Toni, our family ministries coordinator is organizing this and you can contact her or send Chris an e-mail if you would like to help.  It is always great if we know that you are coming to help.  CONFIRMANDS you will be able to cont this time toward community service.

this is a great way to serve and have fun.

During lent we are studying a book written by Mark Batterson, the lead pastor at National Community Church in DC, called Primal.  It is a really great book that calls us back to the heart of our faith.

During our trim to Disney everyone seemed to see the good in the guests (due to great job training).  It is in the Disney DNA to make everyone feel as special as they are.  Everyone from the stroller rental people to the dining staff addressed Eden as “little princess” and some commented her hair was the same color as Ariel.  It was great and we all felt like this was a place we could live forever because we felt like we belonged.

Time and time again we have young people (but everyone really) that are longing to be loved and to have a place.  When we were still in the planning stages of this series I began to look at ways that I could search out the Beauty in some of the Beast situations that i have faces through the student ministry and the church in general.  I am astonished what you can find in people’s hearts when you intentionally search out the good rather than when you are quick to see the differences or negative.

Reflect:

What are some areas where you need to search out the Beauty?

How can you let others know that they are special? (a kind word, a note or e-mail, a special unexpected treat…)

this week let at least 2 unlikely people know that you care and they are special.

With this in mind, when I came across an analogy about how God is like the umbrella of our lives i gave it another read.  The book talked about how we need to have God covering all the other things and areas in our lives rather than being just another piece of the puzzle that makes us who we are.

This in itself might not seem like it is too Earth shaking.  I have heard that God needs to be in everything a ton of times and I have preached it 1,000 times too.  I have always had this image of God being the foundation that everything rests on (which I still hold to be true).  But, I think that we need a “God Umbrella” too.  We might not notice it when things are going well and school, sports, dance and work are fine, however when it starts to rain we can enjoy the drops around us without feeling like we are drowning in the storms of life.  With God covering us we can see through the storms because the rain isn’t dripping into our eyes and we will not loose hope in the middle of adversity because we know God is surrounding us if we have a firm foundation and covering of God.

When have you felt like God was covering your or protecting you?

The vision is to post about the upcoming weekend, worship services, special events, service opportunities and fun stuff.  Also this may be a place for some questions and polls once and a while.  check us out.

Our name is LFYouth and you can search us on twitter.com or just click on the link below:

Regardless of that, I saw the importance of coming up with good questions so that you could weed out the losers from the winner.  I think the importance is true with youth ministry as well.  We need to be able to ask great questions and follow-up questions to get at the heart of who our kids are.

I have tried to come up with some of my thoughts about asking questions, but i would like to hear yours too.  I know that I am very bad at this and so it has taken some work and effort to get to the place where I am.  Here is my brain dump of question asking:

1. Start slow: Start off with something easy.  Ask for some information about a student that isn’t really taxing and so you can get an idea of where they are located in life.
2. Open a Door: Ask open ended questions where there is no “yes” or “no” answer.  This will make them think and give you something else to talk about.
3. Care by listening: Allow the conversation to build on what they have already talked about.  Don’t just ask your questions without thinking about what the students are saying.  Asking follow-up questions will show that you are listening and that you do care.  Having an adult really listen is something that many students lack in their lives and is meaningful.
4. Repeat: Check back in with them the following week about something that they shared with you (a sporting event, test, birthday…).  I have to write these things down or I forget.  But, it is always cool when people remember what is important to you from week to week.

What are some other ways you have found to ask great questions?

Chris Bishop | Adventures of a pastor sorting out this conspiracy of grace

The youth of Middletown United Methodist Church held a Homeless for a Night event on Dec. 5-6 to raise awareness of homelessness and hunger not only in the surrounding communities, but across the United States.  Approximately 82 children in Middletown live under the poverty level, 1,140 people in Frederick County face homelessness every year, and nationwide as many as 3.5 million people experience being homeless.

After being confronted with these hard facts the youth of MUMC challenged their congregation to make an impact in regards to this immense issue. They started the event off with a door-to-door canned food collection asking for items that were in great need by the Middletown Food Bank.  The youth were able to collect over 650 canned food and personal care items.

For dinner they traded in their usual pizza and soda, for a simpler diet of rice and beans, which is very similar to what two-thirds of the world eats on a daily basis.  Members of their congregation came to share their own personal testimonies of their experiences with homelessness and hunger.  The members shared their eye opening experiences of being out on the streets, stereotyped, cold, hungry, and worst of all lonely and empty.

“(I think) the worst part is the treatment they receive and the emotional pain from knowing that no one wants you- your family, your friends, no one,” said member of MUMC youth group Sayre Posey.

The youth then broke into groups, and each group was given five-dollars to purchase healthy food to feed a family of four for one day.  They then realized just how difficult it is to feed a family a healthy meal on such a limited budget.

” It made me realize how quickly you can spend 5 dollars and not even have a full meal, which made shopping really hard,” said MUMC youth group member Meagan Parker.

The whole MUMC congregation raised five-hundred-sixty-dollars to be donated towards heating homes in the local area, packed 142 shoeboxes with Christmas presents for children around the world, and given gifts to men at the Frederick Rescue Mission.

The youth along with their congregation aren’t stopping now. They made plans to continue to raise awareness and be in ministry to the homeless and hungry community.

Join us in the fight against hunger and homelessness.

We are raising awareness by becoming homeless for the evening of December 5th-6th.  We will be meeting at church at 2pm on Saturday December 5th. Our time together will end after church on Sunday morning.

Throughout the afternoon we will be collecting food items for food banks from local neighborhoods, helping lead worship Saturday evening and Sunday morning.  We will also have a time for a panel discussion and video on hunger hand homelessness from some of our church members with first hand experience. Our diet will consist of the bare essentials of rice and beans and oatmeal.

This event is open to the whole congregation.  If you would like to participate please let us know. Chris@lifeforceyouth.com

Here is some more information and a permission form for our youth.  Permisison form

Homeless for a night from Chris Bishop on Vimeo.