VHS

Our high school ministry is in a small transitional phase, having just finished a series both on Sundays and in our small groups, and now about to begin a new series. On Sunday mornings, we just finished up our series that was tagging along with the rest of the church. We spent 4 weeks going through a modified version of “Just Walk Across the Room” –  a study on evangelism.  Right now would be a GREAT time to encourage students to bring their non-christian friends. We just finished this series on evangelism, we have a few HUGE outreach events coming up, and we’re experiencing a surge of the growth and health of our group.  The easiest way I could get friends to come to church with me when I was in high school was to have them spend the night on a Saturday night… just an idea for you to be strategic about it.

We just wrapped up our first month of small groups! They have been going well, and we’ve seen a good response from our students. We will be switching homes starting next week (10/21) to give the Burtons and Yorks a break from hosting all these students. THANK YOU to both the Yorks and Burtons for opening up their home to us! You are such a blessing to this ministry.    Beginning next week, the sophomores/juniors will be meeting at Allie Gaylor’s home and the freshman will be meeting and McKenna Christian’s home. Also, a group of our seniors are starting their own small group on 10/21 as well. We have flyers and addresses for these groups up in our student ministries hall… so come grab one or just give me a call at the church!

The freshman small group is starting a series on “Friends.” The discussions include topics such as loneliness, peer pressure, comparisons, and their self-identity. This will great for this age group as they are in the early stages of high school!

The sophomores/junior will be doing the series on “Choose.” Those discussions will include topics such as choosing faith, choosing reactions, looking at consequences, etc.  I’m excited about the continual growth of this group!

***Tonight, we are meeting at the church in room 220. KingsWay High School is having a bonfire since it is their homecoming week. Since about half of our students go to school at KW, I thought it’d be best to have us meet at the church with all the non-KW students to have some fun… This also helps us to keep everyone on the same schedule as far as curriculum goes.

Thank you for your prayers for this ministry. They are felt and we are seeing God work in our students more and more each week. You can pray specifically for us on Sundays as we start a new series looking at the different teenagers of the Bible and how God used them.

Love God. Love others.
-Richard

ps… I’ll be posting another update within the next couple of days about upcoming events/trips we’re having.

I received something in the mail today and wanted to make it known to you all.  I got a letter and many flyers for the upcoming National Christian College Fair. College might be a ways off still, but its never too soon to start thinking about it and planning for it.  My junior year of high school, I attended one of these in Arizona because one of my teachers offered us extra credit if we would go. I did it for the extra credit, but looking back on it now, I am so thankful that our teach was willing to do whatever it took to get us to look into these schools.

I found a bunch of great schools, and it really helped in my whole college process. I found a lot of great general info about certain schools, as well as specific stuff about majors, financial aid, the admissions process, etc.  Not only was it helpful info, but it kind of gave me a dream that I could attend a great university. This caused me to start planning and working hard so that I could attend a good, quality university. I eventually went to Biola University down in southern California, and I absolutely loved it. Not only was it great academically, but it really helped form me into the person I am today. I grew as a young adult and as a Christian.

Christian Universities really offer a different dynamic to the higher education process.  During this time in their life, students are searching for answers about life and about their purpose in life. They are trying to figure out who they are. They are also forming skills on how they will think and work for the rest of their lives. This is a crucial time in their life! And what better way to spend it than in a Christian environment surrounded by other Christian peers and professors. It’s easy to make friends and to get in the “right group” of people, who can be positive influences.

I would highly encourage you to attend this. You have nothing to lose but a lot to gain! Something as small as this could really change the rest of your life as it opens up doors and begins to give you a direction in life. There are two different nights that take place in Portland. Here’s the info on them:

-Monday, October 12, 6:00 – 8:00pm.
Rolling Hills Community Church
3550 SW Borland Road
Tualatin, OR 97062

-Tuesday, October 13, 6:00 – 8:00pm.
Portland Christian Jr./Sr. High School
12425 NE San Rafael Street
Portland, OR 97230

Let me know if you have questions about these fairs! I will gladly help in any way I can… and I’d be more than willing to attend with you if you would like! I enjoy doing things like this.    Please, consider taking advantage of this opportunity…

-Richard

Last week was our first week of our new home groups.  It is so exciting to start something new and to have the opportunity for a new form of ministry to our students! We launched with two different groups: 1 freshman group, and 1 group of sophomores and juniors. Our seniors are super busy with homecoming planning and other school activities, and have elected to start their own small group in mid-October. I’m excited for them as well!

I attended the freshman group last week, and was totally impressed with those students. They had great attitudes and really good insight to our discussion. We talked about choices and how those effect our futures. We watched a pretty cool video with testimonies from real high school students. We also looked at examples from the Bible. We looked at the life of the Israelites in the Old Testament and their relationship with God. They had to choose whether they would trust God or go on their own, and the results were directly related to their choices. We also looked at the life of Jesus. He encountered so many people, always giving them a choice that would change their life. Some people chose to put their faith in Him and to follow Him, but some chose to keep living their same life… holding on to worldly things.  This was a great start to our small groups, and I think the students really enjoyed them.

The freshman topic for tonight is about consequences. The next two weeks will include discussions about choosing their reactions, and understanding their purpose in life. Here is a link to the website of the curriculum we are using: http://www.bluefishtv.com/Store/Youth_Ministry/2473/Choose_with_Marcus_Goodloe     I think you can watch a preview of some of the stuff we’re going over. Check it out, it’s pretty cool!

I am looking forward to tonight, as I am attending the group for our sophomores and juniors. They are doing a series on Paul in Rome. The videos that go along with this series are pretty cool too. They are all filmed in Rome.  Well, at least I enjoy them, being such a history nerd!  Last week, this group talked about “Culture and Faith in Conflict.” They talked about the similarties of the culture in Rome back then and the culture in America today. They discussed Romans 12 and talked about what transformation from this culture means and how we should strive not to conform to the pressures of today’s culture. Tonight’s topic is “Not Good Enough?” and how this leads to the need of a Savior. It should be good! Here’s a link for a preview about this series:  http://www.bluefishtv.com/Store/Youth_Ministry/1549/Paul_in_Rome_with_David_Nasser       Check it out!
These groups can be very powerful for our students. Our team of adult leaders are working very hard to make these groups successful and enjoyable. We are praying and looking for opportunities to minister to these students. We appreciate YOUR prayers as well! Thank you for your support and for taking a chance with us to try something a little different!

Much Love.

-Richard

So a couple of weeks ago, we had a “Leader Hunt” for one of our Wednesday night events.  Four of us adults (Sean Sullivan, Lorna Atkins, Leslianne Doe, and myself) were carefully disguised and trying to blend in at the mall. We had the students meet up with Chuck Atkins at Subway, break into teams of 4, and try to find each of the adult leaders. The winning team won gift cards to Starbucks. This event was awesome! Only 1 group found all 4 of the adults… so we must have been disguised pretty good! Some of the students claim to have seen a couple adults, but were too scared to approach them as they were not sure if it was really our leaders! It was hilarious to watch them walk around and right by us without noticing us.  Best disguise goes to Lorna, who was almost impossible to find. Funniest disguised leader had to be Sean, who just hung out in food court while enjoying an Orange Julius and his ipod.  Multiple students walked within about 5 ft. of where he was sitting and didn’t even notice him.  (For those of you parents who are concerned about what kind of adult leaders are working with your students… please know that we don’t normally look or dress like this!)

Hey Everyone!

This past year has been a blast for me to get to know the high school students! I have grown a deep love for these teenagers and hope that I can help in their growth both spiritually and as a teenager.  I have already seen a lot of them mature in their walks with God, and it excites me for the momentum that has been building for this next year.

We have planned some new things for the upcoming year that will hopefully lead to some great ministry opportunities.  We are going to be starting Wednesday night small groups that meet in homes on September 16^th.  Small groups in homes have been super effective at this church in the past, and we are hoping to bring that back as it opens opportunities for great discussions. Our team of adult leaders and I are very excited about this opportunity!

I have currently been working on a new blog (this one) for our high school group that will help in the communication process between me and you.  It will have upcoming events, a calendar, photos, and recaps of the things we have been doing as a ministry. That should be up and running within the next month. You can also comment or ask questions on this.

We have planned a “Parent Info” night so that you can find out more about the small groups, what we’ll be studying, and where your student will be going. We’ll also inform you about other things that are going on in our ministry this year and explain more about how our blog will work.  It will be a great time for me to meet those of you who I have yet to meet and to answer questions that you might have.  This meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 9^th at 6:30pm in the Student Ministries Room.  They students will be going with our other adult leaders to do a fun scavenger hunt.  While they are gone, I’ll meet with parents and answer questions. There will be time to mingle with some snacks until the students get back around 7:30.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call me or email me.

Have a great rest of the summer!

-Richard