Whose been the most infuential people in your life? It's probably those who took time to invest in your life making a real difference in the kind of person you are today? We are all indebted to somebody? As for me, my 5-6 grade Sunday school teacher was one of those guys: Zach Statson. When no one else was willing to lead our little motley crew Zach stepped up and stepped into our lives. He was an awesome guy who loved the outdoors and loved to go camping (he was the Bear Gryllys of our day!!). He taught me a valuable lesson in survival and I'll never forget his words to us about the dangers of lions, tigers, and bears: "I don't have to run fast, I just have to run faster than you"!! Ha! Thank you Zach. The cool thing about Zach was there was more to life than just living in the outdoors, he was committed to loving his Lord and Savior. Camp Copass (retreat center near Denton, Texas), Summer of 1985, Zach shared with me the good news of Jesus Christ and I am forever indebted to him for making an eternal impact on my life!! You see one person can make a huge difference. We often talk about changing the world but it starts one person at a time.......
We challenged our young people two weeks ago to go to school MAD= Make A Difference. Last week they reported back and their stories are nothing short of remarkable. We heard about our students reaching out to the least, lost, and loney in school cafeterias, students sharing the gospel via text message (way to go Maddie V), as well as other amazing acts of kindness. One story in paticular stood out and caused a ripple of awe and emotion among our junior high students.........
Cole decided to live on the edge this past week for Jesus. Cole sat down with a young girl who was depressed and suicidal and gave her this word of encouragment: "You matter to me as a friend and you are valuable in the sight of God!!" WoW!! Thank you Cole for going above and beyond to make a difference in someone's life.
Praying that the grace of God would continue to spread throughout our ministry and that these acts of kindness would become a way of life for all of our youth!!
P.S. What would youth ministry be without some fun and games, try to guess what's going on in these pics...
2 comments:
GO COLE!!!! What a bold, strong young man to take the time & share those words!!!
Are they doing the best 80 video's dance moves? :)
Rebecca Jo, really close call on the pics. The guy is lip singing to the Backstreet boys and the girl is doing an interpretive dance to "Kung Fu Fighting", which I believe was an 80's song, thanks for playing, Travis.
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