Love ya, mean it!

JCX this week

2011-08-25T11:08:00.001-07:00

This has been an awesome week:

-Sunday: Jeff (we call him Chuck) led us through Matthew chapter 6 verse by verse. We read it out loud and he commented on each of the verses. Also, the youth shared their questions and thoughts. Very cool morning. We meet every Sunday @9:30a in the GFC room.

-Tuesday: We ate Subway for free and spoke from our hearts. Each youth had the opportunity to ask any question that was stirring in their hearts and heads. We talked about some great stuff. We covered suicide, addiction, how does God display who He is to us, why I share my story and more. I was so thankful to each person who texted in a question. We will do that again soon! We meet every Tuesday night @6:30pm in the multipurpose room.

-The GOOD: Sunday and Tuesday was so great because our senior, juniors, sophomores and freshman really stepped up and led well. Our graduates were/are incredible leaders but we have already seen new leaders rise up. Super neat!

-The BAD: We missed are grads but we know they will do well! They can now attend our college group. We meet every Sunday night @8pm in the GFC room.

-This Sunday: We will finish Matthew chapter 6. Chuck will be leading us and I’m sure we’ll learn some great stuff about our Lord, how to live for him and how to love one another.

-This Tuesday: Parents bugging ya? Hard to deal with? Allow us to help! Tuesday night we begin something called “How to Raise your Parents.” Invite someone and join us Tuesday.

The first day of the "S" word

2011-08-17T15:37:00.001-07:00

The first day for YHS is tomorrow … so how about a list of the “MUSTS” for the first day of school?

You MUST:

-Set your alarm
-Get dressed … definitely a MUST
-Brush your teeth
-Make a NEW friend
-Ask “how many days of school do we have until Christmas?”
-Laugh about something you did this summer
-If you’re a Sophomore … thank the Lord you’re not a Freshman!
-If you’re a Senior … chant your grad year numbers every time you enter class … you’re the class or 2012 in case you forgot!
-Pray together
-Eat together
-Do homework together
-Plan on coming Sunday together
-Invite others to come with you … together
-Share about Tuesday night together … and with someone else.
-Love Jesus, love people … together.

Remember JCX peeps … next Tuesday we will be eating together. A free sandwich from Subway, a drink and some chips.

Enjoy your first day of school! Seniors … enjoy your first, last day of school.

The 2011 Grads ...

2011-08-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

Last night we said goodbye to our grads! Some thoughts on that:

THIS GROUP:
-Most of these crazy kids have been with me since 7th grade. They’re like my little brothers and sisters.

BEST MEMORY:
-It was this group of grads that created most of the dances to the worship songs we sing. I’ll never forget Seth Hunt and his “Free to Run” dance at Winter Camp two years ago.

WHAT I’LL MISS MOST:
-Whenever there was anything going on … service projects, pool parties, cleaning up, feeding people, gathering clothes … whatever the need … it was this class that always showed up to help.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THEM:
-This group taught me how to be creative. For example: Vanessa Clifford wanted to raise money for Rapha House … her idea … friendship bracelets. Who would have thought that making bracelets would eventually raise over $1,000 dollars for Rapha! I loved that nothing was too great for this group to accomplish.

-AND NOW WHAT:
-My hope is that their passion, excitement and love for Jesus will overflow into our college group (Refresh … Sunday nights … 8pm.) Most of the grads will be staying local. I hope to continue to see them involved, serving and changing their worlds. For those moving away … that’s dumb! HA! Love ya, mean it … Mighty Mike.

Open Mic Night

2011-06-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we did something called Open Mic Night. I’ll be honest, I was nervous about how the night would go. My thought was “sure, everyone may think this is a great idea but I wonder how many people will actually want to share their talents with us.” That’s when I was pleasantly surprised. As soon as we announced Open Mic Night, I had six different acts that wanted to perform. When the night arrived we were up to 10. By the end of the night 12 different acts shared their talents with us. A few highlights:

_Nick Williams and his 12 friends played all sorts of instruments for us. They combined on a piece of music that was awesome!

_Jake Abernathie did what Jake does best … play the guitar, harmonica, a drum and sing all at the same time!

_Lacey Namoa played guitar and sang a song to someone close to her. He passed away a year ago on the date of Open Mic Night. Lacey did great!

_Caleb, Brittney, Grace and Jacob lead us in two songs of worship. Really proud of them!

Over all, it was a great night. Robert Bergeson came up with the idea and I’m glad he did. The next Open Mic Night will happen soon. Be ready! Until then, share your talents with us at the JCX Talent showcase this Sunday @6:30pm at YCC.

JCX 5/10/11

2011-05-11T15:16:00.001-07:00

A JCX evening:

_1. Jenny Williams shared her story. So awesome! She has come from some very difficult circumstances and is becoming a great example of what the Bible calls “Reconciliation with God.” What I mean is that she recognizes how God fought for her in the past and continues to fight for her today through Jesus and has submitted to His love and forgiveness. The best thing she shared last night was after she shared her story with two youth whom she had been walking alongside of, they came to know Christ and found freedom from the addictions they were caught up in. Awesome! Thanks Jenny.

_2. One of the small groups available to learn in focuses on sharing your faith. Andrea leads this group and teaches about where the scriptures come from, how do we know what we believe is true, and what evidence is out there about Jesus. The conversations that are triggered from that group are great. Each week someone leaves saying “that was the best thing I’ve heard in a long, long time.”

_3. We sing a lot at JCX and last night was such a blessing. I watch from the back as the group sings. It’s a powerful thing to watch hearts melt as we say and sing some great things to God.

_4. Open Mic Night is in two weeks. We are looking for anyone and everyone to show off a talent or a gift or just be ridiculous in front of your peers. Sign up by texting Mike or talking with your D-group leader.

JCX 5/3/11

2011-05-04T11:50:00.001-07:00

Very cool night @JCX:

-----Teaching: We focused on 5 disciplines: Forgiving, Confession and Repentance, Sharing your Faith, Meditating on Scripture and Worship.

-----Fun: How many text abbreviations are there? What do they mean? Well … we spent a few minutes last night discovering the truth behind what roflcopter actually means! Why? Because thats what we do!

-----Story: Anna Koning shared her story last night. It’s a story of how God has held her together from the beginning. It's a story of a life of faithfulness. The best thing that Anna shared: “There is no such thing as a not so good testimony. All of the stories where God is reflected are good.” LOVE IT!

-----Baptism: After sharing her story, Anna was baptized.
-----Summer: The calendar is out! Grab a copy this Sunday or next Tuesday.

JCX 4/26/11

2011-04-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Who's up for a little JCX re-cap? Anyone?

On Tuesday night at JCX we focused on five disciplines: Forgiving, sharing about our faith, meditation, worship and confession and repentance. Each youth picked which small group they wanted to attend. Here are the details of each one:

Confession and Repentance: We talked about how our direction determines our destination, not our good intentions. Each youth was challenged to face their deep struggle of sin, answer why they really are living in that, how to hand that over to Jesus and live free because they have been forgiven.

Meditation: Eastern meditation teaches you to empty your mind but that’s not what it’s about. Biblical meditation is about filling your mind with scripture so that you have the truth near to you, holding you together. The youth went through a practice of how to meditate and how to respond to what they filled their minds with.

Sharing our faith: In this group the youth were shown the facts of our faith. The leaders took them through how things were written, what they did to make sure they were not misrepresented and how the message of the Bible is the same today.

Forgiving: This was a tough group. Lots of wounded people came to learn what forgiveness really looks like, feels like and how it’s lived out.

Worship: This group spent time reading through scripture and then singing that scripture to the Lord. Each song had a specific posture that the youth would take as they sang.

We will be meeting in these groups for 4 weeks so that every youth will have an opportunity to hear about each discipline.

CIY Move is our summer conference at Point Loma University. The cost is $310 and will include transportation, food and lodging. RSVP today by messaging Mike on Facebook, texting at 951-204-3896 or filling out an RSVP card on Sunday or Tuesday.

This Sunday we will be focusing on how to “live out the scriptures” at 9:30am. Lacey Namoa will be guiding our discussion. Hope you can make it.

Compton, JCX Tuesday and stories

2011-04-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

WOW! I just realized it has been over a month since my last post. Things have been very busy here. So, now to catch you all up on what BUSY actually looks like. You ready? It’s –

*Driving to Compton
*Weeding @ the Salvation Army
*Painting
*Cleaning
*Touring
*Encouraging
*Serving food
*Loving on the homeless and hungry
*Great convo’s with great youth
*Talking about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
*Learning about communion
*Meeting and dreaming with some great youth leaders
*Planning CIY Move
*Grieving with our youth over the loss of a friend
*Saying goodbye to two great leaders: Gil and Kathleen
*Saying hello to 3 new leaders: Amber, Tara and Rhonda
*Sharing stories of what God is doing in our lives
*Preparing to share the gospel more effectively

And those are just the things I can actually think of. So glad to be a part of this thing called JCX. Even better to be a part of this thing called “The body of Christ”.

JCX 2/22/11

2011-02-24T14:56:00.001-08:00

The Tuesday results:

_We started the night off with this statement: “You have no idea what God might want to accomplish through you in this world”. This led into a conversation about our appetites and how we surrender the things that dominate our lives to Jesus.

_I love our group! Especially when new faces arrive and they get loved on. One youth told me they convinced their friend to come (which I met) and said they had to drag them there. After the night was over the friend responded “This wasn’t so bad”. Praying that God transforms their heart and they come back next week.

_Worship through song is always a blessing. R.J. started our night with communion (the best way to start any night) and then we sang our hearts away. Awesome.

_We talked about the last 3 weeks in our D-groups. Each shared their thoughts, responses, and what they learned from each small group. So great to get feedback like that.

_Our meeting for the trip to L.A. was great! So excited to see who is going.

_This Sunday we meet at 9:30a. We’re focusing on Pain and Suffering. Next Tuesday we begin something called “Intelligent”. Join us baby!!

JCX 2/15/11

2011-02-16T11:51:00.001-08:00

I’m excited! JCX was awesome Tuesday. Here’s the info:

_First: We ended our focus on what’s attractive on Tuesday night. Over the last three weeks we looked at sex, marriage, dating, truth and prayer from a Biblical point of view. We met in smaller groups and had our adult leader’s share what the scriptures teach about each topic. Then, the youth had a chance to ask questions and respond to what was shared.

_Second: I have had the chance to share Jesus with two of our youth over the last two weeks. One prayed to receive Christ and the other is still in the process of understanding what it means to know Jesus. No matter how many times I get to chat with the youth about faith, nothing is better than talking about Jesus and inviting them to know Him as their Lord and Savior.

_Third: Amanda Habell is awesome! That’s what I have decided. She led us in communion last night and gave us some great things to consider.

_Fourth: Worship through song really has become a powerful time on Tuesday. Our leaders spent time praying with our youth, one on one, during this time.

_Fifth: Each small group was filled. A lot of “after group” convo’s were happening last night. So cool to see people interested in what God desires for them.

_Sixth: Next week there is a meeting for those who are planning on attending the trip to L.A. It’s happening after JCX in the main room.

_Seventh: In two weeks, we start a series called “Intelligent”.

JCX 2/8/11

2011-02-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

It was an Attractive night at JCX. Details:

_This group spent their Saturday working @ YAPS. From left to right (back): Seth, Cole, Vanessa, Amanda, Annery, Kayla, Samantha, (front) Lacey, Melody

_We started the night @ 6pm with a group that came to pray over the youth that will be @JCX. It was awesome hearing the hearts of each of those peeps. Thanks Sam, Robert, Seth, Troy, Foley, Neil, Brian, and R.J.

_We met in 5 small groups again last night. Each had a specific topic: Sex, Marriage, Dating, Prayer and Truth.

_The sex, marriage and dating groups were extra full last night. The prayer and truth groups had the right amount of people for what needed to happen. In the prayer group, each person had a chance to share what’s stirring in their heart and were then prayed over. The truth group gives a lot of information so the smallness of the group helped with questions and understanding.

_At the end of each group the youth receive slips with a specific challenge based on what was shared. Here are the specific challenges for each group:

Sex- Challenge: This week I will live by this truth “As a Christian, my body is where God chooses to dwell.” I will live this out by treating my body with dignity, removing anything or anyone that will corrupt that way of thinking and pray once a day that I would honor God with my choices, specifically when it comes to my sexuality.

Marriage- Challenge: During the next week, think about the relationship you have with Jesus. Write down 3 things in your life that have more influence on you than God. Pick one and choose to substitute whatever it is for time with God. For example, instead of Facebook for a week, read your Bible.

Dating- Challenge: Dating is a bigger decision than just picking someone out of the crowd. Because of this, I will pray for the person I’m dating or for the person I will be dating. I will pray that they would love Jesus and honor Him with their life above anything else. I will also begin to think about and write down the qualities I desire in a person I date and eventually marry.

Prayer- Challenge: Throughout the next week I will practice each prayer that we participated in during this small group time. I will also connect with one person in this room and make it a point to pray for them once a day.

Truth- Challenge: God is real. Are you willing to give your life to Him? This week, pray that God open your eyes and shows himself to you. Pray, also, that you wouldn’t dismiss God moving in your life as coincidence but that you would agree that God is present, real and loves you.

_This Sunday we’re focusing on Sticking Faith and Sticking Fingers. Interested? Come at 9:30am.

_Next Tuesday we finish our focus on what’s Attractive. Join a group you haven’t sat through.

_Vision Trip to L.A. March 14-18. Sign up Sunday.

JCX 2/1/11

2011-02-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night we started our theme of Attractive … here are the details:

_First … The picture below is of the group that helped clean and prep the kid’s area for painting. They worked for a few hours on Monday and we’re very thankful. From left to right: Heidi, Mandy, Brittany, Sam, Katie, Shayla, Bethany and Brian.

_Second … We focused on 5 topics Tuesday night: Sex, Marriage, Dating, Prayer and Truth. Each was presented in a smaller group so the youth could interact with the leaders and the scriptures and come to a better understanding of why these things are attractive Biblically.

_Third … We showed some pictures of the things we find attractive on the opposite sex. Obviously, we were limited to what we could put up on the screen because looking at that stuff wouldn’t be appropriate. So, we did the next best thing … we showed pictures of those “body parts” in a “make me gag” sort of way. For example, legs are physically attractive. We showed a picture of some dudes REALLY HAIRY legs! And it was awesome!

_Fourth … We took communion together for the first time in a while. Lacey Namoa reminded us that Jesus said “whenever we gather, we are to remember Him”. So we did!

_Fifth … Next week we continue our Attractive series. Be ready … because we got some surprises for you!

JCX 1/25/11

2011-01-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

Here are all the goods from last night:

_Winter Camp Video: Matt did a great job putting that together. When it uploads, I’ll post it here. We opened the video reminding everyone of the phrase from the weekend “Yepper Doodle” (Thanks Lacey). Then we followed that with pictures from the entire weekend.

_Teaching: Jeff Squire (the youth call him Chuck) is one of our newer leaders. He taught out of 2 Peter and focused in on “what is Godliness?” Wow! He rocked it! It was a very clear and powerful presentation of what Godliness is, does and how we live in it.

_Awesome moment: During the teaching, Jeff handed $20 to a youth. He said “now you can’t say ‘I don’t have any money on me’.” Then he said “in the same way, when we know Jesus and His Spirit lives in us we can’t say “I can’t be godly”. It was a great example. But it gets better … the youth he gave the money too actually had been praying for, get this, GAS MONEY! Jeff didn’t know this when he gave her the cash. After his point he looked at the youth and said “you can keep that.” Well … she lost it! A whole lot of tears and a whole lot of awesome!

_Worship through song: Singing is great! Singing with a group of people, like we had last night, was powerful.

_Next: We are starting a focus this Sunday on the things that Attract us. Next Tuesday, we will focus 5 different small groups on this topic. Getting ready and excited to bring it next week!

Why Winter Camp is awesome ...

2011-01-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

It gets rough and crazy when the leaders play the youth at the annual Winter Camp football game. Need proof? How about these 3 great pictures:

This is one of the many reasons why Winter Camp is awesome!

Winter Camp 2011 review

2011-01-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

Well … Winter Camp was, oh, how do I say this … AWESOME!! Here are the quick hits from the weekend:

(our football crew)

_The Theme: The Holy Spirit marks us (our arms were covered in words that displayed how the Holy Spirit marks us … like holiness, salvation, included, etc.), The Holy Spirit transforms us (we wrote on our hands: lead me, guide me, speak to and through me and use me) and the Holy Spirit uses me (we talked about the 10 commandments of discipleship).

_The Worship: It was a blast to sing with the group. Everyone, shouting and singing, was such a great blessing to me. I love watching the group celebrate Jesus as Lord.

_The Break Out Sessions: There were groups about dating, sex, marriage, reading the scriptures, prayer, difficult questions, open conversation … and the response to those groups was awesome.

_The Decisions: So great to see those that “have it in them to lead” actually step up and lead! Many BOLD decisions this weekend about moving forward, making disciples, remaining faithful, studying the Word, discovering our gifts and using them for the kingdom. Love it!

_The Relationships: Our phrase of the weekend was “that’s not how we do things around here”. One of the things we didn’t do is exclude anyone. It was cool to see new friendships develop and old ones grow more intimate.

_The Challenge: We are marked, transformed and used by the Holy Spirit so now it’s time live that out. That’s our prayer for everyone involved. There will be some specific ways that happens laid out for our youth over the next few weeks.

_The Result: Sweet!! Amazing! Let’s do this again next year!

(the campers)

JCX 1/4/11

2011-01-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

It’s been a year since this was updated! (Sorry, cheap joke!). So, allow me to get you caught up:

_Our last JCX of the year was a Night of Praise. We sang, prayed, read scripture, and talked with each other throughout the night. I love those nights.

_Our theme for the night was “Ugly Christmas Sweaters.” Here’s what some of us can up with, including the three best (2nd picture):

That was December14th … fast forward to January 4th … last night:

_Theme: The Best things to know before you graduate

_Focus: The Best Faithfulness

_Scripture: Luke 15

_Best moment of the night: I loved what Rob and Chuck (Jeff) did with the story of the lost son. Rob told the story and Jeff acted it out. I didn’t think that story was very funny until I watched them last night. Wendy played the “woman of scandalous reputation (whore)” by wearing a wig and dancing around the room. So awesome!

_2nd Best moment of the night: Our video “What we did over Christmas break” was a hit. We will, however, need to apologize via video next Tuesday. I’ll post that video here in the next few days.

_Finish: The purpose of the night brought us back to what it means to be HOME. Too often we spend years AWAY. The story of the lost son reminds that that the father is always watching and waiting for us to return HOME.

_Sunday: The Best Heart. We start at 930a.

JCX 12/7/10

2010-12-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

A JCX party …
_What do you get when you cross high school peeps and marshmallows? A black eye! Or close to one! Very fun night at JCX Tuesday … here are the details:

_Teaching: Our focus was on our understanding of God. We used Colossians 2:13-17 and Galatians 2:20-21 as our scripture. In the center of the room was a BIG tower that represented all of the things in our lives that distract us from reality … which is Christ. Some of our youth tore the tower down to reveal a place to take communion. It was awesome!

_Worship: It was a powerful time! At one point, Matt stepped back from the mic and you could hear the group belting it out and praying together. So great!

_Fun: Each person in the room had a job to do. Some sang, some marched and some threw marshmallows … I got hit in the eye. It hurt … BUT it was fun!

_Best moment: Watching some youth stay in the room after the teaching and encourage others. Elizabeth Williams told me that she wants to help disciple. I love it when our peeps get it and want to give it away!!

_Sunday: Rob is teaching on wisdom. He’s awesome …

_Next Tuesday: Ugly T-shirt or sweater night. PLUS … we’re worshipping through song and celebrating Christmas in our D-groups. Enjoy!

So who's interested?

2010-12-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

After the teaching on Tuesday, it was mentioned that there was some youth available to chat with about the teaching or life or your thoughts. We had a few stay in the main room and had some great conversations. Here’s why I bring this up:

-I know that some of you are incredible leaders just waiting to lead but aren’t sure how.
-I know that some of you are frustrated because you aren’t sure how to help or encourage.
-I know that some of you are like BIG, WET sponges that need to be rung out.

If that’s you … it’s time to say yes to something. It’s time to say yes to how you are created! How about being a mentor/discipler? I know the fear is “but I’m not goof enough” or “I don’t know the Bible well”. To that I say “well then get your BUTT in gear right now”. The way to tackle that frustration is to say yes to the opportunities to live in the way you are created.

There are many, many, many youth that need a mentor, discipler, encourager … and that can start on a Tuesday night. If this is something that makes you go hmmmmm … then text, message, connect with Mike and say “it’s time for me to be rung out”!

Love ya, mean it … let’s get this thing started!

JCX 11/30/10

2010-12-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

JCX once again …

_After a week of turkey and vacation, the JCX crew returned Tuesday night. Here’s what happened …

_First we started with this video from Black Friday:

_The focus was “When fighting is ok” and we talked about the things we fight for. To help get that message across we set up a boxing ring and had some boxing gloves available to anyone ready to rumble. Samantha and Brian decided they would take a shot at each other. Brian was told he “Can’t hit a girl” so he turned and hit me! Sam hit Brian in the stomach 12 times. Brian took each shot like a champ!!

_The teaching started next and we focused on Colossians 2:2 and that our true fight is for those around us to be encouraged in love and united in heart and be found in Jesus Christ.

_We talked about Exodus 24 where God asked Moses to be here and stay here … which means … don’t just be present in body but in everything. That impacted a lot of us and how fast our lives move and how we miss what we were created to do.

_We worshiped together through song and that time was powerful and awesome!

_Next week there will be towers and confusion and new moon celebrations! It will be awesome!

_Don’t forget about Winter Camp … lots of peeps going but there is still room for you! This is just in case you needed a reminder to not wait until the last moment:

_See ya Sunday @930 … don’t miss out it will be … yep … AWESOME!

JCX Tuesday 11/16/10

2010-11-17T10:04:00.001-08:00

JCX stufffffff …

_Focus: We talked about value and who gets the privilege of places that upon you.

_Scripture: We used 1 Corinthians 6:11 as our foundation and how we have been washed, sanctified and justified.

_Teaching: Emily Bush spoke and did an excellent job. She shared about some of the labels that others have put on her. My favorite line was “God is your creator; He gets to determine how valuable you are.” Awesome!

_Fun moment: Using the theme of being labeled, we put labels on each of the foreheads of the youth. Each label had a name on it. The youth had to try and figure out who’s name was on their forehead. Here’s proof:

_This Sunday we finish our packing our Thanksgiving meals. Great job Lacey!

_Sunday, December 5th … JCX Sunday @930a will have a new look and feel. Join us and invite a friend.

_Starting the first Tuesday in January … JCX Tuesday will have some big changes. Come find out what they are!

_Winter Camp … Jan. 14-17 … best weekend of the year!

JCX 11/9/10

2010-11-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

JCX re-cap …

_It’s been 3 weeks since the last update here. Not sure why it’s been that long but I know it’s been busy around here.

_We’re right in the middle of collecting food for our Thanksgiving drive. Lacey Namoa is in charge and doing an awesome job! We’re packing up our first wave of food this Sunday @930a in GFC. This group of food will be delivered on Monday. The next wave will be Wednesday night. A group of guys, lead by Josh Simon, will be packing up some food to be delivered on Friday. The final wave will be packed up next Sunday and delivered Monday. Each wave of food is going to families who have kids on the meal program at the schools. The program is for youth who don’t have breakfast or lunch at home. They also take home a backpack full of food on the weekends, sponsored by the Love in Action ministry.

_We’re still in need of turkeys. Any turkeys ... big or small … will do. Bring them to YCC this Sunday.

_With all this going on, we’re working through Colossians on Tuesday night. Our focus last night was on verses 18-23 of chapter one. We talked about what it means to be a “Contract” Christian versus a “Covenant” Christian. Contract Christians HAVE to change but Covenant Christians GET to change. Awesome stuff and some great discussions about how we move from contract to covenant.

_There is always a time where we get a little crazy and last night was no different. Each youth had a letter under their chair that gave them specific directions. One group had to dance with Chris Grogan and mimic his every move! That was spectacular to watch! Here’s a pic:

_Another group had to run throughout the room with Keith, a former Power Ranger, and show off their best jumping, running and fighting abilities. This is all we could get on film:

_Another great Tuesday … looking forward to next week. Emily Bush is leading our time so come out and support her.

JCX 10/19/10

2010-10-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Awesome night with our boys at JCX Tuesday:

_Our focus was on the role of a man. We used Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and very courageous”, as our verse of the night.

_Once the teaching finished, the guys had the option of taking the “Strong” path … which focused on being bold, encouraging others and growing our faith or the “Courage” path which focused on being alert, determined and brave in our journey with Jesus.

_If the guys were unsure about what path to take they could stay in the center and talk some of that through with a leader. Really powerful conversations last night … and really funny conversations too.

_BUT the real party was the slip n’ slide on the HARD CONCRETE floor. Here’s the video for proof …

_And of course some great shots … including two “Party crashers” …

_Loved hanging with you all! Thanks men!!

JCX 10/12/10

2010-10-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

It was ladies night:

_Tuesday night was ladies night @JCX. Here’s what we did
*Each JCX lady that came received a rose
*We poured out chocolate all over the tables because I hear girls like chocolate
*The chips and salsa were overflowing
*Lots of games like papers, coloring pages (b/c that’s cool) and more

_The teaching focused on “Who I am” and we used Philippians 3 as our scripture. Paul writes that he wants to know Christ, gain Christ and be found in Christ. We spoke about how that takes place in our lives. Then, we took the girls through Ephesians chapters 1, 2 and 3.

_During our worship through the ladies had four areas where they could go and worship: a confession place, a prayer place, a talk place and a communion place. Such a great time praying with the girls, celebrating what Christ has done and singing with them.

_Here are some photos from the night:

_Thanks for coming ladies! MEN, you’re up next week.

JCX 10/5/10

2010-10-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

Awesome time Tuesday … here’s a re-cap:

_Our theme this month is Set the Pace. Our passion is that we would set the pace in all things as we serve and trust in Jesus. Tuesday, we focused on 2 Peter 1:3-11. This section of scripture talks about adding to our faith. We spent some time talking about what “adding to our faith” looks like. Is it carrying around each quality … kinda like carrying around large items that are heavy and burdensome? Or is it a bit like getting dressed and watching each quality bring wholeness to our lives? We decided that it’s a bit like getting dressed. I used my one and only suit to display this truth using each item (jacket, shirt, tie, shoes, etc.) as an example of how each quality works with the other. It was awesome!

_I sometimes forget how busy, hectic and hard each of our days can be. When we first arrived at group each youth wrote down a phrase of encouragement to another youth that they could take with them. Some of the phrases were generic but my favorite was “Remember Jesus”. Simple, powerful and very effective when the day is difficult.

_Sticking with the theme of a rough day, we decided that sometimes we just need to dance. Now, this is something that I’m not very good at … this picture will demonstrate: (notice the white boy biting the bottom lip move I’m doing here)

_But … here’s why I love just letting the walls down on Tuesday and asking them to do some weird, crazy things like dance together … check out the faces … I love it:

_This Sunday will be a can’t miss Sunday. We’re talking about God and how awesome he really is. Don’t miss JCX Sunday @930a.

_Next Tuesday is JCX girls night only … this means that the ladies will be taking over. Invite a friend and come and learn what it means to find peace.

_Our dudes will take over the following week … yep!

JCX 9/28/10

2010-09-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well … Tuesday was awesome! Here’s the re-cap:

-Who would have thought that balloons would be such a powerful reminder of Jesus and his grace? Last night we exchanged different words, words that represent the heaviness that we live under, for a balloon. The balloon represented what Jesus calls his yoke. Matthew 11 describes this yoke, the way of Jesus, as something for all those who are “tired and weary, needing rest for their souls.” It was so great to see those who needed to be set free from the yoke of slavery (sin) and connected to the yoke of Jesus.

-During worship through song, we held our balloons and sang as loud as we could. It was neat for me to see the reality of what Jesus is actually calling us to hit our youth. Some were excited, some were brought to tears and some had great conversations about it with the D-group leaders.

-Lots of new faces this week. Each of the newbies I spoke with really felt welcomed and loved. That’s what we were hoping for.

-It’s always a blast to watch that person who wasn’t expecting to be moved at all by God … get moved by God! That happened to a few peeps last night and I had the privilege to hear about it and encourage them.

-Next week is a “can’t miss” night. The question we’re asking is: “How do we grow our faith when we don’t really know how?”

-In 2 weeks … it’s an all girls night @JCX. In 3 weeks … the boys take over. Plan on being here for that!

-October 16th, a Saturday, is Costume Kickball. We need your help and we need your ideas. What will be our costume this year?

-The homecoming game and dance are this weekend. Enjoy and be a great example to others. See ya Sunday @930a @YCC.

JCX 9/21/10

2010-09-22T14:31:00.001-07:00

The JCX after thought:

-Have you ever felt like you just are so far from God? How about feeling like you have done so many bad things that you can’t ever be forgiven? We talk a lot about how to flee from sin (that’s how Paul, a writer of much of the New Testament, calls it) but what do we do when we haven’t fled? What do we do because we haven’t said no to sin but yes? That’s what we chatted about last night at JCX.

-We, you and me, spend way to much time kicking ourselves for the stupid decisions we make, the way we break God’s heart and the disappoint and shame we cause.

-Now, this doesn’t mean that we don’t take sin seriously nor does it mean that we don’t face it and deal with it. Too often we live in “shameful guilt” instead of “gutsy guilt”.

-Gusty guilt is facing what we’ve done, admitting to it and seeking healing. Micah 7:8-10 focuses on this (read it, it’s awesome). There is a line in verse 9 that says: “I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case.” I love that line and here’s why.

-Our case of sin has been pleaded for because of Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the grave. We don’t have to be ashamed anymore because there is a freedom found in Jesus. Romans 1:16 says that we don’t have to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the power of God for the salvation of ALL people.

-So … our focus was all about salvation last night and being confident in Jesus Christ and the work he continues to do in each of us. No matter what you’ve done, face it; live in gutsy guilt until the Lord pleads your case. Oh, and by the way, He already has! Thanks for coming last night … Love ya, mean it …

JCX 9/14/10

2010-09-15T13:10:00.001-07:00

The JCX review …

-Tonight was a celebration of our freshmen. We love ‘em even though they climb trees and get stuck. (that happened at the high school Tuesday afternoon). Troy Pyle welcomed everyone and led a prayer over the frosh. Great to see them involved and encouraged.

-We have two specific projects that we’re working on as a group right now: raising money through Active Water (builds water wells in Zambia) by putting on a marathon and gathering 500 meals for families this Thanksgiving. Amanda Nightingale and Marc Quesada are in charge the Active Water campaign and Lacey Namoa is in charge of the Thanksgiving campaign. They shared a bit about what they hope to do and ask for support last night. Both projects are now fully supported with a big group of youth on each team.

-We worshipped through song but right in the middle we read from the scriptures about the reality of sin and the truth that Jesus Christ has defeated sin and is reconciling us to the Father. During the teaching we talked about how reconciliation is about an exchange of something valuable for something valuable. We exchange our sin (valuables) for life in Jesus Christ (has greatest value). During this time we wrote the word “SIN” on our hand. We displayed this reconciliation by using the communion elements; bread and wine. We used grapes to represent the wine. Each youth tore the bread slowly to understand what our sin did to Jesus and then we smashed the grapes in our hands to represent the blood of Jesus and how it covers over our sin. As the grape was smashed it started to erase the sin that was on our hands. So cool!

-Our d-groups focused on the story of Philemon and each person in the group had a choice of who they wanted to identify with from the story:
---Paul – who is encouraging another person of faith to participate in reconciliation
---Philemon – who is proclaiming Jesus as Lord and now must live that out in the most difficult areas of his life
---Onesimus – who is beginning his journey with Jesus and is understanding what surrender looks like, even when it is most difficult.
Each person took a slip of paper home with one the previous phrases on it.

-We are planning a “after party” after Homecoming. Details coming soon.

-Praying for all of you …

Mike

Notes from our staff meeting

2010-09-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

Did you miss us last night? We missed you BUT it was a great night hanging with each of the youth staff. Here are some things we decided to do:

----We are starting group at 630p, as always, but will only spend about 10 minutes in D-groups at the start of the night. This is so we have more time for worship through song, time with each other and more discussion in our D-groups at the end of the night. The first part of D-group will be focused on praying for each other.

----We are planning a “After Homecoming party” at the church. After the dance, come hang at the church from 10p to 2a. We’re serving food, showing a movie and up for more ideas. Please share with us!

----Dave Whitlock is available to meet with one on one during the second half of D-group time (8p-830p). He has met with many of you already and has encouraged a lot of you to better things. If you have an interest in meeting with Dave because you are looking to grow in your faith, sign up by talking to Dave on Sunday, Tuesday or you can message him or Mike through Facebook.

----CIY peeps … we are planning a reunion soon. All those that attended CIY, including the graduates, will be invited to come, hang and share about their Kingdom Worker progress.

----We are planning a Guys Night and a Girls Night at JCX in October. Yep, that means one, complete night with just the females of JCX and one complete night with just the males. It will include worship through song, gender specific discussions and food!

----Remember, we meet at 930a on Sunday for group. Thanks for reading … love ya, mean it!

JCX 8/31/10

2010-09-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

The stories and the details …

-I enjoy hearing story after story of how God is working in the lives of our peeps. We heard from Tiffany Hahn last Tuesday and Amanda Nightingale this Tuesday night. Amanda shared about how she isn’t living the “camp high” or “Jesus high” that everyone talks about and says “eventually goes away”. She shared how this is a lifestyle, something you dedicate yourself to and belong to. Such great truth in that statement! It was awesome and heartbreaking to hear her story. She told us about her friend, someone she has been close with for years, and how they aren’t speaking currently because of where she found herself when they hung out. Then, the statement of the night, Amanda said “Jesus gave his life for me so I guess I can give up my best friend.” WOW! Super neat story and a really cool time last night.

-The teaching focused on baptizing one on one. We talked about what it means to be baptized and what it means for us to baptize others. I love talking about the great commission and the implications it has in our lives.

-Is it just me or are we seeing a lot of new faces in with our familiar faces? I love meeting new people but what’s even sweeter is meeting these new peeps and watching them get loved on by our familiar peeps.

-The Dgroup time focused on the temptations of Jesus and why it was so important to have God the Father announce who he is before this time. Some great conversations from this scripture!

-This Sunday, we’re focusing on Matthew 6. Read up!

-No JCX Tuesday next week … the D-groups are meeting off campus and the youth staff is meeting and planning for the next few months. We return on Tuesday, September 14th.

JCX 8/24/10

2010-08-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

About last night …

-I think things just keep getting better and better. Now, I say that knowing that I personally had a few heart sinking conversations last night about the hurts and wounds that our youth are carrying around. So when I say “it’s getting better and better” it means this: we, as a group, understand that nothing else matters except for knowing Jesus and loving his people. As I talked with some of these friends of mine I got this overwhelming sense that even though they are struggling, they are enduring through and leaning and resting in Jesus. Awesome!

-Tiffany Hahn shared her story Tuesday night. WOW! She came from a real crazy situation and God has transformed her into an incredible woman of the Lord. She shared how the JCX peeps have loved her and prayed for her and how that “just didn’t happen” anywhere else in here life. She was told she would be a “waste of space” but was treated with love and dignity by her friends and by the peeps at JCX. Best part was at the end when she said this about Jesus: “Matthew 28:20 ‘Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’. And it’s so true. Having one person care about me made that much of a difference for me. And I can’t even put into words how much better I am. And everyone here has made a difference in my life. Thank you to everyone.” So great and thank you Tiffany!

-Our focus was how to baptize with your life. We used Matthew 18 as our foundation and talked about what it means to “become like a child in the kingdom of heaven.” We spoke about how we live and not allow our choices, although not always bad, get in the way of what God wants to do in someone’s soul through us. We also spoke about how welcoming someone is not converting them. Welcoming is understanding that they have value and we treat them that way … because they are created by a God.

-Another great story from one of our JCX peeps next week. Also, we’re talking about how we baptize one on one. Get ready! See ya Sunday!

JCX 8/17/10

2010-08-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Some quick thoughts about JCX Tuesday:

-It was weird not having the grads there anymore. Although, two of them showed up to give me a hard time and I got to kick them out again! So fun!

-We have a large group of seniors this year. The best part, they are all ready to influence and love. This is the first time in a few years that our seniors have been this fired up! I’m excited for each of them.

-So, has anyone been praying about who will disciple them? How about choosing to disciple someone else?

-There were many new faces on Tuesday. Great job inviting … keep it up. Remember, the goal isn’t to get people to church; the goal is to love them no matter what.

-I had a chance to read the encouragement cards that each of you wrote to our seniors. WOW! Some great stuff with a lot of scripture too.

-If you had your own radio show what song MUST be played?

-Next Tuesday we celebrate our juniors, class of 2012.

-How are those projects for the kingdom worker cards going? Let’s accomplish each one and do it for the Lord.

-This Sunday @945am we have some great things planned. Prepare to get yourself rocked!

JCX 8/10/10

2010-08-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

Recap of JCX Tuesday:

-Teaching: Our focus for the evening was that you cannot make disciples by the way you live without first surrendering everything. The phrase we talked about was “Jesus is all that matters”. We looked at Luke 6, starting in verse 26, and talked about how this is truly what it means to surrender everything. Great stuff!

-Worship: We spent some time praying over our graduates Tuesday night. There was also a place where they could write prayers and encouragements too. I was amazed at how much was written and what the youth wrote to each other. Very inspiring and encouraging. It’s always a tough thing to see say goodbye to the grads. It’s awesome that most of them our attending local schools and we’ll see them Sunday nights @8pm for our college night called REfresh. Here’s a picture of some of our grads:

-Celebrate: We handed out the baptism certificates to our freshly baptized peeps. Justin is missing in this picture because he was at football practice and came late. Here they are:

-Celebrate again: Here are the actual baptism pics (taken by the one and only Amanda Nightingale). They are all action shots coming up out of the water:
Elizabeth
-
Kariana

Alyssa

Delanie (to fast for the camera)

Amanda

Justin (I love his face coming out of the water)

-Best part: Hanging out with the group and talking about Jesus. I hope that others will get a chance to come and hang with us Tuesday night. Invite, spread the word … we are fun to hang out with! Really!! Love ya, mean it … Mike

JCX 8/3/10

2010-08-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

It was a powerful night at JCX Tuesday. Here are the details:

-We started with info about the kingdom worker cards that our youth received at CIY. These cards have specific challenges on them and ask the youth to complete the challenge within the year. An example of a card is: create a free carnival in the park and invite the community to come and play. That’s the idea. We are attempting to complete each card by next years CIY.

-Our CIY people were excited about the debuting CIY video that Matt put together. Here it is:

-During our worship through song each youth wrote their name down on a prayer card. Then they placed those cards on a table and picked up a name and wrote a prayer on the back of the card to that person. Very cool to read what was written and really encouraging for our youth.

-The teaching focused on Jesus and his invitation to “come and see, come and die.” We used Matthew 28:18-20 as our focus. At the end of the teaching we invited our peeps to move if they need to proclaim Jesus is Lord for the first time, reconnect to Jesus or mentor/disciple someone. We also invited our youth to get baptized. That was awesome! Six youth decided Tuesday night was when they wanted to do that. So … we did:

-Such a great night! We are really seeing God transform lives. There were others who said they were ready to be baptized but wanted to wait and talk it over with their parents … which is a good thing.

-Here is a picture of us baptized people praying to close out our time together:

CIY 2010

2010-07-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

The CIY report:

I believe that was the best week of CIY we have ever been apart of! Now, I know we just recently returned from our summer conference with the high school youth and everything is fresh in my mind but I have to say … that was THE best week I’ve been apart of. Here are the reasons why:

-Life change … our youth had their eyes open to who God is, what he does and how he is working in them.
-Directional change … it was so great to watch God remind the youth of their influence and impact in this world. Some just struggled with believing they were worth anything to God because others behaved in a way that showed them otherwise. God really straightened that out.
-Transformational change … the way this group belonged to each other was awesome. No one was left behind, no one was left out, everyone was given time and love. It was super neat to watch.
-Authentic change … the things that were shared (with the group and one on one) were great to hear. There were struggles that needed to be confessed, attitudes that needed to be repented of and lifestyle choices that needed the love of Jesus.
-Influence change … the youth came back with projects to accomplish. Here are a few: a carnival in the park, collecting food for the organization Food Fight, Active water 5k fundraiser and collecting 500 turkeys for families at Thanksgiving.

Thanks for a great week:

Now for some videos:

And here is our group picture:

And here is another:

JCX 7/13/10

2010-07-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

We met Tuesday night and this was the result:

-Questions, questions and more questions. We asked the youth to write out the things that were stirring in their hearts. Here are some of the questions asked:

*How do you bring up the truth about Jesus in a conversation with a non-Christian?
*How do you know if you are being lead to be a missionary?
*What if we’re all wasting our time?
*What is your reason for being at church?
*What is normal?

-I was surprised at some of the questions. Most were about faith and salvation. It was a real cool thing to hear what was stirring in the hearts of our youth.

-This was our last JCX Tuesday for 2 weeks. Next week a group of us our heading to CIY: Move, a 6 day conference at Biola University. I’m excited about next week for a few reasons: One … there is a group of “first timers” going that, I believe, will get rocked this week by Jesus and Two … the “returners” to CIY are a group of leaders and lovers that will set a great pace for the week.

-If you are going to CIY please remember to pack: a Bible, pillow, sleeping bag, bathroom stuff, bring spending money (we will eat out 2 times) and a great attitude.

-Sunday morning @945a Gil will be leading our discussion on what it means to have a discipler and why. Remember, we start at 945a for the next 5 weeks (until August 22nd).

-Angels game and Catalina are filling up fast. If you are interested in going then get a deposit in asap.

-Text jcxyouth to 41411 and receive updates on events, times, and when and where we gathering. Do it today!

JCX Tuesday 6/29/10

2010-06-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

We met last night … it was good! The End.

Ok, really … it was very good! Great conversation, great worship through song, great energy and a great group of people. Here are the details:

---Started the night with a time of prayer. We have been practicing praying out loud, eyes open, say what you are feeling inside to God, no “dear Lord” or “Amen” types of prayers. Four of our leaders from our Dream Team lead this time and did a spectacular job. Lots of things written down and lots of great, honest, raw prayers. Loved it!

---The teaching focused on Hell. We looked at Luke 16:19-31, the story of the rich man and Lazarus. We focused on the chasm in the story. We talked about how that chasm is in the heart of the rich man and how he chose to live a life of hell. That lead to a discussion about the chasm’s we have in our lives.

---I love our leaders group (the Dream Team, as I call them). They step up and do some uncomfortable things. I say uncomfortable because it’s not easy to lead a group in prayer or get in front of the group to speak or be an example to others who know you really well but that’s what this group is doing. Thanks everyone!

---CIY is full and I’m pumped about the group going. A lot of new faces and a group of great hearts.

---Angels game and Catalina still have open space for you. Interested? Sign up soon.

---We gave Samantha Squires the camera last night and this was the result:

JCX ... the last 3 weeks

2010-06-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

It’s been 3 weeks since the last update here. I have an excuse … do you want to hear it? Well, I’m telling you anyway! Went to Hurricane Harbor with the high school peeps 3 weeks ago, Disneyland 2 weeks ago and Soak City with the 1st-4th graders last week. Therefore … no updates for you! BUT … I will catch you up right now.

***First … we welcomed our new Freshman into JCX. We did so with a fashion show. We had each one dress up in some clothes from our “weird clothes for shows” closet. It was great watching their personalities come out. Of course, there was the guy who wore the dress, but I must say … he wore it with passion! Each Frosh was connected to a D-group. Our groups welcomed them and really encouraged them. Looks like we didn’t scare the Frosh away … so glad!

***Second … we said goodbye to Lynne Brewster. She has been working with out youth, at YCC, for over 15 years. It’s tough watching someone who loves youth so much to move on but it was time. She and her husband will be doing some traveling and spending time together. Honestly, I think she will be back because in youth ministry you just can’t stay away. Lynne is a HUGE Diet Coke drinker … that was her gift from us:

***Third … speaking of saying goodbye, we did that to Josh and Adriana Oz. They have been working with our youth for 2 ½ years. It has been such a great privilege watching them connect with our youth and helping them learn and grow. We will miss them! A funny moment while we were announcing that they will be leaving; Josh didn’t give his D-group a heads up. As I’m sharing with the group that Josh and Adri will be leaving, his group yells out in shock and this awkward moment ensues. It was priceless!

***Fourth … We always have a moment where we just slip back to our “lets do this because it’s just dumb” mindset. We ask 3 of our youth to pull out as many tissues from the tissue box as they could in less than a minute without using their hands. Here’s proof (thanks Cole):

***So … now you know and knowing is half the battle! G.I. Joe! Some quick thoughts … CIY is full! A waiting list is now available to put your name on starting tonight @JCX. The Angels game is still open and Catalina still has some space available too. Sign up with a deposit and hang with us!

***Have you read about the kickback days? It’s a day that we are inviting you to come and hang with us. We will set up something ridiculously cool to do or you could invite us along with you and do whatever it is you would like to do. The next kick back day is in July. Look for details on the JCX calendar.

JCX Tuesday 6/1/10

2010-06-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

JCX details from a GREAT Tuesday night!

-Lots of peeps gathered Tuesday for JCX. Always fun when peeps show up. Still amazes me that they show up. We started the main group time with a game of “Firsts”. There were 25 things that needed to be accomplished. Some crazy, some fun, some easy like: Be the first to get Andrea to say “E.T. phone home” (by the way, she HATES E.T.) or be the first to start a Red Rover game. So cool watching everyone move around the room at a frantic pace trying to accomplish all of the tasks.

-Jon Watch taught us from Romans 8:28. The teaching focused on the difference between “everything happens for a reason” vs. “all things work together for the good.” At the end of the teaching, Jon invited those who want “ALL THINGS” to be for the glory of God to write that phrase on their hands or arms.

-This lead to some great dialogue in the D-groups. Some heavy, some very profound and others just venting. All in all it was real cool to hear the response to the teaching.

-Next Tuesday, our leaders group is taking over the night. Their focus is Peer Pressure and Family. It’s been a cool blessing to watch them put together their thoughts on this. The way they will teach and what they have planned is very creative.

-Seniors graduate next Wednesday from school. This is always a tough time of year. It’s tough because I hate saying goodbye to those I love. Some are moving away and others will join the college group, which is rad! I get excited for this time too. We have 25 freshmen moving up to JCX in 2 weeks and that’s awesome! Looking forward to building some great friendships with these youth.

-Hurricane Harbor is in 2 weeks. Hope you can make it! $20 plus spending money for a day of water and craziness.

-CIY is July 19th – 24th … space is filling up fast … don’t be left out!

-Catalina is August 11th … have you ever gone parasailing? You can if you go with us to Catalina!!

JCX Tuesday 5/25/10

2010-05-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

The JCX thing:

-Things were poppin last night (is it ok that I just said poppin?). Counting down to the end of the school year and everyone is excited about that.

-We started JCX off with some face-to-face convo’s. All our chairs were set up face-to-face with a list of conversation starters for each youth. Some were ridiculous (do a summersault together) and some were serious (what’s your first impression of me?). It really started some great dialogue with peeps who really didn’t know each other well.

-Emily Bush shared her story and it was powerful. Her message to the group “God never abandon’s us”. She spoke about how God is seen as a genie that grants wishes and makes everything better. Obviously that’s not true and she spoke about how we must take responsibility of our faith and relationship with God. So great! Awesome job!

-The teaching focused on Confession that leads to Salvation. Our thought of the night was “When I open my mouth I open my heart”. We spoke about how confession isn’t just saying “sorry” but a knowledge that God loves me and our pursuit of that truth.

-D-groups are always crazy! Some great conversations and some intense dialogue. I had the privilege of chatting with one of our youth about their tension in life. They spoke about how they want to move away from this struggle and into the life God created them for. Love seeing that.

-Next week Jon Watch Frisch brings the heat (message) to us. Pumped to hear from him. Also, June 8th our leaders group will take the lead and own the night. Some great thoughts coming, hope you are here.

JCX Tuesday 5/18/10

2010-05-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

JCX Tuesday details:

Here ya go …

-This time every year there is this apathy that sets in across the board, adults and youth, where we feel it’s ok to do nothing. So far, I have seen a great resistance to that in our youth. Especially in the leaders group. There is a strong group of people that want their lives to bring influence and passion to others. So thank you to those that are not giving in: Lacey, Amanda, Emily, Robert, Eric, Seth, Shelby, Samantha, Steven, Jacob, Ronnie, Chelsea, Aaron … gosh … this might be a long list … there are more and I love watching God

-Our teaching focused on this idea: how does Jesus define faith? How often do we get all sorts of weird ideas about faith? For example: that didn’t happen or they weren’t healed because you didn’t have enough faith or pray hard enough. So, we took what Jesus said about faith and asked “how do we live this out?” Here’s what we came up with. Faith is like knocking (there was a door in the middle of the room) … we talked about how knocking is saying “God, I know who you are and what you promised so I’m asking you to be the God you say you are.” Faith is like the wind (had a big fan running) … God isn’t in love with some future version of you, he is in love with you. Faith is like being thirsty (lots of water around the room) … only Jesus satisfies the soul. Faith like reporting (there was a tv in the center of the room) … speak about how Jesus is working in us. Faith is like coming home (we had a log cabin play house in the room) … the Father always has his hands wide open … may we live that way also.

-The teaching lead into our D-group time. Each group spent time in worship with a focus on each of the characteristics of faith. Some great discussion and thoughts shared.

-Our leaders group spent some time chatting with other D-groups about what they hope to see JCX accomplish together. We will spend some time discussing that next week in our leaders group.

-Now … we’re planning for a time of worship on Thursday @4pm. It was an idea of our leaders group. They felt another time together was important to our community and so we’re trying out this time of worship. Hoping it catches on and becomes something that inspires and encourages our youth to live out their faith wherever they go.

-CIY is coming and … well … here’s why everyone should go:

-We are planning a kick back day each month … details in the next blog entry.

JCX Tuesday 5/11/10

2010-05-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

JCX Tuesday … so good …

-Looks as though our leaders are going to be very influential peeps! Shelby, Robert, Eric, Seth, Emily and Chelsea are doing some dreaming and some planning for JCX. They introduced themselves as the leaders last night (which isn’t easy because others will see them as people who don’t deserve to be leaders … more on that in a moment) and they prayed over each D-group which I thought was a great way to connect and remind the group they are not looking for a title but to live as servants.

-The teaching focused on this of being a leader. Often we have high standards for our leaders. These standards are unreachable. We expect someone who wants to be a leader to be perfect. That obviously can’t happen … or we’re Jesus. We talked about how leaders, including the youth at JCX, our ones who face their flaws in front of others because they want to be people that bring people to Jesus. Leaders choose to be apart of transforming their surroundings not being influenced by them. Leaders strengthen the brothers (Luke 22).

-D-groups were filled with great conversation. We are always looking to make that time important, healthy and comfortable. We discussed our D-group and what our culture is like in our group.

-Always great convo after JCX too. Had the chance to stay after and be apart of a chat with a friend. It’s great to hear the honesty and wisdom around me. I love it when people choose to grow and be challenged. Got nothing but love for those that sit and do nothing, complain, etc. but those that move forward are fun to be around.

-Have you signed up for Hurricane Harbor on June 16th? Cost is $20 plus money for food.
-CIY: Move July 19th -24th cost is $290 with a $100 deposit.
-Angel’s game: July 28th cost is $20 plus money for food.
-Catalina: August 11th cost is $175 (parasailing, kayaking, snorkeling and biking)
-Plus, serving at the Blessing Center, Youth Hope, and study lunches all throughout the summer. Calendars are available again this Sunday.

JCX Tuesday 5/4/10

2010-05-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

JCX Tuesday … And. Here. We. Go.

-It was one of those nights together where it felt as if we all knew why we were there, what we are focused on and how we hope to accomplish it. Great to hang out and be together. Here’s what I’m pumped about: the leaders group! Some great ideas are coming from those youth. They have a desire to serve and love. Are they perfect for the job? Nope! And that’s why I’m glad they are apart of this opportunity to lead. Some will see these youth and wonder why they are “leaders” because they see flaws. Truth is, the youth stepping up to lead are youth facing the flaws in their life. They are ready to move ahead and grow in their faith. So, to Seth, Eric, Emily, Chelsea, Robert and Shelby … It’s a privilege to dream and to serve with you!

-Ok, we have a variety of peeps that are apart of the fam @JCX on Tuesday. Because of that, some aren’t to sure how this “community time” works. We decided to “show them” and explain some things in a way that wasn’t condemning, funny, but got the point across. Here’s what we came up with:

-The teaching was out of the final chapter of 2 Timothy. We focused on “keeping your head in all situations”. So great to see the words of Paul, to Timothy, have huge influence in our lives today. Our phrase of the night was “Keep your head”. Our leaders group each got a balloon with a head on it to remind them of this truth.

-We have about 15 Frosh Best Buddies. That’s rad! These peeps will love and support our new Frosh that move into our JCX community. I’m excited about who wants to step up and mentor/lead these new peeps.

-So much fun coming soon: Hurricane Harbor on June 16th. CIY: Move July 19th -24th. Angel’s game: July 28th. Catalina: August 11th. Plus, serving at the Blessing Center, Youth Hope, and study lunches all throughout the summer. Calendars are available this Sunday.

JCX Tuesday 4/27/10

2010-04-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

JCX Tuesday … here we go …

-Our hearts were heavy over the loss of Stephen Davila’s mom this past weekend. We brought Stephen up on stage and he shared what happened, how his fam is doing and where they are going from here. Stephen’s attitude is incredible. After his mom passed he said to me “she received what God promised her and I’m looking forward to that moment too”. What a great perspective. We prayed over Stephen and his D-group came up on stage and laid hands on him. My favorite moment, though, was walking out into the hallway and seeing Stephen encouraging his D-group and praying over them. Not sure if the passing of his mom has hit him fully yet BUT he is certainly remembering that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

-We sang together last night and that was beautiful. I had more peeps last night tell me that they sing horribly BUT they don’t care because that time of worship through song is one of the best ways they can communicate how much they love God, to God.

-The teaching focused on Real vs. Good and we used 2 Timothy chapter 3 as our foundation to jump off of. We learned that our job is to allow God to move in us through his Holy Spirit. We do that by Owning our faith, making Amends as we live out our faith and Reinventing our faith (not doing it the same way as before).

-The D-group time at the end was really powerful. Two of our groups stayed until 9pm. We get done with JCX at 830pm. The convo from each group was rad … I know because I was eavesdropping! Shhh … don’t tell.

-After group was over Isaac Cox was baptized by his dad. So awesome to see that! I love this picture of Isaac and his dad after Isaac was dunked:

-BUT my favorite part was listening and watching the raw emotion of Sterling, Isaac’s dad, as he had the privilege of baptizing his son:

-Spectacular night! We have a new D-group that started last night. The focus is on what it means to be a leader. The youth involved will be influencing the direction of JCX and taking part in shaping what JCX looks like in the future. So great to have Eric, Robert, Seth, Emily and Shelby take a step in the direction of becoming real leaders and real examples.

Summer is here

2010-04-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

The summer schedule is all set and we'll be giving out more details in 2 weeks BUT I wanted to share one great thing with you about this summer. You ready?
Here it is:

This is the official announcement ... this is when you know summer is coming! Angels baby!! More details soon BUT I thought I'd share this little bit of goodness with you.

JCX Tuesday 4/20/10

2010-04-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

JCX and the Tuesday night that was:

-Every week lots and lots of high school peeps walk through the doors @JCX. Some come for their friends and to make a connection. Others come because they desire to learn and grow in their faith. Some come because they belong and others come because they were invited. Some stick and become apart of “us”. Others struggle and might disappear. Some are emotional and some are logical BUT the best part is that they want and desire something powerful for their lives. We addressed this idea last night and will continue to do so next week. The reason for this: we can’t sit silently and pretend that everything is ok. Also, we can’t act as if our purpose is to just make “good people” and “behave ourselves”. Jesus never called us to be good or behave. He desires for us to be His and to be WITH him as we live life. THAT’S why we gather; to remind ourselves of this truth. Some of us lose that perspective, others don’t want to remember BUT we gotta keep saying it. We gotta keep speaking about it and we gotta keep living it!

-The highlight from last night was the decisions by many to become the types of people that treat others as REDDER (they have great, Godly value). Many youth took a bracelet with the words “YOU ARE REDDER” and are now wearing them. It was made very clear to not take one if REDDER is not how you choose to live. I think that was heard and understood.

-It’s always fun to see the response to what God is doing in the hearts of the youth. Many were moved last night by what was said, sung and discussed. There were some that were frustrated and looked very broken. My question is this: how can we hug them and love them while they go through this? One youth said they were thinking about not coming again. Not sure of the reason but from what I can tell they are frustrated. That sucks when that happens. My words to them are to never give in to feeling a certain way. Make the BEST choice by discussing it with those you love and love Jesus. Leaving is never an option unless the Lord says go. When he says to go it’s not out of frustration or anger.

-Worship through song was great! There were some struggles with the music from a technical standpoint (which always bugs me) but the group of musicians did so well to play on through.

-Subway next week from 6p-630 and also during that time we are meeting with those who want to be a Frosh Best Buddy.

-Sunday Lacey Namoa is leading and will be bringing it! She has some great things to say so get yo self ready!

The FBB's

2010-04-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Every year new, scarred, freshman move into JCX. Some will stay and build friendships with us. Other frosh will come once or twice and then leave and we never see them again. Well, that’s gotta change and that change starts with you. We’re looking for FBB’s (Frosh Best Buddies) to welcome the new frosh, start a friendship with the new frosh and help them belong to us. An FBB will be with that Frosh every Tuesday night and Sunday morning. Give that Frosh a ride to church and bring them into their circle of friends. It’s not ok that our frosh can easily disappear, never to be heard from again. As a group, let’s give them a reason to belong to us. Let’s show them they are loved and have value. After all, somebody must show them how to eat cake, with no hands at Lynne’s house:

FBB details coming this Tuesday and a meeting the following week. You up? Sign up Tuesday and be at the FBB meeting. Time to love on some Frosh … without permanent markers!!!

JCX Tuesday 4/13/10

2010-04-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

We returned to action Tuesday night @JCX. Here are the specifics:

-We sold some food at a cheap price last night. Everyone always shows up early so we thought, “Hey, since we’re all here let’s eat together.” That’s what we did! Two slices of pizza, two bread sticks and a drink for $3. Next week … how about some tacos from Asaderos? It’s the place on the corner of Yuc Blvd and 3rd street. So good … come between 6p-630p … $1 dollar tacos and $1 dollar drinks. Plus, we get to eat and hang together.

-Brittney Jones played the piano for us last night and sang. It’s tough to get up in front of the group and do that … thanks for being so courageous Brittany.

-Kartal Karabas shared about why he came to know Jesus and what it means for his life. One thing he shared that stuck out: “Be bold”. Thanks for that encouragement Kartal. Watching his D-group pray over him was awesome!

-Worship through song was beautiful. Harrison Faux joined the worship team and played the key board. So great singing together. We did a long set of music last night and will continue to do that. It was just a good thing.

-The group read through 2 Timothy chapter 1 in parts last night. Some groups did well, others read at their own pace. Awesome to hear the scriptures out loud.

-Teaching focused on how we live can either be a desecration to the name of God (Khillul Ha-shem) or sanctifying the name God (Kiddush Ha-shem). Our thought for the night was Jesus became bad so we could become better.

-Focusing on 2 Timothy chapter 2 next week. Each week will be a bit deeper and harder to hear because there are some powerful things that Paul challenges Timothy with that we will lay out in front of each other.

-D-group focused on writing a Paul to Timothy letter. Leaders wrote to the youth and the youth wrote to the leaders.

-Your thoughts or responses? Leave them on Mike’s Facebook page.

JCX 3/23/10

2010-03-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Week two of JCX Spring Break. Here are the details:

-We served @ the Wildwood Canyon Villa on Monday. Great group went. Spent time with the peeps in the memory care center. We played Bingo, read to some of the residents and had a great time.
-Highlight of the day was watching Jacob Furlong interacting with a lady who couldn’t hear. He wrote down what he wanted to say and she would respond by talking (yelling) what she wanted to say. So cool!
-Tuesday night was rad. We spoke about talking responsibility with your mind. It looks like this: Finding value in the things I do or finding value in who made me. When we wrap our minds around that, we are becoming responsible. Romans 12:1-2 says it best check it out!
-We filled out cards with our thoughts on what excites us about church, frustrates us, what would we change if we were in charge and how would we make that happen. Some of the things that were shared we’re awesome. (I’ll post them later).
-Thinking about leaders in the group … the youth kind … wondering if you are one. Let’s chat about that.
-Youth Hope tomorrow … and Sunday JCX this Sunday @845a.

JCX Tuesday 3/16/10

2010-03-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the details from JCX last night:

-Steven Davila shared his story. It’s powerful and his faith is an example to all of us. The Davila family has been through a lot and Steven continues to lean and rest in Jesus for courage and it shows.
-The teaching focused on “reaping and sowing”. We talked about how decisions made today effect where you go tomorrow. We spoke about how it affects us later (living right but still struggling) and greater (the effects of choice can be bigger than expected).
-Some great discussion took place in the D-groups. Ronnie Freeman lead his group along with Kelsey Miranda. They did a spectacular job. Discussion focused on what we’re choosing to do today with our time and why it’s important to make Godly decisions.
-Worship through song was shorter than normal, which was a bummer, because we we’re running out of time. The youth did well and I was privileged to sing with them.
-Service week continues … Last night a group of us went to Youth Hope. I was so excited for Andrea. She did so well connecting and making friends. The entire group did well meeting and loving on the youth there.
-Today … there is a group @ YAPS. They are pulling weeds, picking up trash and beautifying that place. Working hard!!
-Tomorrow night, we’re at Youth Hope again. Friday night we’re serving @Ronald McDonald House.
-JCX meets next week and we’re closing out our chat on Responsibility stuff. So far so good!! See ya Sunday! Gil is leading … 2nd chapter in 1 Timothy. Go get em Gil!!

Wildwood Canyon Villa - Service week Day 1

2010-03-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Troy, Katie, Harrison, Seth, Jacob, Samantha and Kody spent about 2 hours with some great peeps @ Wildwood Canyon Villa in the memory care center. Here they are:

Some played bingo:

Others read and chatted with our friends there:

Troy threw the baseball around with Glen:

Loved being there and serving with all of you. Youth Hope Tuesday @3pm. We’ll carpool down and be back by 6pm. Off and running with service week 2010.

JCX Tuesday 3/9/10

2010-03-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

Details about JCX Tuesday … Here we go:

-We opened with something very important. An acoustic version of Grandma the mountain women. Want proof? Here it is:

-We spent some time in worship through song. Awesome to sing with you all. One thing: can we not do the “crib dance” or whatever it’s called while singing to Jesus? Thanks! P.S. it’s dumb! Love ya!
-The teaching focused on taking responsibility for our sin. We covered Confession, Repentance and Accountability and what each look like. Good response to that!
-D-groups were awesome! Good convo all around and some great things were shared.
-Next week we’re starting our Servant Week. Our first stop is Wildwood Canyon Villa. Sign up Sunday and come Monday.
-Gil is teaching this Sunday out of 1 Timothy chapter 1. Come and support Gil and add to the discussion.

JCX Tuesday 3/2/10

2010-03-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

Awesome stuff happening @ JCX Tuesday. Details, sure …

-Gabbie Mendoza shared her story with us. Lots of doubting and questioning about God is what brought her to the place she is at today. Robert Bergeson was a huge influence in her life and kept reminding her that life without God isn’t life at all. The group REALLY supported her and she did a great job sharing!
-Heidi Mayer, director of Youth Hope, shared her passion and vision with us. So many hurting youth on the streets in Redlands and so many opportunities to be apart of the healing. Heidi showed a video with different interviews from different street youth. A few of our JCX youth knew the faces in the video. One youth used to hang out with one and it was shocking to see where they are at now.
-We decided to adopt Youth Hope into our JCX family. That means we hope to be on the front lines of what Youth Hope does because we believe in it so much. So cool when God moves a group of hearts in his direction for his kingdom.
-Lots of peeps there last night. Great job inviting and encouraging all!
-Some good stuff coming next week. Our theme is Responsibility. We’re looking at sin, feelings, thoughts and more.
-We have a week of service coming up during Spring Break. Details this Tuesday.
-Aaron Loenhorst will be teaching on Sunday. Excited to see that happen

30 hour Famine 2010

2010-03-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

The Famine details:

Going 30 hours without food isn’t something most people do … BUT we did. Choosing to be servants in our community in places that are awkward and uncomfortable isn’t something most people do … BUT we did. Not complaining and doing it all with a smile is not how most people face these moments … BUT we did. Do we want credit? NOPE!! Colossians 1:29 says: to this end I labor, struggling with all HIS energy which is so powerfully at work within me. We accomplished these things together, not just you and me BUT you, me and our first love … Jesus. Thanks to those who gave generously, we were able to raise money for world hunger. Men and women throughout the world struggling to find food will now eat because 60 plus peeps decided not to. Plus, we we’re able to love our community in tangible ways.

Ok, now for some highlights:

Friday night was a blast. We connected with our service groups, selected three verses from scripture to memorize and laughed together as we got to know one another. Here’s some evidence from Friday that it was a blast. First some pictures:

And now some videos:

We spent time serving all over Yucaipa and surrounding communities. That list included: Ronald McDonald House, the memory care center @ Wildwood Canyon Villa, pulling weeds in the rain, cleaning/painting @YAPS, helping a family move, organizing and cleaning @ the library, visiting and playing bingo with our friends @ the convalescent homes, and serving with Youth Hope. Here are some photos of us hard @ work:

It was a packed two days. Thanks to those who prayer, support and came out to serve. We loved being with you and look forward to continuing to choose to be servants alongside you. Before you’re done reading this, consider supporting a child through Compassion or World Vision @ $30 dollars a month. That money will help feed, educate, clothe and encourage. If you did the Famine, you already participated in doing those things so this next step will be very easy for you. Here are some final photos from Famine. Thanks all:

JCX Tuesday 2/23/10

2010-02-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

JCX Tuesday night re-cap:

-It was the last night of our SEX talk. It’s been a great conversation to have because our focus hasn’t been sex being two people rolling around in the dark BUT something the mirrors our relationship with God.
-Tuesday our finale of the SEX talk focused on “When God’s love is my love then I love”. We used 1 John 4:19 and 1 Corinthians 13:7 as our scripture focus.
-During the teaching, we talked about being yoked together with someone in a dating relationship. Yoked means connected, going in the same way because you have the same love. So, to describe this idea we asked RJ and Taryn to race Tim and Kelsey in a three legged race. We tied their legs together and they had to climb over three tables. BUT, we blindfolded Tim. He and Kelsey represented a couple not yoked together with the same love. Great fun and a great point for our group … and we took pictures:

-Jeremy Ohcoa shared his story about believing that God couldn't forgive him for the things he did. Long story short ... God did, and Jeremy is passionate about sharing this with everyone he knows. Awesome job Jeremy!
-Famine is this weekend and there is an excitement about it.
-We’re meeting for Famine on Friday @6pm and serving begins the next morning @8am.
-Next Tuesday our focus shifts to Responsibility.
-Invite a friend and be apart of JCX. We look forward to seeing you again!

JCX Tuesday 2/16/10

2010-02-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

Another fantastic night on Tuesday night. Here’s the skinny:

-Our theme was SEX part: 2. The focus on the teaching was “Be the me that God created me to be”. We covered the idea that being created in the image of God is what gives you value, not who you have sex with. That led to the difference between intimacy and sexuality. Intimacy is talking, listening, being real, and thinking. Sex is an expression of love that affirms, values, builds up and respects. We finished with the words of God through Paul in Ephesians chapters 1-3. So great to see the response!!
-Worship through song was spectacular! The group came together and worshipped in such a powerful way!
-Shannon Stoner shared her story and did so well. She shared how God answered her prayer and put her family back together. This was a tough thing to pray for because she was so upset with what was happening in her family. Neat to her about her perseverance and how her mom was her encourager during this time. Shannon’s best line of the night: “Not sure how I would have made it through without God walking with me the whole way.” YES!!
-The greatest part of the evening was the baptisms of Amanda and Lacey. These young women are a blessing to our group and have become great examples of Jesus to us. Here are some pictures from that event:
Mike, Woody, Amanda and Lacy praying together:

Amanda getting baptized:

Lacey’s turn:

Group hug:

Amanda and Lacey:

-This Sunday, Steven and Brittany are teaching on obedience. Hope you can make it @8:45am Sunday morning!
-30 Hour Famine is next weekend. We’re raising money for world hunger. Our goal is $5,000. Keep going!
-Next Tuesday … SEX: the finale. Hope you can make it!

JCX Tuesday 2/9/10

2010-02-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

We did it right again @JCX Tuesday night. I know you want the highlights … here ya go!

-Sex was our theme tonight and will be over the next few weeks. You excited?? Tuesday night’s theme was “You can’t un-one the one”. We chatted about how the word “to know” in scripture is the same word for sexual intimacy. So knowing God is being in the most intimate relationship possible. A relationship that is full of unconditional love, forgiveness, grace, affirmation, value and salvation. Sex, then, is when a husband and wife decide to commit their every breathe to one another and live under the promise of Ephesians 5. There it speaks about presenting one another as holy, radiant, pure, without blemish and giving our lives to each other just as Christ has done for us. When sex happens, it’s more than two people rolling around in the dark … it’s an understanding that we are ONE with God and with each other in a committed, life long relationship called marriage.
-Lacey shared her story and did a great job. It was great to hear her passion and how Jesus has had an affect on her relationships with her family. Thanks for sharing! Her D-group prayed over her after she spoke and it was neat to hear the things that they had to say about her too!
-Brandon Thatcher sang at the start of the night and did great.
-Worship through song was powerful and great to be apart of.
-D-groups covered all sorts of convo’s and tackled the idea of what it means to be ONE.
-Next week … Morgan and Jake will be singing and playing, Amanda and Lacey will be getting baptized and a surprised youth will be sharing their story.
-Sunday … Aaron Moran is teaching about knives and fire … and God’s Word … it’s set up to be a great teaching. Come and support Aaron.

JCX Tuesday 2/2/10

2010-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

We rocked it again Tuesday night. Here are the details:

*Our focus was Faith and Fear. We chatted about how “we can do this because Jesus lives in us” and how often we don’t believe that.
*Each D-group was given a flower that represents all the things that we see as more important than the people around us. Oh, by the way … the flower will die!
*There was a small stage where the youth could stand up and speak up on behalf of those in need, broken, hurting, etc. Some great things we’re shared!! Always interesting to see who will share and what they will say. Even Captain Ron spoke up!
*Getting closer and closer to our $5,000 goal for 30 Hour Famine. We encouraged the youth to continue to fundraise. Doing some fun projects on the day of the famine too. Spoke a bit about Youth Hope and how we’re partnering with them.
*D-groups are always an adventure. Heard some great discussion taking place, which is such a super neat thing.
*Starting next week … We’re talking, discussing, sharing about SEX.
*Lacey will be sharing her story next week.
*In a couple of weeks Brandon asked if he could sing in front of the group, to which I said “HECK YEAH!”
*R.J. is leading our time Sunday morning and he always does great! Come support him!
*There is a girls Bible Study meeting this Thursday @5:30pm @White Rabbit. Look for Taryn, Bethany and Samantha.
*Another new youth staffer @JCX last night. Her name is Dilara. And, if you haven’t met Baylie yet, you should … she joined us about a month ago! You both rock!!
*Famine dates … Feb 26/27 … bring a tent and come and hang with us.
*We’re making bracelets for Rapha House … raised over $120 so far .. more bracelets are needed … chat with Vanessa or Mike.

30 hour Famine

2010-01-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

We are fasting and feeding on Feb. 26th/27th at the 30 hour Famine. There is so much that happens that weekend and I'll share more each Sunday and Tuesday and some here as well. I want to start with telling you about an organization we are partnering with right here in Yucaipa called Youth Hope. They work with teen runaways on the streets of Redlands. The goal of Youth Hope is providing various programs that will build confidence, empowerment, intervention, and education to provide a stepping stone to transition the youth from the streets to becoming self-sufficient adults. This is a vid of some of those they love:

We are serving with them on Saturday @ the Famine. Join us ... support Youth Hope ... go to www.youthhoperedlands.org for more

JCX Tuesday 1/27/10

2010-01-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

We did it up on Tuesday night. Here are the highlights:

-We talked up 30 hour Famine. Set our fundraising goal at $5,000. Our group, over the last few years, has raised over 20,000 dollars for World Vision. Lots of peeps signed up and we’re ready for some fasting and some feeding! Feb. 26th and 27th are the dates for the Famine. If you want to donate online, you can here: http://www.30hourfamine.org/portal/onlinegiving/donate/33969040-001
-One of the best moments of the night was our time of prayer with each other. We spent about 10 minutes together praying for those who will receive food because we’re going without food.
-Our teaching focused on “Do not be afraid, be gusty!” The scripture was out of Luke 2 and how the good news of the Savior, Jesus Christ and His coming isn’t just about sharing info … its good news that will bring peace to us and this world.
-D-groups focused on the story of Cain and Able and the way God dealt with Cain. God gave him life even though Cain didn’t give life to Able. Good discussion and awesome stuff happening.
-Emily Bush is leading on Sunday morning. Very excited to hear from her. Glad she is apart of the group.
-Remember the Famine … you can help … you can serve …
-Get JCX updates by texting jcxyouth to 41411 …
-See ya soon …

Winter Camp 2010 review

2010-01-20T09:48:00.000-08:00

*How about that weekend? Who would have thought 70 people, stuck under one roof would be able to worship the Lord the way we did? Awesome stuff!

*Our focus for the weekend was “Anakrino” which is the Greek word for think, examine, discern, judge, decide. Each of our conversations focused on thinking and understanding why we are about to do whatever it is we’re going to do.

*The teachings focused on thinking about: the authority of God (who holds sway in your life and pushes you?), giving and receiving grace (grace is complete when it’s received and then given away) and throwing rocks (will we use our rocks to stone others or will we lie across the rock, Jesus, and entrust ourselves to him?).

*Each youth staff led a break out session each day. The youth were able to pick from three every half hour. Some of the topics included: Think: Purity, Think: Discipleship, Think: Forgiveness, Think: Faith, Think: Traditions and more.

*One of the most favorite moments came when the youth we’re giving 15 minutes to do whatever they wanted during our “Together time”. They choose to pray for one another and share who they are and what has impacted them this weekend.

*Another favorite time was when we moved around the room praying for one another and encouraging each other.

*Saturday night: Matt, Josh and Jacob played some jams that we all knew (non worship songs) and we spent about an hour singing and rocking the house!

*Cabin time is always fun. Each group has some stories about the craziness that took place.

*Over all, it was a spectacular weekend with a lot of great discussion and some great decisions made. Many chose to let go of control and solutions and give themselves over to God’s leading. Others chose to wake up to the reality that they belong and need to stop finding ways to hide from us and from God.

*The weather treated us well … the youth we’re awesome and the leaders are the best team in the world!! Serious!

*Ok, now for some pics and vids: This first vid is Seth teaching the group how to truly sing the song “I am Free”:

*Now, not everyone does it the same way. Tim had his own way of worshipping:

And now for some pics:

*Until next year ...

JCX Tuesday 1/12/10

2010-01-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

A finals week edition of JCX Tuesday:

-Strong group of you all last night … for finals week … which probably means most of you are failing the test today!!
-Our focus Tuesday is on the 5 primary emotions. This week’s emotion was Sadness. We talked about depression and the choke hold it has on our culture and how we face it. That lead into a convo about not just reading the scriptures but studying what it says and working to gain an understanding of who God is and what it means for us. We used Isaiah 9:6 as our focus. God is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. We broke down what each name represents and how that effects who we are and what we do. Good stuff!
-Lots of great D-group conversations after the teaching. You know it’s a good convo when peeps stay after to continue to discuss.
-Lots of excitement for camp this weekend. Final count: 70 people total! That’s huge!! Lots of new faces and lots of energy.
-Not meeting @YCC next Tuesday. Your group will be off campus. Check with your leader to find out when and where.
-Not meeting for JCX Sunday either b/c we are at camp. If you can’t make camp I encourage you to be in Mosaic or Enteractive.
-JCX in 2 weeks … Our focus is on Hurt. So pumped for this! See ya then!

Winter Camp list

2010-01-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

Wondering what to bring to camp? Wonder no more:

pillow
sleeping bag
warm clothes
toiletries (bathroom goods)
towel
Bible
pen
spending money (not required)
good attitude

Hope that helps. If you have any questions text 951-204-3896 or subscribe to the youth hotline by texting jcxyouth to 41411.

JCX Tuesday 1/5/10

2010-01-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

Spectacular night @JCX … our first night back from Christmas break. Here’s the details:

-Started off in D-groups and had a great time re-connecting with each other. The first half hour of JCX is always fun to see who comes and to chat with each other about the things happening in our lives. After a long break, those convo’s last a while. We also broke into groups of 2-3 which I’ll explain in a minute.
-Once inside the main room, we opened with this vid:

-That lead us into a time of prayer. It’s during this time we got into groups of 2-3 and prayed for each other. It was an awesome moment of silence and a great scene of 120 plus youth with their arms around each other, lifting up the things that those around them are facing.
-After worship through song, Vanessa shared her passion about loving the Rafa House. This organization rescues and houses women and young girls who were taken advantage of in the sex trade throughout the world. Vanessa isn’t old enough yet to visit the house but she wanted to do something. So we made friendship bracelets and will be selling them to raise money to help support the Rafa House.
-While we made the bracelets, we focused on what makes us angry. We chatted about how anger comes from lust which really is our desires turning into demands. When our demands are not met we turn it into anger. The challenge was simply to remember what the gospel truly is: the good news that we are not anger or lust and don’t have to be held captive by those things because of Jesus. We asked each youth to write down the anger they need to face and if they are willing to walk into that dark place and with whom. Great stuff!!
-Lots of great learning and conversations after the teaching … Two text messages that I received after youth really encouraged me. They both focused on facing and walking through their mess with Jesus. So glad when it clicks!!
-Invite a friend next week … our theme is “Sadness”. Hope you’re coming!

Confessions

2009-12-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, we borrowed (stole) the Kickball trophy from First Baptist Church. It was sitting out without protection and looked very lonely so I picked it up and brought it home with me. After much contemplation, we aren’t giving it back! We decide to take it a step further and take some photos with it. So FBCY … say hi to your precious trophy here:

here:

And here:

FBCY … if you want your trophy back come and get it!

Winter Camp

2009-12-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

There is this thing called winter camp that comes every January @JCX. We don’t do camp like many others do camp. We create everything from scratch. From what we discuss to the everyday activities, it all comes from the crazy brains of our youth staff. It’s one of the best “together events” we do @JCX. What to expect: opportunities to connect with new faces and familiar ones, a chance to learn and develop your faith in Jesus, a chance to learn and trust those around you and a place to get away.

We hope you or your teen can join us for this weekend in January. The dates are the 15th – 18th (Friday-Monday). The cost is $180 ($100 deposit holds your spot). You’ll need a medical release form from YCC. Talk with Mike, Talicia or your D-group leader about payment plans or any questions that you may have about camp.

Praying for you today! Grace, mercy and peace!

JCX Tuesday 12/8/09

2009-12-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

The last night of JCX on campus @YCC took place Tuesday night. Some highlights please:

-Night started with the “State of the Youthion Address”. I dressed up in the suit and tie, which Gil said “looks stupid” and delivered a speech on why we gather together and our hope for each youth in this community. The speech, which focused on grace, mercy and peace, opened up with this vid put together by Matt:

-We worshipped through song in a different way last night. Matt, Josh, Talicia and Jacob played an acoustical set with some fancy drums and all. They blew us away and we sang with some passion!!
-Woody brought the heat with the teaching. He was very authentic with us and shared some personal stories that helped the teaching click. His focus was out of Romans 7 (good stuff, check it out). Best line of the night (my paraphrase): “God considers you worthy of the struggle. And if you’re struggling with sin, that’s a great indication that you are not a slave to it.” Beautiful job Woody!
-As a “moment we didn’t expect” Captain Ron followed up the teaching with a great thought about what was going through Paul’s head when he wrote the stuff we just went through. Ron closed his thought with “Carrie Underwood has it right, Jesus take the wheel.” Chessy? Yes! But a classic Ron moment. As the youth left for D-groups, we played that very song. It turned into a spontaneous “American Idol” moment as everyone stopped and sang.
-Great way to end the year! Next week our D-groups celebrate together off campus. Then we don’t meet on Tuesday again until 2010.
-Praying for Winter Camp. Good stuff planned. Hope you’re coming!

JCX Tuesday 12/01/09

2009-12-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

Ever had to do something that you really hate doing but it was the right thing and you had to do it anyway? That happened to me at JCX Tuesday night. The good thing though, standing up for those who want to grow in their love for Jesus Christ. I’m so thankful for them and the commitment they have to life and to others because they love their Savior and know he loves them.

We had some great discussion last night. We split the room into 8 sections and had altar time. A time where we can talk intimately about the junk we carry around, about the hope we have to change and to move towards the loving relationship that God offers through his Son Jesus.

We also spent some time walking through Matthew 6 together. Each group sat face to face with each other shared their thoughts on what they read. Here’s the video:

Winter Camp is so close! We want you to go and we will make room so you can. You interested? January 15th – 18th in Lake Arrowhead. Cost is $180 with a $100 deposit. Just don’t be this guy:

Love ya … hope to see ya Sunday morning @ 8:45am in GFC for JCX.

JCX Tuesday 11/17/09

2009-11-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

Salt and Light:

-We started the night with an announcement about how we stole the kickball trophy from FBCY. Um, I mean … I heard it was taken and that there is a possibility of a ransom video coming soon. Here’s the announcement vid:

-Worship through song was awesome! The group (lead by Seth Hunt) focused and belted out the songs from their hearts. We had this video open our time of worship:

-Aaron Loenhorst quoted Matthew 5:13-16 to us. That led into the teaching about being salt and light. We focused on open hearts, open hands and open mouths as seen in this vid:

-Tons o peeps last night. Thanks to those who came and brought friends! Always good to celebrate with you.
-Remember to sign up for camp, serving @ Cold Stone and come to Speak your Mind Sunday @845am in the GFC.
-Text jcxyouth to 41411 to receive updates about all things JCX Youth.

JCX Tuesday 11/10/09

2009-11-11T14:24:00.001-08:00

So what is the difference was our focus Tuesday night @JCX. Here are the details:

-We spent most of the night walking through (literally) each of the belief systems that are around us and popular today.
-Each walk was a description, from that belief systems writings, what they believe about God, Jesus, salvation, faith and eternity.
-After our walk, the teaching focused on “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God”. We learned that it’s not our job to say “we’re right” and “you’re wrong” but that we are on “both sides”. Jesus came to quench the thirst of the soul, not argue which belief system is right. He quenches that thirst with the truth of who he is and what he does. We learned that he affirms the thirst we have and came to give it living water and keep us from filling it with all sorts of beliefs that lead to more thirst. We are the peacemakers who, b/c God met us in our badness; we meet others in theirs and speak about the one who satisfies our souls.
-Afterwards, we celebrated three of our peeps getting baptized. Here’s photos of the fun:

Congrats to M, M and J … that’s Mallory, Morgan and Jeneane

-What did you learn on Tuesday? Would love to hear your thoughts!

JCX Tuesday 11/3/09

2009-11-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night thoughts:

-Started the night with Aaron Loenhorst quoting Ephesians 6:10-20 all from memory! Awesome job Aaron … does anyone recite scripture like Aaron? So passionate and fired up!
-We worshipped through song and danced together.
-We did something called “open space” where we sat in two circles (one circle inside another), face to face with each other and chatted about what a Christian truly is. Some great discussion
-The teaching focused on Colossians 3 (READ IT!) and how we are raised with Christ.
-D-groups were spectacular … in one of our newer groups we had three youth receive Christ as their Lord and in another group we had a time of worship through song! So great!
-Sheridan Martin and her baptism was the highlight of the night! Gil had the privilege of baptizing Sheridan (it was his first time baptizing someone) … here are some photos …

-Thanks for being a part of this night! And thanks for sharing it with us Sheridan!!

---Sunday … we’re continuing our discussion on “what would you write?” … come share your thoughts and discuss with us some big issues and how we see them through scripture.
---Sand bagging is happening again Sunday @ 1:30 … meet at YCC and Shaun will lead you up to the house where we will be working
---WINTER CAMP … RSVP today and get your deposit in … $100 deposit … Jan 15th-18th

JCX Tuesday 10/27/09

2009-10-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

If you missed JCX Tuesday no worries … here’s the re-cap:

-Our theme was “What is Christianity?” We discussed what we confess and have faith in and what that does in this world. Check out Matthew 5, 6, 7 and John 14-17 for some of the specific things we addressed.
-Harrison Faux played a piece on the piano for us. Got a standing ovation afterward. Thanks for doing that buddy!
-D-groups focused on all sorts of things but the best story I heard was in Josh/Josh/Woody’s group … they went an extra 15-20 minutes discussing Ruth and Boaz. During this discussion, they created a whistle sound to describe the moments of intimacy between Ruth and Boaz. Some great discussion and some creativity all at the same time. Ask one of the members of that group to do the whistling noise for you.
-We had two youth get baptized. Shayla Morris and Shannon Stoner.
-This is Shayla fresh out of the water:

-This is Shannon fresh out of the water:

-Praying for our two friends:

-This is how we role!:

-Congrats ladies and thanks for letting us be apart of this important day!

-Check out www.youtube.com … info about events coming up this weekend are up now! Check out the announcement video.

-Halloween party: Sat. 8-11pm 10234 Norton Ave. (Directions: Bryant towards HWY 38. Right on Carter and left on Norton.)
-Sand Bag event: meet @ YCC @ 1:30pm to help fill sand bags for a family @ YCC.
-Invite a friend to join us Sunday @ 8:45am or Tuesday JCX @ 6:30pm.

Random thangs!!!

2009-10-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for some random nonsense? Well, if not … I’m giving it to you anyway:

-Staff meeting last Tuesday was great. Discussion ranged from what we’re going to focus on in D-groups to youth we love and are praying for
-Some groups spent this past Tuesday night together. So great when that happens.
-My family and I went to Disneyland for Abi’s 6th birthday. Disneyland is fun when: a. not crowded, b. kids are in a good mood, c. mom and dad are in a good mood, d. when Rylie is sleeping. Let’s just say we accomplished a, b and c. Rylie sleeping didn’t happen to often but she was still a good girl!
-My son Gavin rode Star Tours for the first time. He loved it!
-We’re meeting on Sunday @8:45am … are you going to be there? We’re studying Psalms and also planning to do some creative things together Sunday.
-BACK for JCX Tuesday next week! I know you missed us!
-Winter Camp sign up’s start Sunday. Here’s the key … you must put down a deposit in order to go. The deposit is $100 dollars. The full payment must be received before we leave for camp. The dates are Jan 15th-18th.
-Not everyone is connected to JCXyouth updates. Text jcxyouth to 41411 and get connected today!!

More Costume Kickball

2009-10-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Even though we lost ... it's still fun looking at photos:
Our team ...

Action shot ...

Oops ...

Catch it Katie ...

Hanging ...

***Walk For Life is this Sunday ... support the prego center by getting donations and walking ... starts @ noon
***Cindy Culotta is teaching Sunday in GFC @8:45am ... come and support her
***We're not meeting next Tuesday ... We're back on October 27th for Tuesday night @JCX

Costume Kickball 10-10-09

2009-10-12T16:45:00.001-07:00

Costume Kickball … YCC vs. FBCY …

Results: FBCY 8 YCC 2
Reason for loss: We kept kicking the ball in the air, they didn’t
What we lost: This incredible trophy The Woody Woodruff made. It’s a cross between Wall-E and Stitch …

What happens now: We, YCC, must practice humility and prepare for our next battle.
What do you want to play: Some ideas for the next game are … Red Rover, Duck Duck Goose, Freeze Tag, Ultimate Frisbee.
YCC theme: Coach Matuzsak
FBCY theme: Super Heroes

Details of the game: It was 1-0 YCC for 6 innings. The game went quick. Both teams battling back and forth … playing great defense. BUT, then it happened … inning number 7 … FBCY decided to start kicking the ball on the ground … and it worked … WELL! The inning was topped off by a grand slam by Shannon Stoner’s brother … when the dust settled it was 8-1 FBCY. Nick Caddell kicked a homerun in the 8th inning … that was our only highlight. During the trophy presentation Colton Westcott ran off with the trophy, slipped and fell breaking the top of it. Luckily, it was fixable but Colton did have a huge battle wound on his butt from slipping. It was really a good time! I’m thankful to everyone who came out to support us: players, cheerleaders and parents. GET READY FOR ROUND TWO COMING SOON!!

Here’s our team:

And our costume:

More costumes:

And some Daisy Dukes:

The DEL TACO experience

2009-10-07T11:09:00.001-07:00

-Ok, have you spent anytime @ the Del after youth group Tuesday? If so, then you're in the know about how things work. If not, please let me fill you in. This is one of the best times on a Tuesday night. Hanging out, eating food (mostly food that other youth can't eat so you get it for free) laughing with friends, getting introduced to Cole Adams 17 times throughout the night and a whole lot more! If you're thinking: "Gee, I haven't had a chance to really get to know anyone @JCX" I say come to The Del after JCX Tuesday night. It's worth it my friends ... oh yes, it's worth it!!

-Text jcxyouth to 41411 to receive updates to your phone about events like Del Taco
-Your parents can text jcxinfo to 41411 and receive updates about things parents need to know.

JCX Tuesday 10/6/09

2009-10-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

JCX youth Tuesday night review:

-We started with Zach Biorkman sharing a story about how God answered his prayers for his relationship with his dad and family. So great to see his passion for the Lord and excitement that God answered him.
-Worship through song was a lot of fun and it should be!! We sang and focused on Isaiah 40:28-31. Captain Ron read the verse at one point and got a great cheer from the group.
-Seth Hunt shared his story. It was great to hear how he felt about his home and family and how God has transformed his heart. He also is a very funny guy!
-We showed a Skit Guys vid about God’s conforming us to the image of Christ … you can see that vid here … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY
-After the video we asked the youth to write a letter about what they desire God to do in their lives. Some heavy duty stuff was written and some great conversation can from that.
-We’re not meeting @YCC next week. Our D-groups are meeting off campus. If you don’t know where your group is meeting check with your D-group leader.
-Costume Kickball is this Saturday @ the high school. Be there around 4pm and come dressed up in sports stuff or as Coach M. from YHS.
-We need 3 youth to help serve in Enteractive Sunday @8am. They will be setting up the stuff that goes on top of the tables. Can you help? Text Mike @ 951-204-3896 and let him know.
-Aaron Loenhorst is teaching this Sunday in GFC @8:45am. Come and support Aaron this Sunday.

JCX Tuesday 9/29/09

2009-09-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

Another night @JCX … so great, here are some highlights …

-Gotta start with Arriell and Emily getting baptized!! That was a lot of fun. God has really done some great things in their hearts. Here are a few photos:
Smiling pretty before we do some dunking …

Emily getting baptized …

Arriell getting baptized …

Praying for our friends …

-Kariana Anderson shared her story last night. Challenged the group to submission to Jesus Christ and his will for their lives. Some good things! She’s awesome.
-We walked through worship in song together. Most of the time we sing some songs with a prayer at the beginning and one at the end. Tuesday we opened our worship time with a Psalms and read through it after each song we sang. It was a great reminder of why we were doing what we were doing.
-The teaching focused on how we absorb the words, actions, etc. of those around us and how it affects how we live. We challenged the group to learn how to become masters of forgiveness. Forgiveness is: refusing to make them pay for what they did. That’s a form of dying when you absorb that hurt. Then we spoke about how to hand that over to the One who can handle it, that being Jesus Christ. We closed the night writing GIVE and LIFE on our wrists as a reminder of Jesus is doing in us and through us.

-Sunday: Brad Beler is teaching
-October 10th (next Saturday) is our Costume Kickball game … 4pm @ the high school
-Text jcxyouth to 41411 and get updates about JCX sent to your phone.

JCX Tuesday 9/22/09

2009-09-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

We met, we hung out and we had a good time. So great being with everyone again last night. Great turn out again … love the energy in the room and seeing some youth come back after their first week last week was awesome!

Here are some highlights:
-Brad Beler did a fantastic job sharing last night. He spoke about why he was a Christian and how his grandmother influenced his life in so many ways. He was very authentic and vulnerable with us. That was appreciated!!
-Tim and Kelsey help bring home the “message” … they put signs all over each other, one of which said that “my life is my message”.
-That lead into the teaching time which focused on what we are teaching with our lives and our words. We were challenged to change our message through the leading of the Holy Spirit.
-Next week we’re baptizing Arriell Bell and Emily Bush … they are so excited about this and we’re excited for them.

-This Sunday Robert Bergeson is teaching us. @8:45a in GFC.
-Kariana Anderson is sharing with us next week @JCX Tuesday
-Seth Hunt is sharing the week after.

-Would you like to teach or share @JCX? Connect with Mike or Talicia and they will give you the details of what you need to do and how it works.
-Text jcxyouth to 41411 and receive youth updates about JCX to your phone. You’ll be glad you did. Some of the info that’s texted is just for those that subscribe.

JCX Tuesday 9/15/09

2009-09-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Highlights from Tuesday:

-Great turn out! Lots of familiar faces (which are always good to see) and new faces (sorry I have a tough time remembering names)
-Each D-group focused on where their group is at. Some great discussions took place.
-We spoke about the art of discussion in main group. Cole and I had a light saber duel on stage to open the message. I messed it up … Cole is a legit Jedi.
-The focus of the teaching was about what words we want on our lips and what words must be removed. We spoke about how we have moments, movements and mysteries in our discussions and how we must be aware of what our words can do when directed by the Holy Spirit.
-We sang worship through song … just Matt on a guitar last night ... it worked out very well. Of course, anytime we get to worship through song it works out!
-We received a video response from FBCY about the costume kickball game (Saturday, October 10th 4pm @ the high school) … and it fired up our group! Cole Adams is getting people together to make a video in response … I’m afraid!!

-To close the night I had the privilege of baptizing Josie Harris (graduate in 09) and wanted to get baptized on her birthday.

-Sunday we’re connecting with the Senior Saints again. We had some great discussions with them and I’m looking forward to doing it again! See ya Sunday @8:45am.

-See you at the Pole is Wednesday, September 23rd on your campus.

-text JCXyouth to 41411 to receive JCX update on your phone!

Youth group knowledge

2009-09-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Read this on Joshua Griffins blog (a youth guy @ Saddleback) and thought I would share this with our adults and parents ... enjoy!

There are a lot of things parents need know about youth ministry—this narrows it down to 10 keys things about what matters most in youth ministry...

10—When/Where/How Much? For anything that might be going on with the youth group, it's best to ask your students to make sure they know. We pass out fliers, send out emails, texts, and so on, and we know very little gets retained or gets to you—so ask to make sure they know. If all else fails, call or email me or one of the leaders.

9—We are not here to simply entertain your youth. Yes we will do some wild, crazy, and absolutely ridiculous things with them—but our primary goal is to provide multiple opportunities where they can be influenced by God.

8—Parents are the primary influence in student’s lives. As you know, We are an influence, not the influence
It takes a few years to build consistency, trust, communication, and individual growth.
We're only directly involved in your sons'/daughters' lives for five years; you're directly involved for a lifetime. You have the greater authority and responsibility. Thus, we want to assist you, bless you, encourage you, and share in the journey with you.

7—Family over youth group. Your lives can get busy, and we don't want to steal your students away from your free time or distract them from what matters in the family at home. We want to join you in the effort to make this clear to the youth.

6—Verify anything your teenager tells you. Sometimes students can exaggerate or edit things on their own terms. If you hear something that sounds appalling or troubling, always call us and verify the story. (For example, "One of the Youth Leaders was beating me up," when in fact all 15 guys were having a wrestling match in the Youth Hall.)

5—We want to listen. We do not want to put up walls of pride, self-defense, excuses, and justifications. We want honest communication with you parents so it’s always a teamwork effort, not a Kung Fu Fighting Match. So share with us, please!

4—Building the youth group is an unhurried, relational process. It takes a few years to build consistency, trust, communication, and individual growth. We don’t want any youth left behind, ignored, or put off to the side. So understand this so that no hurried expectations get in the way.

3—Praise and worship is a key element in this ministry. We would love to see your students developing and using their skills in this arena. Encourage your teenager both to attend and be involved.

2—Breaking the routine: the rut. One of the best ways to burst into the worldview and mindset of the youth is to drag them away from their routines, their patterns.Removing them from suburbia, their comfortable contexts, their luxuries—all these help remove barriers to the Spirit of God.

1—Take the Lord seriously. He is more interested in you and your children than you are. Open yourself to the strength he provides in Jesus Christ.

JCX Tuesday 9/08/09

2009-09-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

A great night Tuesday @ Parkview … Our group, along with about 2500 other people, went to see Nick Vujicic speak. He did a great job and, obviously, has an incredible story. Best thing he said last night: In the book of John, Jesus heals the blind man. Before this takes place the disciples asked “what happened, did this man sin or his parent’s sin that he was born blind?” Jesus responded with “neither this man nor his parents sinned. He was born this way so that God may be glorified!” Nick shared that he knows he was born this way, without arms and legs, no explanation of why, because God wants to be glorified in Nick. So great and glad we were there to hear this. After spending three weeks focusing on our 72 hours, it was awesome to finish it off with Nick and the group of people we were with. Glad you made it!!

Couple of things:
What can we, the youth staff be praying for? Leave a comment on here or e-mail me @ mightymikedj@hotmail.com … message me on facebook or myspace … or twitter.com/mightymike15 … Please share with us what we can be praying for!

We’re hanging this Sunday with the Senior Saints and sharing stories! Hope to see ya there

We’re back next Tuesday night with some new things happening. Invite a friend and bring yourself.

Love ya, mean it …

Sunday morning review

2009-09-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

We spent some time Sunday talking about how our stories begin. For some of us, when we’re sharing our story we talk a lot about the great things that Jesus has brought: healing in friendships, a new love for people, a better attitude towards life, etc. BUT … and this is what we chatted about Sunday … the best thing that happened when we came to know Jesus was that we were brought near God again. We are able, through Jesus because of the cross, be near our maker and have a relationship with him. It’s the resurrection of Jesus that brings our way of life. Our focus was out of Romans 6:23. We spoke about the wages of our sin (wages being a cost that cannot be paid with money but life) is death (which is of body and soul) but the gift of God (charisma in the Greek which means a free gift gained without merit) is eternal life (no beginning or end life) through Jesus Christ our Lord. We focused on 1 John 2 which speaks about knowing we have come to know Jesus if we obey his commands. He goes on and writes that if we have not love, them Christ is not in us. So, we believe our stories should begin with “I fell in love with Jesus and then …” It was a good time with the group. Looking forward to next week when we meet with the Senior Saints and share stories with them.

Tuesday night we meet @ Parkview to hear Nick Vuijicic. Looking forward to hanging with everyone! See ya then!

Alex and Samantha

2009-09-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Shaun and I had the privilege of baptizing two friends of ours on Tuesday night @JCX. Here are the pics to prove it.

This first picture is right after Samantha came out of the water. She said her hair looks horrible when it’s wet …

This pic is Alex getting baptized. Look closely, my face looks angry like I’m trying to drown Alex. Not true though … just baptizing …

Thank you to Alex and Samantha for asking us to be apart of this awesome day! So glad you both are apart of us @JCX!

Hope to see everyone Sunday @8:45am. Bring doughnuts to share! Serious!!! I like doughnuts!

P.S. text jcxyouth to 41411 … it’s the coolest!!

Tuesday night re-cap

2009-09-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

JCX Tuesday night:

-Good group last night. The fires didn’t keep many away. We did miss those that were stuck at home.
-We spent a good hour in groups to start the night going through Luke 10:25-37. It’s the story of the Good Samaritan. The groups spent time reading it through and asking questions like: where was the story told?, what was the purpose of telling the story?, what are we to learn from what the Samaritan did? Really great discussion!
-We baptized two youth: Samantha and Alex. It’s been great to get to know these two over the last few months. I read a letter Samantha wrote earlier this year about where God has brought her … she has grown so much. Alex has been a blast to spend time with. We really got to know him at winter camp. He even said he gave up dirt bike riding to come. Glad I was apart of his baptism last night.
-Amanda Flood shared about where God has lead her over the last few weeks. So awesome to see how quickly God has been transforming lives in group. She shared how, when she lost a lot in her life, she really didn’t lose because she had Jesus in her life. Loved that line!!
-The teaching focused on what the Samaritan did when he help the man on the side of the road. He stopped, took pity, had compassion, and bandaged up his wounds and covered him with oil and wine. The question that was laid out to the group was: What’s on your side of the road and how will your respond? The youth filled out cards with their answer to that question. Some of it was heavy duty! We passed out glasses of sparkling cider to represent the wine and talked about the celebration that takes place in the lives of those that choose to stop on the side of the road.
-We ended the night praying over one another. First the leaders prayed for their youth in their groups and then sent them out to pray for others. So neat to see our youth step up and lead and pray over each other.
-Next week we’re meeting @ Park View @ 7pm to hear Nick Vujicic speak. He was born without arms and legs and is in love with Jesus Christ. Thought that would be a neat way to end our 72 hours series.
-Sunday, our discussion in GFC will focus on “The Art of sharing our story”. It will focus on what is our story, why and how we share it. Come @ 8:45am.
-In two weeks, September 15th … we’re back @YCC and after group we have a meeting about our Costume Kickball game. If you want to be apart, sign up and come to the meeting right after JCX ends. The game will take place on Saturday, October 10th @4pm.

-Announcements:
*See You @ the Pole … Wednesday, September 23rd @7am …
*Alive Club meets Tuesday’s during lunch. Check with Mrs. Ethington or Mr. Peircy and be a leader in this group …
*Invite a friend to join us every Tuesday and Sunday. We would love to meet those you hang with.

Announcements

2009-08-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

On Sunday September 13th and 20th … We’re spending time with our Senior Saints, sharing stories and building friendships. You’ll hear some great things … meet here @8:45am on the 13th in the GFC room. On the 20th, we’ll meet downstairs in the Senior Saints room.

On September 23rd … See You at the Pole at your school campus. Arrive before school starts and pray with others. Times and details will be yours soon …

On September 25th … Ronald McDonald House is the place to be. We’ll meet @YCC @ 6:30p and head down. We’re cooking for them and spending time with the families too. If you have any pull tabs from the cans sitting around your house, bring them too!

On October 10th … Costume Kickball against FBCY. We need a theme and a team. Play even if you’re horrible!! We need you!! 4pm is the start time followed by a BBQ. Playing field: TBA

Interested in helping @YAPS? Scheduling a trip soon.

We’re here @YCC every Tuesday and Sunday @6:30p. Hope to see ya here. Bring a friend.

Our last 72 Hours … discussion starts this Tuesday @JCX.

JCX Tuesday 8-25-09

2009-08-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is how it went Tuesday …

-Some D-group time to start. Had a lot of youth share what they have been reading this past week. One youth told me they shared in their group and it really moved and challenged everyone. So great!
-Main group time. We followed some directions on a video while making loud, crazy noises, cause that’s how we roll! This lead to some questions that we answered together like: what’s the dumbest thing you have ever been grounded for? Had some great answers but if I told you what they were I’d have to kill you but not in the sinful way … whatever that means!
-Cole and Vanessa shared their stories via video … then Austin shared about his opportunity to share his faith with his English class last week. Good stuff!
-FBCY has challenged us to a Costume Kickball game … we’re so in!!
-We discussed Luke 10:17 to the end of the chapter. This time concluded with two groups handing out milk, salsa and crayons to groups with cookies, chips and coloring pages. The point: Jesus completes who we are and we get to be apart of the completion and healing of others.
-D-groups. We had some great discussions and took our next step in what we will do in the next 72 hours. Good, good things!!
-Rob is a super star who can fly by the seat of his pants just like me … which really helped last night!
-Jon Watch helped with the tech side of things and kicked some booty!!
-Talked with Samantha about baptism. She wants to get dunked next week and asked Shaun to be apart of that. It was awesome watching Shaun’s face when she asked him if he would baptize her.

-Announcements: Sunday @8:45a … Hanna Mitsutomi is teaching in GFC.
-September 23rd (Wednesday) is See you at the pole in the morning at your school. Arrive between 645a-7am.
-72 hours continues this week. Come with your stories next Tuesday night @6:30p

FYI

2009-08-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Looks like "club rush week" is coming on your campus (9th grade campus/YHS campus). That includes the Alive Club. We have a BIG opportunity to create a very welcoming and loving enviroment in the Alive Club and on our campus. Something to think about. So ... be aware that club rush week is coming so there may not be any meetings until this happens. Check with your counseling office to be sure. Thanks!

See ya Sunday @8:45a ... Josie Harris is teaching.

Tuesday night delight

2009-08-19T09:50:00.001-07:00

Tuesday night was loaded with some great stuff. Details please details …

-We started the night with prayer in groups of two or three. Read through Matthew 5:23-24 and chatted about the importance of offering our worship to God without a grudge or bitterness towards someone else. Yes, I did say “If this isn’t good (pointing towards friends) then this isn’t good (pointing towards God)”.
-Marc Quesada shared his story. He’s a great guy and it was fun to hear from him. He was nervous but did well. My most fav line of the night from him was “my brother said something to me that changed my life, I wanted to share it with you but I forgot what it was he said!”
-We sang worship through song and that was great. It’s a young group, first night without our grads from 09 and they worshipped well. What I mean is, they really focused on singing and I believe it was a genuine worship time.
-Rob challenged the group to find its leaders. Some of our grads really stepped up and were great examples (you know who you are) and our group is looking to fill that gap with them being gone. Best line of the night from Rob actually was quoted from a movie, Henry the 5th … “for he to-day that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother”. Rob’s point was good leaders are people that are willing to step up and encourage those around them to move, to fight, to persevere. I see many who are able to do that now it’s a matter of want!
-The teaching covered Luke 10 and focused on the sending out of the 72. The main message they shared was “the kingdom of heaven is near”. We discussed what it would look like for us to live out that phrase over the next 72 hours. Could Wednesday, Thursday and Friday be completely changed because we choose to be like the 72 and not the 8,000? Our hope is yes!! Read Luke 5 through Luke 10 this week and get a picture of what we’re talking about.
-Next week … I’m pumped to hear about what happened! Invite a friend and come with your stories about the 72 hours you spent living out “the kingdom of God is HERE!”

-See ya Sunday @8:45a … Josie Harris is teaching
-See you at the pole is Wednesday, September 23rd
-Alive Club meets in Mr. Peircy’s room and Mrs. Ethington’s room on Tuesday.
-Text to 41411 and in the message put jcxyouth and receive updates directly to your phone about all things JCX Youth.

See YA!!!

2009-08-18T14:16:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been apart of a See You At The Pole? It’s an event that happens every September on high school campuses all around the USA. Here are the details. In the morning, before school starts, a group of people gather around the flag pool at the school and pray. Sometimes there are people who lead us in worship through song, other times there are people who share some stories. You can be apart of it too. Check with your Alive Club leaders about the details and we’ll see you at the pole on Wednesday, September 23rd @ your campus.

Need a GRAND-PARENT?

2009-08-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hey, on Sunday, September 13th and 20th we’re hanging with our senior saints. That’s the “over 60’s” crowd here at YCC. They have some incredible stories and some incredible hearts and we get to hang with them two Sunday’s in a row in September. The first Sunday, we’re listening to their stories … how they came to know Jesus, why they made that decision and how it affects their life today. The following week, we’re sharing our stories. Do you want to be apart? Be here @YCC on Sunday, September 13th and 20th.

what would you do with 72 Hours?

2009-08-17T09:47:00.001-07:00

What can you do in 72 hours?

You could watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy 8 times

Watch the Golden Gate Bridge 72 times

Drive to Vegas and back almost 15 times

You could watch 24 baseball games in a row

You could count the hairs on Dave Whitlock’s back and only make it half way through

OR you could …

Spend time with someone you haven’t for three days

Provide lunch for a friend for three days

Fast from something while praying for something new to happen for three days

Stop buying clothes for three days and save that money to help clothe someone else

Give a ride to school to someone for three days

Make a new friend and hang with them for three days

Tutor someone who needs help for three days

Pray for someone who hates you for three days

Imagine what we could do with 72 hours …

A heart that is in love with Jesus …

And a desire to love our neighbor just like we love ourselves …

What would you do with your 72 hours?

Let’s talk about that Tuesday … JCX … @YCC … starting @ 6:30p …

Bring you and a friend …

What would you do with your 72 hours?

Summer time blues

2009-08-17T09:45:00.001-07:00

Summer is over (well, almost) and school has started. That went by fast. Here’s a look back:

-We packed up AIDS CARE KITS
-Went to Hurricane Harbor
-Learned how to study God’s Word while eating lunch (thanks Ron)
-CIY: Move taught us how to lay our idols down.
-It also taught us how to pillow fight correctly
-Catalina made us sea sick but it was great!!
-Angels game was a blast and we learned that shade is always a good thing.
-Plus all the Tuesday nights and Sunday mornings where we shared our story together.
-We studied the church
-Felt welcomed and loved
-Encouraged and spent time with each other
-Ate together
-Threw marshmallows at each other
-Danced even if we didn’t do it well
-Cried (but don’t tell)
-Laughed a lot!
-Were taught by Chris, R.J., Jessica and Taryn on Sunday
-Graduated!
-And now the school year begins …
We are here every Tuesday and Sunday. Our hope is that you hang with us, laugh with us and enjoy serving the Lord with us. See ya Tuesday night.

Tuesday

2009-08-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night JCX youth:
***Started in D-groups lead by some questions like: what’s one movie you could watch over and over again?
***Then, main group time. There were some cards and some items on the tables. These cards gave directions that the person who read the card needs to perform. A video lead us through some fun stuff. On that video were key words written on these cards (mentioned above) and when that word came up that youth performed whatever it said to do. For example: when the word WAR appeared on the screen, a group of youth armed with big bags of the fat marshmallows began throwing them at those they love very much. It was all out war for about 2 minutes. So great!
***When I went up on stage to teach I was pelted with EVERY marshmallow in the room I believe!! And then some saints helped clean up as we moved on to the next thing.
***We taught from Jeremiah chapter 1 and focused on verse 17. Some great discussion came from the teaching. How do you live? Terrifying or terrified?
***Always great to watch everyone worship through song. The band did well too!
***Sunday … R.J. is teaching and that’s exciting. Be here @ 8:45am in the GFC room
***Next Wednesday is the Angels game. Only 20 spots total and they are going fast. $12 a ticket and $1 for parking plus money for food. Sign up on Sunday on the youth wall.
***You can receive JCX updates on your phone by texting the phrase jcxyouth to 41411.

Hope to see ya Sunday and next Tuesday! The graduating seniors will be sharing some thoughts with you on their last night with us. Come and bring a friend!

Weekend update

2009-07-27T11:54:00.001-07:00

This weekend was awesome! Chris Ishida led our time and knocked it out of the park. He spoke about impact and used the story of Stephen. Best line of the morning was “God doesn’t need the all together person; God wants the broken but willing person.” So great! Loved what he had to say and loved how he broke us up into groups to pray for each other. Harrison will teach this Sunday, R.J. next Sunday and then Taryn the following Sunday. Excited about what they will say.

CIY MOVE 09

2009-07-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

Just finished up another week of Move. WOW! My fav by far. Here are the highlights:

-There were three youth that made huge decisions this week. Colton was baptized, Angie accepted Jesus Christ for the first time and Austin decided that they way he was living wasn’t worth it. Talk about life change! All three had a spectacular week!
-The teachers did an amazing job! The speaker on the last night wasn’t to great but by that time we had all been “pulled through the key hole” and were ready to just party!
-The boys continued to set the bar pretty high when it came to causing chaos. Pillow fights, water balloons, swimming in the closed pool … CIY is so fun because of the guys!
-Lots of decisions: Josie wants to go into full time ministry, Kelsey wants to be a pastor, and Cole is looking to be who God made him to be. So great when you get to watch things unfold right in front of you.
-Love this group. It wasn’t hard to spend time with each person and they really connected and loved each other well. Good to see leaders finally stepping up and wanting to be a great influence on others.
-Late night Del Taco and Wendy’s runs are always great. And we ate at Fuddruckers. Can’t get any better than that.
-Looking forward to next year. I will miss the grads who went this year … maybe we’ll let them come back!

Lawn Chair Tuesday results

2009-07-15T09:47:00.001-07:00

It was a Lawn Chair Tuesday … and I think there was even some tailgating in the parking lot! Here what happened:

*We discovered what D-group was the best looking (by making the ugliest face), strongest (by measuring the muscle mass of each group) and tallest (by stacking people on top of people).
*We watched the MLB All-star game and had chips and salsa! Because people like to say salsa!!
*There were all sorts of games all over the room. Lynne lead a game of spoons and they were the loudest … anyone surprised by that?
*All vids from last night will be up @ www.youtube.com/jcxyouth including an announcement vid about what’s coming up that you don’t want to miss!
*Great turn out! Full room full of peeps that really had a good time!
*Sunday morning Jessica Elmore will be leading us @8:45am. Come and hear some of the great things she has to share from scripture.
*Next 2 Tuesday we will NOT be meeting. Next week we’re at CIY and the following week Vacation Bible School is meeting on campus.
*Still room for you for the Catalina trip.
*Leaving Monday @ 11a for CIY. Packing list is as follows:
Clothes (please!)
PJ’s
Towel
Flip Flops
Bathing Suit (Modest please … must bring we’re going to the beach)
Toiletries
Sleeping Bag & Pillow
Bible, Notebook & Pen
Money for lunch on Free Day
Spending money is optional
Hope we really don’t need to say this but just in case … DO NOT BRING: Drugs of any kind, anything that can deface property or harm others. You will be sent home!
*See ya Sunday … thanks for a great Tuesday!

MMMHHHMMM!

2009-07-13T16:08:00.001-07:00

Can’t even believe how fast things are going this summer? Has anyone said that to you yet? It’s coming soon if you haven’t heard it. CIY: MOVE is next week and we have amore than full list plus a waiting list of over ten! Glad you are excited about this trip! So much stuff planned for next week. The best part is, we get to be together! Lots of newbie’s going this year along with the veterans that have been before. We’re leaving Monday @11a from YCC. Be here before that time or we will leave you! Ok, maybe not but we want to leave @11. Packing list for CIY includes:
Clothes (please!)
PJ’s
Towel
Flip Flops
Bathing Suit (Modest please … must bring we’re going to the beach)
Toiletries
Sleeping Bag & Pillow
Bible, Notebook & Pen
Money for lunch on Free Day
Spending money is optional
Hope we really don’t need to say this but just in case … DO NOT BRING: Drugs of any kind, anything that can deface property or harm others. You will be sent home!

Tuesday night is Lawn Chair Tuesday. Bring a Lawn Chair, a friend and yourself. We start @6:30p.

Catalina trip is August 6th (that’s a Thursday). We’re kayaking, touring, and playing all day! Cost is $120 (a deposit of $60 holds your spot) We’re meeting early on the 6th so get to bed early!!

See ya Tuesday!

Tuesday review

2009-07-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

High school night @ YCC called JCX …

*Great group. I was excited to see how many were there considering its summer and many are on vacation.
*Love what Josh/Josh/Woody’s group did. They chatted about the virgin birth in their D-group which lead to a discussion about the other essential beliefs about Jesus. They always go crazy and that’s awesome!
*We made “books” that listed all the good things we do so that God will love us more. Also listed all the stuff we do behind the scenes. We held those books in our hands as a reminder of all the ways we keep track of how we mess it up and how we try to impress God instead of living forgiven and free in Christ. We also chatted about when we live this way our lives can inspire and influence others to live the same way. We took these books and crumpled them up when we were ready to move forward.
*Last week we listed what we need and what we can give. That turned out awesome by the way. Tonight we chatted about how we begin to be apart of the process of meeting those needs in the best way. We have a board outside our youth room with the list. If you believe you can meet a need, you pull a tab from the needs and turn it in. We get the contact info and you make the connection. My hope is this just grows and grows and we truly become a family and live as Christ. Check out the needs/gives here … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rGN3Q0N9nc&feature=channel_page
*Josie shared from 2 Corinthians and spoke about “when I am weak, He is strong”. She shared some very personal stuff as an example of being vulnerable. So great!!
*Matt and Josh lead the worship in song. We sang “How he loves us” and “Everything Glorious”.
*Next week is Lawn Chair Tuesday. Bring a lawn chair to group and celebrate with us doing all sorts of fun, crazy and entertaining things. How’s that for a tease???
*Sunday @ 8:45a we’re discussing the importance of each New Testament letter. Come and learn and share!

Tuesday night thoughts:

2009-07-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

After a good night sleep, I now bring you the highlights of the Tuesday night that was …

*Great conversations happened last night. One with Seth about the importance of being clear in what we sing. There was a line in a song we sang as worship last night that troubled him. The line from the song was “What can I say what can I do, but offer this heart, oh God, completely to you.” He shared that it may give the impression that we have to work for God’s love. He felt that we need to explain briefly that if the youth feel that way, it’s not how God works. So cool to see his passion!
*Kelsey Grubbs was baptized last night ... check out the vid @ www.youtube.com/jcxyouth
*We had a vid that shared thoughts on what we dream church could live like. Really great statements in this vid.
*Teaching focused on this idea and took five things from that “dream” list …
-Anger in the name of people vs. Anger in the name of principles
-Bottom up vs. Top down
-Loving vs. Judging
-Blessing the community vs. Converting the community
-Humility vs. Pretense/False show
-Everyday vs. Tuesday/Sunday
*The youth read the scriptures from the community aloud and I had the privilege of sharing how it connected back to each “vs” from the list above.
*I will make sure we give a microphone to our readers next week. It was difficult to hear everyone. Not everyone is a loud mouth like me.
*D-groups rocked. We covered three specific things about the church from Philippians … First … the Church is a community of people united with Christ. Second … the Church is a community in service to one another. Third … the Church is a community representing Christ to the world.
*Matt and Josh lead us in worship through song while the youth wrote down what they need and what they give to the body of Christ.
*The youth really took this and ran with it. We’re making a “Needs” and “Give” board where the youth can take a need and help meet that need. Same with a give … a youth, who needs something, can take a give card and ask that youth for help in a certain area. It’s new and I’m not sure how it will all work together but I’m excited about it.
*We met @ Big Cheese for study lunch today and Captain Ron walked us through the basics of inductive Bible study. Good time!
*We meet Sunday @ 8:45a for what we’re calling Discussion Sunday. Our topic will be Sexuality and the Church.
*Text JCXyouth to 41411 and receive youth updates and alerts about all things JCX.

Updates and alerts from JCX Youth

2009-06-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

What JCX youth is up to can now be a text message away. Text JCXyouth to 41411 to receive info about when, where, how and who ... basically everything JCX Youth. When should you text? Now!!! You will receive 2 messages ... one that let's you know you are now apart of the group and one that will let you know how to leave the group if needed. Thanks! Start texting ... Do it, do it!