• Amanda White – ImpressYourKids.com
• Amy Dolan – LemonLimeKids.com
• Amy Fenton Lee – TheInclusiveChurch.com
• Ben Kerns – AverageYouthMinistry.com
• Ben Read – YouthMin.org
• Cass Brannon – CassBrannan.Wordpress.com
• Dustin Valencia – AbrahamChronicles.com
• JC Thompson – JCIsOnline.com
• Jenny Funderburke – JennyFunderburke.com
• Jeremy Lee – WonderfullyAwkward.com
• Jonathan Cliff – JonathanCliff.com
• Kenny Conley – ChildrensMinistryOnline.com
• Matt McKee – MattMckee.me
• Matt Norman – Kidmin1124.com
• Michael Bayne – MichaelBayne.net
• Nick Blevins – NickBlevins.com
• Paul Mannio – OrangeDad.com
• Ryan Millard – RyanMillard.com
• Shannon Royce – ChosenFamilies.org
• Terrace Crawford – TerraceCrawford.com
• Tom Pounder – MinistryBlackboard.com
• Tom Shefchunas – CoachShef.com
• Tonya Langdon – Kidmin1124.com
• Joe McAlpine – JoeMcAlpine.com

Hopefully, with God’s help, I will be there next year blogging for you all again!

So, my question is this. Would you be willing to allow God to use you in an awesome way and partner with them? They are ready and willing to go serveothers and serve God. They just need others to partner with them in 2 ways. One is prayer. Please pray for these students. The second is finances. Each student needs to raise $300. If you can help, please let me know!

By serving in either or both of these ways, you will be helping a high school student make a HUGE impact on this world! They are ready to show that they can and will change the world!

All checks can be sent to:

Rockingham Christian Church
5 Industrial Way, Unit 2
Salem, NH 03079 

The 5 Reasons:

1. Discipleship needs more than a weekly service.
2. Social media allows us to reinforce what God is saying.
3. Social media keeps you on your toes.
4. Social media allows you to reach outside your church.
5. Social media gives your church a broader platform.

As the church moves forward into this new arena, we need to make sure we do it well, but the big thing is to make sure to pay attention to it. It is where people are today, and if Jesus has asked us to go (Matt. 28:19), then we need to go to the internet and social media.

Read the entire post with explanations from Matt Brown.

The other day, we had really strong winds, and by the end of the day, our yard was covered in tree branches. Today, I finally went out to clean them up. As I went around picking up the large branches, I thought I was doing quite well. I stacked them in a nice pile between two trees. Then, I turned around, and to my dismay, there were a lot of smaller ones I had left behind. After making a couple rounds, I looked over the yard again, only to find many tiny branches and twigs. Eventually, I was able to get the vast majority picked up. It was kind of the opposite of the popular phrase. I could not see the trees for the forest.

In many ways, I think this is often how God asks us to clean up our lives. He will often focus on the “biggest” problems first. Then, after those are resolved, we begin to see the “smaller” sins. He ultimately wants all of us to be clean of sin, but sometimes we cannot see the smaller hidden ones if we do not first work on the bigger more obvious issues.

So, where are you? Is God still working on the “big stuff,” or has He begun to now focus on the previously hidden areas of your life?

Be sure to check out the Orange Tour Online on March 6, 2012, from 1:00-3:45pm. Expect an event filled with Reggie Joiner speaking about The 5 Essentials, The Big Idea, and The Core Insights. There will also be some life Q&A sessions. I attended the last one, and it was a great time… AND FREE!!

Check it out at http://whatisorange.org/orangetouronline/about-orange-tour-online.

Schedule:

• 1:00-1:10 p.m. – Live Intro with Hosts
• 1:10-1:30 p.m. – Session 1 – The 5 Essentials – Reggie Joiner
  Your church is either characterized by random activities or an intentional strategy. Review the core ideas that “Orange Leaders” use to keep their ministries focused and on mission.
• 1:30-1:45 p.m. – Live Hosts taking questions
• 1:45-2:30 p.m. – Session 2 -The Big Idea – Reggie Joiner
  There were critical moments in Scripture when Jesus made it clear what was most important. Learn how the “Great Commandment” should be a critical filter to evaluate how we are leading and teaching the next generation.
• 2:30-2:45 p.m. – Live Hosts taking questions
• 2:45-3:25 p.m. – Session 3 -The Core Insights – Reggie Joiner
  All truths are not created equal. There are certain core insights that should be cycled through the lives of kids and teenagers as they grow up. Learn how some of these insights can keep your ministry centered on a relationship with Christ.
• 3:25-3:45 p.m. – Conclusion

This idea popped in my head just the other day when I was filling out one of the numerous nomination forms for our high school students (another thing I did not realize I would be doing as much as I do). The form asked about the student’s strengths and weaknesses. While I listed humility as a strength, I also found myself listing the lack of confidence as a weaker area. Then, I began thinking and realized again how difficult this is. In all honesty, it is something I struggle with as well. When others evaluate my ministry, I often find similar responses. Further, it is the same thing I see in myself. I often want to be confident and stand up for Christ and His Kingdom, but at the same time, I do not want to seem overbearing and have a “Look at me!” type of attitude. After all, it is about God — not me.

Then, I read Scriptures that say, “Such confidence we have through Christ before God” (2 Cor. 3:4), followed by others that say, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble’” (1 Peter 5:5). It is obvious that both are important to God, but where is the fulcrum in this equation? Where should we draw the line? I think it resides, as it usually does, in Christ. In Him, we see the perfect balance of Godly confidence and Godly humility.

With further study, I came across Scriptures such as, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him” (Jeremiah 17:7), “And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28), and “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13).

It seems that our confidence needs to come straight from God. As we hand out lives over to Him, and as we look to Him, we will begin to see that we are nothing compared to Him. In that moment is where true humility resides. In that instance, we are confronted with the fact that we are in the presence of the Almighty God of the Universe, and we are nothing but a little speck on earth. And then, at that same moment, we realize that this God loves us with all His being. He loves us enough to make this entire world for us and sent His Son to die in our place. This Almighty God has our back! That is where the confidence comes in. It is not confidence that we have in ourselves. Paul says that self-confidence is foolish (2 Cor. 11:7). Instead, it is a confidence that comes from wisdom — an understanding that God is so much bigger than us, and He wants what is best for us.

As I seek to find this balance within my own life, I urge you to do the same. Find yourself in the presence of the one true God, realize exactly who He is, and then realize that He loves you. Then, I believe, you will be able to humble yourself before God while also remaining confident in Him.

Currently, I meet with two different groups of youth workers. One is a monthly meeting that includes a wider geographical area. The other is a group of guys who live closer together. The first primarily exists for networking, while the other has grown to something beyond that. We often partner in doing ministry. God has also provided other random opportunities to network in the last year or so with conferences, retreats, and other events. All of these groups are also cross-denominational, which has been an excellent bonus!

I say all this for one main reason. God has reminded me of the importance of networking with others who are also passionate about youth ministry. It has been great to get connected with these others around me. It is a time to bounce ideas around. It is a venue to share frustrations and excitement with a group of people who share similar experiences. It is a healthy, fun time to grow beyond our little circles of influence. I would encourage everyone in ministry to find a network of other ministers in your area. Get together regularly for opportunities to share, connect, and grow. If you do not know where to start, I encourage you to check out the National Network of Youth Ministries website. They have resources available to help you connect with others.

Friends who have been through Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University” say this is a good thing, and I know it is, but it is still tough. Believe me when I say that I am understanding the Proverb that says the borrower is a slave to the lender. Not that we are physically slaves, but it is not fun to have debt hanging over your head all the time. Thanks to an amazing God, though, who has blessed us enough to begin getting out from under that cloud.

I hope and pray that Part 2 of this blog post will not be far behind, when at that time, we can truly rejoice as we are completely debt free…

During our pre-marital counseling, one of the Bible Scriptures we covered was the one about “two becoming one” (Genesis 2:24; Mark 10:8). This is something you hear quite a bit when you go to weddings. It is one of the common things said, but I never really grasped the full meaning until that time. (Of course, I still don’t FULLY grasp it, but I am closer.) God brings us together for many reasons, but one of the reasons is so that we can complement each other for His Kingdom. There are many areas where I do not excel; however, those are areas where Yvette shines. Because God brought us together, we are able to reach more people with God’s love, and we are able to share the Gospel with a further reach than on our own. In our short three years of marriage, we have already seen ways that God has combined our skills/gifts in order to reach people and help them. Those are the times that I love the most — when we are fully partnering for His greater good! I am convinced that it is one of the best experiences one can have!

So, my encouragement today, for those of you who are looking to “become one” someday with another person, is to look at it from God’s perspective. Who might He want to be your partner? Who can fully complement you? And who do you see yourself working hand in hand with for His Kingdom? If you find that person, I guarantee you will have a life-long marriage of more than just material happiness!

First, it is just more fun! You can carpool, share hotel rooms, and always have a group of people to hang out with. Let’s face it. It is sometimes scary to go to a conference by yourself, especially when you know no one else. If you bring your team, you are always guaranteed to have a friend around.

Second, you can immediately share ideas. One of the most difficult things I face when going alone to a conference is trying to take all the notes I can, remember all the ideas I got, and then try to flesh them out in my own words when I get home. If your team comes along, that problem is eliminated. Even better, you can instantly discuss what you each learned, multiplying the effects of each main session and workshop.

Finally, you can share expenses. With the way our economy is today, it is tough for some people to even find enough extra cash for a cheeseburger. If you bring your team along, you can split the costs of things like rental cars and hotel bills. If you bring a big enough group (15 or more), you can even get a discount on your OC registration.

See… It is definitely worth it to bring your team along with you to the Orange Conference!