Let's Get Rockin!

OK. So school is back at full speed and things are starting to feel a little rough. I mean, you have homework, tests, athletics, clubs, gossip, and mean people to deal with and it starts to get tough, right? Well, when people start feeling like that, they usually start to cut things out of their life. Sometimes they even cut out God, Church, the Bible, and Christ. Well, I’m here to remind you that you should do the exact opposite! This is when God really wants to be with you! This is when you should spend extra time with Him! This is when He can do so many wonderful things in your life!

So, how can you spend more time with God? Well, it starts with prayer! Then, you have to get into His Word (the Bible). Then, you have to get with His people (the church).

To help you, I am going to challenge you to reach for a higher level by the end of this year. The theme for our Youth Group for the rest of 2005 is "JOIN THE MOVEMENT!"

Here’s what you need to know about the next three months:

1) MOVE YOURSELF!
It’s time to stop being lazy and do an honest assessment about where you are with God. You need to spend MORE time with HIM, and with US! Get yourself off your couch and into church as often as you can. Get yourself out of Teen Weekly and into the Bible as much as you can. This is the most important thing you can do in 2005!

2) MOVE YOUR FRIENDS!
Don’t forget that your friends need God too! I challenge each of you to invite your friends to church so they can learn more about God. You could actually save their life! Also, every time you bring a friend, you and your friend(s) will get your names put into a drawing for a $50.00 gift certificate to Best Buy. We will have the drawing the week before Christmas. So now you can save your friend’s life, hang out with them more, and enjoy some free stuff!

3) MOVE YOUR LOUNGE!
We will be moving the Lounge into the bigger room very soon. When we do, we will be decorating the new room with YOUR stuff! That’s right. Everybody is going to bring one thing from their home that they want to put into the Lounge. It will be fun and we will have some cool decorations (cause I know you all have cool stuff). I will give you the dates on this later but it will probably be the first week of November!

4) MOVE YOUR MONEY!
Speaking of the Lounge, we will be having a TEEN AUCTION on October 30th! This will raise money for the Pepperdine Youthfest and hopefully some new furniture in the Lounge. If you are going to Pepperdine, you MUST participate in this fundraiser if you want the church to help pay for your trip. Last time we did this, every teenager had fun and some got free stuff (like golf clubs). So we will be doing a survey to prepare for this fundraiser next week!

5) MOVE YOUR WEEKEND!
As you just read, we will be going on our annual Pepperdine trip the day after Thanksgiving. This is one of the best trips we do every year so you should all try your best to be there. The trip costs $60 but includes a T-shirt, lodging, and all your meals. Also, if you do the fundraiser, you probably won’t have to pay anything!

6) MOVE THE SURRAS!
Unless you live in a cave, you know Bobbie and I are trying to buy a house in Santa Maria. With God’s blessing and a little help from you all, we should be there by the end of 2005. Once we live in SM, we will be able to spend a lot more time with you and have all of you over for BBQs and stuff. Also, we will get a chance to see all your games and other stuff. We are SO EXCITED!

7) MOVE YOUR SPIRIT!
All this is preparing us for 2006 when our theme will be INCREASE THE PASSION! We will start January off with the Discipleship Experiment (a 30-day personal journey with God). That will lead us into a calendar full of events and cool lessons – all focusing on our passion for Christ. It will be a very fun 2006!

With all this said, be on the lookout for a calendar, permission slips, and other fun stuff over the next three weeks. Until then, remember this when you start to feel overwhelmed:

PRAY
Get to Church
PRAY
Read your Bible
PRAY
Invite your Friends
PRAY
Lead by Example
PRAY

I am always here to help you if you need me! See you all Sunday!
Vince