The Party is On!

Hey, its been a while, but we are back with a bang.

This past Friday we continued our series on The Core - The Values That Drive us Forward. This is an exploration of the key values we as a youth ministry want to maintain. Our first week was: A Posture on Our Knees, this dealt with the fact that we will be a House of Prayer. This week's value was: A Clear Proclamation of the Gospel.

We talked about how often we go to church and know what being a Christian looks like but we have never really expereinced it for ourselves. We talked about what the Gospel is, that we were created to live in pure fellowship with God but there is an impurity in all of us called sin that prevents us from getting back to that. No matter what we do or try we can't get back on our own. But Jesus Christ came to die in our place so that we might be brought back to fellowship with God.

We had one of our grade 7s accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It is awesome to see someone's eternity changed in the blink of an eye.

Here are some other highlights:

Worship - Forever Reign + How He Loves Us

Scripture - Colossians 1:13-29

Elements of Fun - We played some Volleyspudball before getting going, a round of 2 truths 1 lie and capped off the night with Sugar Wars. Without getting to detailed, the champion of the wars, Amanda L. devoured approximately 1800 calories in about 15 minutes.

What Else - We watched an IAMSECOND video which tied in with the message. We also prayed for needs including two pastors' daughters outside our church in need of healing. (Sarah Tapley and Emma Stewart)

I can't wait for this week - we are continuing The Core and will end the night with some ALIEN.

Be Blessed

Pastor Tim

The Countdown is On

So we are back, it was quite the drive to Halifax, lots of trees. It really gives you an appreciation for planes. I found it also gives an appreciation for people like Paul (the apostle) and the early settlers of Canada. It took us about 20 hours of driving to get to NS. I don't think I could take much of a longer trip, we did it because we have people we care about on the other end of the trip.

I think that is why Paul and the settlers were willing to travel weeks with less comfort then we had. (hotel did have a hot tub). Paul cared so much for people that he couldn't bear to see them live on without Christ. The early settlers of Canada cared so much for their families that they braved the journey across this land to make a better home for them.  It makes me think 'what am I willing to do?' 'What level of comfort can I do without?' Just something to think about.

We are about a month away from our FALL Kickoff on Friday September 14. We are really believing that God has something in store for the students of Halton Hills over this next year. Stay tuned for details as we move forward. For now I want to encourage you to pray. This is our best strategy, we need God to move with power in our town so people see Jesus and their need for Him.

We have a few times set aside coming up where we want to gather together to do this. On Thursday August 30 we will be having a prayer meeting at Georgetown District High School, we are going to do a Joshua and pray around that school, that spiritual walls would fall just like Jericho and the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be proclaimed. The next Friday (Sep 7) we will be having another prayer meeting at the church where we are calling parents and any other adult to come alongisde our youth as we pray for our students.

There is much more, to come, stay tuned! And don't forget - WONDERLAND is next week - RSVP by Friday so you get food!!!

PTim

Defining the Win

In 29 hours from the time I am writing this the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympic games will be starting. I can't wait. I love the Olympics, I love sports, but the Olympics are special to me because I remember growing up and the whole family sitting around to watch. Even now, Shelley and the girls will sit to watch the Olympics, it seems to be more than just a sporting event.

One of the things I find interesting is how we determine the 'win'. During the winter games in 2010, Canada was all about 'owning the podium', 'believe'. This year it seems we are more about 'its great to be there'. This is understandable, as Canadians we do much better at the winter games than we do at the summer games. CTV's Believe commercials all year have even featured more international athletes, perhaps so we don't set unrealistic expectations for how many medals Canada should bring home. That is fine, its important to determine what a win looks like. For some it may be just getting there. For someone like Michael Phelps I am sure a win would be nothing short of gold.

As we look ahead to the fall, I am seeking God on how we as a youth ministry define a 'win'. Is it based events, numbers, spiritual growth, impacting our community? I don't know. For me I try to look at the Great Commission, the call to go and make disciples. But in that context how do we define a win.

I think its important that we define what a win looks like, it gives us focus and also a chance to celebrate when we see wins. What do you think, how would you describe a win, both for yourself as you head into this new school year and also for our youth group - what does a win look like? If you figure it out, send me an email, let me know.

PT

Halfway

We are just about at the halfway mark of the summer. It is crazy when you think just how fast summers can go. I have found that the older you get the faster time seems to go in every way. I remember in high school thinking just how looooong a week seemed to go by and now I feel like a blink and its a new month.

Maybe it is some sort of 35 year old wisdom or soemthing that happens when you have kids. As we look ahead to the coming year and start planning things I am struck by what a small window we all have to impact our friends, family and the world. Let's not waste it.

I am also looking forward to next week as we head to Halifax for a couple of weeks with my family. I can't wait to hit the beach and visit with friends and family.

Enjoy the second half of summer, sleep in, play video games, but don't forget to connect with those around you, stay up late, go to a drive in movie, be embarrassed by your parents, when you're 35 those moments will mean so much more.

PT

This Week.

The heat is here. I am not a fan of the hot and humid weather, I much prefer the cool breeze of autumn, but I can't complain, swimming is so much more fun outside the inside at the pool and ice cream seems to taste much better when you have to eat it fast so it doesn't melt on you.

This week promises to be fun, on Wednesday night the junior highs are having their final night of the school year. There will be games aplenty. On Friday EVERYONE (Junior and Senior High) will be going to Christ the King School from 7-9 for a gym night. We will be playing some different sports and games and just having a relaxed, fun night on our last Friday until September. Bring $$ to go to Mcdonalds afterwards.

Stay cool, I will see you later.

Pastor Tim

June is Here.

I can't believe its June already. I think with the lack of winter we had these past months have flown by. So, summer is almost here. My kids are super excited for all the joys of summer; camp, no school, swimming, no school, VBS, no school, and the list goes on.
I know some of you are planning summer vacations and trips so I wanted to connect to let you know what is going on with the Youth of GCF over the coming months.
If you click on the Calendar page of this blog, you will find a list of upcoming summer events. You will notice that junior and senior high students are together for most of the events. You may also notice that we run on Thursdays as our primary day. This is to facilitate those who go to the cottage or go away on long weekends as much as possible.

For June we have just a couple of weeks left in our regular schedule. Junior High wraps up on the 13th and senior high wraps up on the 15th with a gym night at CTK.

-Pastor Tim

Overflow

So its been a bit since the last post. We are at an exciting time in the youth ministry calendar - Overflow. This is an annual youth convention where 2500 students get together to worship God, hear from His Word and have a lot of fun. We will be taking a group of 13 students to the event this weekend and by all accounts we are excited.

Could you pray for those who will be on this trip? Pray that God will reveal Himself in a new way to each of us and that we would be open to what He wants to do in and through us.

For updates from the event you can watch the main sessions streamed live at overflowyouth.com or follow updates on Twitter @timaaronstevens.

We are also in the process of summer planning. This is looking like it will be an epic summer, stay tuned for details!