First Baptist Church St. Simons Island

Youth

Resolutions

Why do we make New Year’s resolutions? I haven’t done any research so this is just my perception, but I imagine that most resolutions do not stand the test of a busy life.

One of my jobs in seminary was working the front desk at the campus gym. Around this time every year we would get incredibly busy as people woke up insanely early to work out and shed those pounds they vowed they would lose in the new year. By the time March rolled around, however, things were back to normal. All of the “resolution exercisers” were back to doing what they had always done. Their desired rhythm of life slipped back into their old way of doing things. So if most of them fail, why do we do them? Or maybe we’ve stopped doing them because we’ve noticed that we hardly ever kept them. If we weren’t going to keep them than why bother, right?

Two words which are different, but related: new, hope. The reason we make resolutions is because deep down we long for newness. We know that some of the patterns that we have fallen into are not healthy for us and we long to change. We long for newness. The New Year, merely gives us the occasion to dream up new patterns, new life. Hope. A new year means new beginnings. The chance to do things differently, a chance to make the right choice and not be bound be the previous year(s). And this prospect, fills us with hope doesn’t it?

The Bible talks about these two words a lot. In fact, 1 Peter 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection from the dead.” New birth. Living hope. That is why we make resolutions. But instead of this being a yearly thing, we are told that new birth and living hope are daily realities of God’s grace.

From the Youth Pastor – July 25th, 2014

If there is one thing that my first full week here has demonstrated it is that we have an awesome church, filled with awesome people, and the young men and women of our church are hungry for depth and eager to make a difference in the world for Jesus Christ. What a great combination!

This past Sunday we started “Juice with Jesus” a series in Sunday School where we will be diving into the life and teachings of Jesus. Join us this week for Sunday school, drink some juice, eat some breakfast, and become strong as Jesus encourages and challenges us. We will be making a slight change to SYTYCD night. This week, we will still meet on Wednesday, July 23rd. In the future, however, instead of watching it on Wednesdays when it airs, we will be watching it on Thursday nights, beginning July 31st. No, you do not have to dance! Come and fellowship with us at our house! If you need our address, let me know.

Only two more Gathering Place Main Events left for the summer. If you are going to join us for dinner this Sunday, please let me know by Friday, July 25th so that I can give the person supplying dinner an informed estimate of how much to prepare. Meet at the church at 6:30pm. Our goal will be to get there by 7:30pm.

If anyone is interested in providing dinner for our Gathering Place event, I am still looking for someone to do August 3rd, our last one of the summer. Thanks to the Joy Sunday school class for providing our dinner this last Sunday.

New Youth Minister

During the June 1st worship service the congregation unanimously affirmed Jusin Moser as the new youth minister at FBCSSI. Below is a little information about Justin:

I am the lucky husband of Ellie and the honored father of Micah and a baby due this December! I graduated from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas with a B.S. in mathematics and a B.A. in Religion and Philosophy. Afterward, I attended McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University in Atlanta and earned my Master of Divinity in May. God has blessed me with many opportunities to minister to and with youth. I volunteered with a youth group my freshman year of college, spent a summer as a counselor at Kanakuk Kamps in Missouri, coached basketball in a Christian homeschool sports organization, and organized sports leagues for a variety of ages as an intern at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, GA during seminary. I enjoy family time, playing with my son, anything sports, the outdoors, reading anything from teen fiction (I am a sucker for Hunger Games, Divergent, and Harry Potter) to adult non-fiction, to books on theology, youth ministry, culture, and biblical studies. I love college basketball, especially March Madness, and I am an avid Kansas University and Wichita State fan. Despite my enjoyment of college sports, I really do not care too much about college football (please don’t cast me out!). Wherever God takes my family and I in the future my prayer is to be faithful to God, proclaim the gospel, live the Kingdom, and be influential in the lives of people as I live for Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace!

Justin

The Spartan Race

This past Saturday I ran in something called a Spartan race. The race has fifteen obstacles and lasts for over four and a half miles. I ran this race with eight of my friends from college and high school. The race was very difficult; it was probably the hardest physical thing I have ever done. Towards the end of the race I got real close to walking away. But as I looked at my teammates I realized that we are all in this together, quitting was never an option. As I think about our Christian walk, I am sure we all feel the same way sometimes. Life gets hard and we want to give in or give up. Just remember that we are all in this together. Your family in Christ is there to help carry you along the way and you are there to carry them.

Youth Winter Retreat

We had an amazing time on the Youth Winter Retreat to Universal Studios Orlando. The trip would not have been possible without the help of a few great people. A big THANK YOU to, Harry and Sharon Proudfoot, Kim Richardson, and Tab Blount for accompanying the youth as chaperones. They poured there time, energy, and spirits into our youth. Each of them touched the lives of our youth in many great ways.

The theme of this trip was, Who is God and what do we do about it? The two main passages of scripture we focused on were Luke 4: 14 – 30 and Micah 6:8. In Luke we discovered the reason behind Jesus’ ministry and his purpose for coming to earth. In Micah we learned what Christ requires of us as believers to be more like him and to have an impact for his kingdom.

The next big event is our Superbowl party on February the 2nd at the home of Michael Jennings. Watch for more details to come about this fun event soon. We hope to see you Wednesday and Sunday!

Youth Serve With Hearts and Hands

Beginning this Sunday, the youth will spend Sunday nights in the homes of many of our church members. This will be a time of food, fellowship, and discipleship. These events will take place between 5 and 7 p.m. On October the 5th the will begin serving through the Hearts and Hands ministry. Please arrive at the church at 10:30 a.m. We will deliver food and then head to Foxes Pizza for a lunch of our own. Please bring about 7 dollars for this activity.

The next day, youth will begin greeting on Sunday mornings. I am real excited about the opportunities we have to serve the church and our community in these capacities. So look for our smiling faces as we deliver food and meet you at the gym door soon!

There will be a youth parents meeting on October 6th in the fellowship hall after the 10:30 a.m. worship service. This will be a short meeting as we look at the next few months fun filled activities and service opportunities. Hope to see you there.

This past Wednesday night we talked about how our actions show the type of person that we truly are on the inside. We talked about how our faith is shown by what we do not by what we say. This week as we walk the halls of our schools, I want to encourage you to share Christ with others whenever you can and when necessary use words.

Youth Begin as Greeters

B eginning September 29, the youth will spend Sunday nights in the homes of many of our church members. This will be a time of food, fellowship, and discipleship. These events will take place between 5 and 7 p.m. This Sunday night the youth are encouraged to attend the Mercer preaching conference worship service in place of our normal Sunday night activities.

Also, beginning in October, the youth will be greeters on Sunday mornings and a part of the Hearts and Hands ministry. I am real excited about the opportunities we have to serve the church and our community in these capacities. So look for our smiling faces as we deliver food and meet you at the gym door soon! More details about these events are coming soon!

There will be a youth parents meeting on October 6th in the fellowship hall after the 10:30 a.m. worship service. This will be a short meeting as we look at the next few months fun filled activities and service opportunities. Hope to see you there.

Thank You To Volunteers

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Skip and Peggy Russell, Lee Norvell, Sharon Proudfoot, and Rani Lauersdorf for helping make the youth trip to Night of Joy trip such a success. Each one of these individuals spent their weekend investing in the lives of our youth that will make a meaningful impact on their lives for years to come. We took a group of 33 to Walt Disney World and had a blast. The discipleship focus for the weekend was on how being a servant and placing others before yourself is what really makes us first in the eyes of God. And yes we made our picture in front of the Lobster. I would also like to thank John and Nancy Bryson for teaching youth Sunday school this past Sunday!

Youth Sunday nights will start back this Sunday night! We are still looking for church members to host us at their homes for a time of discipleship and fellowship. Please contact me soon if you are interested in hosting a Sunday evening. Each Sunday night we will last from 5 p.m.tp 7 p.m.

September Will Be Busy For The Youth!

T he Night of Joy sign-up period has ended. We are taking a group of 35 youth and chaperones to Orlando, Florida for a time of fun and worship at Disney World. Please play for safe travels and for our hearts to be open to the calling of Christ in our lives. This will be a time of that we seek to grow closer to God and as a group. A participant meeting will take place September 4th at 7:15 in the Epic Café.

Wednesday nights have started back in the Epic Café. The theme for the fall is finding faith in film. Last week we watched a clip from The Avengers. We looked at the gifts and superpowers of each of the heroes. We then discussed how we are all uniquely gifted and have our own powers that we can use to impact the Kingdom of Heaven. This will end each week at 7:15 p.m.

Also during the month of September the youth will share in a time of food and fellowship at the homes of a different church member each Sunday night. We will meet at the church at 5:00 p.m. and return to church at 7:00 p.m. Because of Night of Joy our Sunday night schedule will not start until September 15th.

Youth Wednesday Night Live

This Wednesday night, Youth Wednesday Night Live will be returning to the Epic Café at 6:30 p.m. During this time we will be looking at our faith through the eyes of cinema. We will discuss how we can deepen our walk with Christ and how we can use everyday events to share our faith with our friends. This will end each week at 7:15 p.m.

School has started and we are settling back into the routine of life. During September youth praise band, youth choir and prayer breakfast will start back. I am excited about each of these activities! Details for each of these events will be coming soon. Make sure you check the Lifeline and the youth Facebook page for more details.

Also, during the month of September, the youth will share in a time of food and fellowship at the homes of a different church member each Sunday night. We will meet at the church at 5:00 p.m. and return to church at 7:00 p.m. Because of Night of Joy, our Sunday night schedule will not start until September 15th. This Sunday night we will join the rest of the church for a worship service at the lighthouse. Come ready to worship and eat boiled peanuts and homemade ice cream!