October was a good month as we finished the To Save A Life series with watching the movie and having an average of 12-14 students in attendance each week. Thank You to the families furnishing snacks on Sunday nights.  They have been devoured and deeply appreciated.  A new sign up will be coming for December and January.  This month we will be learning how to extend our faith, thanksgiving and participating in preparing Thanksgiving Baskets for the Midland County Food Bank and the Hanging of the Greens here at Mt. Haley.  The Apparel Order of shirts, hoodies, bags and caps should be arriving (hopefully) by Thanksgiving.

The next major goal for the youth is earning and raising the money for the Michigan Church of God Winter Retreat over the New Year’s weekend.  The cost for each student is $99 which includes 2 nights’ lodging, 5 meals, a New Year’s Eve pizza party, the worship band “Sanctified,” and our speaker, Steve Van Fossen (the son of a former Mt. Haley pastor).  This has been an exceptional CHOG weekend where the hearts of many youth have been changed and their lives touched by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have been working hard at raking leaves (between raindrops) and are seeking other ways of earning money.   We will be having a Spaghetti Dinner on Friday, December 9th and be offering Scripts gift cards for Christmas.  The Scripts program is where we offer gift cards for local restaurants, stores, gas stations and other things and the youth group receives a percentage of each gift card sold.  Also another option to help the students is to offer the investment of scholarships for individual students and help them pay their way to camp.  It’s an investment into a student’s life and may be in any amount from 5 to 99 dollars.  If you would like to sponsor a student, please, see Pastor Jerry or Connie.   If you have any ideas or opportunities to help us earn money for camp and other functions let us know.  We would appreciate the help!  Thanks!

As we continue to establish a “regular” group of students attending on Sunday nights, we would like to establish a Prayer Partner ministry with our youth.  I believe there is no greater time than right now where our youth need to have a group of people holding them up in prayer.  Youth culture with its demands, schooling, peer relationships, family issues, and many other issues in a youth’s daily life creates a need for us to hold them up in prayer.  The way it would work would be to match up a student and a church family. (Unrelated to them, because I know parents and grandparents are already praying) and have a prayerful relationship with a particular student.  This would be more of an opportunity on the church family’s perspective than the student.  In addition to prayer, you might want to drop them notes of encouragement, maybe develop a relationship, but generally take the responsibility of holding them up in prayer.  We would match them up, then give you the names, addresses, etc.  Prayer is a powerful gift that God has granted to us and something he calls us to do.  See Pastor Jerry or Connie as you prayerfully consider this personal ministry.

In conclusion, Connie and I would like to give special Thanks to everyone for your prayers and especially for your generous Pastor’s Appreciation month gift.  We are very fortunate people living for Christ and His Kingdom.

–Pastor Jerry