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!