Matthew Barnett of The Dream Center in Los Angeles, California, spoke at our First Wednesday Service. Two words for you: MOST AWESOMENESS! Check it out here. Matthew is FULL of vision to reach the people of LA for Jesus. What an inspiration to me, to really get out there and talk to those that nobody wants!
He told a lot of stories that we hilarious and very impacting. He quoted Nehemiah 2:10, “But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of my arrival, they were very displeased that someone had come to help the people of Israel.” We must be concerned with the welfare of the people, we must help the people of our communities. He also made two statements that I want to quote for you:
- You must die of your dream to being a success and take on the dream of being a blessing.
- The world knows everything the church is against, but they need to know what the church is for.
Make sure you take a couple of minutes and listen to him share with us at NewSpring. You will be blessed!
Also, Perry felt the Lord to offer our people a time to give to support The Dream Center. All the cash given totaled over $9000. That is so awesome! I am always amazed at the generosity of the people at NewSpring Church. Here is a link to check out Perry’s thoughts.
I just got my copy of ::MY FAITH by Kurt Johnston and Mark Oestreicher.
I am loving how they set it up and wrote it as an easy read for any Middle Schooler. Here are a couple of comments about the book so far:
- Each chapter is written in a short, fun to read style, that will keep an INTEREST-SPAN deficit Middle Schooler reading through it.
- They included comments/quotes from Middle School Students.
- At the end of the first section, Kurt is real and honest. He talks about his Middle School days and what struggles he faced!
- They take the questions Middle Schoolers ask and answer them…What is faith? “Faith means believing and trusting in something even though you don’t fully understand it, can’t see it, and can’t prove it completely.”
- Also when they give a definition or explanation of something that may sound confusing to a Middle Schooler…see above…they give an example to clarify.
That is all I have right now, I just finished the first two mini-chapters of Section 2. Already good stuff.
If you are a Middle School or Junior High Pastor, do yourself and your students a favor and pick up a copy as a resource. After you read it I am sure that you will probably get a couple more to have around for your students to pick up. Click on the image above to go get your copy.
Yesterday was the First Sunday of April, that means we always go out to eat as a youth volunteer staff. We always eat at the Chili’s in Anderson They always give us great service, they never mind that we take up half the restaurant and create ALL the noise.
The awesome volunteers that were given a Phenomenal were:
- Dale Sellers: Phenomenal Ability and Dedication. Dale is ALWAYS there at IGNITE. He has been running our lights for a while and does a GREAT job. Dale has a PASTOR’S heart! He loves people and loves students. I am so thankful to have him apart of the IGNITE team!
- Keri Holder: Phenomenal Encouragement. Keri has the unbelievable gift of encouragement. She has encouraged so many of our leaders since she has joined the IGNITE team. **I get the awesome privilege to be able to officiate her wedding to Mr. Jonathan Unsworth on June 2, 2007! I am really excited about being a part of their special day!**
- Mike Smith: Phenomenal Husband, Dad, and Leader. Mike has been “that” guy in my life since coming to NewSpring. I will never forget sitting on his front porch along with his family and talking about ministry and them welcoming us to NewSpring. since that time our friendship has grown tremendously! I have the utmost respect for Mike, because he loves his family, his Lord, and his church.
- Ryan Sutherland: Phenomenal Creativity. Ryan is the reason for our MADE Videos that we did a couple of weeks back. He came up with the idea, took the pics for each shot, made the set, and then assisted in putting them in video form. I referenced all of the videos in a post back on March 5, 2007. Be sure to check them out here. Dude, you rock! Keep using your talents for Jesus!
Congratulations to Kyle and Sarah Bolt!
Today, I had the privilege to officiate the wedding ceremony of Kyle and Sarah. It was a very simple, but elegant wedding! I had a blast! I was nervous that I would have a lot of mishaps, misspoken words, etc, but not really. Praise the Lord! What a fun night, the wedding was great and the reception was awesome.
Right before the doors opened and Kyle got to see Sarah, I looked at Kyle and he gave me that nervous smile. While she was coming down the isle, I looked at him and he leaned over to me and said, “WOW!” That but a HUGE smile on my face! I love to see the reactions of the groom when they see the bride!
Another great part about the wedding was that I shared a table with parents of my students at IGNITE! The whole table was HILARIOUS!! I heard so many stories and laughed a ton. It was great to see that side of some of my parents, to just hang out with them, to learn from them, and laugh with them!
Below is a picture of myself and the newlyweds!
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