new website

The new AYF website is officially up and running! While this space has been good to us, our new space will allow us to do so much more, like offer registration for downloads, pictures, videos, parent and leader resources, and a lot more. So head on over and check it out, and leave some feedback about it. Tell us what you like and what you might like to see on the space.

As always, we'll continue our Wed Night Wrap Up posts for parents outlining our Wed nights, as well as upcoming information. Seriously, check out the new site! <www.statecollegeayf.wordpress.com>

wed night wrap up - 05.30.07

attendance: above average (32 students, 6 leaders)
topic: senior night
fun factor: above average
game: steal the bacon & stuff the car (who knew you could get 14 people in a Jeep in 8 seconds?!)
music: n/a
lesson quality: Hershey Park slide show; AYF year in review video; senior gifts presentation
student response: above average

We had a GREAT night at AYF last night. It was awesome to see so many faces out to honor our seniors who are getting ready to graduate from State High. Our first slideshow was to showcase a game we did at Hershey Park two weeks ago:the group was divided into 5 teams, each with a camera & plastic army men. The mission: who can get the best pictures! We had some great ones. That was followed by a video of our events over the past year, culminating with presenting gifts to our seniors. Parents, make sure they’re in church on Sunday, because we’ll be presenting another gift that morning. And who’s kid doesn’t love gifts? Finally, the night wouldn’t be complete without a cookout on the grill - thanks to our new leader Jill Zeger for cooking up some grilling goodness!

week of 05.28.07

Here’s what’s coming up!

• If you’re selling hoagies for LIFE, your forms are due tomorrow night!

• Speaking of Wed., this Wed @ AYF is our senior recognition night. come join us in sending our awesome seniors off!

• LIFE car wash this Saturday @ the Benner Pike Wal-Mart. We have two shifts: 8am-12pm & 12pm - 4pm. Sign up for one or both shifts.

• The deadline for Jr. High Camp is quickly approaching. If you’re interested in camp this summer (July 23-27) or still have questions, email Karl. Click here for a registration form.

wed nght wrap up - 05..23.07

attendance: below average
topic: Life Together : growing to be like Jesus
fun factor: average
game: n/a
music: only one love - Yvonne Parks; getting closer - bridge band; son of God - starfield
lesson quality: above average
student response: average

Our focus scripture Wed. night was John 15:1-8, “the Vine & the Branches”. From this we talked about how just showing up to church and growing spiritually are not the same thing; that spiritual growth often requires developing habits, such as prayer and studying scripture. We also touched on what pruning is - the cutting off of the old to encourage life. Pruning can be painful & difficult, but is often necessary. And what better what to illustrate pruning that hacking off my beard?

week of 05.21.07

some items for this week:

• we're testing out a new website for AYF. the new site allows us to have the updates we have here, but with the addition of having pictures, videos, and registration forms! check it out here and leave some feedback about what you think! the address is
• time is running out to sign up for Jr. High Camp 2007! cost for the week is only $250 - don't miss it! you can download & print a registration form by clicking here.
• we'll be continuing our Life Together series on wed. night - don't miss it!
• there are NO Small Groups this weekend. it's memorial day - go bbq with charcoal.

wed night wrap up - 05.16.07

attendance: 30 students, 0 new students, 4 leaders (1 new leader, Jill Zeger)
topic: Guest Speaker Roberta Clogg :: missionary apprentice in Kosovo
fun factor: average
game: flags
music: made to worship; mighty to save; you never let go; show me your glory
lesson quality: above average
student response: average

We’re in a week or so at the church of our Antioch missions program, so everything is buzzing with international missions. We had a flag ID game - the student to correctly ID the most if the 21 flags in the sanctuary won an iTunes gift card. Roberta Clogg, a good friend of mine from college and an alum of AYF shared about her time this past year in Kosovo. She’s serving in a country where 1/10th of 1% of the population are Christian. Crazy. Recently, she’s been doing a lot of work in her community meeting students/youth and sharing the gospel relationally with them. It was a great night, and had some great questions from our students about Roberta’s time & ministry.

week of 05.14.07

Do not miss tomorrow night! Roberta Clogg will be sharing with us at AYF on Wed. evening. Roberta was an AYF'r and is a good friend of mine. She's been a missionary apprentice in the Balkans for the past year, and can't wait to share with you all!

A couple of other items:

• We had a great car wash on Saturday for LIFE! Our next one is Sat. June 2 @ the Wal-Mart by the mall
• Our last hoagie sale begins tomorrow. Get your sheet at AYF!
• We only have a few Hershey Park tickets left for Saturday! Tickets are $25, you can pay tomorrow night @ AYF. We'll be leaving the church at 8:30am sharp on Saturday, and returning at 11:30pm.
• If you're in Jr. High, do not miss Jr. High Camp this summer! Our theme this year is JHC-TV. Click on the sidebar for more info and to download a registration form.
  

Have a great week, and we'll see you tomorrow!

wed night wrap up

attendance: 25 students, 0 new students, 3 leaders)
topic: Life Together : Connecting Your Heart to Others’
fun factor: average
game: lightning ball
music: n/a
lesson quality: average
student response: average

Last night was the second week of our Life Together series. Our focus passage was Hebrews 10:23-25, and how God created life to be done together. In fact, the first time in scripture that God said something was not good was when he saw that Adam was alone! When the author of Hebrews tells us to spur one another on, we realize that growing and getting on the right track can often come with pain and discomfort - you never saw a horse thank its rider for kicking it with spurs, but it was to get the horse going in the right direction.

Next week one of our missionaries will be speaking at AYF. Roberta Clogg is a missionary apprentice to the Balkans, and is a good friend of mine and an AYF alum. Don’t miss next week!

Junior High Camp 2007

It's that time of year again - it's time to start thinking about Jr. High Camp this summer!

We'll be heading back out to Harmony Heart Camp on From July 23-27. This year, out theme is JHC-TV...and our focus for the week will be finding your identity in Jesus, and not what the world is telling us through the constant influx of media. It'll be a week full of live worship, swimming, floor hockey, messy games, DDR, and time with God!

There a limited number of spaces available, so sign up now! A $100 deposit is due by May 30.

Download a Jr. High Camp registration form here.

Wed Night Wrap Up

Wednesday May 2

attendance: below average (21 students, 1 new student, 5 leaders)
topic: Life Together : what on earth am I here for?
fun factor: average
game: volleyball
music: n/a
lesson quality: above average
student response: above average

We began a six series in the Life Together small group series by Doug Fields, adapted by me for large group. I was worried about who all would come, because the high school was having a college fair. It drew some students, but not nearly as many as I had thought. Score. The lesson focus was on how the question on “Why am I here?” actually does have an easy, and a pretty easy one at that: love God & love others (the Great Commandment, Matt. 22:34-40). And guess what - those two are inseparable! I shared a short ~12 minute opener, and then we ended the night breaking up into small groups, one for each leader & 4-5 students in a group to discuss some questions. All in all, a great night & a great beginning to Life Together!

AYF tomorrow

we're starting a new series at AYF tomorrow night, called LIFE Together - it's going to be the best thing that we've done yet! we'll be spending a few weeks learning about where God wants us to be and about growing friendships & relationships with each other. 7pm @ the church - don't miss it!

we also have a limited number of tickets for our Hershey Park trip on Saturday May 19. tickets are $25 for the day! if you've already signed up, we have your tickets. if you want to bring friends, do it!

don't forget...there's only 29 more days of school left! it's almost summer!

looking ahead

here are some thing coming up!

hershey park - Saturday May 19
interested in spending the day at Hershey Park? cost will will approx. $25 for the day, plus food. we need at least 20 people to go, so sign up and bring your friends!
***Parents, we need drivers, so please let us know if you're available!

LIFE fundraisers
> May 12 Car Was & Bake Sale @ the CMA
we need student & parent workers for two shifts: 8am-12pm and 12pm-4pm. donated baked goods are appreciated as well.

>May 16 - 30 Marianna Hoagie Sale
Forms can be picked up Wed. May 16. Due back Wed. May 30. Delivery date is Wed. June 13 (last day of school).

>June 2 Car Wash @ Wal-Mart on Benner Pike
We need student & parent workers for two shifts: 8am-12pm and 12pm-4pm.

Remember, you should be at $650 for April. The last two payments are $150 on May 16 and $200 in June. If you need to raise more money, come out to the fundraisers!

week of 04.16.07

it's tax day...so if you're an entrepreneurial teenager, make sure you file today!

we had a great time at the Jr. High Retreat this past weekend. Matt Genos, our speaker, really brought it. he spoke on the One Thing that we need in our lives - Jesus. it was fantastic. and props to Derek for bringing home the win in frisbee golf this year.

this week
WED :: AYF here at the church [7pm]. sr. high will be finishing up our series "Christ Together", and jr. high will also be finishing up their series "Built to Last."

SUN :: Small Groups here at the church, rm. 213 [6pm]. after a few weeks off, we're back in action...don't miss it! it's never to late to join a Small Group - there's one for everyone:
> jr/sr high guys [w. pastor Karl & Scott Adam]
> sr high girls [w. Bethany Fisher]
> jr high girls [w. Abye Adam]

come on out, we'd love to have you!

week of 04.09.07

WED ::
AYF will be having a worship night with our campus ministry, Alliance Christian Fellowship, on PSU campus. We'll be meeting at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center on the corner of Curtin and N. Allen Rd.
**We'll be meeting on campus, not at the church**
[7pm-8:30pm]

click here for directions

SUN ::
Because of the Jr. High Retreat, there will be NO SMALL GROUPS on Sunday!

NO Small Groups

Thanks to everyone who came out for our Passover celebration last night! It was incredible, and a night that won't soon be forgotten.

Just a reminder that there will be NO Small Groups on Sunday.

Happy Easter!

AYF tomorrow

you do not want to miss AYF tomorrow, those of you that actually check this out! so often in church we just sit and listen, hoping that if an experience comes around we'll remember what was said. sometimes we can hear stories from the Bible so many times we lose the wonder of them.

if you're looking for direction somewhere, it helps to know where you are and where you're starting from. otherwise, the directions aren't nearly as clear!

tomorrow night we're going to figure out just what the passover is all about. as followers of Jesus, we have the added bonus of being able to look at the passover celebration with an added sweetness of knowing who Jesus really was! so we're going to have a mini passover meal, and find out both what it meant for the Jewish people (including Jesus), as well as what it means to us today.

i'm pumped for tomorrow! don't miss it...don't even be late!

jr. high retreat info

Friendship with God

"Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?"
Genesis 18:17

It's Delights. This chapter brings out the delight of real friendship with God as compared with occasional feelings of His presence in prayer. To be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask Him to show you His will, is to be nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you are rightly related to God, it is a life of freedom and liberty and delight, you are God's will, and all your common-sense decisions are His will for you unless He checks. You decide things in perfect delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will always check; when He checks, stop at once.

It's Difficulties. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He was not intimate enough yet to go boldly on until God granted his desire, there was something yet to be desired in his relationship to God. Whenever we stop short in prayer and say - "Well, I don't know; perhaps it is not God's will," there is still another stage to go. We are not so intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as He wants us to be - "That they may be one even as we are one." Think of the last thing you prayed about - were you devoted to your desire or to God? Determined to get some gift of the Spirit or to get at God? "Your Heavenly Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him." The point of asking is that you may get to know God better. "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Keep praying in order to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.

Oswald Chambers
My Utmost for His Highest
March 20

week of 03.26,07

Gardner Candy is in!!!
if you sold Gardner candy for LIFE, it is at the church and ready to be picked up. You can stop by today before 4:30pm, or get it tomorrow at AYF.

AYF tomorrow!
back in action, wednesday night, 7pm here @ the church!

Small Groups sunday!
i may as well continue with the exclamation points. !!. small groups this sunday, 6pm.


Coming Up!
April 8: Easter - NO Small Groups
April 11: worship night on PSU campus with Alliance Christian Fellowship!

week 'o 03.19.07

march madness is here! my pick to go all the way is already out of it (texas...what are you doing top me?!?!), but i'm still winning the office pool. sweet. if you have a bracket, bring it on wednesday, we'll follow who gets the furthest.

we're back in action this wed. with AYF @ 7pm here at the church. we may even have our little 'cafe' up again. that was good last week, and i don't think anyone would mind if that stuck around.

worship team will meet at 6pm on wed. to practice.

and we'll have small groups on sun. evening, 6pm @ the church!

small groups 03.18.07

Just a reminder that Small Groups will be meeting at Meyer Dairy this Sunday!

If your parents have comitments at the church (service, AWANA, etc) and you need a ride, we'll have some carpools taking people over. Otherwise, please help us out and meet is there.

And don't forget a couple of dollars for an ice cream....or two.

small groups this sunday

hey team

small groups will be heading to the healing & anointing service on sunday. if you've never been to it, you need to be here; it's crazy.

on sunday march 18 (two weeks) we'll be meeting at Meyer Dairy. bring a couple dollars for some ice creams, and if you can have your ride drop off/pick up at the dairy, that would be great! we'll have a few cars at the church to carpool if your family has a commitment that evening.

have a great weekend, and a fantastic spring break!

Gardner Candy

Don't forget...

If you sold Gardner Candy for LIFE, your sale sheet must be brought in to the office or emailed to Karl by 4:30pm!!

week of 02.26.07

here's the week ahead!

wed :: AYF here at the church, 7pm!
sun :: Small Groups, room 126, 6pm! there's a group for everyone!

if you're in jr. high, the deadline for the Jr. High Retreat is Sunday March 4! get your registration forms and $95 in ASAP to reserve your place. spots are limited!

remember, we'll have a short LIFE Parent's Meeting immediately following AYF this Wednesday. we'll be handing out some new/updated conference info. the Gardner candy sale is now in session. if you don't have a candy form, they're at the church.

have a great week!

NO Small Groups tonight

Since we're getting bad weather tonight, everything at the church this evening is canceled. This includes Small Groups, Awana, and the evening service. Have a great night off, and we'll see you on Wed. at AYF!

week of 02.19.07

here's what's happening this week!...

_wed.
.AYF tonight!!
.starts at 7pm as always
.we'll be celebrating a slew of birthday's, so stick around!
...sr. high will be beginning a series on Jesus. tonight we'll be starting with Jesus:teacher
...jr. high will be beginning a series on core truths of the christian faith

it's going to be an incredible couple of weeks for both of these groups...don't miss it!


_sun.
.small groups at 6pm
.meet in rm. 126
.we'll be continuing our Bible studies!

no AYF on Wednesday!

hey everyone...

because of the massive amount of snow coming, AYF tomorrow (2/14) will be canceled. take out the sled or an idea from the great calvin & hobbes.

we'll be back in action with Small Groups on Sunday at 6pm upstairs. see you then!

week of 02.06.08

hey everybody! lots of important things happening this week:



wed :: AYF baptism night! ACF from campus will be joining us.

:: V-Day Bake Sale order sheets are due!

thur :: Hoagies are in! Pick them up after 3pm until the office closes.

sat :: Baking day for the bake sale. We start at 9am - don't be late!



sun :: Small Groups!

:: Pick up V-Day cookies at church in the a.m.

mon:: cookbook recipes due!





the superbowl party was awesome! thanks to the Stauffer's for having us, and Nick for the pizza! it was a great night.

super bowl party

it's official! our super bowl party will be at the stauffer's on sunday night. we'll be heading over after small groups here at the church. we'll meet there starting at 6pm - don't come early, no one will be there!



we're asking everyone who comes to bring a snack for the game: chips, dip, cookies, brownies, nachos, etc. please don't come empty handed! we'll provide the drinks.



see you there!

AYF - January 24

AYF this Wednesday, here at the church! you don't to miss it. 7pm-8.30pm. we'll be finishing up on the overflow of the heart. see you there!

week of 01.15.07 - ayf, small groups, jr. high camp

hey all! another non-snowy january day. figures. this week don't forget about AYF on wed. here at the church. we'll also be having small groups on sun. night up in room 203. bring your bible with you, as a number of the small groups are in some bible studies. i'll also have some new info for you on wed. about jr. high camp this summer; it's going to be one of the best weeks of your life, guaranteed! if you're in jr. high, you do not want to miss this week of camp! have a great week!

week of 01.08.07

hey all! school is back in swing, and it's almost time to change classes - change (and a little snow) is in the air.



we'll be kicking off AYF for Spring '07 tomorrow night!! you won't want to miss it - it's going to be better than ever. our focus this spring is going to be 'Living with an Outward Focus'. i hope to see you all tomorrow, because it's going to be rocking!

happy new year

it's 2007. woot.



thanks to everyone who came out to the lock-in on the 27th; it was awesome! there were some great shots from the photo scavenger hunt, which will be up soon.



remember, there's NO AYF this wednesday!



also, small groups begin this sunday the 7th. some on out for a great new year of small groups!