAND for me to obey?
T - is there anything to be THANKFUL for today?

Or write down basic things about the passage such as:
   Who is/are the main character(s)?
   Where is this taking place?
   What Bible verse sticks out to me and why?

If any verse raises a question, right it down and ask your DIA leader.

Hopefully this will help you as you go through your Quiet Time.

Pictures from Kickoff 2011

2011-09-03T09:03:00.000-05:00

Kickoff 2011

2011-09-02T10:16:00.000-05:00

We had Kickoff at the church on Wednesday (Aug. 31). It was a great night. The only hiccup was that we weren't able to get the sound working when we showed a video. So, I'm posting the video here if you want to check it out.

Here were are, Phil and Dave, carrying the torch to Kickoff to kick off the 2011-12 year of Lifeline. We didn't have the clearest of directions so we took a few scenic routes. Enjoy.

Kickoff is Coming

2011-08-23T20:06:00.000-05:00

Get ready for a great night on

Wednesday, August 31 starting at 6 pm CST

for Lifeline Kickoff!

Hope to see you there!

Brazil Mission Trip

2011-07-26T11:11:00.001-05:00

We arrived in Brazil yesterday evening to our final destination. We were scheduled to be here at 2pm but didn't make it until 8pm due to being held up in Miami with a delayed flight. So we missed our connection in Sao Paulo and had to catch a later flight.

The delay was due to American Airlines overbooking the flight. I guess they loaded everyones luggage and then had to take the luggage off of those that did not make it on the plane. That ended up being a 2-3 hour process of us just sitting there on the plane. Not the most fun we've ever had but it's over.

Other than that, all the traveling went well and all of our luggage made it here safely. When we got here, the church had a welcome service for us. Made us feel special since we weren't sure that would happen b/c we arrived so much later than expected. We shared in songs of praise to Jesus and also shared our dance with them. They really get into it, especially the kids, trying to mimic the sweet moves. They really love their music down here and they love it loud.

We woke up this morning to a good breakfast of PB&J, ham & cheese and scrambled eggs. We had coffee and juice as well.

VBS went very well today. We shared a drama, a lesson and craft followed by a snack. We had about 60+ kids there. Afterward we helped prune some trees around the church building and then came in for lunch.

We are all doing well and enjoying the blessing of this opportunity. Thank you all for your prayers.

Brazil 2011 - Packing

2011-07-23T10:24:00.000-05:00

For 16 months, we've been preparing for this mission trip we will leave for tomorrow. From getting the team together to working on team building to putting together a schedule, a lot of effort has gone in to this trip.

We hope, above all, to glorify God in this and to grow spiritually. We also hope to be an encouragement to Bill and Erika Moore who have been serving in Brazil for about eight years.

It's been three years since we've been there and we're excited to see the changes that have occurred. Please keep us in your prayers.

Last night we got our supplies packed up:

I learned early on that some teens need a LOT more direction...

...than others.

Six Flags

2011-07-07T22:54:00.000-05:00

Our Intern, Dave Tillett, took the Sr. High teens up to Six Flags to spend the day. We had a great time riding the roller coasters, eating $30 fries and drinking $20 cokes!

Batman coaster...Phil's favorite.

Senior Night 2011

2011-05-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from Senior Night. Several from Silas' Song led the music tonight and did a great job. We had a Jeopardy game during the lesson that would have gone better if people would remember to respond in the form of a QUESTION!

"What is...I have no idea how to play Jeopardy?" Correct!

It was fun though and hopefully something sunk in from James chapters 4 and 5. If not, please re-read and digest.

Our leaders did a wonderful job this year and thanks to those that organized the food!


Each of the Seniors got a bandana...a little something to remember me by. This might be one of my favorite pictures of the year!

Chill with Phil

2011-05-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

Tonight was our last Chill with Phil of the year. We had a smaller crowd than normal and the girls gabbed most of the night but we had fun playing Chess, H-O-R-S-E and Mario Kart!

Class of 2011

2011-05-11T12:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight was our last night of Lifeline for 2010-11. We're going to miss the Class of 2011. Congrats Seniors and God Bless!

Ashley

Ethan

Reagan

Tyler

Jessica

Jake

Dave Tillett Experience

2011-05-11T10:31:00.000-05:00

Dare 2 Share Conference

2011-04-03T20:12:00.000-05:00

We took our Student Leadership team to Hoffman Estates, IL for the Dare 2 Share conference. There the teens were more equipped and challenged to share their faith. The GOSPEL is what it's all about!

Shane & Shane led the worship and we were encouraged by messages from Greg Stier, Zane Black and Propaganda. There was also and excellent drama that spoke about reaching the world for Jesus.

Ready for Session 1 at the Sears Centre

The youth leaders!

Lunch at Rookies

Ready for the prayer walk.

Prayer walk at a local High School. Praying for teens at this school as well as our own.

We took this picture primarily for Jon Nagel...one of last years Student Leadership team members.

Winter Jam 2011

2011-03-27T12:37:00.000-05:00

We took 8 teens to Winter Jam in Champaign, IL. We saw a bunch of bands perform (Newsboys, Kutless, Sidewalk Prophets, Francesca Battistelli, RED and Jason Castro). It was a great night of jammin'. We also took the opportunity to visit the best University ever.


University of Illinois - Alma Mater statue on campus

University of Illinois - on the quad

Jon Micah Sumrall - lead singer for Kutless

Duncan Phillips - drummer for Newsboys

Kutless

Sidewalk Prophets

Newsboys

Newsboys - Michael Tait and Duncan Phillips

Newsboys

Newsboys drummer goes vertical! And is spinning!

True Beauty

2011-02-27T20:34:00.000-06:00

Pics from the girls event!

Mario Kart Tournament

2011-02-19T15:30:00.000-06:00

We had a Mario Kart Tournament at Chill with Phil. It was a blast, especially for those that went far in the bracket! Ethan and Alex ended up being the best but we never did determine a final winner as it got too late in the night to continue. We had to quit due to darkness, or lateness.

Are You Answering the Call?

2011-02-18T10:12:00.000-06:00

What it looks like for Christians to never bring Christ to a hurting world.

Teens Involved Service

2011-02-14T20:50:00.001-06:00

We held our TI service last night to give opportunities for the teens to share their talents and hone their skillz before the TI event in March. One of our leaders took a video.

Lifeline Cancelled Tonight

2011-02-02T12:33:00.002-06:00

There will be no Lifeline tonight.

Midwest Food Bank

2011-01-08T15:33:00.000-06:00

Our mission team spent a couple hours in Indianapolis working together at the Midwest Food Bank. We helped with unloading a semi, shrink wrapping pallets of food, storing the pallets in the warehouse, and cleaning. It was a joy to serve and a great time to be together as a team.

Storing pallets of food.

Shrink wrapping the pallets w/ the EZ DUZ IT machine.

Cleaning up the carts.

Couldn't get a picture of Ben working but it wasn't hard to get one of him messing around!

Some of our Mission Team w/ Christie from MFB.

2010 Lifeline Highlights

2010-12-31T09:07:00.000-06:00

We had a busy year of Youth Ministry. Here is a list of some of the highlights over the past year. You can read more about them in the various blog posts. Looking forward to a great 2011!

BLAZE Conference (March)
Teens Involved (March, April)
Lay 'Em Down video (May)
Turkey Run (May)
Doggin' It! (Summer)
Kickoff - Hair be Thair! video (Aug.)
Summer Camp (July)
Squatter Camp (Sep.)
Fall Retreat at GLM (Oct.)
Gospel Journey MAUI (meeting Greg Stier!) (Oct.)
Chil with Phil Alumni Special (Dec.)
Service Projects:
   Work Days
   Purdue Track Meet
   Mackey Clean Up
   RPD/Teacher Breakfasts

Chill with Phil Alumni Special

2010-12-29T23:59:00.007-06:00

We held our Chill with Phil Alumni special tonight where we invite back all the college kids along with the Sr. High kids. We ended up with a total of 26 teens and 3 adults. We had a grab bag gift exchange, a ton a great food and some great games. Catch Phrase was a hit, euchre was fun, and a rowdy game of Monopoly kept us all entertained.

We celebrated Tyler's birthday as he turns 16 on the 30th!

Chill with Phil

2010-11-12T23:35:00.004-06:00

Chill with Phil tonight and it was Amanda's sweet 16! We celebrated with and ice cream cake. Fun night.

Work Day

2010-11-06T16:02:00.000-05:00

We had a beautiful afternoon to do some yard work for our fall work day. We raked leaves, picked up sticks, and cleaned out gutters.

We have a few more serving opportunities this year including Bell Ringing on December 7 and 9 and Mackey Arena clean-up on Dec. 21 and 28.

Greg Stier

2010-10-26T21:44:00.000-05:00

I went to a youth leaders training meeting up in Chicago today that was put on by Dare 2 Share Ministries. The president of Dare 2 Share, Greg Stier, spoke to a group of leaders from the area. He's the guy who also did the GOSPEL Journey Maui series that Lifeline went through this year. I had a chance to meet him before the meeting. Oh...this also included a free lunch! I am a big fan of free food.

Fall Retreat

2010-10-26T17:16:00.000-05:00

We went up to Gull Lake for our Fall Retreat on Oct. 22-24. We took 25 teens and 7 leaders/chaperones. PJ presented three of the sessions and Gull Lake's own Daniel "Ambush" Wallace presented one. We talked about our Identity in Christ. Some of the take-aways were:

Your value has nothing to do with your productivity
What you do does not make you who you are, who you are determines what you do.
Being in Christ changes our spiritual DNA (we are a NEW creation)
We are God's masterpiece made in His image. - Ephesians 2:10

PJ had us all read through the book of Ephesians a couple times during the weekend. We had a great time and great discussions about who we are and how valuable we are to our Creator.

Chil(i Dogs) with Phil

2010-10-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

We had 16 teens show up for Chili Dogs at our October Chill with Phil last Saturday. We also had one come later. (Must have heard about how good the Chili Dogs were.) Another fun night of games and hanging out and enjoying life. God is so good and has blessed us so richly.

The popular game these days is Kemps. Basically you have a partner and you try to get four of a kind. The idea is to get your partner to say "Kemps" when you get your four or for you to say "Kemps" when your partner has his four. But if you say it and your partner doesn't have four of a kind, you lose points. If you say "Stop Kemps" to your opponent when he has four of a kind then you get points for that as well. But if they don't have four of a kind you lose points.

I think we need to do a better job of teaching them Euchre! :D

Project Squatter Camp

2010-09-19T22:06:00.001-05:00

Our church is holding our annual Missions Conference this week. In conjunction with the conference, our Brazil Mission Team participated in a Squatter Camp project from Friday evening through Sunday morning. Below were the instructions we were provided.

Two-thirds of the world lives in the third world on one dollar per day, without running water or electricity. As an activity, build and live in some squatter shacks, which are home to about 2.5 million people living around Johannesburg . When Africans come here for work from the rural areas or from foreign countries, the first and only place they can afford is a squatter shack. Preferably, your squatter shacks will be no more than 5 feet from each other – all huddled together.

You will need a hammer, nails, twine and wire. You cannot use any straight or standard size lumber (like 2x4x8s). You should use mostly poles or even small trees as your main supports. For the sides and roof, you will need either old plywood, old siding or the African favourite – corrugated tin. The floor should be dirt or grass. There can be no proper bedding, foam or air mattresses, etc. – just wadded up and layered clothing and old blankets, no pillows.

Use no electric or batteries. You may build a fire out front of the doorway where you will heat water that you need, and cook any food. You may get the water from the tap at the church building, or the residence on the property on which you are staying, but you should try to be at least 100 yards from a water source. If it starts raining, you can use only black trash bags on top of the house or your body to keep dry.

You may eat one piece of fruit for breakfast, but no lunch. You go about a normal day or work or school. The main food at dinner must be “mealie pap” – boil water for 3 minutes, mix in grits double or triple thick until it becomes almost solid, like white bread kids like to wad up in their hands. You can also heat up a can of tomato sauce or tomato-onion mix. You then dip the mealie pap, which you’ve wadded up in your right hand (no utensils, no no) into the tomato sauce and eat. You may have either water, Coca Cola, or Fanta orange to drink (Africans love Coke, no Pepsi). If you have a little extra money, you can boil cabbage and carrots and have them with the pap (pronounced “pop”).

For the 2-3 days you do this, you won’t shower (Africans don’t like that “hot rain”) or take baths (you might drown). You may sponge bathe, washing your face or upper body outside the shack.

For most of us, it was our first experience eating grits. For those that have had them, they’ve never had them like this! They were ok.

This was a good challenge for our team and a good opportunity for us to pray together and bond closer.

Our missions conference theme is on the topic of compassion. We are learning a lot and it is helping our focus on our mission trip for next summer. We are receiving quality teaching that is invaluable to us as we seek to minister to Brazil…and our neighbours next door!

Brian getting ready to cook our dinner on Friday night. What you may not know is that we found a bug in them when we opened it up.

Cooking over an open fire on Friday night.

The camp...apparently Africans don't set theirs up in nice neat rows.

Ethan's "shack". We called this one the Super 8.

We used pallets, tin and tarps for this one. We referred to it as the Marriott.

An inside look at the Marriott.

We referred to this one as the Hilton, although it was a downgrade from the Marriott as it proved a bit leaky when the rain came.

Camp on Saturday morning.

Setting up another one designed by Ashley.

We called this one 'Motel 6'.

We found some more "scrap" on Saturday and renovated the Marriott!

Dinner on Saturday night. More grits. Though the pasta sauce helped w/ the taste and edibility.

Chill with Phil

2010-08-29T21:35:00.000-05:00

Had a fun Chill with Phil night on Saturday. Fifteen teens showed up along w/ two of our adult youth leaders. We had fun being able to be outside and play Bocce Ball. Rachel and Amanda baked a wonderful cake for us!

We played mafia, kemps, some other game where you yell numbers, etc. Good times.

Lifeline Kickoff

2010-08-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

We held our annual youth ministry kickoff on Wednesday night. This is my fifth one and each year it gets more and more difficult to come up with something fun and creative. However, I gave it a shot and put together a video called "Hair Be Thair." It's up on vimeo and I've embedded below for your viewing enjoyment.

We are starting off this year with a trip to Maui! Well, we're not actually going to Maui but we are doing a nine week DVD series called GOSPEL Journey Maui. It's a reality-based series of teens from differing religious backgrounds being presented with the clear message of the gospel. To the non-believer, it will give them an understanding of Jesus and why He came and to the believer, it will prepare them to better share the gospel.

I am looking forward to a great year!

Hair Be Thair from TCBC Youth Leader on Vimeo.

Back from Summer Camp

2010-07-31T20:29:00.000-05:00

We spent the week up at Gull Lake Ministries in Michigan. It was a great week with great Biblical teaching. You learn a lot at a week at camp w/ a bunch of teens. Particularly, I learned to be more thankful that I don't have teenagers, let alone 8 of them in one house!

It was fun though, once you get past the teen stench. A few pics from the week are below...

Doggin' It

2010-06-30T20:28:00.000-05:00

Each Wednesday night, a group of teens meets at Devon's Doghouse restaurant in Rensselaer. The purpose is for accountability over the summer and to maintain the Christian friendships.

Tonight was a great discussion on how each of us are doing w/ our summer goals. We also had a time of prayer. There were nine of us there tonight.

Come on out next week! We meet from 6 to 8 pm cst.

Turkey Run Trip

2010-05-22T21:21:00.000-05:00

We took the youth ministry teens to Turkey Run today. We had a group of 18 hiking the trails today. It was great and beautiful weather. Some of the trails were muddy from all the rain and the creek was too high to canoe as we had planned. A fun day though.

Chloe K 5K

2010-05-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

Had a great run/walk this morning at the 4th Annual Chloe K 5K!

Grill w/ Phil

2010-05-14T23:55:00.014-05:00

Had a great time at Grill w/ Phil tonight. Basketball, soccer, cards, chit-chat and of course food. We had about 15 teens make it out tonight.

Class of '10

2010-05-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

Tonight was our last WOL Club night and we had a special time to honor the graduating Seniors. Several teens led us in great worship music as well.

Lay 'Em Down

2010-05-12T07:00:00.002-05:00

We had 10 teens come out and help put together our music video. We used the song Lay 'Em Down by Need to Breathe. We shot at three locations in Rensselaer. Take a look at the finished product!

Cotton-Eyed Joe

2010-04-28T18:58:00.001-05:00

Kicking it up to Cotton-Eyed Joe!! A favorite with the teens!

Teachers' Breakfast

2010-04-28T18:54:00.004-05:00

This morning our Youth Ministry, along w/ RCHS Fellowship of Christian Students, served breakfast to the faculty and staff at RCHS. It was a great time of showing our appreciation to the teachers and staff that work so hard in educating our students.

Purdue Track Meet

2010-04-24T18:25:00.000-05:00

A group of us from church went to the Purdue Track Meet today to assist with running the events. Our jobs ranged from raking the sand pit for the long and triple jump, retrieving the javelins after being thrown, running wind guages, posting the numbers for the High Jump, etc.

We had a great hard-working group. The purpose was to raise some money for our Mission Trip. For our help we'll get a check to put towards the 2011 trip. It was a fun and, for most of us, unique experience.

The teams there were Michigan St., Indiana St., Rose-Hulman, St. Joseph's, Wabash College and Purdue.

Regional TI

2010-04-18T13:45:00.000-05:00

We took four car/van loads of teens down to Crawfordsville today for Teens Involved (TI). TI is an opportunity for teens to use their gifts to glorify God. Categories include vocals, instrumentals, vocal/instrumentals, preaching, teaching children, drama, web presentation, prose, etc. It's a great way to stretch yourself and try something new to see if you like it.

All the teens did well despite a bit of nervousness. It was the final TI event for two of our teens who will be graduating next month.

Help out at the Purdue Track Meet

2010-04-14T17:20:00.005-05:00

As of 4/17 at 8 pm CST, we have 13 of the 20 we are recruiting for this event!

UPDATE: I was made aware of the fact that it’s against NCAA rules to use high school age prospects at Purdue varsity sporting events. (Jr. High age is okay.) So we are in greater need of adult volunteers.

I'm in need of 20 people to help with the track events at the Purdue Track Meet on Saturday, April 24. The meet runs from 10-4 EST and we need to be there 30 minutes early. I would prefer those that can commit to the whole day but if you can only participate part of the day, that would help too.

Jobs include raking the sand pit for the long and triple jump, retrieving the elements in the throwing events, setting up the hurdles, etc.

It will be a fun opportunity and with it we will earn some money toward our Mission Trip in 2011.

Please let Phil know ASAP if you are able to help!

a Chill w/ a Phil in a Pril

2010-04-10T22:51:00.000-05:00

Hope you enjoy the title...I like to be clever whenever possible.

We had like 17 teens tonight come out to Chill plus two leaders. Fun night. We played knockout, banana grams, 3-on-3 basketball, euchre, forks (as spoons weren't readily available), hide and seek, and some other games. It was a blast, as usual, and nice to be outside!

Here we are playing Banana Grams. (What's up w/ Jon's expression?)

Lining up for Knockout. (What's Jon doing?)

LET'S CHILL!!

Must have been something I said. :D

Playing "spoons" with forks.

Spring Work Day

2010-04-10T15:29:00.000-05:00

Twelve teens showed up to serve today for our youth work day. We had three jobs that included washing windows, cleaning gutters and some yard work. It works out really well when so many teens can come as it makes the work go more quickly and a lot more fun. Thanks to all of you that were able to help!

Do you Build or Destroy?

2010-03-31T07:48:00.001-05:00

I watched them tear a building down,
a gang of men in a busy town.
With a mighty heave and a lusty yell,
they swung a boom and a side wall fell.
I said to the foremen,"Are these men as skilled,
as the men you would hire if you had to build?"
He gave a laugh and said, "No indeed,
just a common laborer is all I need.
And I can wreck in a day or two,
what it took the builder a year to do."
And I thought to myself as I walked away,
just which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
measuring life by the rule and square?
Or am I a wrecker as I walk the town,
content with the labor of tearing down?

~ author unknown ~

Music Video Page

2010-03-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

I started a page of music videos to have a place to archive them and also a place where the church family can enjoy them. I set up an account with Vimeo. You can find the uploaded videos at our Vimeo page.

I WILL GO

2010-03-22T09:13:00.001-05:00

Our Student Leadership team, affectionately known as the P.O.S.S.E. (Pushing Ourselves to Selflessness, Servantude and Evangelism), went to the BLAZE conference in Chicago this past weekend. This conference is put on by Dare 2 Share ministries and this weekend, teens were challenged with being more purposeful in pursuing friends for the Kingdom of Christ.

Isaiah 6 was the text used for the weekend and each of us were reminded of Isaiah's willingness to go. Jesus commands us to go into all the world and make disciples. We aren't only called to share Christ with others ourselves, but to lead them into sharing Christ with others. In other words, making disciples who make disciples.

What would happen in our schools if each teen in our youth ministry shared Christ regularly? Our schools would be set a BLAZE for THE Cause of Christ.

Starfield was at the conference and sang a song called "I Will Go". Check out these lyrics from one of the verses:

Let the blessing You’ve poured out on me
Not be spent on me in vain
Let this life be used for change

If we're really on fire for God, if we really have "magma in our veins," then we won't be scared or timid about sharing our faith.

I will go...Lord, SEND ME!

FCS - Stand Up, Stand Out

2010-02-28T07:54:00.000-06:00

The Fellowship of Christian Students at RCHS had a "Stand Up, Stand Out" event at the school on Saturday (2/27) night. It started w/ a lasagna dinner and was followed by a tremendous program.

Silas' Song led several songs in worship. FCM members presented a drama to Lifehouse's "Everything" song. There were two speakers from FCA, a former Notre Dame football player and a former Rice basketball player. Both were great and our own PJ spoke as well!

It was an excellent program glorifying the Lord. Many of the teens in FCS are from TCBC. It was encouraging to see them share this evening with us.

Idol Worship

2010-02-07T12:43:00.002-06:00

WOL Cancelled Tonight

2010-01-20T15:34:00.001-06:00

Due to inclement weather, tonights WOL Club (1/20) is cancelled.

FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS
AFTERNOON TO 6 AM CST THURSDAY...
A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT.
* TIMING...FREEZING RAIN WILL OVERSPREAD FAR NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS
AND NORTHWESTERN INDIANA DURING THE MID AND LATE AFTERNOON.
LIGHT FREEZING RAIN AND DRIZZLE WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT.
* ICE ACCUMULATIONS...TOTAL ICE ACCUMULATION OF AROUND ONE TENTH
OF AN INCH IS FORECAST. THE PERIOD WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL
FOR ICE ACCUMULATION WILL BE FROM LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS
EVENING...THEN THE FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH TO
FREEZING DRIZZLE FOR OVERNIGHT.

God's Will

2010-01-18T09:46:00.000-06:00

Mission Trip - Informational meeting

2010-01-10T14:50:00.000-06:00

Our next youth mission trip is scheduled for July 24 - August 1, 2011 back to Brazil. There will be an informational meeting after the worship service on January 31 up in the youth room.

I'll provide information on application deadlines, requirements, costs, etc.

The goal is to have the team in place by May so we have time to come together as a team and begin raising support for the trip. There's a lot to do in preparation for such a mission trip and it will be helpful to have the time to plan and prepare.

Chill with Phil Christmas Extravaganza

2009-12-28T22:51:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-21T12:06:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-10T07:24:00.000-06:00

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

2009-11-14T20:20:00.000-06:00

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

2009-10-25T15:14:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-07T07:46:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-09-17T20:33:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-02T22:08:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-08T11:27:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-06T06:02:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-08-04T06:37:00.001-05:00

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

2009-04-28T08:36:00.001-05:00

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

2009-03-19T09:08:00.001-05:00

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

2009-02-23T13:26:00.000-06:00

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

Chill with Phil - Feb 09

2009-02-14T13:15:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from our Friday the 13th Chill with Phil night.

Wednesday Evening Service Cancellation

2009-01-13T15:36:00.000-06:00

Due to the extremely chilly temps that are expected beginning tomorrow night, we have decided to cancel all Wednesday evening activities at Tri-County Bible Church on January 14.

WOL teens - you will be well served to spend this extra time memorizing some verses from the verse paks! :D

God Bless and stay warm!

WOL Announcements

2008-11-25T08:43:00.000-06:00

Reminder: There is NO WOL Club Meeting this Wed. 11/26.

Superbowl - Friday/Saturday, November 28-29
Meet at church at 3:45 pm CST (this is a change from previously announced)
Bus will leave at 4 pm CST.
We will return at 6:30 am CST on Saturday morning.
Bring extra cash for food and snacks.

Other Upcoming Events:

Friday, December 12 - Jr. High Christmas Party at TCBC
Tuesday, December 30 - "Phondue with Phil" for Sr. High at Phil's house (this is a Chill with Phil event)
August 1-7, 2009 - SUMMER CAMP at GULL LAKE MINISTRIES in Michigan

Details are yet to be finalized but we are looking into the first week of August for Summer Camp. This runs from Saturday to Friday. This will be an awesome week that teens will NOT want to miss.

Wii Bii Chillin'

2008-11-01T23:15:00.000-05:00

We had a bunch of teens come out to Chill with Phil this evening. We had the Nintendo Wii games going all night with Tennis, Bowling, Boxing and Golf. We also had other games like euchre and Catch Phrase. There was a bunch of great food including homemade carmel apples!

Car Capers 2008

2008-10-18T13:59:00.000-05:00

We had a blast with all the Senior High teens that came to Car Capers last night. We had some great games including a drag race where your team had to push a car across the parking lot in a race against another car, an obsacle course, a creeper race, a tire and hubcap toss and a tire changing challenge.

Despite a little drizzle, everyone had a great time enjoying great food and music as well.

The videos are of the obstacle course and the creeper race. These games were a lot more challenging than they look. More than one person left a little blood out on the track.

Thanks to all the leaders and adults that helped set up and run the games, make the food, challenge the teens, set up the sound system, etc, that made this event a success! Thanks to the teens for bringing your friends out for a fun time and opportunity to hear the Word being preached.

FIREPROOF

2008-09-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

FIREPROOF opened this weekend and we took several WOL leaders along with their spouses to see it this evening. It was very well done and made some excellent points in helping us keep our marriages Christ-like. If you want a thriving relationship, you must be willing to serve. It's not about you, it's about Christ, and one way we can demonstrate our love to our spouse is by serving her (him).

Make a date with your mate and go see this movie!

A Time To Dance

2008-09-13T01:54:00.000-05:00

We had our first Chill with Phil of the year tonight. We kicked it up w/ the electric slide, the cha cha, the macarena, Cotton-Eyed Joe, etc. Then, for more kicks my team beat up on Jake's team in euchre. (Reminded me of great times in Brazil.)

We had a great group and a ton of fun...of course.

Here are a couple pics and a video from the night.

WOL Kickoff 2008

2008-08-27T22:41:00.001-05:00

We had an awesome kickoff this evening. We met at church, got everyone signed in and sang some songs with some members of S.O.S. (Saving of Souls) Christian Band. Phil shared a message on pursuing eternal treasures and then we split up into teams and went on a pursuit of our own...a scavenger hunt. Each team had to find clues at various locations in Rensselaer. Some were pretty challenging but all teams completed the route and it was a great time.

Here are a few pictures from the evening...

Brazil Trip - Days 9 & 10

2008-08-04T14:01:00.000-05:00

We departed from Grupo CEO at 5:20 am on Saturday, August 2. We arrived at the airport in Fortaleza about an hour later and got set to check in. This all went very smooth. Now after a week in Brazil it was time to say good-bye to Bill and Erika. It's amazing. Months and months go into the planning and preparation and suddenly you find yourself saying good-bye as the trip comes to a close. We got through security with no problems and then it was off to Sao Paulo. This flight lasted about three and a half hours. We then had a layover in Sao Paulo for about nine hours. Some of us slept and some of us played cards. There wasn't a whole lot to do. We walked through a few of the shops anticipating our last flight.

Finally, at around 5:00 pm we were able to go and check-in. Thankfully, everyone had all the correct paperwork and we didn't have any problems with anyone losing any documentation to get us back home. The process of getting through security and customs seemed more lenghty but that's the way it is with international travel. After a little waiting at the gate it was finally time to board United Airlines Flight 842 to take us to Chicago. It wasn't a full flight and the more savvy of us were able to snag a better seat! It's a lot easier to find a position to sleep in two seats than it is in one. For future mission trips, I highly recommend we purchase a business class ticket for the youth leader. He really deserves it. :)

Ten and a half hours later, we land in Chicago at 5:30 am CST on Sunday, August 3rd. We quickly got through immigration and our luggage picked up. It was a welcome site to see the Davis van pulling up to collect our luggage. Ron, Tim, Scott, Roger and Heather were all there to greet us. I (Phil) am still mad at Jessi for not letting me hug Heather first!

We stopped at a breakfast buffet on the way home and chowed like crazy. We did eat but travel is wearying and plane food is very average.

We rolled into the church parking lot at 9:30 am CST and all got together for a prayer of thankfulness. It was an awesome trip and the Lord worked in us mightily.

Thank you all for your prayers, blog comments and support!

Brazil Trip - Day 8

2008-08-02T00:30:00.000-05:00

Today was an R & R day at the beach in Fortaleza. Erika's parents hosted us and had a magnificent lunch for us of chicken, salmon and other fish. The ocean was beautiful and it was great to soak up the rays and swim in the ocean.

This evening we had a huddle with the Moore's and the others here at Grupo CEO. We all shared what impacted us the most. It was a most memborable evening and week. So hard to say good-bye.

Please pray for us as we begin traveling early Saturday morning. Our flight leaves at 6 am CST.

Brazil Trip - Day 7

2008-08-01T01:11:00.000-05:00

Hi, this is Kyle and I'm a bad blogger. I wish Phil would do this for me. I can't think of anything to write. My foot hurts so bad. I feel useless. I'm homesick and just sit around crying all day. I miss my mom. I wish I was Phil (except for the bald part). Ethan hardly ever checks on me. It's such a bummer.

I'm kidding, this is Phil with your daily blog. I made that first part up. Seriously, Kyle did excellent today. Helped with a lot at VBS and the work site! Ethan has been awesome too, doing a great job serving his brother.

Today was our final day of our servant ministries. We started this morning with the story of Noah in VBS. Casey, Dave and Ben did the teaching for us. We also finished teaching the dance routine to those that were there.

All your kids are doing wonderfully. I did fail to mention yesterday that Jessica hurt her foot too. Amazingly she also hurt it while playing barefoot outside. We need to bring all the moms next time so these kids quit running around without shoes on. They sure don't listen to me. So, yeah, it's a lot like WOL!

Katy felt a little sick this morning but recovered and did a great job today. All the kids have done great this week.

Jake and Jake led the basketball (basquete in Portuguese) and then kickball this afternoon.

We finished up the construction project this afternoon as well. Tom did a great job leading this project for our team. We whitewashed the walls and did the electrical work. We also moved dirt in the front yard to even out the ground. The girls did a lot of the whitewashing and Tracy helped with a lot of the dirt moving.

This evening we had a worship service with the kids. First with the younger kids and then with the teens. It was a great time of fellowship and worship. We did our big drama and of course the dance. We did it three times! We even got Bill out there for the finale...and Jake Goodman! It was great.

Afterwards we said our good-byes to the kids. Then I threw Jake Goodman in the pool! He was acting up.

Pictures may be forthcoming. Tomorrow perhaps. Love you all. Thanks so much for your prayers.

Brazil Trip - Day 6 (Evening)

2008-07-31T06:36:00.000-05:00

The afternoon was cut a little short so we only did one session of sports. We ran basketball and volleyball simultaneously. Melissa did a great job with volleyball and Jake and Jake did well with basketball. They had the kids doing layup drills and other b-ball skills. I think the dunking contest is today. ;)

In the evening we went into Fortaleza to the market. There was a huge section next to the beach that was set up with all kinds of little shops of souvenirs, hammocks, shoes, clothes. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there walking around and bartering.

After shopping we ate at a restaurant called Sal E Brasa. It was extremely good food and AIR CONDITIONED! We tried all kinds of meats and other various foods: fried bananas, fried cheese, sushi, shrimp, other cheeses, etc. Some of the meats we tried were wild boar, ostrich and a variety of other cuts of beef, chicken, etc. There was a variety of pies and cakes to choose from for dessert. Definitely a meal we'll remember.

We arrived back on campus around 11:00.

Brazil Trip - Day 6

2008-07-30T10:27:00.000-05:00

We are headed out for an evening on the town so I may not be able to blog later. I wanted to update you on our morning.

Construction continues on the building project and they may even finish getting the flooring in today.

We had a great morning at VBS. Denise taught the kids the story of David and Goliath. She used Phil to demonstrate how tall Goliath was. However the kids are convinced that Phil is much stronger.

Kendra and Jessi introduced the craft with the story of Jonah. The kids had a great time with it. There were not as many kids today but we did have about 20 new kids that were not their yesterday.

After crafts we spent some time teaching them our dance routine. It's amazing how much God has used that in our ministry here. It has been extremely beneficially.

Brazil Trip - Day 5

2008-07-30T00:21:00.000-05:00

On the building project this morning we finished the tiles on the roof. Dave got up there this time with Cicero to finish laying them. A few other local teens that hang out with us helped too. We also started on the windows and doors. PJ helped one of the men
with that. Then in the afternoon, we started on the concrete flooring. The mixing was all done by hand which is primarily how we helped. We got the other window and both doors in place and set up.

The building crew also did all the electric work on another house and whitewashed it all. This is a home that last week's team built.

VBS started today too with about 128 people coming! The children were very excited to make the Salvation Bracelets, and
Jake W. and Jon gave a lesson explaining their meaning. We were amazed that they didn't open the Salvation Bracelet bags when
we passed them out until told to do so, as some children in the US probably would have. For games, they played Freeze Tag, which
they enjoyed playing for the first time. We gave them candy bags for their snack as they left also.

Our sports ministry did soccer and volleyball today. The games of soccer basically consist of our splitting into several teams
and having a sort of tournament. It's fun to play with all the Brazilian kids because they are really good.

In the evening we had a worship service here at Grupo CEO. Jon, Jessica, Kyle and Ethan presented the drama and our
team did our "Brazilian Boogie" again. Everyone was so enthusiastic. The music was wonderful. It was a great time.

We did have our first injury, however. Kyle hurt his foot. I'd like to say he injured it while working construction or doing
something really dangerous. But I must be truthful. He injured it playing freeze tag...with 11 year olds. His attitude has been
tremedous but please be praying for him throughout the trip. He can still kind of walk on his heel.

Other than that we continue to be blessed down here. Thanks for your continued prayers and your blog comments. We read
them every day.

Brazil Trip - Day 4

2008-07-29T01:41:00.000-05:00

Today we started our servant evangelism activities along with the construction project. The brick work was completed prior to allow us time to finish the house. Tom and a couple guys worked on the doors and windows for the house while the rest of us went on site. We sorted tiles for the roof and put up the rafters too.

The ladies spent the morning serving on our "Spa Day" ministry. They had a great turnout, including many children for this. Here is a picture of Tracy giving a haircut. They also painted nails and other girly girl stuff in addition to the haircuts.

The afternoon consisted of beginning our Sports ministry and continuing our construction. Ben and Dave led the group in soccer and Ben was most proud at scoring a goal! (Please pray for Ben's pride.) Jake and Jake led the group in Kickball after that was over. That went pretty well though it took a while for the kids to understand the rules. They weren't so keen on getting "out".

We worked on laying the tile for the roof at the construction site. Jon took the initiative and braved the heights, first spreading the tiles out on the rafters in piles and then helping Cicero, one of the Brazilian men working for Grupo CEO this summer, lay them. Jon only fell off twice and now writes left-handed and walks backwards but we're pretty sure this will clear up when we get back to the Northern Hemisphere. Just kidding Sherry (Jon's mom)...he only fell once. HA! Still kidding. He was steady the whole time and Tom even joined him up there for the last part of it. Sure would be nice to get some Titan guys down here.

After a dinner of hot dogs, we split up. The teens with to a youth service, the ladies to a women's meeting and the men to a men's meeting. It was a great time to fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Brazil. Two men accepted Christ at our men's meeting. They didn't even complain about my attire! Seriously though it was awesome to pray for and with them. We talked about how to be good husbands to our wives. I advised them to go on a mission trip 4,500 miles away. No, I'm joking again. I'm pretty sure I said something profound and serious.

It's 11:37 pm here and if you haven't figured it out yet, it's Phil that is writing all this. I'm a bit sleepy from a big day but was anxious to get you the latest happenings here and post a few more pictures.

FYI - you can double click the pictures to see it in a larger size.

Brazil Trip - Day 3 Update!

2008-07-28T01:00:00.000-05:00

A TAM airlines van arrived at 9 am today with Tracy's luggage! She now has her own clothes! Praise the Lord!

Brazil Trip - Day 3

2008-07-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

We awoke at 7 am (that's 5 am Rensselaer time folks) to loud Christian music in Portuguese! We had some time to get ready for
the day and have some quiet time before breakfast. Breakfast consisted of pancakes, compliments of Tom Gillespie, fruit, cold
meat sandwiches and cashew juice. It was fun to try something new.

Following breakfast we had some devotional time together as we went over Mark 4:35-41. After this time we split up into four
groups and went on a Prayer Walk in the community. We visited several families in the neighborhood that the Moore's have been
ministering to. Some, they have recently helped with building a house, putting in a sink or other projects. Many have come to know
Christ through their ministry here. As we visited we often stopped to pray for various families.

We had some free time after lunch but we spent part of the time hauling a few bricks down to our construction site. Tom helped
some of the local people finish up the brick work. We had some time to swim and relax in the hammocks as well.

This evening, we went to church. It was a very enthusiastic congregation! We presented a drama and the "Brazilian Boogie". The message was on jealousy. We covered parts of James 3, Psalm 145 and Ezekiel 35. Afterwards we went out for chicken. It was rotisserie. (Not sure how to spell that.) Very good.

Phil got busted by the fashion police for showing up in this outfit. What's wrong with this? It's a nice pair of shorts and a nice shirt for crying out loud! I think we'll have to take a vote later to determine this this outfit is really a crime.

Brazil Trip - Day 2

2008-07-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

We made it to Sao Paulo, Brazil at 9:00 or so Brazil time and deboarded for customs. This wasn't a problem for us thankfully, even Jon made it through! But was picked up our luggage and had to check in for the domestic flight to Fortaleza. They made us check a bunch of our bags that we carried on.

We made it though to our gate 5 minutes before boarding so that was a blessing. But, they gave Tracy a hard time w/ on of her carry-on items, saying she should have checked it. They took and stowed it w/ the strollers (I think) but when we got to Fortaleza, after a brief stop over in Natal, that bag never showed up. And it has her clothes in it. So, after another discussion with TAM airlines there, we'll call tomorrow to find out if they have found the bag. We think it may have been taken off in Natal.

But we're here!! We made it to Grupo CEO around 6:20 pm and it was already about dark. We had a great spaghetti dinner together with everyone and spent the evening getting showers and settled in.

Brazil Trip - Day 1

2008-07-25T20:10:00.000-05:00

We started off on our trip for Brazil today. We left the church at 10 am and drove up to O'hare. Check-in was every bit as stressful as we had hoped. For starters, the mower box weighed too much. We were over by FOUR pounds! We took the smaller box out of the larger box to get the weight down and the lady was checking it through for us. There it was rolling down the conveyor belt when out of nowhere, a guy in a jacket and tie put the nix on it. "Haz-mat item" he stated to my dismay. Despite my "No, buts..." his decision is what counted so, there you go. No mower to Brazil. Thankfully, Ron was around to take it back home for us.

He almost had to take home something else...a member of our team! They were giving Jon a hard time about his visa but ultimately he was cleared.

The flights went smoothly and we fell asleep (off and on) somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.

Brazil Trip - Packing

2008-07-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Tonight we had our "Packing Party". There is a lot of stuff to take down for all the minstries we'll be doing. We are also taking some additional items for the Moore's to use for their ministry when we leave such as a mower and a trimmer.

After a night's work, we are pretty much ready to go!

We very much appreciate all the items for the various ministries that church families have donated. Big things get accomplished when everybody does their part!

Senior Night 2008

2008-05-21T21:13:00.001-05:00

Tonight was our last night of Word of Life for the year, and forever for our Seniors...as a youth anyway!

This evening, we took a look at John 10:1-4, 25-28 and talked about knowing the voice of our shepherd. The youth were challenged to use the summer to grow into knowing Christ better.

It worked out that today's text for our Quiet Time in our Student Lifeline books was from Exodus 6:1-13 where God is speaking to Moses. Eight times over the first nine verses God says "I will...." I will rescue you..., I will redeem you..., I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. I will bring you into the land..., I will give it to you.... God promises Moses many blessings.

The notes from the Student Lifeline book continues: Ask yourself, "What 'will dos' can I expect from the Lord Himself in my daily life as I also trust Him?" So, as we learn to trust Him, our desire should be to know Him in a more personal way. In response to such a desire, Jehovah, Who got personally involved in the troubles of ancient Israel, desires to get personally involved in your life too!

We also had the Seniors share about their plans for next year and we had a local band, Saving of Souls (many of which are in our WOL club), lead us in worship and share some of their own music.

Last Night of WOL for 2007-08

2008-05-19T22:10:00.000-05:00

The last club meeting for the year will be this Wednesday, May 21 at 6:00 pm.

We will have a live band perform as we welcome 'Saving of Souls'!

life is good

2008-05-12T14:46:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, we filmed the music video with the Jr. High (plus one Sr. High teen who snuck in the back door). The song is called "Life is Good" by Stellar Kart. We had a beautiful morning to film. The video is below...enjoy!

tunnel

2008-04-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

We had some of our Sr. High teens show up to put together a music video to Third Day's "Tunnel". These videos are always a blast. Check it out!

Mission Team Huddle

2008-03-08T09:01:00.000-06:00

Nineteen individuals from Tri-County Bible Church have signed on to travel to Brazil for a week in July to share the gospel through Servant Evangelism on our Youth Mission Trip. We will be helping the Moore family, a missionary family that our church helps support.

This past friday evening, we gathered to pray for the work that is currently being done there and to plan for the week we will be there with them. We split up into smaller teams to plan specific activities for the week.

Please pray for us as we continue to prepare our hearts for His work.

SAVED at the Compass

2008-02-19T13:19:00.000-06:00

Teens! Join us at the Compass (110 E. 5th St.) in downtown Fowler on Saturday, February 23rd as SAVED performs.

Music begins at 6:30 pm CST.

Websites:
http://www.thecompassministries.com/
http://www.wearesaved.org/

WOL Cancelled Tonight (Jan 9)

2008-01-09T09:29:00.000-06:00

There will be no WOL Club meeting tonight. We will resume next week, Jan. 16th.

Keep up with your Quiet Times!!

January Chillin'

2008-01-06T14:13:00.000-06:00

We got 2008 kicked off Friday night with "Chill w/ Phil". We enjoyed chocolate fondue, which was popular and karaoke. Nonetheless, we had a great time, as always, playing games and enjoying food.

Skinner put a little diddy he made up in digital format. As of now, it's moreless the unofficial Chill with Phil theme song. It's in mp3 format and you can listen to it here.

Our regular WOL Club meetings resume on Jan. 9 at 6 pm CST. It's going to be a great year.

SUPERBOWL

2007-11-24T22:00:00.000-06:00

This years WOL SuperBowl event was once again held down in Indianapolis. A total of 61 teens and 11 leaders went this year. We took in the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers won 111-107.

After the game, we all gathered near the court and the gospel was presented to all of us that were there with Word of Life. Following was an opportunity to respond to the invitation to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and many teens responded. So pray for them that they would grow spiritually.

Following this we had AMP time where some of the teens get the opportunity to compete in the on-court games. This all ended at 12:30 am but our night was just getting started. Our group walked to the Gameworks Arcade at Circle Center where we were met with Papa John's pizza. We had fun playing video games in the wee hours of the morning.

We left there at 3 am to go to the bowling alley. It must have been the late hours because many of us were just not on our game. After all, how well can you actually be expected to bowl at 4:00 in the morning! We left around 5:30 and made it back to Rensselaer safely at 7:00 EST / 6:00 CST.

Leafin'

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Eleven Word of Life students along with four leaders participated in the leaf rake on Saturday morning. They were able to rake four yards followed by lunch at the Nagel's. Thank you to all who served! Thank you to the Nagel's for providing lunch!

November Chillin'

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We held Chill with Phil again on friday night. Ten Sr. High students came to enjoy caramel apples, leftover halloween candy and games. We played euchre, balderdash and Skinner impressed us all by writing the new Chill with Phil theme song. Well, what I hope becomes the theme song. All we need to do is add lyrics.

Below are some pictures from the evening!

Get Ready for Superbowl!

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The WOL Superbowl is coming up on Friday, November 23. This is the friday after Thanksgiving, so check your calendars and prepare to come if you can. The cost for each student is $45 (checks payable to TCBC). You will also need to complete a permission form available here. The registration deadline is Wednesday, November 7. Make sure you have both your money and permission form turned in.

We also need several adults to serve as leaders for this event. The cost for leaders is $35. Please see Phil if you are willing to help out!

This year we will again be in Indianapolis for the Pacers game vs. the Dallas Mavericks. We will meet at the church around 4:00 pm CST and return on Saturday morning around 6:30 am CST.

Are you excited yet?? Check out our 60 second promotional video below!!

WOL Cancelled for 10/24

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With Fall Break this week for Rensselaer Schools, we have decided to cancel WOL for Wednesday, October 24. Enjoy the break and remember to keep up with your Quiet Time study! See you back on the 31st!

Also, I updated the "Kickoff Results" post from August 24th with some pictures.