Summer is over, #itstime for school to start (part 1) brings us to this past week where we had our annual "Back 2 School Bash" at One Way and just like every youth group our numbers were lower in the summer months then when school is in session but this past Wednesday we broke through with over 200+ in attendance again.
Our good friend Randy Lawrence spoke this service and we had an amazing service. It was an epic way to end the summer and end an amazing series #soulution.
And that brings us to this weekend, Labor Day weekend.
So far it's been an awesome weekend as we catch up on some well deserved R&R. And as I relax this weekend I can't help but think about all of our students who call One Way their youth group/church.
Once again school is upon us and as we begin to wrap up our 5th year of youth ministry I have noticed something trendy with students.
Even though we spend so much time fighting the fads and trends and the peer pressure that surrounds us as school approaches this Tuesday, I can see students who are beginning to lose what they found this summer. If it's because of language or because they are getting involved in sports again (we all know the pressure of fitting in with your teammates) I see students who at one point in time this summer became so on FIRE for God that they challenged my own commitment and walk w/Christ, so easily start to slip back into the way things were before summer.
It's a struggle I believe most youth pastors have and are aware of. But why is it? Even growing up in a youth group myself I experienced this and had friends who did the same. Why is it so hard to stay on fire for God? It makes it so easy for me to step back and ask the question that I hate to ask but that question we're all thinking; "Was it really true? Did they really experience God? Was it real?"
This year my wife and I plan on taking on this challenge and these questions more than I believe most youth pastors usually do.
As we kick off a new series in September called #itstime and we hope to challenge and bring up a lot of these questions and topics. We hope to challenge the students to truly live out their faith at school. To stop playing games and conforming to the world and LIVING a Christian Lifestyle in, around and among their friends.
One of our themes for this month is the idea of "going public" with our faith. What better timing to challenge students then to ask them to do TWO things that completely take them out of their comfort zone and that's what we plan to do at the end of the month.
Wednesday, September 25th will be a make it or break it kind of day.
First that morning will be the annual global event called See You At The Pole where thousands of students across the world gather together and pray at their schools flag pole. What better way to stand out and tell everyone at your school about your faith then PRAYING in front of your school as everyone else goes inside.
Then that night we hope to be one of the most powerful nights EVER at OneWay. We are doing BAPTISMALS, we are allowing sign ups but we are also planning on doing spontaneous baptisms for anyone wanting to take a stand, make a change and go public with their faith.
So pray for us this month as we GO BIG or GO HOME....
For more information on our youth group please check us out online at www.onewaysm.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/onewaynewcaney
#itstime
-Pastor Phil
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