My Epic Journey

At EPIC, we are doing something new.  We don’t have separate programming for students during the weekend service.  Instead we encourage our students to worship, serve and learn along with their parents in main service.  Our desire is to create an ORANGE ministry.

This past week I received an amazing e-mail from one of our parents concerning an ORANGE moment they had with the teenager during our communion service.  Thought I would pass along the note:

Ryan,

I wanted to let you know about something pretty awesome that happened during yesterdays service.

I was sitting with my son who is a 6th grader listening to Terry’s sermon. When Terry introduced his main verse I handed my son a Bible and had him find the verse for us.

He found it with no trouble and we read it together as Terry read aloud.

At the end of the service Terry gave an invitation for communion. I asked my son if he would like to participate in this special time. He said he did.

We went up together and got our elements are returned to our seats.

I asked him if he would like to take the communion together and he said that would be good.

He then said, ‘ I will pray first’. He prayed for us to never forget the gift God gave us in His Son on the cross and thanked God for communion as a time to remember what was sacrificed for us.

After he finished I prayed and we took communion together.

What an incredible time of sharing such a great part of the service with my son. It set up a really good rest of the day for the two of us.

On the way to lunch after the service we had a nice discussion about Terry’s message and talked about the different points Terry had made regarding worship. I asked him if he understood each area and if he had any questions. He had a much better understanding of it all than I had expected and we had a great discussion.

I was glad that he was able to be in the service so we could share this time and I was glad that I had taken the steps to encourage him to experience the entire service.

I now have a clearer picture and greater appreciation of what you have talked about when you stressed the importance of ‘Orange Moments’ with our children.

I look forward to more of these in the future.

Have a great day!

This is my prayer for all of our students and their families.  That they would grow together in Christ and closer to each other.  That mom and dad would play and active role in being Deuteronomy 6.4-9 parents:

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Every year our High School ministry does a winter retreat called The CHILL.  Last year was a tough year.  We talked about Purity and how to remain pure in today’s sex-inundated culture.  This time last year our high school staff was deep in research and development on the topics of sexting, sex, masturbation, dating, etc.  I say all that to say that this year it is so much more refreshing. 

This year our focus is on becoming ONE with God, the Holy Spirit, Yourself, and Others.  No more weird and awkward internet searches or talks at the brainstorming table with our volunteer staff.  This year it is wonderful to talk about how we are or are not connecting with God.  We have already had great conversations about the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives and what that mean not only personally but in the context of community as well.

Perhaps all of this is why I am so EXTREMELY excited about this year’s CHILL.  On February 12th-14th, we will embark on an exciting journey in search of connectedness and fullness with the God, ourselves and others.

In preparation for this year’s CHILL I have been engrossed in Francis Chan’s newest book, Forgotten God.  It is a look at the Holy Spirit’s role in our life and how we often if not always forgot about His presence, role and work in us as children of God.

I am excited about not only what the re-introduction of the Holy Spirit is doing in my life but what He may do in the lives of our High School students at and after The CHILL.

Please be praying about what God will do at this year’s CHILL and what He is doing in preparation for it. 

November 22^nd–Parents’ Night Out

Time: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Where: Grace Point Community Church (2393 Peachblow Road, Lewis Center, OH 43035)

Who: Individuals with disabilities and their siblings.

What is it: Parent’s Night Out is a youth sponsored event that allows caregivers to drop off individuals and their siblings at Grace Point Community Church to be cared for and engaged in a fun-filled evening of activities.

Cost: FREE! This is a service of the Student Ministry at Grace Point Community Church

Please call 740.548.7718 by November 20th to reserve your spot

November 29^th—NO EPIC (Thanksgiving weekend)

November 29^th—HS ELF Night

Time: 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Where: Home of Dave and Traci Bleedorn (5356 Port Haven Drive, Galena, OH 43021)

Who: High School students

What: An opportunity to ring in the Christmas season with our annual ELF Night. We will be watching the movie, Elf. Fun games and prizes.

Cost: FREE!

What to bring: Guys—Pizza toppings (you will be making pizza for the girls). Girls—desserts

December—The NeverEnding Story Teaching Series

A manger. A baby. Shepherds. Stars. The Christmas story is one we look at with great reverence. The peaceful scene is recreated and plastered on everything from phone backgrounds to lawn decorations. But the Christmas story is more than a just a story we look back on and remember. It’s ongoing. It’s active. It’s a story that required a response over 2,000 years ago, and one that requires a response today. It’s a story that invites us to participate in it even today—because the Christmas story is the neverending story.

• Session One: invited to (December 6th)  When a story is small and distant, it really doesn’t have much impact in our lives, does it? It solicits a nod, a smile, a “that’s nice.” But it doesn’t affect us. It doesn’t move us. It doesn’t shake us. And while many people, us included, tend to approach the Christmas story, the story of Jesus’ birth, in a familiar, typical and remote sort of way, it’s not that kind of story. The Christmas story, at its very core demands a response—good or bad—from you, from me—from anyone who hears it.
• Session Two: participate in (December 13th)  The Christmas story is more than just one we respond to individually, it’s one we participate in—and we’re not talking bathrobes and kids in sheep costumes. The participation the Christmas story calls for is more earth shaking than a quiet stable and a clear sky with a bright star. This story shook the way the world operates when it started to unfold thousands of years ago. But it has the potential to do the same thing today when we become an active part of it. What would our world look like if we became a part of the vision God has for the world—a vision revealed with the birth of His Son, and rests on us now?

December 20^th—EPIC Christmas Party

Time: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Where: Grace Point Community Church

Who: ALL EPIC Students

Cost: FREE!!!

What to bring: A gift under $5.00 for a gift exchange. Friends.

Middle School—Desserts

High School—Appetizers

February 12-14, 2010—The CHILL

Where: Camp Otyokwah (3380 Tugend Road, Butler, OH 44822)

Who: High School Students

What: This is our annual HS winter retreat. This year’s purpose is to get high schools students away from the stresses of life so that they can become one with the Trinity of God (i.e. the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), to become one with themselves, and to become one as a community/family of believers (Ephesians 4.4-6)

Cost: $75.00. Please stop by the EPIC table to pick up an information/registration packet.