Snow Day
For so many people when a “snow day” occurs (or in our case a “snow week” in the Northeast) it is a time for them to enjoy the day off from work or from school. Through Poverty Revolution it has been brought to my attention that this is not the same feelings that so many children have. In fact there is a large number of students who have mixed feelings about a snow day. Yes they don’t have to go to school and deal with the routine but for so many they also don’t get to eat. Without school they do not eat. For so many students their only source of nourishment comes from school lunches which once again for a large majority of them are on free or reduced-price lunches. Sadly as the article states many of the non-profits had to close their doors due to the storms and were unable to subsidize these meals for students.
Not sure what can be done about this? It really bothers me that with as wealthy as America is there are still people who are hungry. What can you do? How can you make a difference? Just like in John 6, Jesus can take what little you have and do something extraordinary. You can check out the full article here. It is a compelling read.
10 Likes
If you have been in ministry for any length of time you have to look for the “wins”. There are times of great joy and times of huge disappointment. I have worked with teenagers for 9 years now and have had the chance to experience both. Teenagers get a bad rap sometimes because they are misunderstood. Those who work in the trenches and see them and their lives see a different side to the story. I tell people over and over again if you are not serving in student ministry it is your loss because it is one of the most fulfilling ministries you can be a part of. Is that biased? Yes, but it’s my blog. Feel free to keep reading to understand what I am talking about. Here are 10 things that I love about teenagers and working with them.
Culture Awareness They understand the culture like nobody else. They are catered too by marketers and have an incredible power that they may not even realize they have. They are so up to date with technology and can learn to use and utilize it faster than most. They have their own style of music but yet still know songs from my generation as well as my parents. They are diverse in there awareness of fashion and how quickly it changes, always looking for the “next thing”.
Un-ordinary They don’t settle for the regular. They are fearless and they take chances that sometimes seem unnecessary but for them it is worth the payoff. They believe they can be the catalyst for change. They have their own language, style and direction.
Excitement & Passion They are willing to completely sell out to that which is important and will make a difference. They believe that hard work does pay off. They create a buzz when they enter a room and they bring a perspective to things that is almost innocent. They can change the temperature of a room and can rally others to join in.
Teachability They want depth and application. They want to know who God is and what God wants from their life. They are not interested in information but transformation. They are willing to learn from their mistakes. Sadly it is their mistakes they learn from and not necessarily from others. Experience is a valuable thing. They want to know about the world they live in and are hungry to learn how to leave their mark.
Relational They desire deep relationships and push back from superficialness. They want people they can trust. They want transparency and genuineness. They want to be accepted and they want to be heard. They are willing to make friends who are not like them. They are a master of social networking and have learned how to use that to connect with people who looking to make a difference like them.
Authentic They have a realness and an honesty about them. They speak their mind and tell you how it is. That is good but it can also be humbling. Typically what you see is what you get. They wear their emotions on their sleave.
Change Em-bracers Teenagers today are curious. They are willing to take risks. They adapt easily. They will jump on board with an idea if they see that it will make a difference. Change is the theme of President Obama and that is why he connected with today’s culture.
Compassion They have a heart for the poor and for the mistreated. They have an ability to forgive even though trust takes longer to build after it. They are huge into missions and have a heart for helping those who are less fortunate.
Endurance They are stronger than we give them credit for. With the schedule they keep it is amazing they are able to make it day to day. With the pressure on them for summer jobs as they compete with the high unemployment rate, parents struggling to make it, with all the demands on them every day, their endurance is remarkable.
Uniqueness Students are so complicated and unpredictable, and yet they are so diverse, sophisticated and insightful. They are forced to grow up earlier than previous generations and yet during all this they are able to create their own identity.
MAJOR CAMP ANNOUNCEMENT
ATTENTION ALL PARENTS AND STUDENTS:
We have decided to merge our middle school and high school camps together this year and will be attending LIFT summer camp on July 27th-31st.
This is for all incoming 6th to outgoing 12th graders. This is a trusted camp that has been great to me over the years and us last year. Our students benefited tremendously from being together last year. For our leaders it is great because six months of relationships can be built in literally one week.
New packets for all middle school students will be available this weekend at: Guest Services, Kid Venture Live and at life groups at the loft on Sunday night.
The dates for discounts are still as follows:
$275 if registered by May 3rd
$300 if registered by June 7th
$350 if registered after June 7th
*July 12th is the FINAL day that registrations will be accepted.
MANDATORY CAMP PLANNING MEETING: Sunday July 19th at 7:30pm at the 209 Bethel Road Campus. All forms and payments must be completed at this time or prior.
Camp will be at Philadelphia Biblical University which is one hour away and our camp speaker is Aaron Cavin who was a speaker last year.
Any questions see either myself or Joyce Winters.
ryan@fellowshiptoday.com or joyceannwinters@gmail.com
New Series_SEXED
SEXED from Ryan Geiger on Vimeo.
Alright everybody I am giving the warning now. I know that some of you feel uncomfortable when somebody mentions the word sex but that is exactly what you will hear at our next UNITED on April 4 at 6:00pm. I will launch our series talking about God’s view on sex and in case your wondering He is pro sex. In our life groups we will be covering the topics of what a girl wants/who a guy is uncovering the stereotypes and differences and do those impact our relationships. We will be talking about sex is bigger than I thought, dealing with the small picture now and big picture later of the consequences as it relates to the spiritual, mental, physical and social aspects of sex. Finally we will be talking about I’ve messed up, now what? How to start over, and dealing with the truth of Jesus and your mistakes.
I know this is a sensitive subject and so we are asking that only students and youth staff attend. One just so it is not uncomfortable for students/parents to be in there and two because of space. This is usually our most highly attended series all year although I don’t know why. I know that some of you have younger students but I would strongly encourage to allow your students to attend and use this as a tool to talk about sex with your teenager. The reality is whether they are 11 or 17 they have questions and it is the role of the parents to teach their kids about sex and it is the role of the church to come along side and affirm what you are teaching from God’s Word. There will be notes provided from the talk that your students use and we will be putting the talk up on my blog in its entirety after the weekend.
March UNITED
March UNITED from Ryan Geiger on Vimeo.
Weekend Wrap Up
- UNITED was awesome last night.
- Our Fellowship staff did an amazing job of doing everything technical
- We almost were streaming live but ran into some last minute glitches…I think next month might be the month
- Our praise band was awesome. Donny has really developed into a great worship leader and we so many guys sacrifice and give time last night to really rock some difficult songs.
- Launched the Nickelback song Gotta Be Somebody and it was good.
- Did a cool abstract art piece during worship that was pretty powerful.
- Talked about respecting and honoring families.
- Had 107 total with 5 students receiving Christ
- Church was good today…we had so many people sign up to get into a life group and to serve on Sunday mornings.
- Not to late to sign up for that.
- We have a baptism March 22 and some of our students are getting really excited.
- Great turnout tonight for life groups.
- Got a lot of students to start Twittering.
- Heading to a camp planning meeting tomorrow
Twittering?
By now you have probably at least heard of the social network called Twitter. If you have ever updated your Facebook status, you can use Twitter. It simply asks the question, “What are you doing?“. You can read more about it in this post from Greg, as well as check out this brief video which explains Twitter in Plain English.
Twitter is being used by some great church leaders and ministries across the world. One of the interesting things about technology is the way it tends to ‘flatten the earth’ when it comes to communications. You have unprecedented access to people who you never could have just a decade ago. You can see why Mark Batterson, Lead Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., likes Twitter here, here, and here.
Fellowship Student Ministries now has a Twitter account as well. We will be using this account for quick updates, announcements and other communications of interest to UNITED events and Life Groups. I strongly encourage you to give Twitter a try. Even if you don’t want to sign up for Twitter yourself, you can still follow FSM by sending the following text message to 40404 ‘follow fsmunited‘ (only drop the quotes). This will allow you to receive text messages about FSM without joining Twitter.
Here are some good resources to help you understand and get started with Twitter:
- Getting to Know Twitter FAQ’s
- Official Twitter Commands
- Using Twitter on your Phone
- Newbies Guide to Twitter
Oh yea, you can also follow Ryan on Twitter also!
Lost Generation
So much is made of this generation and how it is lost and has no direction. Isn’t that said about every generation and won’t that be said of every generation to come? Every generation thinks that there generation is better than the one that came before it and every generation feels that they had more vision and purpose than the generation that will follow. The reality is, your generation is what you make of it.
There are those who make poor choices. Those who feel that acceptance is more important than character. Those who feel that the choices they make today to be popular will not affect them later in life. Those choices do make a difference and they do affect you for the rest of your life. I am a walking testimony to poor choices and consequences that come with it. On the flip side there are those who make great choices. There are students who not only want to see change happen in their generation they want to be that catalyst for it. There are students who choose to live a life of character and sacrifice. These are not just students in the church these are students who have a heart for the hurting, broken and forgotten people of generations past.
I so strongly believe that students are not only the future but they are now and they can make a difference and they are making a difference. They are not the lost generation but if anything they are the generation who has the greatest potential to bring people together of different backgrounds, cultures and differences. They have more tools at their disposal, they have more technology at their disposal and I truly believe they are about being real and transparent and forgiving.
Have you given a teenager a chance? You may just find that you can learn from them. You may just find that they become your friend.
Check out this video of a girl of this generation who is trying to make a difference.
Teen Vogue
Irony…I heard about this on the radio and I have been thinking about this subject for a while and then a buddy of mine Kevin Murrell actually posted on this today from the same article. Great minds think alike, or something like that. I have been watching teenagers make poor choice after poor choice in their life and I wonder why? I know I have made and continue to make poor choices in my life but why? Why do we do that? Why do we so desperately want to be accepted by people who in ten years probably won’t matter that much to us anyway? Why is popularity and acceptance worth throwing away our integrity, character and in some cases our life? Is what people think of us really that important? Listen, I struggle with these same questions and I’m thirty years old. I don’t know if that need or desire every really goes away. Check out what Taylor Swift said in the article written on her in the latest Teen Vogue.
TV: Was country music popular in your hometown?
TS: Not at all. The kids at school thought it was weird that I liked country—they’d make fun of me. Junior high was actually sort of hard, because I got dumped by this group of popular girls. They didn’t think I was cool or pretty enough, so they stopped talking to me.
TV: And then in the ninth grade, you signed a song-writing deal, moved to Nashville, and here you are. Did you ever see those girls again?
TS: Actually, I did! I played a hometown show about a year into my career, and they showed up, wearing my T-shirts and asking me to sign their CDs. It was bittersweet, because it made me realize that they didn’t remember being mean to me and that I needed to forget about it, too. And really, if I hadn’t come home from school miserable every day, maybe I wouldn’t have been so motivated to write songs. I should probably be thanking them!
More to come on this later…
