MidWinter Youth Retreat Info!

Hey guys! It's a week until we depart for our 2 day trip to MWYR and I just wanted to give you some indepth information about our trip. We will be staying at The Cambria Suites Hotel in Green, OH again. It is 15 minutes from Barberton Apostolic Church (where Friday and Saturday services will take place) and 35 minutes from Kent State University (where will be attending the Afterburner on Friday night).

We will be departing at approximately 10:00 am on Friday morning. That means we need everybody here at 9:30 am to pack the van up and be ready to go at 10:00. Below is a schedule that we will be strictly following. We expect to return around 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 4th.

Some things to know:

* Pack lightly! Please only bring one suitcase of carry-on size. You will need 1 dressy outfits for Friday, gym type clothes for the afterburner if you plan on participating & 1 casual outfit for Saturday. Girls- No extra bags for shoes will be permitted! ;)

*We will be eating out 3 times during our trip. We have anticipated that everyone will need approximately $20 each for the trip for food. This amount is included in the total amount needed for the entire trip. There will be booths from different vendors including the bible colleges and Ohio Youth Division for t-shirts and cds, so you may want to bring extra money to purchase these items.

*Any media needs to be Christian oriented and only used at appropriate times (traveling to/from Barberton, at night before bed). Any music coming from ipods, cell phones, etc. that is NOT christian music, will mean the ipod or cell phone will be confiscated until our arrival at GFAC on Saturday. This also includes texting. Anyone seen with their phone out during a session or service will immediately have their phone confiscated until Saturday evening.
*If you would like to swim at the afterburner, guys need to wear colored t-shirts and swimming trunks. Girls may wear colored t-shirts and basketball-type shorts. DO NOT LEAVE the swimming area/locker rooms in your wet or dry swimming clothes! During other activites at the afterburner, guys ARE NOT permitted to wear shorts or cut-off sleeve shirts, while girls must wear modest clothing appropriate to participate in physical activites.

*Wake-up calls will be assigned to EVERY room so there will be no excuse for being late!

Be sure to check out the detailed schedule for info on where we will be eating, wake-up calls arrival/departure times.

We are looking forward to a fun and exciting time, but please remember: this is a retreat based on focusing God and taking us away from the distractions of the world at school, on our jobs & in our everyday life. These rules are to help you keep your mind God-centered and help you get as much as possible from this trip. Any questions, just let me know and I'll do my best to answer them!

~Jen

Trust In God

Here is a post from one of our Core Group Leaders, Victoria Knight...


Dont let people infulence what you do with God.  Always do what GOD tells you to do.  Sometimes when God speaks to us and tells us how to handle a situation when we start to do that certain thing there will be people we thought we were so close that say things like this, "You're not making a right decision." or "Thats just stupid why would you do that, that way."  When these figures in our life say the things that discourage us we as young people HAVE to go to God and get encouragement from HIM and HIS WORD.  People in the world show us what is best to do in the WORLD and not HIS WORD. What they see as good is not always what is good in God's eyes.  It might not be bad to do a certain task but it doesnt mean that it is meant for YOU this is why we ask God to lead and DIRECT our path so we walk in HIS will and not ours or our neighbors.  In Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to hurt you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  This scripture lets us as young people when we think God puts things in our to torchure us its actually for our benefit, and because he has a bigger purpose! 
Hope this encourages and lifts anyone who reads.
God bless!

Climb That Mountain

Here is a great thought from one of our core leaders Timara Lewis

We've always heard about going through the valleys and climbing the mountains, but have you ever noticed how the valleys seem SO long and SO dark?  It feels like forever you're walking through the valley, and then at the last possible minute you start to climb up to the mountain top.  When you reach it, you can maybe take one or two steps, and then on the third, suddenly you're plummeting back down again.  Believe it or not, this is okay.  It's meant to be, because when you're down in the valley, down in the darkness, you can't see anything else.  You can't focus on anything else other than getting out and finding the light.  Then when you do find the light, you use its power to climb the mountain.  Jesus is that light, and with every heave you reach to make it to Him on that peake.  He is giving you strength.  He is always on that mountain top to greet you with His love and comfort, offering you rest.  Jesus gives you the power to overcome the next fall, so you know what to do.  So you have the confidence that Jesus always sees where you are and will guide you to His light.  So walk through the valley and laugh at the darkness.  Climb that mountain and greet Jesus with a smile of victory... He's waiting.

North American Youth Congress Info!

Hey guys! It's less than a week until we depart for our 4 day trip to Columbus and I just wanted to give you some indepth information about our trip. We will be staying at The Hampton Inn in West Columbus, OH. It is 6 miles from Nationwide Arena (a 10 minute drive) and 5 miles from The Mall at Tuttle Crossing which is were we will be attending the Afterburner on Friday night. It has many ameneties including a free deluxe breakfast & high speed internet.

We will be departing at approximately 6:00 am on Wednesday morning. That means we need everybody here at 5:30 am to pack the van up and be ready to go at 6:00. Below is a schedule that we will be strictly following. We expect to return around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 6th.

Some things to know:
        
* Pack lightly! Please only bring one suitcase of average size and one bookbag/purse/small tote bag. You will need 4 casual outfits for day services/traveling to & from Columbus and 3 dressy outfits for evening services. Girls-pack shoes that can be worn with several outfits! No extra bags for shoes will be permitted! ;)

*We will be eating out twice a day. We have anticipated that everyone will need approximately $60 each for the trip for food from Wednesday morning to Saturday afternoon. There will be booths from different vendors including the bible colleges and Pentecostal Publishing House so you can bring extra money to purchase these items.

*Any media needs to be Christian oriented and only used at appropriate times (traveling to/from Columbus, at night before bed). Any music coming from ipods, cell phones, etc. that is NOT christian music, will mean the ipod or cell phone will be confiscated until Saturday. This also includes texting. Anyone seen with their phone out during a session or service will immediately have their phone confiscated until Saturday.

*Wake-up calls will be assigned to EVERY room so there will be no exscuse for being late!

Be sure to check out the detailed schedule for info on where we will be eating, wake-up calls and meet-up times.

~Jen

Resources

Hey guys,
     Sorry I haven't been blogging in a while.  I'll be honest I fell off the blogging wagon.  I hope to have some good ideas, thoughts, and short anecdotes for you shortly.

     Today I just want to share a good thing I recently found with you.
    
     If you are a student pastor like my wife and myself or maybe just a youth worker, you probably find yourself looking for resources and good material.  If so, check out www.thecommune-ity.org  

     Sign up, share a resource, and boom... free material, resources, websites, and more.  It's a great place to get lesson ideas, series ideas, or even additional info for a lesson you're currently working on.

     Also, if you don't already check out our church's website... please do so.  Sermons are continually being uploaded.

God Bless,
DK

Characteristics of Authentic Christians

This is a Bible study on Characteristics of Authentic Christians.  It is taught by our pastor, Rev. JJ Sherrill. GFAC Ironton Ohio

try to convince you that as long as you have a belief in God then you can do whatever you want or live however you wish.

One more thing, the world IS looking for something more than they have. Whether or not they accept it isn't up to us. However, if we don't do a good job presenting and representing what they need, they may never be open to it again.

Love you guys
DK