BIG NEWS - Youth Update

 

Starting December 1st we start our

Student Ministry Training

 

 

So what is Student Ministry Training?

 

It is a time that allows anyone interested in ministry to figure out how they fit in. Identifying their strengths, their communication abilities, and what their interests are.

 

Personal-Global Vision & Mission, Audio/Visual arts. Technology/Social Media, Preaching/teaching, Worship, Ministry Logistics- These are the main topics that will be covered in our training. Others may develop as we get ideas from the group.

 

What it is NOT-

 

It is not a Youth Group activity. It's not a social event. It training- Training is for a purpose, its work, there will be homework. 

 

Why Training? God calls us to train-

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

 

1 Corinthians 9:25
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

 

Where- Mehan Church- Zetterberg Chapel

 

There's not better place to train than the place you will serve.

 

When-

Sunday December 1st immediately after Church. We'll have a "Working" lunch.

 

So whether you're already involved in ministry, you want to get involved, or you just want to know more about the how and why of Student Ministry at Mehan, join us Sunday December 1st @ 12:05.

 

 

 



 





MEHAN YOUTH 11-2-13

As I sit down and seek the Lord about what to put out for world to see and read. Its hard to sum up what is going on within our church as a whole.

We are a busy community of faith filed, loving, followers of Christ. We are being called to serve, love and give in new ways, it seems every month. There are always opportunities for us to serve others. Serving others IS serving Christ.

¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Pt 4:10

 

It's easy for us to justify the neglect we show in the opportunities the Lord provides to serve others. Satan wants to minimize the ministries of the Church.

 

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Pt 5:8

 

One of the things I myself have been guilty of is saying "I don't think I can do that". Or "that's just not my spiritual gift."  We say these things without actually trying to SEEK these things out.

 

 

1. Know your spiritual gifts- http://www.chazown.com/spiritual-gifts

 

 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. ! Tim 4:14

 

 

We CANNOT down play what our Spiritual Gifts are. follow the link, take the test, print it out, take it to your pastor. He will want to know how to get you serving somewhere in the Church.

 

 

2. Along with your spiritual gifts- How do you communicate and respond to communication?

http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/

 

 

Besides the gifts that God has given you, He has "wired" you in a certain way. We must know that we need to communicate with others in a certain way and that we receive communication in a certain way. Again follow the link, print it out, take it to your pastor, and take it to heart.

 

 

3. Look for opportunities to serve-  God may give you a vision for a ministry that doesn't even exist.

 

¹⁸ Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Pr 29:18

 

God calls all of us to have VISION- for our individual lives, our families, and

 HIS CHURCH.

 

Love - The Lyons- David, Krista, Kash, Kody, and the Mehan Youth Group-

 

PS- Don't forget to set your clocks back! & Food Day November 9th.

(Take those tests, I want to know)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GROW CHURCH GROW!!

Church growth is a very interesting thing. It's also up for debate what it really means. Even the famous on-line Wikipedia has a post about Church Growth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Growth 

 

In an article I recently read about church growth, it took a look at our standards of Church Growth and compared them to Jesus ministry. So lets look at the overview of His growth-

 

Jesus recruited 12 men into His "church". He then spent 3 years with those same guys, teaching them, living with them, discipling them. One of His disciples fell away from they faith and took his own life. Although Jesus spoke to many, His close group never grew.

 

In every conversation about church, at some point, we get asked, "So how many people go there?" and "Who's the Pastor?" .

 

So are numbers alone a good measurement of Church growth? Or is there some other concrete measurement tool we could be using?

 



We tend to associate church growth with the physical location, the population, and the Pastor.  But the real Church is the people inside the walls of it. Its not the building or the Pastor, nor is it the programs it offers. It's about all the people in that collective body of believers.

 

    An examination of the Greek word "ekklesia" reveals that the word is properly translated into English as the "assembly" or "congregation." It is used to refer to a group of persons that are organized together for a common purpose and who meet together.-Bibile-truth.org

 

If you're not growing, neither is your church. If the Church is not growing, neither is the church. If you have all the God you want, that is reflected in the ministries of your Church. If you're on Fire for God and are seeking Him in your life the other 6 days a week, that is also reflected in the ministries of your Church. That myfriend is still not tied to numbers but more of a "feel" from the Holy Spirit.

 

The Church builds the church. If I am not able to get excited about the ministries at my Church, If I cant stop talking about what God is doing, maybe I'm the issue. That old saying If I'm not part of the solution, maybe I'm part of the problem. I believe that is tied to the numbers.

All of that being said Krista and I, along with all the leaders with in our Youth Group are very excited about what God has been up to in our midst. Krista and I started with the Youth in June 2012 at Falls Creek and now here we are 16 months later. Wednesday nights we started with about 40 regular attendees and are now at 60 plus each Wednesday night. There have been a few times we've been over 70. Glory to God and Him alone.

But more than the numbers, we are seeing spiritual growth. We believe in student led ministries guided by a common vision and mission. If you haven't been by in awhile, stop in and see our posters, you can catch the vision. We are here to build His kingdom.

Overall, we couldn't be more excited about what God is doing at Mehan Union Church. We are truly thankful for what He continues to do. We also thank God for each of you who gives, prays, and serves our Church. YOU are the CHURCH- Grow CHURCH GROW!!

NO YOUTH, CHILDREN, OR MEAL THIS WEDNESDAY THE 16TH.

Love- The Church. 

New Vision, New Time, a New look 9-14-13

We are starting a new series this week based on the popular Under Armor logo and Statement-

 

Hebrews 3:6(NIV)

⁶ But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

 

 

We believe we are being called to protect and build on this house.  1st- Realizing the God is faithful to us and WE are His house. We need to take care of us both individually and the Church. 2nd- We are to be actively building His house. Through evangelism and mission opportunities.

 

These two things can be accomplished through a individual seeking God with their entire lives. That action will strengthen the individual and the Church. Through serving and talking about why we do what we do we ill have open doors to SHOW the love of Christ. But we must also talk about the things we do and what we believe.

 

God has already shown himself to the Youth over the last few Wednesdays. Students are being challenged and rising to the call to Protect this House- His House.

 

See You At The Pole is coming up soon and we will be adding things to our calendar in the next few weeks. This Sunday we will be helping the clothing ministry with sorting and putting away some clothes. We will of course have food.

 

We will be updating our CALENDAR of the next few weeks and will be posting it on here.

 

We love our Church and all the support we get form each and everyone of you. You are impacting a generation for Christ. Thank you to all the parents who trust us with your kids every week.

 

Love In Christ- David, Krista, Kash, and Kody- and all the Youth. 

Feeding Sheep 9-7-13

Jesus Reinstates Peter

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

 

 

This past Wednesday night was awesome. Our first since school started back up and we got right into God's word and what He is calling His young Church to do.

 

When Jesus was questioning Peter about His love for Him. It was a time of realization for Peter. A time to realize the sacrifice Jesus was making and a call to action for what the Church would be.

 

We too must push through the lip service of our Christianity and get to work. It's more than just accepting Christ into our lives, it's more than attending Church, it's about serving others. Jesus is more than just a passport to Heaven, He wants a true relationship in which He leads you in to service for the Kingdom. 

 

Please continue to pray for our Church. That His name would be lifted up.

 

Love in the name of Jesus our Savior- David, Krista, the Lyons boys, and the Youth.

 

 



 

The Walk 8-24-13

1 John 2:6 (HCSB)  ⁶ 

The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.

 

Hope you all have had a great summer, I know we have enjoyed spending time with our kids while school was out. Now things are getting back to "normal" everyone is getting in their school year groove. We will start getting these news letters out more timely as we are settling in to the school year too.

 

To get you up to speed- This summer we have seen to an amazing thing, although we don't run busses in the summer time, the youth group didn't get any smaller. We've seen God bring in new faces as well as bring back some we've been missing and praying for. GOD IS SOOO GOOD! We THANK YOU for your prayers and support. We love our Church and all of you who support us, where ever you are. THANK YOU!

 

We are getting ready for our first Wednesday night on September 4th. The buses will be running, the food will be good, and students will encounter the living God.

 

I believe God is showing us something a little different than what we have been doing. We really feel as if God has built a Youth Group that is strong together- like family. A group that will have each others back, when the going gets tough. A group that is recognizing that both God and sin are all around us and that we must be aware of both. A group that recognizes that THEY are the Church.

 

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

 

Its is time for our Church to take up building His House- A time to walk as He did. To seek and save the lost. To love our neighbors as our selves. To be like John- the voice of one crying out in the wilderness- Make straight the way for the Lord.

 

We are the Church-We are followers of Christ, the risen Son of God.

 

We'll see you soon- Love, David, Krista, the boys, and the Youth at Mehan. 

 

Youth Update 7-27-13

It's been about a month since I last wrote a new letter. Youth Group is still going great. Over the summer we still have quite a few kids attending. We recently received and installed a new video projector and screen.

A few of the Youth are putting on a leadership class, they are getting their feet wet in ministry. This is a project that has been theirs from start to finish. I believe this will be something that grows over the years. Each years seniors investing in the upcoming classes.

 

 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Rom 10:17

 

This is the theme / verse that they chose to use for their leadership nights. I personally think its a good reminder for us all.

 

 

Many times we write off our Christianity as a list of actions that people can see. That you may be the only Jesus people see, so act appropriately. Jesus did not act appropriately by the religious standards of His time. Yet we continually find ways to simplify our Christianity. We must be seed planters using the Word of God. Through the Bible itself and or through the Leading of the Holy Spirit we must open our mouths. 

The preceding verses tell us-

13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved

14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” 

 

I have been both encouraged and challenged as I read and pray through these verses. I pray for our church- for His Church.

 

God use us in a mighty way. Just as you gave Moses to words to speak, give us the words to speak. Your word will not return void. God provide open doors, opportunities to talk about You and your son Jesus who died for me. Let us never forget the sacrifice, the life saving gift. Give us an desperation for people and a fire for You.

  
We love our Church-  David & Krista, kash and Kody.