Winterfest The Mission 2008

Winterfest.
It seems like year after year we have more and more teens that go to Winterfest. Which is great actually. Wednesday night 3 days after Winterfest our youth minister asks us, Why do you come to Winterfest? Simple. Maybe we go because Watershed Worship or Jerome Williams do such a great job with the singing. Maybe we go because we want to hear Jeff Walling speak which he is such an inspiration when he speaks. Or maybe its the skits they perform or surrounding yourself with teens the same age as you coming for the same reasons. Something about Winterfest makes everybody want to come. This year the Theme was The Mission. Usually when you hear the word "mission" you think oh well he or she is on a mission or they do mission work stuff like that. Well as Jeff explained The Mission for us was to KNOW Jesus, BE Jesus, SEE Jesus, and SHARE Jesus. They also gave us bibles that were red and said The Mission on the front. Throughout the weekend we read scriptures in this bible and wrote down notes that Jeff talked about. On Sunday the very last Day Jeff made us read Romans 1:14-17 which says "I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings Salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The Righteous will live by faith." Jeff said after reading this if we aren't ashamed of the gospel then why don't we spread his word? why don't we plant seeds in non-christians and try to bring them to Christ! As I was sitting there I was thinking hes right I'm not ashamed of the gospel but why do I act like I am? Why don't I ever talk to my non-christian friends about God? Why is it so hard to talk about God with your friends and easy to talk about what you did on Friday night? Then Jeff told us that he had a challenge for us! To take our little red bibles to school everyday and read them in our spare time and see how many people you can start a conversation with! Its easier since the bible doesn't say Holy Bible on the front but you wonder how many people are thinking what is he reading? Or what is she reading? Try it!

Fall Retreat

Around the time the leaves start changing the youth plans a Fall Retreat. This past year we went Repeling and Caving and it was a time to start getting to know each other and bond with our new Youth Minister. But this year was different! After a year of making new friendships and learning new stuff about each other, we came together! This year we went hiking and Repeled near Linville Gorge! This year we were a youth group! We have bonded together this past year so this year was like coming back to where we all met! The best part is we all became one under God's Creation! We have learned what its like to see our reflection and to see what is looking back at us, we learned to trust the ropes and mountain we were repeling off of, and found out there is a whole other meaning to hiking! The atmosphere was breath taking! Where we were we could clearly see God's Creation!

Burnsville Church of Christ

The Youth went up to a small Church of Christ in Burnsville one Sunday to have church with them. The Youth conducted the Church and also Hendersonville's youth minister did the lesson. After Church they invitied us to stay for a cookout so we could learn more about their church and after eating we went to a small park near the church for a friendly kickball game!

Kids Camp 07 Mission Trip, Memphis TN

The Youth took a trip to Memphis Tennessee with Biltmore Church of Christ's Youth Group for a Mission Trip. During this trip the youth had a VBS at a Church in West Memphis for kids ages 3 and up who live in Inner City Memphis. There were about 62 kids and only a few of us! Each youth member was paired with 2 buddies for the week to find out about them and to grow closer to them and help them by teaching them about God. Everyday the kids would arrive and play with puzzles and games in their class before going on a field trip! The field trips included roller skating, Mud Island Park, The Kids Musem, The Movies, and a Cookout the last day. Then they would return to Church and sing and see a skit then go the their classes to learn about the topic of the day. After class there was more singing and then the kids went home. The Youth played wall ball and had dinner and a devo every night after the kids went home. Then we would wake up the next morning and start a new day! Lots of kids including myself got very attached to their buddies and it was very hard to say goodbye the last day. If you get lucky ride back in the van with your buddy to say one last goodbye until the next year. Most everybody cries I did! Its a very sad and uplifting thing to attend and seeing an impact on these kids makes you really happy and you love these kids by the end of the week! I would challenge everybody to go and see what kind of an impact to have on these kids!

Jellico,TN Mission Trip

In Jellico Tennessee the older teens in the youth group went to help out Steve Meeks for a week and his ministry. The Boys help build two decks for an elderly woman and the girls painted three rooms in the church, one they use for small groups and the boy's and girl's bathrooms. The teens learned alot about getting up really early in the morning reading their bibles and writing in journals, also praying for 15 minutes everyday. This was called as Steve called it Spiritual Muscle buliding. We needed to work our spiritual muscles by reading and praying everyday by getting into a habit of learning about Christ everyday before we start the day. The girls had a sleepover with some girls from Girl Talk and the Boys camped out with some of the SOAR Boys. It was an awesome experience to get to know some people in Jellico like the Girl Talk girls and the SOAR boys and the Meeks family also Buck at Buck's Hardware where the girls got all the paint to paint the rooms . It was nice to see what its like to live differently than you live everyday.

Youth Work Day

The Youth had a work day at the Church one saturday. The Work included cleaning up debris from the wind storms, chopping down trees, buliding a new storage shelter, laying down concrete, and picking weeds.

S.O.A.R Youth Rally

The SOAR Youth Rally was held at Central Church of Christ in Augusta, Georgia. The youth participated in classes that brought them closer to God and got meet other teens from different states and play broom ball and ice skate. The weekend was full of fun activities and it brought the youth closer together. Riding in the church van on the way to Georgia me and a girl from the youth group were in one van with some of the younger kids in the youth group. On the way down I learned so much about those younger kids that I never took the time to notice and this weekend made that possible. Everyone should have a weekend like the one I had.