We had a fantastic weekend in Gatlinburg. It is amazing what happens when you lift up Jesus in front of teenagers. The theme this year was “The Mission.” Every attendee received a New Testament that includes a study for sharing the gospel. Our teens were then challenged to carry this New Testament with them to school for the next 30 days.
I appreciate that the emphasis on mission first focused on what should happen on the inside of us before we take our message to others. Therefore, we must Know Jesus, Be Jesus, See Jesus, before we can Share Jesus. This is great stuff since we live in a world that is very skeptical about Christianity.
I would like to thank the adults that chaperoned the teens on the trip. This would not happen without them. Finally, thanks to the teens for representing Highland View very very well.
One of the greatest satisfactions of being a Youth Minister is seeing your students doing ministries of their own. This past Monday, two of our teens, Clay and Seth, worked the annual luncheon for homeless veterans in downtown Knoxville. The luncheon is put on by the Volunteer Ministry Center and is sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Since they were in the 6th grade, Clay and Seth have collected winter clothing to hand out to the veterans. At this year's banquet we honored Seth for his service since he is graduating and moving on. Clay and Seth are an example to all of us as how to react when our hearts are touched with compassion. Good job guys!
We just had a wonderful weekend in Gilbertsville, Kentucky at a weekend youth rally called Celebration. The churches in Western Kentucky have been putting this on for almost 25 years. When I lived in Atlanta and worshiped with the Chestnut Drive Church of Christ, we went to it in the late 80s through the early 90s. So, it has been about 15 years since I last attended this event.
I was very impressed at how well run the weekend was. They had 2 of the better speakers in our fellowship, Mitch Wilburn and Patrick Mead. Both of them did an excellent job of challenging all of us who were there to "Live Out Loud" in our Christian walk.
I liked the size of the rally. There were about 1,200 people in attendance and we packed the house. The singing during worship was very encouraging and enthusiastic. For more information about Celebration, they have a website that can tell you more. All in all this was a great experience for our teens.
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