February Youth Update

Yesterday I came back from the Michigan Church of God Pastor’s Institute inspired, motivated and praising God for the opportunities we have as pastors in the state. It was a great time with Pastor David and other pastors from throughout the state.  On Saturday, January 28, Connie and I departed on one of our best weeks of every year, our mission to Guatemala to meet with friends in Christ and to be part of helping a family have a new home.  Blessings!  We thank everyone for the church donation for that home, we thank you for the gifts you help provide for the people and especially for the support and prayers on our behalf. We will be anxious to share with you when we return!

Our Prayer Partner Team for the youth has officially begun.  We have 13 youth and 13 prayer partners in place and through the months we hope to increase in sharing and praying as the ministry grows through the answered prayers.  Partners will be sent prayer materials each month as well as more information about the youth.  Thanks again for volunteering for this important ministry.

Our Swim Party day went extremely well with 17 students in attendance as well as my son & his family and our daughter and her kids joining us.  They had an enjoyable time visiting Mt. Haley and attending the party.  We also welcome Jo and Lawrence Adams & family as they have offer to volunteer in helping with the youth and attending Mt. Haley.  They are a great addition to our ministry.

Congratulations to Isabella Krolikowski and Shane Mudd in receiving their certificates for completion of Year One in the Michigan Student Leadership Institute (MSLI). Special recognition is extended to Paul Hassen for his graduation from the three-year MSLI.  These students should be commended.  MSLI will be having their Spring Tune-Up day on March 24th.

The Scrip’s Gift Card Sale continues through February 5th when we will place the order on February 6 and hope to have them to you by February 12 before Valentine’s Day. Cards do not need to be used for the holiday, but they contribute to the Youth Ministry when you eat out at restaurants, buy groceries, purchase gasoline, get that new outfit to wear or other items that families use.  Thanks for your help.  Extra order blanks are on the back table in the lobby.  Keep bring those pop cans/bottles in, they really help!

The Youth Super Bowl party will be Sunday, February 5th from 5:00 – 9:00 PM at Pastor Jerry & Connie’s home, 712 Stillmeadow, in Midland.  We’ll have snacks, watch a portion of the big game and have some other activities for non-sport fans.  Van pick-up begins at 4:30.  Call Pastor Jerry on Sunday the 5th if you need a ride. (We’re in Guatemala until late on the 4th.)

There is a Youth Lock-In at the church on Sunday night, February 19th.  Bullock Creek and Midland do NOT have school on Monday the 20th.  There will be games, food, devotions, movies, etc during the night plus possibly some other special activity.  More details will be coming on the time it starts and other information as we get closer to the night.  Watch for a postcard!

We will be continuing with our series, “Jesus & Sticky Questions,” through out the Sunday nights until Easter.  Great discussions with the Word of God and how we live our everyday life will challenge us.  Students, feel free to invite friends and we encourage congregation members to tell families about our Youth Ministry at Mt. Haley Church of God.  See you when we get back.  Thanks for your prayers!

Blessings,
Pastor Jerry

Youth in the New Year

As I sat this afternoon watching a gentle snowfall in my living room with the Christmas tree still beaming and the fireplace keeping us warm, I reflected how God had worked in our life and how grateful we are with his love and the plans He creates in completing His work.  Once again, I thank Mt. Haley for their support, their love and their generosity in having us as part of their family.  We were truly blessed with your Christmas gift that supports building a home in Guatemala for a family that has become very dear to us.

Our prayer requests for the upcoming year would be for the Winter Retreat  – that God might touch the hearts and minds of youth not only from Mt. Haley, but the youth and counselors from all over Michigan who will be attending.  This is Connie’s big week as she completes all the preparation for Winter Retreat and may you pray that she relaxes and rest after God’s work has been done.  We are expecting changed lives in the hearts of our kids.

Closely upon the heels of that request is for our annual mission to Guatemala beginning Saturday, January 28 through Saturday, February 4.  This will be our 5th year going to Guatemala to work with David Beam and the Shack Attack.  We will be working to build house #32 and worshipping, fellowshipping, praying and renewing friendships with people along an area called the “Tracks” in Guatemala City.  It costs a group $5000 to build a small cement house for a family in need and we pay for the transportation, food and lodging for the week.  We are not skilled laborers, but we are working with the people of the Tracks to improve a family’s life.  This has been one of Connie’s and my greatest blessings in life and we appreciate your prayers.

We will begin our “Jesus & the Sticky Questions” series on Sunday nights in January & February.  We are planning a Super Bowl party on Sunday, February 5th plus some other activities.  Our Spaghetti dinner was a super success despite the change in dates and we wish to thank everyone who participated and supported the youth.  We hope to have another gift card ordering time soon, so watch for that in the upcoming weeks.  Our next major event will be the State Youth Convention in May plus Connie and I are making plans to attend the International Youth Convention of the Church of God in Denver, Colorado this summer.  We hope the church might have some youth delegates. Something to pray about!

This month we hope to launch the Youth Prayer Partners ministry.  We hope to match a youth with a family in the church. (Other than those related to particular students).  We are strong believers in prayer and we hope to change our group, our kids and our church through prayer.  To pray is to change.  Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform others and us.

We would base the Youth Prayer Partner ministry on these tenets for praying for a youth:

1.   Pray that they know God’s will for their lives. (Colossians 1:9)

2.   Pray that they would do God’s will in their lives. (Colossians 1:10)

3.   Pray for productivity in their lives. (John 15:16)

4.   Pray for them to have a growing relationship with God. (Philippians 4:11-12)

5.  Pray for them to have a right attitude. (Colossians 1:11-12)

6.  Pray for their families, their peer relationships, home and school. (Psalm 145:18 & Isaiah 41:10)

Thank you for another great month. May God’s blessings be with everyone!  Love God, Love Others.

In Christ,
Pastor Jerry

Youth Ministry Update, December 2011

The Thanksgiving through Christmas Season always brings times of special joy and opportunities to spend one of our most important treasures – “time” with friends and families.  We were blessed with the area “Thanksgiving” service followed up with the “Hanging of the Greens” plus our opportunity to provide 540+ Thanksgiving Baskets to families throughout Midland County. Our youth ministry and other helping adults made this service project extremely successful blessing not only families in need but “us.”  Thank you for everyone who helped!

Our youth meetings of December 4th and December 11th will be discovering the topic “Called At Christmas” where we will explore being called to Believe, called to Serve, called to Rejoice and called to Witness.  On December 18 there will be a youth Christmas party from 2:00 to 4:30 then there will be no youth meeting on December 25 (Christmas) and January 1 (New Year’s Day and Winter Retreat).

During January & February we will be studying “Jesus & Sticky Questions” with no youth on Sunday, January 29 because Pastor Jerry & Connie have the opportunity to travel and serve in Guatemala.  There will be a Super Bowl Party on February 5th, then we will study “Jesus & Sticky Questions” on the remaining Sundays in February.

We hope everyone has enjoyed their new Mt. Haley T-Shirts, Hats, and Hoodies.  The sale was very successful and we collected some money for Winter Retreat.  We will have another sale in the future. Our Scripts gift cards netted us some money for Winter Retreat and we thank those who participated.  Pop Bottles & Cans still are a valuable resource for funds and we appreciate those who contribute.

The Michigan Church of God Winter Retreat happens over the New Year’s weekend.  The cost for each student is $99 which includes 2 night’s lodging, 5 meals, a New Year’s Eve pizza party, the worship band, “Sanctified” and our speaker, Steve Van Fossen.   There is a $49 registration fee needed by December 7, 2010.  The Spaghetti Dinner originally scheduled for December 9th has been changed to Friday, December 16 because Pastor Jerry & Connie need to attend a funeral memorial service for a family member in Phoenix, Arizona.  Thank you for your flexibility in this situation, however, we hope you can still support our youth in this much-needed fundraiser. Please pray for Connie and I as we take care of our family matters and then plan for the Winter Retreat for our group and the state CHOG.    Winter Retreat 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.
Last month, we spoke of Prayer Partners for the different members of our youth ministry.  This is something I would like to begin in January and we will be matching up families and youth.  I spent some time explaining the prayer partner ministry in the November newsletter and we feel we now know the “regular” attendees in the youth ministry.  The list includes Brennan Mudd, Jaylee Martin, Thomas Jenson, Lacinda Vinson, Sabrina Torres, Shane Mudd, Isabella Krolikowski, Chase Brenske, Nick Torres, Corey Forster and Paul Hassen.  We have others who attend, but haven’t settled into regular attendance patterns.  We are averaging 12-15 students a week and hope to increase as we reach out the hands of Christ.

We continue to thank you for your prayers, love and support.  May we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Pastor Jerry

Youth Ministry Update: November

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