{ADVENT}URE

The word "Advent" means come. As Christians we believe that Christ has come and that Christ will come again. We live in a perpetual state of expectancy. We all go through moments in our lives where it is hard to grasp on to the reality that Christ is coming. A barren land if you will.

A few weeks ago at Elevate we talked about  that life is adventurous. This word adventurous means an exciting and unusual experience that can be typically hazardous. Life is filled with all sorts of experiences that can go in to the unusual and exciting category. The story of Mary and Joseph wasn't the romanticized version that we portray in our manger scenes. But instead it was quite messy. Mary was 14 years old when she has this encounter with God. And her first response isn't excitement but instead she is "troubled." Mary at the time was engaged to be married to Joseph and being found with child could only mean one thing... she cheated. And this act in itself was punishable by death.

Mary was taking a huge risk. Instead of walking away and being afraid she embraced this calling. She understood what God was doing was worth the risk. What a beautiful story that Christ comes in the midst of our mess! Mary told such a beautiful story with her life. Now what kind of story do we tell with our lives?

This week we will dive deeper in to the story of Joseph. Joseph had a hard time with Mary's calling. How does Joseph explain to all his friends that his future wife is pregnant? Would they buy such a story? Do you buy such a story? So he planned to privately divorce her. Joseph was not prepared.  Football players "prepare" for a game. Cooks "prepare" for a meal. Preachers "prepare" their sermons. Preparation is important in our lives. And as Christians we prepare. Our world is messy. And we are not exempt from it's messiness. But the question is what we do with this messiness. What do we do when we get bad grades? Give up? Or do we keep striving. Reading scripture, praying, serving others develop character in a Christian. So the Adventure continues...

Learn More, Dig Deeper, and Grow

We have covered a lot of great scriptures these past few months. And my hope is that the youth would take another look at these scriptures. Here are some things that I do sometimes that help me dig deeper in to a scripture... 

1. Write down a couple of things you think this scripture might be saying... 

2. Are there words that you like... or words that you don't know... take some time researching on the interwebs. 

3. If it is a short scripture try rewriting it. Then write it in your own words. 

4. Want to go crazy... memorize it. Then write it on a postcard and take it with you. 

You will find that when we dig deeper, God meets us, and we grow. Here is the document with all the scriptures.

The Pilgrimage Review

I hope all the PG youth had a great time at Pilgrimage! Our speaker this year was Olu Brown who is the pastor of Impact United Methodist Church in Atlanta, GA. He really spoke to the youth in great ways! Here are some of the things that I heard the youth say that the got from this weekend...

1. Don't give up... no matter the circumstance God is with us

2. They want to be the kind of people that are leaders in their school

3. They are unique. 

4. Sometimes in life we have to wait... 

As I see all these words in front of me I think that these are words for me as well! What a great weekend! Now I hope that youth will take ownership of these words and be who Christ has called them to be. 

I also came away this weekend being so grateful to God for the youth. I am so honored and grateful that I get to be their youth pastor. They make me laugh, they encourage me, they pray for me, and they do challenge me! 

Also I want to say how grateful I am for the adult leaders that went. I have been praying that adults at PG would be a leader to these youth! And what a blessing it was to have Andrea, Kiah, Veronica, Mike, and John on the trip this weekend. 

I encourage you to check out one of the talks we watched at Pilgrimage! Downright inspiring!

http://www.nccpilgrimage.org/2012-11-27-00-14-07/videohub/video/popular/sat-am-olu-s-talk

And here are some pictures of Pilgrimage and the Halloween Carnival. 

Day 2

Day 2. Sporting the pgumc hoodies!

Stop hunger now service project!

Pilgrimage 2013

Getting ready to hit the road. Excited!

Part of the group!

We are here!

You are LOVED if...

Youth experience a world of "you are loved if..." You are loved if you make that team, you are loved if you get these grades, you are loved if you make these friends, you are loved if you wear these clothes. The list is endless! And possessions, sports, friends end up being how we gauge how much we are loved.

These past few weeks we have talked about that we are "made in the image of God." We are valued, loved, cared for, appreciated, with unique attributes all given to us by God. We did nothing to earn them but through God's grace he put this wonderful image on our hearts. 

So as we finish these last couple of weeks up of our MADE series I am reminded that I can be sure that "God loves us." There is nothing we can do about it. There it is. There is no "if" at the end of the sentence. Regardless if we make the team. Regardless of the clothes we wear. God loves us, values us, celebrates us! This is what it means to be made in the image of God. It means to be aware of the value that God has placed upon each of our lives. 

So I hope these past few weeks the youth have come away with how much God loves them. That they don't need to do anything to earn it. All they need to do is embrace it. And to call out that which is good in their friends. 

In the next few weeks we will be looking at {ADVENT}URE. The Advent story is filled with much expectancy and tension. There are many elements of the Advent story that are scandalous and full of tension. Our lives carry some of the intonation of ADVENT. As sure as we might be about the life that we are leading there are elements that are unknown to us. There are elements where we live in tension. And there are elements where we wait in eager expectation of what God might do next. If Christianity is boring and not an Adventure we are doing something wrong. The heart of the Christian is always asking "What's Next". Or "what great things do you have in store for me today Jesus?" 

Mission Trip 2014 INFO

Here is some helpful information about the mission trips we have been taking the past few years. This is really helpful especially if your youth is new to mission trips. Feel free to give me some feedback or questions you still might have out about our Summer Mission Trip experiences. As always friends are also invited on these trips! Blessings! 

Why a Mission trip?

Mission trip are super fun mixed in with some hard work. They are much more rewarding than the plain fun trips because serving others and meeting new folks is such a cool experience. But it also builds character in the youth. My first experience with church was through a mission trip. And it was life changing. And I am sure that it will be the same for your youth.

And if that isn’t enough. You can earn some service hours!! And lots of them.

What is Youth Works?

Youth works is an on the ground organization that organizes\ mission trips for middle school and high school students nationally and globally. You can check them out at www.youthworks.com

Have we worked with them before?

Yes! We took four youth last summer to try them out in Nashville, TN and Savannah, GA. And it turned out to be a super great week of serving Jesus in both cities. 

What would my youth be doing during the mission trip?

We typically are housed in a church for a week. Each day we go out to different sites to serve the community. In the past we participated in helping out with nursing home activities, calling bingo, painting houses, gardening, reading programs, nonprofits, cleaning used mattresses, sorting through food at a food pantry, basically wherever there is a need we try to help out as best we can.

Who can go?

This mission trip is for current 6-12 grades. 

Where will the mission trip be?

We asked the youth where they would want to go. They have chosen Charleston, WV. And our back up site is Birmingham, AL in case this site fills up to quickly. These trips especially in July fill up very fast this is why our deadlines are so early. 

When?

July 20-25 (trying to avoid conflicts with sports practices that start in August)

What is the cost of the mission trip and what all does it include?

The cost of the mission trip is $330. This includes transportation, lodging, and meals during the week. We will do some fundraisers to help offset the cost and we will also ask the congregation to help support us and sponsor youth in this mission trip. (last year each person only had to pay $70 each)

Please don't hesitate to ask any questions. It is truly a life changing experience and we would love for your youth to be apart of this experience! 

A $50 deposit is required to sign up by January 15.
You can sign up your youth as always via THIS LINK