big chill 2011 - UNSTOPPABLE

What an unbelievable weekend!  Ill start with that!  I am still processing all the things that went on, all the funny moments, the hysterical quotes, the powerful words, most of all the way GOD moved!   We left on Friday at 530pm to a retreat center in Mears, MI called Grace Adventures. Let me give you some of the highlights of the weekend, it wont do it justice but I don't have enough time to throw it all down.

Highlights:

• Justin Laib spoke at 3 of our sessions breaking down what being Unstoppable is all about:
• My Life is not Futile - Life has purpose (John 4)
• My Failures are not Fatal - past mistakes do not dictate our future (John 8)
• My Death is not Final - There is life through Jesus (John 11)
•  The Nate Drege Band led worship for us all weekend
• We had the priviledge of meeting them at Table Rock Lake where we went to camp that summer.  They have huge hearts for the hurting & the least of these.  I know that they are going to do some huge things in the future!  God has some big plans for them to make an impact for His kingdom!
• Putting others first is an ingredient in being unstoppable
• We had the opportunity to serve at the Muskegon Rescue Mission
• One group had the priviledge of going in and organizing and cleaning a thrift store & donation center for people in that area that needed affordable clothing and home furnishings.
• A large group was able to clean and prepare the rescue mission for a new womens shelter that was opening their doors to women without any place to go.   We cleaned, scrubbed, moved furniture, vacuumed & mopped to get things ready to be lived in.  This was something that would have taken the ladies working at the mission months and we were able to knock it out for them in an afternoon!
• We were able to be the rescue missions answer to their SUN STAND STILL Prayer...  2 months prior to us scheduling this they were praying for God to bring them people to help with all that needed done for the women that were going to be walking through the doors!! 
• There was snow - lots of snow
• Tubing Hill
• Snow ball fights
• broom ball
• the hike to the dunes (aka the crazy walk)
• did I mention snowball fights- I was ambushed quite often by both middle schoolers and high schoolers alike.  Id like to think I held my own however I did get pelted my fair share of times!
• why in the world did half the students wear shorts all weekend... sometimes you dont ask questions!
• Indoor Wonders
• OCTOBALL - great game that left a few students physically scarred because of their intensity
• Volleyball, Basketball & Dodgeball made an appearance
• The Rock Wall allowed students to master their fears, showcase their ability and look funny in a helmet and harness
• Cabins 
• this might have been where most of the action was... aside from being woke up every night by someone banging on our door or giving us the ole air horn at 4am the nights were full of poorly told jokes, flatulence and airsoft threats... Im sure it was the same over in the girls area! :)
• Grace Adventures
• what a great spot to get away and refocus on whats important
• facilities are great, the food was pretty good and there was hot chocolate at all hours of the day!!

5 students accepted Christ for the first time and many recommitted themselves to being who God wants them to be.  BIG CHILL 2011 was a great experience and is propelling us into 2011 to change the world, to show Gods love, to be the unstoppable force that God has intended for us to be!

In conclusion... God is awesome!

Dream...

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore" - Gide

If you could do anything in your ministry what would you do?  If cash was no object and you could have any facility you wanted and could totally redesign your ministry what would you do?  

Ive been asked to think about these things a few times...  so I have!  The more I contemplate this facilitates the wrong mindset for me and for the student ministry and Sugar Grove Church.   When I dream for myself I come up with programs, atmosphere, lights, flat screens and Ipods... "stuff."  I think this happens to all of us in Youth Ministry at some point or another.  We want all the bells in whistles so we can make our student ministry "cool" or a place where your students want to bring their friends.  Wanting your students to enjoy coming and invite their friends and instill pride in their church is all well and good.  This, however, does not reach the heart of why we should be doing what we are doing.

If we focus on the outward we miss the inward.  As hard as it is to not be consumed by those things we should be more worried about our students being sold out for Christ.   We want to help bring up fully devoted followers of Christ and no light board, flat screen or sweet video is going to do that.  None of those things are bad unless they take precedence in your ministry.  

Build relationships, grow disciples, show Christs love to the people you come into contact with, pray for your students, challenge them to take risks for Christ, make an impact...  from the inside out!