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.

We are always looking for ways to help our students raise money for camp or other EPIC events. The following are ways we are trying do that:

1. Rent-A-Teen.  This past Sunday we are kicked off our Rent-a-Teen fundraiser.  This is an opportunity for the church to help toward camp and for you to raise money.  We will have a sign-up list for church attenders to place their names, phone numbers, work they need done and the date they are needing it.  You then can walk by the list at any time and check to see if you are available for any of those dates.  If you are, mark off their name and give them a call.  The money you make for that job will go toward your camp account.  We will try to have the adults pay directly to the church.  If the church attender hands you a check, have them make it out to Grace Point Community Church with your name on the memo line.   Adults can also call the church office and the names of the students we have on our list will get a call to see if they are available.

Here are a couple of opportunities. If you are interested, please call the church office or e-mail Ryan at ryan@gracepoint.cc with the one you can do AND then CALL the contact on the sheet to make arrangements with them.

· Mathis Life Group (John or Christy Mathis), 740.972.3124. looking for High School student to help with childcare on May 22^nd and/or May 29^th at the church.

· Sabrina Reno, 740.549.0212. Looking for High School student to help with childcare on May 2^nd.

· Steve Ogle, 740.548.7718. Looking for MS or HS student to help with childcare on April 27^th (6:16-8:15 pm)

1. Harbor Point Garage Sale.  On April 25^th, THIS SATURDAY!!!!, we will have tent set up at the Harbor Point (Galena) Garage Sale.  We are looking to sale food items.  If you are available anytime between 7 am and 5 pm we could use your help.  You can also help by DONATING the following items:

• Bottled water (200) –we have 2 cases donated
• cans of pop(100)
• candy bars (150)
• small bags of chips (100)—we have 50 bags
• cookies/baked goods (individually wrapped)—have some people, but need more
• hot dogs (150)
• buns (150)

This Friday we need help at 6:00 to help set up for the garage sale. We will be meeting at the VanPelt’s house (5266 Harbor Point Dr, Galena, 43021). If you could help just that day we would appreciate it.

1. Childcare.  The National Day of Prayer is on May 7^th this year.  We are excited about having a service this evening devout to pray and praise.  With that, we are in need of childcare workers.  If you are available on the evening of May 7^th, we could use you (students).  Money will be donated for your service which will go straight into your EPIC account.

Please RSVP if you are able to help with ANY of these opportunities and if you are willing to donate for the Harbor Point garage sale.

Just to clarify how the funds will be broken down, moneys made at the garage sale will go to help offset the cost of the bus (transportation) for camp. We are charging $100 per camper for the bus, but it cost about $165 per camper. This money will help us make up the $65 difference. Money from the other events will go straight into your student’s account.

These are just a few ideas we have set up to help out.  Please look for other ways you can raise the money (I know of a couple of students who have sent out support letters to friends and family!). 

While working on school work, I came across a great evaluation to determine if your student may have a drug or alcohol problem.

1.  Identification with drug culture

• drug-related magazines or slogans on clothing
• conversation and jokes that are preoccupied with drugs
• hostility discussing drugs
• collection of beer cans

2.  Signs of physical deterioration

• memory lapses, short attention span, difficulty concentrating
• poor physical coordination; slurred or incoherent speech
• unhealthy appearance; indifference to hygiene and grooming
• bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils

3.  Dramatic changes in school performance

• marked downturn in grades–not just from C’s to F’s, but from A’s to B’s and C’s; assignments not completed
• increased absenteeism or tardiness

4.  Changes in behavior

• chronic dishonesty (lying, stealing, cheating); trouble with police
• changes in friends; evasiveness in talking about new ones
• possession of large amounts of money
• increasing and inappropriate anger, hostility, irritability, secretiveness
• reduced motivation, energy, self-discipline, self-esteem
• diminished interest in extracurricular activities, hobbies, church activities

If your student is displaying any of these signs, it would be wise to dig deep into the reasons for such behavior and changes.

Reference:

Feldman, R. S. (2008). Development across the lifespan (5^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.