For The Love of Junior High

Monster Energy Drinks and Cardboard Sledding

2011-10-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I just gotta say there are times I really enjoy my job...all nighters that involve cardboard sledding down really steep hills would be one of those timese! The picture above is the man, the myth, the legend himself- Mr.Will Graves. Will is a young man after my own heart

because he loves doing things that involve energy drinks and racing. The sled that you see him sitting on was constructed with blood, sweat, tears, cardboard, duct tape, and a little bit of ingenuity (there was no sweat and tears..well maybe a few tears of joy). You may be asking why are we doing this again? Essentially, we were attempting to break the current land speed record!? Actually, I'm not sure what that record is but we tried to break it! (for those concerned parents we did make everyone wear a OSHA approved helmet)

Jokingly, I tell our students that in order to have fun we have to do things that bring them to the brink of death and then we back it off just a little bit! Ha..totally kidding.

However, young people today are all about extreme games...just take a look at ESPN! This generation has seen the growth of what is now called the X-Games. This generation doesn't want to be held back by conventional wisdom when it comes to pushing the limits within sports: they want to do the extraidonaire, they want to do what's never been attempted before, they want to be the first to pull of a new and death defying trick!!

Spiritual Transition: I believe Christianity is Extreme...think about it. The infinite God becomes a man and lives for three years amongst us here on earth as a common bond servant (Phil 2:5-11). His mission? To do that which is impossible (impossible that is for a mere mortal)! Check this out: Jesus the God/Man would lovingly sacrifce himself to redeem lost humanity from the pit of Hell that we might spend eternity with him in a real place called Heaven that is beyond human comprehension!! There's nothing more radical or extreme than this Truth! My prayer is that our young people might be brought into a real relationship with the infinite personal God! How is that possible you say? Jesus makes the impossible= possible! He is the Way...

Here's a couple more psychodelic pics from our epic lock-out:

We'll Never Forget

2011-05-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the crosses that were erected in memory of the 13 people who lost their lives in the Columbine shooting. Just over 12 years ago our Nation was rocked by the events that transpired in Littleton, Colorado. April 19th, 1999 will be a day no one will not soon forget! So many questions...the hardest to answer is Why?

I have read several books on Columbine because I wanted to know exactly what drove these two young men (Alex Harris and Dylan Kliebold) to commit mass murder on their school campus. I came to this conclusion: it wasn't just one thing. There were a lot of negative influences polluting the heart and mind of these two young men: heavy metal rock music, violent video games, bullying...etc. The devastating results this had on the boys is clearly depicted in the diary pages they left for us to read. A common thread in both of their diaries was: death and violence. The boys spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about death and violence, so much so it gradually affected their attitude, beliefs, and actions. The battle was fought in the recesses of their minds and I believe the Enemy used all these negative influences as a stronghold over them!! They were completely overun by darkness and this infiltrated and corrupted every area of their life. The lessons learned for me and our junior high ministry are threefold:

1. Be careful little eyes what you see. The eyes are a window into the soul...make sure you are getting plenty of light! Psalm 119:105 and Psalm 119:130.. the unfolding of your words gives light.

2. What do you spend time thinking about? Do you have any strongholds in you life? As a man thinks in his heart, so he is Prov 23:7

3. Love your neighbor as yourself! Love does no wrong to a neighbor (Rom 13:10). Bullying is a powerplay to be accepted into a group or because of low-self esteem an attempt to make one feel better about himself...Love breaks down both!! The transformational love and words of Jesus are enough to melt the hardest heart.

Lastly, let us reach out in love to the least, lost, and lonely in Jesus name. We will be known as disciples of Jesus by our love for others!!

Covert Ops

2011-02-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

What do you think a junior high student should be doing on a Friday night when it's -5 degrees outside? Give up? How about serving the homeless of Minneapolis in a jimmy rigged shuttle and trailer that's been outfitted to be a mobile food and clothes store!! On Friday, Jan 21st we took 21 junior high students to the Salvation Army (Harbor Light) and we served the needy a hot meal (ribs, mashed potatoes, cookie) and we gave others some much needed warm weather gear (hats, gloves, coats, socks).

The name of our little ministry is called Covert Ops (Ops- Other People we Serve). The reason we use the word Covert comes from a passage of scripture found in Matt 6:2-4

"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you".

We have never publicized this little street ministry, it has from the beginning been done by word of mouth and text messages! :) We do not want to announce with trumpets and banners our giving to the poor because this ministry is not about us! It's about Him! Jesus is the reason we go and serve. He is the one who was born in relative obscurity, lived a homeless life for the three years of his ministry, and ministered to the down and out of society. We want to follow in his foot steps with the hopes that we'll be his hands and feet to others!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out these photos from that night:

Look at that steam rising off the ribs and mashed potatoes!! Good enough to eat...

Colby Kornoelje praying for their meal

One satisfied costumer! :)

Mindy Corbin handing out some warm gloves

It was stupid cold that night, check out the guy in plaid pants with flip-flops on! Not good, I'm pretty sure we gave him some winter socks!

Marlana and Rick...incredible volunteers they prepared and served 180 meals!!

Our shuttle at Grace has been tranformed into a mobile restraunt

The Covert Ops gang with some new friends.....

Candle Light Service

2011-01-06T09:41:00.000-08:00

A candlelight service is often conducted to remember the death of a loved one. Last week on December 30th, 2010 a young man by the name of Ethan Herman committed suicide ending his life at the age of 12. Many of our students knew Ethan and were shocked and heartbroken after hearing such devastating news. I knew as a ministry that we couldn't turn a blind eye to this tragedy but we needed to tackle this difficult subject head-on!! Every year there are 590 suicides in Minnesota with a 100 of those being youth 12-24. This is a very sobering and extremely sad statistic that brings me to my knees in prayer and further solidifies the fact that this is a very real issue with young people!!!

At our candlelight vigil we had our students rehearse Psalm 23 and then several students led out in prayer on behalf of Ethan's family and friends. In a time such as this the church can play a significant role in the life of a young person who is reeling from such a horrific event. A teenager that is dealing with the loss of a friend due to suicide can by greatly comforted by the prayers of their peers. It is my hope and desire for our students to incarnate the life and love of Jesus and intercessory prayer is one of those ways I believe bears forth His Image!!

Please be in prayer for Ethan's family: Mom and Dad (Jeff and Vicki) and sister (Brooke) as well as the countless others who are dealing with this tremendous loss...

Dealing with Fear

2010-10-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Fear Much!?!?

We have many fears in life. Ava, if you can tell, is a little apprehensive and fearful of the Mary-go-Round that Mom and Dad made her ride! Ava doesn't realize that what we've made her do is completely safe and harmless. However, from her perspective (the little munchkin) the ride looks big and itimidating!!

There are many things in life and ministry that can seem extremely daunting from our limited perspective and we're often held back in ministry because the thing in front of us is too big and scary!! How do we deal with such fears in life?

We need a change of view!!

From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;

Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 61:2

We've all had the experience of looking out from a mountain top perch or from the window of a skyscraper! Things and people look a lot different from that vantage point. Everything looks relatively small when viewed from a higher altitude.

Maybe this is part of the remedy for our fears. Things often look different after we have spent time with God. Just look at the change in Psalmist's attitude in Ps 73:17

Until I came into the sanctuary of God;

Then I perceived their end.

The psalmist had some eye problems: they were on this world. After he spent time with God in His Sanctuary it's interesting how the things of this world grew strangely dim.

How do we overcome some of our fears in life? Answer= Perspective!!!

Our junior high students often struggle in life because their seeing life from only one point of view= Their Own. My prayer for our students is that they would see things from a top the Rock that is Higher!!

South Dakota Mission Trip

2010-08-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

Back at the end of June we embarked on a little missionary journey out to Southwest South Dakota to serve alongside the Dyer Family and their ministry called Oyate Concern. Oyate Concern is a local outreach ministry that exists to meet the spiritual needs of the Lakota Indians located on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Our team was comprised of some incredible families: The Arpon's, Becklund's, Kirkwold's, Krummen's, Magalis's, Schmidt's, Sebastian's, and Staloch's. Each family played an intricate and important role (teaching, cleaning, cooking, drama, games, music...etc) during our stay with the Dyers thus providing a sense of ownership to this trip!
The picture above is from the children's outreach night where we had 75 kids running around outside and we as a team provided some really cool crafts. One of the crafts we provided were balloon animals (and various other objects). A favorite request of the night was for swords...and as you can imagine everybody wanted one (including myself) so that they could have fencing duels with each other. There's something exhilirating about arming children with make believe weapons and then watching them role play battle scenes! Ha! However, the most exciting part of the evening was the spiritual battle that was one by Jesus as he delivered two young children out of darkness and into his marvelous light (Haley Schmidt showed the evangelism cube and Rita Arpon prayed with them to recieve Christ..team effort). Praise the Lord, Angels in Heaven rejoice over the repentance of one sinner (Luke 15:7) Thanks to every family who went on this trip and to all who labored in prayer for us....Your prayers were answered!!!

After the trip, a few of us on the team (Arpon's and Schmidt's) made a little trek through Custer State Park. At the park we found a trail called Sunday Gulch Trail. What we thought was going to be a short 1 hour stroll turned into a rigorous 3 hour hike full of challenging obstacles and ever changing terrain. At the end of our three hour hike we found ourselves climbing a sequence of switchbacks. What made this part of the trail particulary interesting was the numerous waterfalls we encountered with some of them free flowing over the areas where we were walking! We must have taken our shoes off 3-4 times over the course of about an hour. This is the kind of excitment I live for: the unexpected and exciting twists and turns that life throws at you!! We did eventually finish the hike and that night we treated ourselves with a steak dinner at the Outback Steak House in Rapid City...Can you say "Bloomin Onion".

Praise the Lord for a wonderful and amazing Mission Trip

Memories of Camp

2010-06-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

CAMP SHETEK

Ah..summer....that time of year again when we start setting our hearts and minds on Camp. Just thinking about camp evokes memories of: shaving cream wars, deathball, laking people, flour bombs, and really really good food!! :) What, are you serious? Good food at Camp?!? People usually start reaching for the tums or some sort of antacid when they recall their dining experiences at Camp. Camp food in the past was best described as bland, aweful, and in the words of Simon Cowell, "totally forgetable!" Now, fast forward to today....this August we will be returning to the pristine campgrounds of Camp Shetek located near Slayton in Southwest Minnesota. We discovered this little gem of a place two years ago and what impressed us the most was the fine dining establishment and the food that they would serve to our campers!! We are talking homemade bread, cereals, salad dressing, and more...all made by an incredible chef with culinary skill whose name is Judy (wife of Camp Shetek Director Steve Harms). Steve rolled out the red carpet for us during our site visit in May of last year and we had a delicous chicken alfredo that would rival any italian restraunt in the Twin Cities!! No joking, I asked Steve after our lunch time meal what they planned on serving our kids come August. His response, "what you just ate is on the meal schedule for your week here at Shetek." We were flabbergasted, could it really be true...no more involuntary fasts, mystery meats, or settling for the salad bar at lunch and dinner! Steve and his wife Judy did a little research and they found out that two things can ruin the experience of a camper: Weather and Food.

"Well, we can't do anything about the weather but we can do something about the food"

Steve Harms!

So, there you have it folks....food for thought!!! :) Of course you know Camp is much more than just food.....it's about finding a place where students (unhindered by the fatal attraction of worldly affairs) would be able to have some intimate and quality time with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus called the disciples in Mark 6:31, and He said to them, "come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." Camp at Shetek is wild and crazy but it's also a quiet place secluded from the world where students can reconnect with Jesus. Last year, God spoke in a powerful way leading 22 students to follow in obedience to the ordinance of scripture and were baptized in the Lake. It was an amazing day and memory I will carry with me forever........

Homelessness

2010-04-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

The Crew (sorry bad pic but left clockwise around the table.. Morgan Staloch, Audrey Sebastian, Rachel Abercrombie, Dale Nelson, Luke San Hamel, Jacob Peterson, Colby Kornoelje, and Josh Miller)

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison; and you came to Me'.

Matthew 25:35-36

You know it's amazing when you start to ponder the fact that Jesus our King emptied himself took on the form of a bondservant (Phil 2:7) and allowed himself to be homeless for the three years of his ministry (Luke 9:58)!! The King who lived in a palace was born in a stable, he who walked on streets of gold in heaven allowed himself to become a street person on earth!! Astounding.... For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake he became poor (2 Cor.8:9).

Is it any wonder that Jesus had such an appeal and following from the down and out in society. He knew exactly what they were going through from the standpoint of His omniscience but also from the fact that he was under the same living conditions! He knew what is was like to go without: house, bed, pillow, good night's sleep, sometimes food.... He knew by knowledge and by experience. He is our great High Priest and he was made like his brethren in all things (Heb 2:17). Put very simply Jesus has a heart for the poor!!!

This month in our D-Groups is Serve Month. We serve because Jesus served us= He who came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Matt 20:28). The pic above was taken from earlier in the year where we put a towel around our waist and went and served the homeless of downtown Minneapolis. We were armed with 8 large pans of ribs (what we thought would last 2 hrs went in 30min), clothes from the clothing closet, and the love of Christ in our hearts. It's pretty cool when your entire hope in doing this is to see someone's life changed and then at the end the people really transformed was US...............It truly is a blessing to serve people!!

Are you "SAD"?

2010-03-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

Question? How can you cure the Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) so commonly associated with those who live in the Northern Hemisphere? Answer: you hitch up the ole yellow bus and head out on a little winter retreat to Camp Shamineau!!! Shamineau is a favorite winter time destination for our students and every year it comes around at the precise moment when the "blues" are hitting the hardest. So, here's the treatment plan to shake off cabin fever=

-First, fill a yellow school bus to almost max capacity with 63 highly caffeineted junior high students!
-Then, tube down a hill in a chair fixed on two sleds!?

-Next, throw foam balls at each other, then play a little broomball and when your tired of doing that play knockout!

-Finally, eat a double decker campfire doughnut that was fried in canola oil and dipped in a bucket filled with cinnamon and sugar! (best doughnut I've ever put in my mouth!)

Seriously, it worked (the only side effect was a raised cholesterol level...thank you doughnuts) and I felt much better by the end of the weekend and so did our junior high crew. :) You know I would be lying if I said this was the real fix for treating the depressing mood of winter. It's not and it won't last!! The only way to counter the affects of a heavy heart is to turn to the one who can do spiritual heart surgery. Jesus said "It's not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick" (Matt 9:12). I've always viewed our ministry as twofold: a hospital and a military outpost. The hospital serves as a place for the sick to come and find healing and the military outpost is to get equipped with the proper gear to fight in the battle!! This year's winter retreat definitely served as a hospital. We had some young people come forward asking for help with some serious stuff: addictions, home issues, relationship problems......etc. The problems our teens are dealing with are for real and they can seem large and daunting!! Thank goodness we serve an all powerful God who is bigger than any problem we might face and He can provide forgivness for any sin we've commited!!

So, what did we do at the end of our weekend together? We asked our young people to bring their "junk" to the foot of the cross and then we had them sign a purity card. The commitment card was significant because we are calling our teens to a level of purity that is above and beyond the shallow measures of this world. We want to strive for purity because the God who has called us into relationship with Him is "Holy"!! Therefore may we be holy in all of our relationships present and future!! By His Grace, I pray this retreat will be a memory maker for all our students and may they never forget their first love in life!!!

The green wristband is a reminder with a verse: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (We are TAKEN by Jesus)

The card is a commitment onto the Lord for purity!!

More sweet pics from the weekend

Making a difference!!

2010-02-22T14:07:00.000-08:00

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...

Before and After

2010-02-13T12:47:00.000-08:00

Good art can reveal spiritual truths in such a unique way that words are often unnecessary. Just think about what's going on between these two pictures............

What Jesus did on the cross is a wonderful exchange!! He is able to take the ashes of our life (sin) and then trasform us into something beautiful (new creation)!! Is God good or what? Think about it: what used to be seen as an instrument of unspeakable torture is now seen by believers as a means of Hope and Life!! God is still wooing people to the cross by his incredible demonstration of Love. A love we are still talking about 2000 years later and a love that continues to transform people. Which leads me to the next pic....

Autumn is the girl pictured in the middle. She shared this past Wednesday night how she came to know Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior this year. What Happened? She got CrossEyed and was pulled in by the Love of Jesus. Who shared this good news with her? A friend in the ministry who goes by the nickname Gigi (aka..Emily M)!! What else do we need to say? Thank you Jesus that you are alive and well and moving in the lives of our young people!!!

Here's some other cool pics from our Wednesday night Jam:

FIRST POST

2010-02-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

I love the crazy fun of junior high. I get to do some pretty outlandish things with our young people.....flour bomb wars, dart wars, duct taping students to tables, and playing strobe light dodgeball!!!! I know it's not just a job it's an adventure!! Ha! Beyond the games and craziness there is some substance to what we do, believe it or not. As an example we asked our students 3 weeks ago to give praises to God for what He's done in their lives this past year!! The responses were awesome, take a look:

Josh M sharing about how God has compelled him to share his faith with his friends. He was so excited about sharing he came up twice (he asked if it was okay...ha)!!! I want Josh's passion for people to rub off on me.... PTL

Brock H. made a New Year's Resolution to follow the Lord with all his heart and to help others who are in need!!! Brock it simply isn't enough to say you Rock!!

Audrey S shared about God leading her to go on a short term mission trip this summer!!

P.S. This girl plays football, pads and all against the boys......basically the coolest thing ever!!!

Cheyenne B sharing how she's thankful for good friends and how the Lord had taught her about how to be a good friend this past year! Cheyenne you make me smile :)

It's more than just "strobe light dodgeball" going on in our ministry and grateful for the Lord's work in our midst. Stay tune more to come later....................