Mix it up Part 1

My schedules been more packed than ever recently. Here's a rundown of my summer:

• Student Min Great America Trip (1 Day)
  
• June Week Camp Adventure (1 Week)
  
• MOVE08 Mission Trip (4 Days)
  
• Spoke at Pinelake Base Camp in Mississippi (1 Week)
  
• July Week Camp Adventure (1 Week)
  
• Chicago Mission Trip (1 Week)
  
• Mexico Mission trip (1 Week)
• Student Min Cedar Point Trip (1 Day)
  
• Students School Year Starts Aug. 13th
  
• Big Shift in Student Ministry. We're gonna "Mix it Up!"

Personally, I'm only home 6 days in all of July, so I've been running as hard as I can! Thank God (Literally) for the endurance that he's given me and our team. We're so blessed.



(I took this picture at our Mexico Work Day)

Sometimes i revert back to this way of thinking (the picture above) because of my football background then I remember it really isn't how good you are...IT'S HOW GOOD GOD IS. It isn't even how bad you want it, it's IS IT GOD'S WILL.

What's next for us in ministry is all about GOING AFTER GOD's will for our church with everything we got! Shifting gears will allow us to do that!

So, I just got in from Mississippi at midnight Thursday night, which means I missed the New Community where Mark laid out the next steps we're going to take together as a church! I was aware of all the communication and the plan prior to the meeting so me being in town wasn't critical...BUT I did miss out on all the cheering that went on after Mark was done.

I'm writing to fill some white space for those who are students in our ministry, parent's of students in our ministry, volunteers in our ministry, and others who are curious about how this change effects our student ministry.

If you need to catch up on some details.

READ HERE AND HERE

On my end, our team doesn't have our step by step plan in place yet, so there is no major info to give out at this time. As most of you know, we start our second week of Camp Adventure Sunday (the 6th, students come on the 7th) so my mind has been consumed by that, as has our team.

Looking at our schedule (above) you can see that there will be very little time to get away and focus solely on our fall shifts. So within the Chicago and Mexico mission trips, I have scheduled time for our team to get away and do some planning sessions so that we can bring our A game as God moves us through this process.

What can YOU do:

• Pray. Pray that God will speak to us in our team planning time. Pray for God to be with us at Camp, the mission trips, Bible Study's and events. Pray for our students, leaders, and parents and the navigate the implications of these changes in their lives.
  
• Communication Unity. Continue to use "unity driven language" as you communicate these changes with those around you. Use "we" and "us" a lot rather than "they" and "them". One of the things that will hinder God's movement during this time is a divided front. If you're IN...communicate that way.
• Filter well. There will be a lot thoughts flying during this time, some helpful not so helpful. Filter well what you hear.
  
• Pray MORE. Pray that the Holy Spirit will fill our church and that His spirit will move in new ways through our desire to take leaps of faith for His Kingdom.
  

As the Director of our Ministry, I will communicate information to our Students, Volunteer Teams, and Parents as we work through it!

I can say this...there WILL be exciting changes...all of which are designed to lead our students closer to Jesus!

This is about to rock! Let's Mix it up for Jesus.