Wed night Burger Bash

Below you’ll find three passages I’ve been thinking about. They have come to my mind through personal reflection and the time last evening while we had our Middle School / High School kick off night. We had a very special speaker, Peg Hammond.

Last evening the whole night was such a blast. It was great to reconnect with students I haven’t seen in a while and meet new students who are just entering our student ministry here at Calvary. So I am reminded to LIVE each day, every moment as a reflection of how Christ is working in my life. This upcoming weekend we kick off our middle school group, ACTIVATE beginning at 6:15PM on Sunday 9/14.

“God is love. When we take up permanent residence in the life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we are free of worry on Judgment day – our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.”
1 John 4:17 (The Message)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Cor (NIV)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matt 6:33(NIV)

Fall KICK OFF '08/'09

It has been a fun start to the '08/'09 school year. We've had a parent meeting, volunteer staff training, a pancake breakfast and this week we have the burger bash (Wed 9/10, beginning at 6:00) and our ACTIVATE kick off on Sunday, Sept 14th, beginning at 6:15.

Watch for more information on Activate, SS information, & our Acitivate with RECHARGE. Another Date to keep in mind is that ALL 6th graders need to know they are invited to a 6th Grade ONLY, Quest4Adventure day on Saturday, November 1st.

Scripture Reading?

So this past Sunday when I was handing out Bibles I asked the students, "Do you own a Bible?" Every student said YES. So why don't they carry them to Church on a Sunday for Sunday School or to use them in Church? I have no idea. But my next question was to challenge their thinking even further, "So when was the last time you picked up your Bible and read it on your own?" Some could answer this question some could not. The most interresting thing was that only one person had read their Bible that week, a few days before I ask the question. So my third and final question, "What did you read?" It was hard for the students to remember. At any rate, since we're doing a Gospel overview during the month of August I challenged the students to read the Jesus' sermon on the mountian. Do you know where it can be found? Have you been reading your bible lately? If so, tell someone what you're reading.

Summer NOTE...

First of all I want to say a WELCOME to all incoming 6th graders.

Here is some inforation for all middle school students:

TURTLES '08 (Totally Unique Recreational Teen Last Event of the Summer) iscoming up FAST and you still have time to register. Invite friends and beready to have 24+ hours of TOTAL Fun!!! This event is a time for incoming6th graders to have their first introduction to some of the crazy fun wehave in Middle School, yet be challenged by our speaker/illusionist TobyTravis. It is a time to make introductions to those you don't know who areentering 6th grade just like you and it is a time for those returning toreconnect after being busy all summer. You'll also be able to meet some ofthe leaders who will be involved in middle ministry here at Calvary.Ultimately this is a huge "sleep-over" where we invite middle schoolers from other churches to join us for the event. There are usually 7-10 otherchurches, mostly Evangelical Free Churches that jump on board for the fun. Everything begins at 3:30 PM on Friday, Aug 15th. Inflatables, supper, speaker & an ice cream party. Your registration deadline has been extended until August 10 for Calvarystudents and their friends.

Sneak Peek of what is coming up:
- 6th Grade only Events
- BURGER BASH fall kick off on WED. September 10
- We'll begin our ACTIVATE nights on September 14th. Our firstteaching series will be entitled, "What's in a NAME?" - looking at the namesof God and how He DOES relate to us today.
- Sunday School each week during the first service - This is a timeof study and discussion.
- Student Ministry Team - If you want to go deeper in your faithand be challenged to put your faith into action, this group will be for you.You'll actually have the opportunity to help plan out and implement ACTIVATEnights. There will be a special retreat for those who want to join thisteam.
- RECHARGE will be our small group element to our Middle schoolyouth ministry. It is my prayer you'll be more accountable to God and yourfriends as you grow in faith.
This is only a start of what you'll see in our Middle school ministry hereat Calvary. There will be more specifics given out in the weeks to come.Please pick up information concerning specific dates at the ministry Fair onSunday, August 24.

PARENTS there will be a special parent forum on Wednesday, September 3 from7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Please make every effort to attend this meeting.

As always, know that I love to buy anyone who asks a DQ blizzard and thatI'm always available for questions and welcome all feedback. Please emailsbellingar@calvaryefc.org or call 282-4612. I will also be updatinginformation on a BLOG which can be found at a link on the Calvary web site.Thanks!!!!

Look forward to seeing you at TURTLES.
-Pastor Steve

Back in Rochester...Note 2 Parents

Safely Home!!! It was a tiring trip home after all the hard work everyone put in. It was more than the ministry projects; it was the growth and challenges that we experienced through group time each night and the new friendships that were built with the people from the other churches. I am personally SO proud of your children and you should be also. Parents, your children went above and beyond expectations. Not saying there weren't those “growth opportunities” throughout the week, but your children were a HUGE, HUGE encouragement to the staff of Youthworks that served us all week. You could see it in their faces and from the words they shared at the end of our time with them. The energy and attentiveness at our club time each night was very powerful.

It was a privilege to lead this group. I am especially thankful for the other adults who served alongside me throughout the week (Kevin Z, Chris N, Lora P, Jill H, and Kristi W). We had such a special time last night observing Communion together and sharing testimonies. I want to thank everyone who prayed for us. God truly answered your prayers.

-pastor steve

Club for Boys

Below you'll find a video showing the "game room" at the Club for Boys:

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More updates ... More photos added look at the link..

Alison K.- This trip was an experience I refuse to forget. There were lots of new people we got to meet, and build relationships with, and lots of amazing people that everyone talked about from the other missions. Everything we did was meaningful. The people that I met were very interesting, and I began realizing these people’s needs. I learned things from the people in my group. I worked at two nursing homes and a Youth Development center. I think I made some lasting impacts. The elderly just want somebody to talk to. And if only we would just let them talk! We would learn so much. The lady I spoke to, at Meadowbrook’s nursing home, Helen, a pianist, I think about 94 years old, was like walking history. Her story was just the story of a ‘typical farm girl’ in South Dakota. And it was fascinating to hear her talk. She told me about everything… and repeated herself, so I’m not thinking I’ll be forgetting about it soon. Somehow, her story kind of reminded me of Anne of Green Gables, or Laura Ingalls Wilder, or an American Girl story. It was just awesome to hear the way things really were back then, directly to the ones who lived in it. I also spoke to Ruth. I didn’t get much time to talk to her, but she was incredible. She had multiple sclerosis, and she was writing these books, one about MS and her sister with MS, and another about domestic violence, due to her years helping in a battered women facility. She was incredibly strong and inspiring, even in the few minutes I got to speak to her.
At the Youth Development Center, I talked to a girl. We didn’t say much, and the screens of the computers were so attracting to me in that crowded, secluded corner… I do believe somebody should’ve been watching these kids more… I saw a little makeover game similar to the ones I’d play at home, and so I walked toward that person on that computer. I learned quite a bit from just watching her there. I sort of detected her fashion sense, by the way she styled the animated, portrait-view, models. She surfed the web, on the appropriate site list, and I learned her name from her sending a random comment to Disney Channel’s site. When she got off the computer, she asked me if I wanted to draw, and set down paper and a pencil in front of my seat. And so we drew for a few minutes. Kristi and her group of little girls, who were playing ‘pretend’, imagined that we were both at an art school that they were visiting. They took pictures of us. I played with the younger girls outside for a minute, then came back in. All these kids wanted were a friend. Someone to talk to, or draw with, or appreciate them, or just to play with them.
On the day of the activity, when we went to the waterpark, I saw my older friend, who was my age, the one who drew, and her eyes just lit up when she saw me. We had hardly said anything, but we were friends already.
What really got to me, however, was the ‘club’ nights, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday had a very important message. God loves everyone. No matter what they do. No matter who they are. On the very first night that we all arrived here, someone told us to think of everyone as someone that God loves, rather than judging them. The ‘Club’ on Tuesday really reinforced this. They showed us a slideshow of pictures. Of so many different people. And every single one of them, is loved by God. That was extremely powerful in itself.
To be continued….