PGUMC Youth Mission to Savannah!

Dear Parents and PGUMC Congregation,

We are so excited to have 8 amazing youth plus 2 really awesome volunteers (Kyle Meier and my wife Kiah) journeying this next week with our youth to Savannah. Thank you to all that contributed to this mission trip. Thank you to all who have prayed and continue to pray for them.

A mission trip is a foundational journey for youth. My hope is that they will discover more how much God loves them and that how God has meant for us to share this  love to especially those in need and marginalized.

Please check back each day to see what we are up too.

Looking forward to this journey with them and you.

Jason

Exclusive Youth Club

Instead of calling ourselves PGUMC Youth lets call ourselves "The Exclusive Youth Club." This past week I have had a few conversations about youth bringing friends that has left me scratching my head.

1. Someone asked me this week: Does a youth have to go to confirmation before they can be apart of the youth group?

2. I asked a youth about inviting their non-churched friend to church... for which they replied: "But they don't go to our church so why would we invite them?"

As much as we teach that "God loves everyone" and "accepts everyone" some how this "exclusive theology" has won. We become a group that is closed to outsiders simply because "they don't go to my church."

If this was true half our youth group broke this rule. They came to church because they had no church. And they stayed because we became what they were looking for.

This past year our theme was "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young." We spent a lot of time talking about how significant the youth's gifts are to the body of Christ. This year our theme will focus around the churches' mission: To go and make disciples of all nations.

Youth are surrounded by friends that need Jesus. Parents you are surrounded by friends who need Jesus also. This year I want to begin praying for those people that they can come alongside us and follow Jesus together.

So can youth bring friends to church? YES!
Do they need to know all about the bible before? NO!
Will they be loved regardless? Absolutely!

Transitions: From Here to There

I know for a lot of us we have spent the past few months reflecting on all that God has done through the ministry of Brian and Diane. And even more dreading having to say goodbye to a really good pastor who has influenced us all in very good ways.

 I am no doubt going to miss Brian. He is not only my colleague but someone I now call a very good friend. All to say transitions are tough. I think of the disciples were less than enthusiastic that their friend and leader (Jesus) kept saying that he would endure the cross and die. But we all know the story that lays on the other side of the Crucifixion. The resurrection in so many ways represents the foundation of our faith.

As I reflect on my short career in the United Methodist Church (I added it up... I have worked a total of 8 years on staff at a church... young I know)... I have been blessed by so many pastors that have spoken great things in to my life and have helped shape who I am. Not just one pastor but many.

I am excited about this new journey. I believe with all my heart that God is at work. God is at work in this community of faith. And it doesn't take long to see it. And I am excited to see how God works through Pastor Brunson and his wife Doris.

I am looking forward to this journey alongside you.

Please be praying for Brian and Diane as they transition in to their new appointment. And pray for Pastor Brunson and Doris as they get settled in here at Pleasant Green.

Blessings!

The WHY behind WHAT we do.

Summer is here! Well not officially but almost. We will be diving in to a new series during our Youth Summer Fun Day's. We will be taking our show on the road. Our theme will be "Why We Do What We Do." There is no doubt in my mind that a lot of us don't know the WHY behind the WHAT WE DO. Why do we pass the peace? Why do we take communion? Why do we baptize babies? Why do we take an offering? Why do we pray prayers? WHY do I keep checking my watch to see when we get out of this thing?!

We call all these things that we do during the service on Sunday morning liturgy. And this word liturgy literally means the "work of the people." Liturgy in many ways represents the rhythm to which our lives should be shaped around. Liturgy will be boring if it has no connection to how we live our lives from Monday to Saturday.

So as mutual wanders as parents, leaders, and youth we hope to find our way back to "Why We Do What We Do." And my hope is that we will find that true liturgy offers us a picture of the life we are called in to and that we are to pursue.

Here are some of the places we will be going! 
1. The WHY behind Communion
2. The WHY behind Baptism (@poolparty)
3. The WHY behind throwing the Peace
4. The WHY behind that Confession & Creed
5. The WHY behind that LONG sermon
6. The WHY behind the offering (more than money)

Youth Sunday: Playin' with Fire

Today in one of my meetings I was asked, "Where have you seen God moving?" Usually these questions catch me off guard and I have to think a little. But not today. I knew exactly where I see God moving. I saw God move in a powerful way through our youth this past Sunday. I am in awe with the depth of spirutality that our youth carry. They unabashedly offer the entiriety of themselves to God. I heard in the testimonies of Caeden and Davis... "God will always love you" and "God will not be disappointed in you."

We need to hear these voices. We need to hear them often. And I am so grateful that the youth remind us of these words. And the youth don't proclaim this message with downtrodden hearts but with joy. I can't tell you how proud I am!

We have our last UMYF of this year on June 2nd. We will take some time to reflect on what we have talked about this past years. Then mix in a slideshow of some of our highlights. Then we move in to our Summer Schedule. I can't wait! Celebrating today what God is doing in your families!

Bully: Only the Beginning...

We have spent the last two weeks talking about "Bullies". There is one way to change the environment of bullies. That is to be a force for good. It is to remind everyone whose they are by speaking good words over them. But this doesn't come easily. Youth and most of us adults would agree being negative comes much easier. It is easy to complain. It feels good in fact. It is easy to call down someone with out having compassion. It is easy because it is habit.

Speaking good over someone has consequences as well. It just might make the person feel good. It just might make them feel like they are somebody. Wait a minute! Those things are true. Encouraging each other is hard because it isn't habit. But once we do it enough it becomes a habit.

So my hope would be that youth would be a force against bullying by doing their best to encourage each other.

If you want to dive deeper which I think you should. Preview the documentary on NETFLIX called Bully. And if you feel comfortable share the realities of Bullying with your youth.

On June 2nd we will have our last UMYF of the semester then transition in to our Summer schedule. God has done some great things in the lives of our youth this past year. We will look back on some of our messages and see where God has moved.

Looking Forward!

Bullies: Starving for GOOD words

This past week at UMYF we talked about some of the negative effects of bullying. We have two responses to bullying. One response is to foster it. We don't protect those who are bullied or we choose to take part in speaking negative over a peer's life. All the while we choose to close our eyes to effects of our actions.

And then the other response is to be a force of good in the lives of our peers. We choose to encourage each other even in the face of adversity. Even when we don't feel like it. Even when we feel like it is undeserved.

Every person no matter who they are is starving for good words. From the bully to the bullied. Each needs to hear that they are a person of significance  Why do we do this? We do this because we are acknowledging that each person is a child of God. Each person is someone deeply loved by God. And we do this by calling out the good in them.

I am who I am today not because of my critics but instead because of the GOOD that others have poured in to me. This is the epitome of being CHRIST for each other.

This week we will dive deeper in to this. We will dive deeper in to hearing how much God loves us and how important it is to spread this narrative by speaking good in to others.

Click here to check out our Camden Retreat pictures.  Also great news. I was asked a ton of times over the weekend, "When are we coming back?!" I have an answer August 12-15. More details to come.