It’s February already! We are well into 2015 and time just seems to fly. Our Winter Retreat was awesome this year. We had snowy great weather for traveling to and from it, plus the weekend went just as planned. “Collision with God” was our theme for weekend as Brett Talley from Church at the Crossing in Indianapolis delivered several great messages that challenged our thinking and brought us closer to God. Josh Lavender proved to be a great Worship leader, as he and his band brought us closer to the throne of Grace. Again, through the victorious effort of our Mt. Haley girls, in ga-ga ball, we brought home the Winter Retreat Traveling trophy to reside at Mt. Haley until next year. Lots of tubing, skiing, ice-skating, indoor games, broomball and other activities provided fun for everyone. Special thanks to Chase Brenske and Paul Hassen for serving as temporary counselors for the weekend. Thank You! Special recognition goes to our table cup masters as they entertained the meal crowds with their display of timing, rhythm, and manipulation of their cups. (You would have to be there to understand!) Great Retreat! Well done, Connie!

Who is the Holy Spirit! We are almost done with our series of “Who are God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit?” We will be wandering into a discussion on “church” and living in the Kingdom of God this spring. There will be NO YOUTH on Sunday, February 1 (Super Bowl Sunday) and February 8 (leaders in Guatemala). Bible Study on Sunday mornings continues to look at “Purpose, Purity, Power and People” and will throughout the year. The GRADS @ Graham group on Sunday nights is studying “Why Revelation” and will be through March. Again, I would emphasize that Youth begins at 6:00 PM on Sunday nights, not at 6:15, 6:25, 6:40 or whenever. Your help in starting on time is appreciated!

There is a special Concert and Super Bowl Party at the Community Nazarene Church in Midland on February 1st for High School and College-aged kids. PW Gopal will be in concert at 5:00 PM followed by a big-screened viewing of the Super Bowl with pizza and snacks provided.

Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons the Lock-In was postponed. People were out of town and had conflicts, and we called it off when we only had 6 people coming on Wednesday before the Friday. The Lock-In is a huge activity, needs extra adult supervision, and has a higher cost than most local activities. Signing up for events is important to us in planning – so help us out! The GOOD news is we did have the swimming party which was very well attended (15 kids) and we enjoyed the pool, each other and Pizza Sam’s. We will let you know when we find a new weekend for the Lock-In.

Guatemala is NEXT WEEK! 15 servants from 5 different churches (8 from Mt. Haley) will be departing for Guatemala City on Thursday, February 5 and returning to Midland Thursday, February 12. We have been spiritually prepared and challenged, we have insurance, we have bonded together, and our plane tickets are purchased. We will be weighing our luggage on Tuesday this week and flying on Thursday. Your prayers are wanted, needed and appreciated as we minister in Guatemala! We will have many blessings, stories and God-sightings to share with you when we return.

Can’t believe it! The time is coming for registration for the annual Michigan Church of God State Youth Convention held in Kalamazoo on the weekend of May 15-17, 2015. This year’s speaker is Reverend Doctor Todd Faulkner, campus minister of Anderson University. The worship leaders are Alanna Story, a new and upcoming Christian band. If you register in March, it’s $120 with a $40 deposit. After that, the costs go to $130 in April & $155 in May. We have a special deal for you this year. If you pay the $40 registration in March, the Mt. Haley Youth Ministry will match your $40 and provide fundraisers to work on in April & May to complete the $80 balance. To have the match, you must register in March. Our fundraisers work best in April & May because the weather breaks and we can rake, collect pop cans, sell hanging baskets, etc. SO, plan ahead, save yourself $40 with the match and then earn the rest of the way to a great SYC!

Parents and church, your prayers, support and encouragement are greatly appreciated and we look forward every week to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our students through interaction, study, fellowship and relationship. Thank you for sharing your son or daughter and our congregation for holding the youth up in PRAYER.

Love God, Love People, Live It!

Blessings, Pastor Jerry