Crossroads Student Ministry (Momentum)

Still Here

2009-03-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, we have been trying to keep up to date with the changing culture. As a result this blog has dropped by the way side. That is not an excuse, so we will keep this going. If you do read this please let me know, so we know who is reading it.

We have been using Facebook more often, and if you would like to get invited to our youth facebook page, let us know.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=feed&id=618425163#/group.php?gid=4878033324

Upcoming things:

Baptism is coming up March 28,29. Want to get baptized please let me know.

Route 56 (5-6 grade):
New series coming up this week: "He's the Man!" taking a look at Jesus, his actions and his life.

24 hours is our retreat in which students will go away for 24 hours to hear about God, be challenged, and have a great time bonding and supporting one another. The date is April 3-4 from 5:00pm at the church to 5:00pm returning to the church.

Revolution (7-8 grade):
New series coming up this week - "Hot Topics!" allowing the students to pick real life topics they want to hear about and what the Bible says about them.

Lake Champion - April 19-21 - make sure you get your information in and get ready to have a weekend of fun and excitement.

High School (9-12 grade):
Just finished a powerful series with the High School, in which students and adults talked about real life issues with real life stories. The four topics were: Abuse, Lust, Parents, and Self Destructive Behaviors. We will be wrapping this series up with a synopsis this coming week. March 10.

Project Serve is March 16 - where our small groups will be reaching out into the community to serve.

Mexico - Ensenada 09
Applications due March 17
First training day is April 5, Sunday night - from 6-8pm here at the church.

Let us know your thoughts and comments.
Nathan

New School year

2008-09-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, a new school year has begun. Our children headed back to school and reconnected with friends they haven’t seen all summer.

I was challenged over this summer to take a hard look at the past 40 years of my life, and noticed that there are stopping points along the way that challenged me on my “Journey.”

7 When my mom and I prayed to ask Jesus into my life.

13 When I found out my hip was broken, and spent a year on crutches

22 The summer internship that changed my future from missions to teens

23 Met my future wife and knew she was the one for me

28 The birth of my first child, my daughter

34 Birth of my son

38 My mom passed away

40 Recommitment to youth ministry

My journey has been full of positives and negatives, happy times and sad, but I can look back and see how God has helped me through those times and helped my faith grow.

My prayer and goal this year are to help students on their “journey.” I want to provide opportunities for them to grow from one point to the next.. To assist this goal Crossroads Student Ministries has made some changes.

Middle School:

This year we divided up our middle school and added the fifth graders into a new program called Route 56.

Route 56 (5^th – 6^th graders)

r Every Thursday night during the school year from 7:00-8:30 pm in the Great Room students have the opportunity to meet with creative teachers talking about life issues, creating opportunities for them to grow in their faith and relationships, and reaching their community. There are small groups, worship time, and a whole lot of fun.

r Every Sunday at our 9:00 and 10:30 am hours in room 203/204 – they will be taught by a group of gifted teachers about God’s word and how it relates to them. They are challenged to learn scripture and apply what they have learned to their everyday life.

Revolution (7^th – 8^th graders)

r Every Thursday night during the school year from 7:00-8:30 pm in the Chapel students have the opportunity to meet with creative teachers talking about life issues, creating opportunities for them to grow in their faith and relationships, and reaching their community. There are small groups, worship time, and a whole lot of fun.

r Saturday night from 6:00-7:00 pm in the Chapel there is a small group discussing scripture and taking an in-depth look at how it relates to their lives.

r Sunday at our 9:00 and 10:30 am hours in the Chapel students are taught by a group of gifted teachers about God’s word and how it relates to them. They are challenged to learn scripture and apply what they have learned to their everyday life.

High School (9^th – 12^th graders):

r Every Tuesday night during the school year from 7:00-9:00 pm students gather in the Chapel. This year we are dividing the groups by grades to be able to teach to them at their different levels of learning. 9^th and 10th grades will learn more of the basics of Christianity and their faith. 11th and 12th grades will be challenged to apply what they have learned and to make a difference in their community. All of this is done through small groups, teaching, and a time of worship. My goal is to help these students be prepared for when they graduate, so that they will have the tools they need to make it and be successful with a solid faith in what they know and fall in love with God.

Ultimately – On their journey, we want to prepare them with a sustainable faith that will last a lifetime and especially whey they hit the years where they are out of the house and on their own.

Pray with me and our volunteers this year that our students can look back on this year as a growth point in their faith and person, see lives changed, people connected, and teenagers making a difference in their community and the world

Summary of Mexico Missions Trip

2008-07-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Things have settled down a little, now we are preparing for Middle School Camp. But before we leave Mexico behind us. I wanted to give you some pictures and some explanations to help you get a better picture of what we did.

Students helping young mexican girl color a picture

Some working, some getting sun, some getting others motivated.

Student painting the church wall

Working with the children during Vacation Bible School and making a necklace.

Building and lifting up a piece of the wall of the church.

The college team that built one house, enjoying an afternoon at the beach.

Signing their names on the ridge beam of the Church. They also left notes, prayers, and blessings for those who worshiped under the roof of this building.

Spending time with the children of the community

College team working hard

Family we built one of the houses for.

Finished house and team that built it.

Church team that built a church.

Second finished house and the team that built it.

We finished, thank you for all your support, prayers, and guidance.

Tuesday Night and Wednesday

2008-07-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night was a God night.

Wow, I can't even describe what happened to our students and leaders. The student and college worship team did an amazing job of drawing us into worship. This was followed by a Spirit led talk by Steve Mayer. God moved in a mighty way. Students were crying, adults were giving things to God, and getting right with themselves. The Holy Spirit descended on the place and changed hearts.

Wednesday at noon
We heard the testimony of the Pastor we are building the house for "Romano. " He talked about how God pulled him away from drugs, transporting illegal immigrants and changing his life. Now he is passionate about God and what He will do in this community.

Please continue to pray for students and adults as we wind down. Also pray hard Thursday night (9:00 pm - 12:00 pm your time) as we ask the students to take a huge step of faith.

Thank you for your prayers. God is moving in a mighty way.

College team working on the dry walls

Lifting the center beam of the Church building

Rachel working along side two girls putting sheeting together

More updates to follow

Monday and Tuesday in Ensenada

2008-07-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

As I watched the teens interacting with the children and families on the sight, I was awed at the interaction and love shown from our students and the children. God has been doing exciting things with the families, and the people in this area. I hope that the momentum will continue and grow even more.

First day:

Time to put up the walls and get out the hammers. All the students had opportunities to swing hammers, use power tools and much more.

Second day:

More walls, painting the sides, and cutting out the windows happened today. The college team was excited as they laid the roof and had a opportunity to get shade in the house.

Sunday - Day of rest

2008-06-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

Today is a bright and beautiful day down here in Ensenada, Mexico. It is also the day of rest "Sabbath" so we are giving the students a day to relax and get spiritually prepared for the week ahead.

In the morning our team split into two groups and headed to two different worship services. Pastor Matt had an opportunity to preach and the team enjoyed the service in the location of the church we will be building. The other team visited a church that was just finished the final floor this past spring, and had an opportunity to worship with excitement and energy.

Afternoon at around 4:00 we split the teams up into two groups again and visited two other churches, both beautiful in their own way.

In the evening many students commented on they were able to worship in different languages and had an opportunity to see another culture worship in their own setting.

Please pray for:
1. Everyone is healthy, keep praying for the students and leaders as the days go on.
2. Students spirits are high, excited, and full of energy, waiting for the work and ministry to begin.
3. Pray for safety on the work site.

Please pass this on to all who are would like to know what is happening, that are supporting, and are excited about allowing God to make a difference in the next generation.

Prep for Mexico

2008-06-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

Well we are almost ready for our trip to Ensenada Mexico. Please be praying for us as we take 55 students, college students, and adults down into Ensenada Mexico.

We will be building two homes for families who are currently living under tents, and also a Church which will hold about 100 people. They are currently having meetings in a neighbor's back yard.

Also we will have a chance to hold two vacation bible school days with the children of this community, and do a community wide outreach event for this valley.

Another exciting opportunity is to go into the city of Ensenada and clean up the parks, pass out food, witness, teach english, and help the "city" church.

Please keep this blog for your reference as we will be sending daily updates with pictures, information, and prayer requests.

Specific prayers:

Saturday - June 28 - Travel, safety as we cross the border, settling in, and culture shock

Sunday - June 29 - Visiting local churches, and sharing our testimony with them

Monday - June 30 - Begin construction - safety, rest, motivation, and focus

Tuesday - July 1 - Construction, Vacation Bible School - teaching children about God.

Wednesday - July 2 - Construction safety as we put up the roof, Community outreach - as we play games, interact with families, and share our faith.

Thursday - July 3 - Construction, Vacation Bible School - teaching children about God

Friday - July 4 - Construction rap up, Packing up, safety as we head back across the border.

Saturday - July 5 - pray as students start to come back into the US culture, and start the debriefing process.

Sunday - July 6 - Safety as we travel back to New Jersey.

Parent update for June

2008-06-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

Parents:

Summer is almost here and there are many events coming up. If you were unable to attend the monthly parent meetings last week, please take this opportunity to learn more of what is happening in Crossroads Student Ministries.

For Everyone:

“Open House Sunday” - June 15 , 22, and July 20 12:00 pm in rooms 203/204
Each meeting is identical where we have an opportunity to discuss this coming Fall and the student program. Over the past couple of months I have been challenged to take a hard look at our youth program and ask myself the question, What is it going take for us to ‘take the next step’ in youth ministry. I spent a few days away at a Student Ministries Conference with some volunteers, parents, and key leaders. We heard about the future of youth ministry throughout the country. I would like to share some of those insights. that God has placed on my heart concerning our students here at Princeton Alliance Church and the surrounding area. Let’s sit down, talk through them and build a program together that can make a difference in this community.

May 27 & 28 in our current series on Tuesday and Wednesday nights we talked about how to choose the right friends and who of those friends will help us make it through the summer. This series is set up to help students be prepared for the summer challenges. We than conclude the year with a night of worship (June 3&4) and a night of celebration (June 10&11). We are already starting to promote the summer events and will mail information to you/your students within the next few weeks.

For those with a Middle School student:

Survivor Night – June 13th – Friday Night Lock-In
Middle Schoolers have the opportunity to spend an evening at the Barry Bonds Grand Slam for the whole night. The cost of $50 covers food, transportation, and use of the facility. Please go to http://www.princetonalliance.org/events/survivor for detailed information.

Pool Parties – July 9, 16, 23, and 30 - 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Our summer Middle School program consists of a Bible story, devotional and social time around a pool allowing the younger students a chance to connect to the older students.

Middle School Camp – August 4-8
There are FIVE great mornings of spiritual input, fun, energy, and great relationship building. Wednesday, August 6 we take all the students to Hurricane Harbor for a day of fun.

Beach Daze: - July 31, August 28 – 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Students and leaders spend a day at the beach. Fifteen ($15) covers transportation and their beach tag. Students must brown bag or bring additional money to cover the cost of their lunch.

For those with a High School student:

Ensenada 2008 – June 28-July 6
Our high school team will head to Ensenada, Mexico to help families in need by building, serving, and sharing their faith. Please pray for all the students who will be making a difference this summer.

Pool Parties – July 15, 22, 29, and August 12 – 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Our summer High School program consists of a Bible story, devotional and social time around a pool allowing the younger students a chance to connect to the older

Beach Daze: - July 31, August 28 – 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Students and leaders spend a day at the beach. Fifteen ($15) covers transportation and their beach tag. Students must brown bag or bring additional money to cover the cost of their lunch.

Please take a moment to pass this on to people who may not receive the update, and I welcome feedback on how I can continue to inform you about Crossroads Student Ministries.

Baptisms

2008-04-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

We had 6 students from our student ministry go forward over the weekend to be baptized! All impromptu! It was very exciting to see how God worked in both our middle school and high school at our weekend worship services. It always is a joy to see people say I will follow Jesus and get dunked to prove it. We are looking forward to more times such as these.

In total the church had 32 baptisms in one weekend and 27 of them were impromptu. The noon service saw 13 impromptu and 14 total. God really moved in our weekend service!

Tax week update, April 15

2008-04-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

I (Nathan) two weeks ago, spent a few days looking at one of the larger churches in the country and their youth ministry. I was excited, challenged, and intrigued by what they do. Excited, because we are on the right track with our ministry and love for students. Challenged, because we could be doing so much more. Intrigued, because youth ministry is moving to a new era, and that era is more focused on coming alongside students one by one. It has always been about relationships, but now it is moving even more toward that focus. One of our goals was to have a 3 to 1 ratio of adults and students, now we may be looking at 1 to 1 ratio.

This past week, 15th and 16th, we held our first two parent meetings. For those of you who couldn't attend we talked about upcoming events, the plans for the summer, and also a look at the fall program. I plan to hold these meetings once a month to get your input, feedback, and also to look at the future. I hope that you will take the time to join with me and other parents.

Next weekend is our Middle School Lake Champion retreat. If your child has not yet signed up, please let us know asap, there still are some spots, but time is running short.

New parent update to follow next week

Week of Fools

2008-04-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

We had what really amounted to a kick off of spring this week. For both Middle School and High School we grilled out, had outdoor games set up such as frisbee and wiffle ball, and we played let's make a deal. We creatively tied in April Fools by gathering boxes that used to have toys such as XBOX 360s, PS3's, and Wii's. But really there were small dollar store prizes and some gift certificates in them. It was fun.

The purpose of this past week was to build relationships. We wanted our students to bring their friends which they did. We had around 100 students attend each night and many of them new students. What an awesome time to connect students to our programs and followers of Jesus. Now we are working with the students that brought their friends to keep coming back. Pray that we end the year strong and can follow up well with these students.

Today

2008-04-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Is Bev's Birthday!!!!! Happy Birthday Beverly! You are awesome.

May your day be filled with Purple!

Parent Update (April)

2008-03-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone:
We are adding a monthly parent meeting starting in April on the third week of the month after the evening program (Tuesday/Wednesday). The purpose for this meeting is to provide you with the information you need as we partner together in giving your student spiritual guidance. These meetings are also a time for us to get your support in prayer and encouragement. So the meetings for April are as follows:

High School Parents Tuesday, April 15th 9:00-9:30 pm
Middle School Parents Wednesday, April 16th 8:30-9:00 pm

All meetings are in the Chapel and will be limited to 30-minutes. Remember, this is a time for you to hear about things coming up, our dreams, to ask questions, to give feedback, and to be a part of our student ministry as we move into the future.

Middle School:

Encounter: Middle School Worship Service
Over the next 6 weeks, the students will be learning about the book of James. We are creatively sharing truths that the students can use as they continue to understand what it means to be a Christ follower. Topics include pushing forward in Jesus, dealing with pride and prejudice, turning our faith into action, being authentic in the community, choosing wisely, and the “wages” of wealth.

Revolution: Middle School Mid-Week program (Wednesday 7:00-8:30pm)
Recently in our hot topic series, students learned about drinking and drugs, gossip, peer pressure, relationships with parents, and self-image. Future discussions cover absolute truth, how to connect with God, sharing their faith, staying pure, and you’re never too far from God.

If you have a skateboarder in your family, we are asking them to have a medical waiver signed by you, and commit to wearing their helmets when they are on the property. Please help us as we strive to provide a safe and protected environment for your student. That document is attached for your completion. If you have problems downloading, please go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html to get Adobe Reader.

Middle School save the dates:
April 2 - MS April Fools Night
This night is a great night for students to come and get connected in an informal way to the program.

April 25-27 - MS Lake Champion Retreat
We still have spots open. Please go to http://www.princetonalliance.org/events/lakechampion/ for detailed information on this exciting weekend.

MS Survivor Night - June 13
More information on this all night lock in to follow. The event is from 10:00 pm – 6:00 am.

MS Camp – August 4-8

High School:

Weekend Worship:
Our current series called “Awaken” is a great series for students to be challenged in all aspects of their lives. As a church, we are looking at individuals in the Bible that dramatically had their lives turned around for God. Please encourage your student to sit with you or their friends in the sanctuary to hear the message and worship with the congregation as a whole.

During the 10:30 am service, starting April 13 high school students have the opportunity to participate in our second bible study. In this 6-week study, students will learn more on the book “Velvet Elvis” written by Rob Bell that discusses knowing for sure what you believe in and defending it. There is a $15 charge for the book if the student wants to keep it. We will have a few on hand that students can share.

Extreme – High School Mid-Week program (Tuesday 7:00-9:00 pm)
Recently in our hot topic series students discussed how to connect with God, drinking and drugs, peer pressure, relationships with parents, and self-image. Topics remaining are gossip, sharing their faith, absolute truth, staying pure, and you’re never too far from God.

Important Dates:
HS April Fools Night – April 1
This night is a great night for students to come and get connected in an informal way to other teens and the program.

April 22 - Cut off for students to attend our summer missions trip to Ensenada, Mexico
Please talk to your teen if they are interested in going. This trip will require some preparation for those who want to attend, and it is crucial that we know who we have going before the end of April.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

March 7th PAC-IN

2008-03-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with our students at the all-nighter. 20 percent of the students that showed up had never been to any of our programs before. Those students were able to hear testimony from 5 of our students and 3 of our adults during the night about what God means to them. Matt closed it off by reading from Luke and the calling of the disciples. He shared about how God is calling all of us to follow him either for the first time or more deeply if we already know him. He also talked about about God speaks our language. He called the disciples using fishing terms but he will call you using terms that you understand.

The students had a great night playing lazer tag, batting cages, basketball, volleyball, soccer, dodgeball, easter egg hunt, adventure maze, and video games. We made it out with only a couple of injuries the most significant being Pastor Matt who sprained his ankle pretty bad playing basketball with students.

Thanks for those of you who prayed for this event. We were definitely encouraged that seeds were planted with students who do not know God. We have all recovered from the lack of sleep and are ready to continue to pursue bringing students to know Jesus!

March 4 & 5

2008-03-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

It is a great time to be involved with our students, I am excited about what God is going to do and is currently doing

Middle School: (March 5)
Our series on "Hot Topics" has been a huge hit for the Middle School students, this week they chose the topic of peer pressure. Brian Mumau opened up with a taste test between Pepsi and Coke, trying to get them to be pressured into picking one over the other. A lot of good questions were asked like; how can i help my friends who struggle with peer pressure? How can i overcome it? What can I do to say no when I get pressured? I hope that you will all get a chance to encourage your children, or the students you are connected too, to be willing to either produce positive peer pressure or avoid negative peer pressure. We tied it into two verses in the Bible - 2 Timothy 2:22, and Proverbs 27:17 - which talk about being accountable, and helping your friends when you see them heading down the wrong path.

Next week is the cut off for the Lake Champion early bird cost.

High School: (March 4)
Our second week of picking topics that evening resulted in the topic of "self image/internal peace" Nathan opened up with using a fruit called a Pomelo - which has an citrus outside and a sweet fruit on the inside. God isn't worried about our outside because he knows whats on the inside. If we are happy with how God has created something special on the inside, than it will show through the outside. Going into a great time of questions that were answered by Ted Wesson, Dan Knapp, Kelly Murphy, and Nathan. Questions like: Does what you wear define you?How can I help others who struggle with this? How do you give yourself internal peace if you are stressed beyond belief? I don't like the way I look, how can i deal with that? How can I have so much confidence in God and none in myself? And a bunch more questions. As we walked through some of those, we heard from Dan who talked about his personal experience growing up in High School in which he had a negative self image, and that played out in how he treated his mom, and friends. Again, this series has been incredible, and very powerful. We are currently working on recording each evening, and than putting them on a C.D. in which students/parents/others can take them and listen when they are getting discouraged or struggling with one of the issues.

Summer Missions trip - we had our information meeting this past Sunday, if you missed it please get in contact with Beverly and she can get you all the info needed. We are limited in how many we can take, so the sooner the applications and deposits are in, the better chance they have of attending.

February 26 and 27

2008-02-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

This week was a great week of youth ministry.

High School recap: The students came. They voted. The topic was "Relationship with Parents". It was close to Self-Image in the voting so that is looking like it may be the topic for next week. Ted Wesson took the lead on the discussion. It was a good night as we learned what parents are thinking and gave some good insight to students on how to honor their parents in a biblical way. The students asked many good questions that were answered. We recorded the discussion so if you would like a copy let us know.

Middle School recap: The topic voted for was Alcohol and drugs. Brian Mumau led the discussion on this topic. Pastor Matt joined him to answer questions from the students that were very good. The question asked the most was why is that stuff so bad. We talked about how your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit as well as how Paul tells us in Ephesians to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jocelyn Nordstrom gave her testimony about the consequences of using Alcohol and drugs improperly. The students had good discussions about this topic in their small groups as well.

This series is off to a great start. We are looking forward to seeing students lives changed.

Parent update (March)

2008-02-25T12:41:00.001-08:00

Listed below are sections containing information specific to Middle School and High School students. Read it all or just the section that best fits you and your family.

Middle School:

Encounter: Our Middle School Worship Service:
During February and March, we continue looking at key characteristics of Jesus. Two weeks ago we looked at Jesus the comforter, this past week was about Jesus the servant, and the upcoming weeks before Easter we will touch on Jesus the Provider, Savior, and Forgiver.

Revolution: Our Mid-Week Program (Wednesdays 7:00 – 8:30 pm)
Last week we started a new series on Hot Topics. This series will be very interactive because students may ask questions to a panel of pastors that will respond giving the topics a practical and most importantly, a biblical view.

The topics we plan to cover are purity, self-image, drugs and alcohol, relationships with parents, sharing your faith, gossip, building a relationship with Jesus, peer pressure; you're never too far from God despite mistakes, and Absolute Truth.

Save the Dates:
Ms Lake Champion Retreat April 25-27
MS Survivor Night June 13
MS Camp August4-8

High School:

Weekend Worship
Our study on James has gone well. It will be completed this Sunday, March 2nd. Due to scheduling, we are asking that you spend the month of March enjoying the weekend worship together as a family. Starting in April, we will look at another short series to help the students transition.

Extreme – Our Mid-Week Program (Tuesdays 7:00 – 9:00 pm)
The high schoolers start their series on Hot Topics tomorrow. This series will be very interactive because students may ask questions to a panel of pastors that will respond giving the topics a practical and most importantly a biblical view.The topics we plan to cover are purity, self-image, drugs and alcohol, relationships with parents, sharing your faith, gossip, building a relationship with Jesus, peer pressure; you're never too far from God despite mistakes, and Absolute Truth.

Important Dates

Survivor Night (just High School) – March 7-8
If you have a high school student that is not connected, this event is a great way to help them find a friend, or even bring a friend. Please go to this link for detailed information:

http://www.princetonalliance.org/events/survivor/

HS Missions Trip Informational Meeting- (Sunday, March 2 12:30 -1:15 pm – Chapel)
This coming Sunday parents, potential goers, and anyone curious has the opportunity to take 30-45 minutes of your time to join us for questions, vision, and direction about the summer missions trip.

Recognition

2008-02-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

Would you do what you do if no one saw? What if no one saw you doing what you are doing and you never got a pat on the back would you still do it? What if you accomplished more in your school or workplace than anyone has ever done and no one said anything to you or about you how would you feel?

What if God asked you to go to a remote town and lead the town to relationship with him but he said no one would know who did it? Would you go? God may be calling you to do just that. It is pretty humbling to think about that. I have been wrestling with that lately because it is so easy to think that you should be given credit for this and that when really God should be the one getting all the credit.

New Series

2008-02-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

We are starting a new series this week on Hot Topics. This series will be very interactive as we will having students asking questions with a panel of pastors answering them and giving the topics a practical and most importantly a biblical view on the topics.

Topics we will be discussing are: purity, self image, drug and alcohol, relationships with parents, sharing your faith, gossip, building relationship with Jesus, peer pressure, you're never too far from God despite mistakes, and Absolute Truth.

If you have an ideas or questions you think we need to address in any of these topics please let us know.

Email: youth@princetonalliance.org

Or you can comment on the post

This Past Year

2008-02-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

OVERVIEW

This past year was amazing in Student Ministry here at PAC. We started the year with a series called "The Climb" where we looked at our Spiritual lives as a Journey. We talked for 5 weeks about the tools that you need for the climb. We looked at Bible Study, Prayer, Accountability, Scripture Memory and Involvement in the Church. This series really set the tone for where we headed after that. With that as our base we spent four weeks talking about relationships and purity in those relationship. We closed out the school year with hot topics such as different religions, how to deal with temptations such as alcohol, drugs, sex, cheating, and lying. We talked about how to respect our parents. For the last two weeks we had 2 of our graduating seniors share their heart to both the middle school and high school.

BY the NUMBERS

We had a year where we set many highs. Numbers are dangerous to focus on but they are a good way to measure if what you are doing is working. We are only going to look at the numbers that count: Relationships, Salvations, and Commitments to Ministry.

Knowing God

Middle School
We had attendance that remained steady despite a huge graduating 8th grade class the year before. We had one of our highest attendance's in years for our Middle School retreat. We saw 11 students except the Lord for the first time on this retreat. Praise God! We had solid biblical teaching on the weekends with Courtney McLaughlin teaching one hour and Pastor Matt teaching another hour. Each class was different with Courtney addressing key issues that students were going through from a biblical perspective. He took a survey at the beginning and got there thoughts on what they wanted to learn. Pastor Matt taught through the book of Acts in detail.

High School
We had our highest high school average attendance ever. We had the second largest group at the Life Conference over the summer and the largest to ever go from PAC. We had 45 commitments at the Life Conference which was almost 50% of the students that went. We had 8 students make first time commitments for Christ. We had 37 commit to full time ministry and 23 of those commit to becoming missionaries. It was an amazing conference. We saw students encountering God in new ways this past year. There were high school students who were healed emotionally, spiritually, and physically all because they trusted in the power of God.

Developing Community

Middle School
We saw our volunteer base grow not just in numbers but in there relationships with Students. Many volunteers took the extra time to take their students out for a coke, have them over to their house for a sleepover, and out to do something fun. All this was done to build relationships. Relationships are huge in middle school as students need to have a mentor in their life they can trust to share the tough issues and gain a biblical perspective. We saw many lives changed in small group times. We even had students laying hands on students and praying prayers of healing over each other. With our huge kids klub camp outreach during the summer we had our highest one day attendance ever with our week average one of the highest ever. We saw 65 total commitments with 15 of them being first time decisions for a relationship with Christ.

High School
We saw many one to one relationships develop between students and adult leaders. The adult leaders would many times be spending time with students outside of group to discuss serious issues that students were going through from a biblical perspective. We had about 70 high school students volunteer to help with Kids Klub Camp this past summer. We had a band fest for both middle school and high school where we had 250 students show up and the majority of the students were unchurched and they all heard the Gospel preached in a clear way.

Bring Hope into the World

Middle School
We started our first ever Middle School Leadership team and it was a huge success. We met once a month to discuss being a leader in your school and at home. We put a huge emphasis on spending time with God as well as serving and loving their neighbor. We closed the year out with a service project where we made sack lunches and handed them out at the Econo Lodge, which our church has adopted. As a large group we made care packages to be given out to homeless children in our area, college students, and troops in Iraq.

High School
At the Life Conference we saw our students give away jewelry, ipods, and lots of money for the mission work being done in Burkina Faso. We saw 6 students graduate and go to Bible School looking to become pastors and missionaries. This year we saw the start of a high school leadership team that has focused on leadership and the students spirituality. The leadership team went into Camden the week before Christmas to hand out Christmas gifts to the homeless. As a large group we made care packages to be given out to homeless children in our area, college students, and troops in Iraq.

This past year was a very successful year in student ministry. God was really at work in our midst. We are looking forward to what God has in store for us this year. I can't wait to see what he will do.

We are always looking for people to join the work that God is doing in Student Ministry. If you would like to be a part of this work please contact us: youth@princetonalliance.org

Ramblings

2008-02-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

I (Matt) have been doing some reading lately in Nehemiah. I have been studying what Nehemiah went through as a leader.

In Nehemiah 1:3-4 it says, "They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven."

As I read that I see and feel Nehemiah's brokenness. Nehemiah heard what was happening to his people and his heart broke. He wept before the Father. His heart was burdened for the people.

I look at the people around me and where their values are and my heart breaks. It has been freezing cold around here lately and I can't wait to get in doors when I am outside. Then I think about the people outside who can't get indoors because they are homeless. I think about the fire that happened in the apartment below me a couple of weeks ago and how we aren't able to live at home. I think about how we are staying at my in-laws and how many people have offered us a place to stay. What about those who have no home and no where to go? I am watching TV and complain that the TV isn't big enough or the picture is messed up. What about the people who have no money to even get a TV? I think about conversations I have had with people who feel like we should spend more money internally at the church rather than on helping to reach the lost and dying souls. Do we care about the people who don't know Jesus? I see churches acrossed America declining and less and less people are being reached for Christ. I see more and more pagan devices out there tempting people in materialism, greed, impurity, and immorality. DOES YOUR HEART BREAK FOR THESE THINGS? Jesus' heart is and he wants to use you and me. Will you let him?

First Entry

2008-02-12T11:00:00.001-08:00

This is the blog of Princeton Alliance Church's Student Ministry. On this site we will update you on what is happening in our student ministry. You will opportunity to respond and ask questions on this site by clicking on the comments box (you will need to set up your own account to do this) or you could just email us either Nathan (nkarcesky@princetonalliance.org) or Matt (mmurphy@princetonalliance.org).

As a youth ministry we are building momentum to bringing the unchurched to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as well as building the spiritual momentum of those students who already have a relationship with Jesus Christ.