Give me your requests for new Accountability Siblings on Facebook:
Hello Youth of Highland Christian Church!
Well its about time for you to get new (or keep) Accountability Siblings. We will be changing A&E up a little so that it will be easier for everyone to follow the program. (I know everyone gave up on it last time). What you will be doing with your Accountability Sibling will be following the youth group lesson track and it will grow you deeper in Christ.
So with no further Delay, please start telling me who you would want to be Accountability Siblings with (at least 2 person requests). Last time I pretty much just assigned you. But this time I want to put you with someone you would actually be a brother or sister to, so I want to know you're requests. If you feel comfortable then post your minimum 2 person request here on the discussion board, or if you would rather prefer you can message me privately your requests.
Just let me know by the end of July so I can get everything ready for Admonishers & Encouragers to begin in August/September.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Leadership Positions
Starting in September the Youth of Highland Christian Church will have six leaders that will meet weekly with the Youth Pastor.
These Six Leadership positions are: (in no particular order of importance)
1. Male Orientation Leader: Welcoming/Visiting/Eating with/Following up with male guests or new male members.
2. Female Orientation Leader: Welcoming/Visiting/Eating with/Following up with female guests or female new members.
3. Web Leader: Administer of Facebook Group (sending group wide messages, inviting new people, uploading pictures, and updating current news or events), Administering the Youth website (youthathcc.blogspot.com), and taking pictures.
4. Outreach Leader: Main flyer hander outer, Designer of flyers & posters (The youth artist), Works with orientation leaders in following up, idea machine, and finds new ways to reach peers in the Highland area.
5. Highlanders' Leader: The youth group's main go to person after Andy, works media at youth group, prays/opens youth group, runs the game, and helps Andy at Youth Group.
6. Higherland's Leader: The College age group's main go to person after Andy, works media at meeting, prays/opens meeting, runs the game, and helps Andy at the meeting.
If you are interested in serving in one of these capacities for a year then please contact Andy on Facebook through a message or the discussion board on the youth's Group.
These Six Leadership positions are: (in no particular order of importance)
1. Male Orientation Leader: Welcoming/Visiting/Eating with/Following up with male guests or new male members.
2. Female Orientation Leader: Welcoming/Visiting/Eating with/Following up with female guests or female new members.
3. Web Leader: Administer of Facebook Group (sending group wide messages, inviting new people, uploading pictures, and updating current news or events), Administering the Youth website (youthathcc.blogspot.com), and taking pictures.
4. Outreach Leader: Main flyer hander outer, Designer of flyers & posters (The youth artist), Works with orientation leaders in following up, idea machine, and finds new ways to reach peers in the Highland area.
5. Highlanders' Leader: The youth group's main go to person after Andy, works media at youth group, prays/opens youth group, runs the game, and helps Andy at Youth Group.
6. Higherland's Leader: The College age group's main go to person after Andy, works media at meeting, prays/opens meeting, runs the game, and helps Andy at the meeting.
If you are interested in serving in one of these capacities for a year then please contact Andy on Facebook through a message or the discussion board on the youth's Group.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Youth Pastor Blogging
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to add a personal touch to our youth group blog everyone once and a while so here is a chance. However, with how much all of you have impacted my life most of what may be "personal" for me - may very well involve yourselves too!
What I want to just touch on for a moment is the topic of lessons that I will be giving at camp this summer. Both the High Schoolers and the Middle Schoolers will get a chance to hear them for their respective camp weeks. Basically I have titled them "No Regrets," which means that as Christians our lifestyles and choices should give us no sense of regret because we know that we tried our hardest to serve, love, obey, and/or trust in him as much as we were capable of. Obviously this can cover many areas and because of this we will be looking through different stories in the Bible that we encounter either regret or anti-regret. For an example, Isaiah was the only prophet that volunteered to be a prophet - but he immediately regretted it (And we'll see why). That is actually the first lesson. I hope these lessons will help you open your minds to the possibilities God can use you with if you let your potential be more than just potential.
So go to camp. If you think you can't afford it - think again and come talk to me about it. If you have an excuse then keep it to yourself, because it's probably lame and I don't want to hear it.
June 20th will mark the 1 year anniversary of my service at this church (If you don't include last year's VBS). Highland Christian Church decided to hire their first youth minister since the early 90's. And now after an awesome year of ministry I can firmly say that the christian youth of Highland is back! I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of you (teens and adults) and I just want to thank you for this chance to serve the Lord. Now with that said, let's keep the future in mind. I have at least 2 more years to go, the core of the youth group next year are going to be seniors, we have more middle school attenders than ever before, and only a little more awareness of our existence to the community. Let's take a closer look at these four things.
These four things are what I want you all to be chewing on, as I will be, while I am gone on my internship for 5 weeks in July. The first is that I promised the Elders of this church that I would serve the Lord here as a minimum until I graduate in May 2011 or if they asked me to leave. Neither of those two things are happening for a while, hopefully the 2nd will never happen. My point is that I will be getting better at my work which means that if a punk like me is getting better you youth better be getting better for the Lord too. Meaning step out more as a christian, invite possible christian friends to youth group, volunteer to help more when it is needed, be willing to pull alongside your younger brothers and sisters in Christ to help them grow in their Christian maturity. However, all this means is that I will eventually be leaving. Maybe 2011, maybe even 2012 - But I will be leaving sooner than everyone will know. That is why beginning next year I am going to allow interns from the Christian college (who actually go there for youth ministry and not preaching ministry) to let them become familiar with you and hopefully do more than just replace me when the church has to grow past my limited abilities. I am letting you know this because I don't want to keep anything major like this from you.
Next, the core of the youth group next year are going to be Seniors. This has one huge Pro, one huge Con, and one huge possible solution. The Huge Pro is that our youth group will be kicking next year. Everything we do will more than likely be better, more well attended, better done, and more deeper in the Word. However, the huge con is that after next year our core will be gone and the youth group could end up just loosely together. That is unless we do something about it. There is a huge solution and it involves the Core very heavily. Remember what the third thing was, we have a lot more middle schoolers and freshmen this year either at the youth group or interested. Meaning we must make sure the Seniors pull up the younger teens and train them as Christian young adults so that they will be ahead of the game. That is why I also bring up the third thing because all of you middle schooler and young high schoolers --- you need to start preparing yourself for greater things God has in store for you in the very near future. And seniors next year be prepared yourself, because not only will you be part of the most crack-a-lacking youth group around, you also hold its future in your hands.
Last but not least, is our community's awareness of our existence. We have to get it out there more. Some know of us, but not enough. And not only should more of your peers now about us, more of them should be invited or at least welcomed if they show up by their own free will. I haven't been very impressed in this area, but that's okay we still have time to work on it together. We have a Community College in this town which we must recognize, after all Highland probably wouldn't be in as good of shape it is right now without it. That is why starting in September we are starting Higher Land that is a ministry specifically for College Age Young Adults. Seniors of High School will be the first members of this group and will be the first outreach team with me as the leader to the college itself. This is our community outreach on the west side of town. On the East side of town we will have an outreach team set up for the High School. There will be three Senior Leaders (Guy, Gal, and Head Leader) and then various High Schoolers from the Youth Group that will be part of a system to reach out to christians and maybe soon to be christians at D-West that don't have a youth group to be a part of. This is going to be big and is important for everyone to be part of, from the oldest to the youngest.
I hope you all think about these things more, because they are impossible to get out of my head or off my heart right now. I want to serve God with everything I have got here in Highland, KS - I just ask that you try the same.
For you teenagers who are still finding yourself as Christians amidst this broken generation I have a few things I'd like to mention to you that I really wish someone had told me during one of my many boring summers. Following Christ isn't just a religion or a title, it is literally taking a precedent before anything in your life (family, friends, video games, cell phones, money, and everything). Do not remember what I just said merely as just a fact and store it away some where in the back of your skull. Rather remember it as a way to live, your mind set, your perspective on life, and as your world view. That God comes before all else, his love for us is above all else, Him and those who love and put him first will last after all else. If you don't believe AND practice this type of life and have no interest in putting God before all the 'stuff' of the World than go away. God can use/reach the lost and the found, but if you don't admit to being either then he doesn't want anything to do with you. (Rev 3:15-16). I am not singling anyone out except for as a reminder to myself and as a general message/reminder to the whole youth group and our whole congregation here in highland.
I pray for each of you that have a hand in this youth group. May God Bless You! But if he doesn't - buck up and continue following and living for him, don't let the World restrain you from doing your best even if you aren't in the best situation.
Shalom in da Home,
Andy Gibbons
Youth Minister
Highland Christian Church
I wanted to add a personal touch to our youth group blog everyone once and a while so here is a chance. However, with how much all of you have impacted my life most of what may be "personal" for me - may very well involve yourselves too!
What I want to just touch on for a moment is the topic of lessons that I will be giving at camp this summer. Both the High Schoolers and the Middle Schoolers will get a chance to hear them for their respective camp weeks. Basically I have titled them "No Regrets," which means that as Christians our lifestyles and choices should give us no sense of regret because we know that we tried our hardest to serve, love, obey, and/or trust in him as much as we were capable of. Obviously this can cover many areas and because of this we will be looking through different stories in the Bible that we encounter either regret or anti-regret. For an example, Isaiah was the only prophet that volunteered to be a prophet - but he immediately regretted it (And we'll see why). That is actually the first lesson. I hope these lessons will help you open your minds to the possibilities God can use you with if you let your potential be more than just potential.
So go to camp. If you think you can't afford it - think again and come talk to me about it. If you have an excuse then keep it to yourself, because it's probably lame and I don't want to hear it.
June 20th will mark the 1 year anniversary of my service at this church (If you don't include last year's VBS). Highland Christian Church decided to hire their first youth minister since the early 90's. And now after an awesome year of ministry I can firmly say that the christian youth of Highland is back! I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of you (teens and adults) and I just want to thank you for this chance to serve the Lord. Now with that said, let's keep the future in mind. I have at least 2 more years to go, the core of the youth group next year are going to be seniors, we have more middle school attenders than ever before, and only a little more awareness of our existence to the community. Let's take a closer look at these four things.
These four things are what I want you all to be chewing on, as I will be, while I am gone on my internship for 5 weeks in July. The first is that I promised the Elders of this church that I would serve the Lord here as a minimum until I graduate in May 2011 or if they asked me to leave. Neither of those two things are happening for a while, hopefully the 2nd will never happen. My point is that I will be getting better at my work which means that if a punk like me is getting better you youth better be getting better for the Lord too. Meaning step out more as a christian, invite possible christian friends to youth group, volunteer to help more when it is needed, be willing to pull alongside your younger brothers and sisters in Christ to help them grow in their Christian maturity. However, all this means is that I will eventually be leaving. Maybe 2011, maybe even 2012 - But I will be leaving sooner than everyone will know. That is why beginning next year I am going to allow interns from the Christian college (who actually go there for youth ministry and not preaching ministry) to let them become familiar with you and hopefully do more than just replace me when the church has to grow past my limited abilities. I am letting you know this because I don't want to keep anything major like this from you.
Next, the core of the youth group next year are going to be Seniors. This has one huge Pro, one huge Con, and one huge possible solution. The Huge Pro is that our youth group will be kicking next year. Everything we do will more than likely be better, more well attended, better done, and more deeper in the Word. However, the huge con is that after next year our core will be gone and the youth group could end up just loosely together. That is unless we do something about it. There is a huge solution and it involves the Core very heavily. Remember what the third thing was, we have a lot more middle schoolers and freshmen this year either at the youth group or interested. Meaning we must make sure the Seniors pull up the younger teens and train them as Christian young adults so that they will be ahead of the game. That is why I also bring up the third thing because all of you middle schooler and young high schoolers --- you need to start preparing yourself for greater things God has in store for you in the very near future. And seniors next year be prepared yourself, because not only will you be part of the most crack-a-lacking youth group around, you also hold its future in your hands.
Last but not least, is our community's awareness of our existence. We have to get it out there more. Some know of us, but not enough. And not only should more of your peers now about us, more of them should be invited or at least welcomed if they show up by their own free will. I haven't been very impressed in this area, but that's okay we still have time to work on it together. We have a Community College in this town which we must recognize, after all Highland probably wouldn't be in as good of shape it is right now without it. That is why starting in September we are starting Higher Land that is a ministry specifically for College Age Young Adults. Seniors of High School will be the first members of this group and will be the first outreach team with me as the leader to the college itself. This is our community outreach on the west side of town. On the East side of town we will have an outreach team set up for the High School. There will be three Senior Leaders (Guy, Gal, and Head Leader) and then various High Schoolers from the Youth Group that will be part of a system to reach out to christians and maybe soon to be christians at D-West that don't have a youth group to be a part of. This is going to be big and is important for everyone to be part of, from the oldest to the youngest.
I hope you all think about these things more, because they are impossible to get out of my head or off my heart right now. I want to serve God with everything I have got here in Highland, KS - I just ask that you try the same.
For you teenagers who are still finding yourself as Christians amidst this broken generation I have a few things I'd like to mention to you that I really wish someone had told me during one of my many boring summers. Following Christ isn't just a religion or a title, it is literally taking a precedent before anything in your life (family, friends, video games, cell phones, money, and everything). Do not remember what I just said merely as just a fact and store it away some where in the back of your skull. Rather remember it as a way to live, your mind set, your perspective on life, and as your world view. That God comes before all else, his love for us is above all else, Him and those who love and put him first will last after all else. If you don't believe AND practice this type of life and have no interest in putting God before all the 'stuff' of the World than go away. God can use/reach the lost and the found, but if you don't admit to being either then he doesn't want anything to do with you. (Rev 3:15-16). I am not singling anyone out except for as a reminder to myself and as a general message/reminder to the whole youth group and our whole congregation here in highland.
I pray for each of you that have a hand in this youth group. May God Bless You! But if he doesn't - buck up and continue following and living for him, don't let the World restrain you from doing your best even if you aren't in the best situation.
Shalom in da Home,
Andy Gibbons
Youth Minister
Highland Christian Church
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