Ladies and Gentleman: REFUGE is Tonight

Hey there everyone, I hope things are going great for you today.

Tonight is going to be so stinking awesome, we have some great games planned, actually lots of new games, also we have some great worship and we have some really fun elements of worship we are going to be doing tonight doing our worship time.

I believe God has some pretty insanely great things in store for tonight, so don't miss out tonight on REFUGE!

Here are the details: 

Where: CVMC
When: 6:30pm - 8:30pm
What: A bunch of epic awesomeness slammed into 2 hours.
Why: Because God has called us to create a space for students to experience Christ through relationships, and teaching.
What to bring: Yourself, a friend, and tell that friend they need to bring 14 friends, and tell those 14 friends they need to bring a taco for Adam. :) *yeah free tacos.

Hope to see you there tonight!

P.A.

Devotion Tuesday

Do Something!

A recent survey found that 77% of Americans believe in Heaven, and 76% say their chances of going to heaven are good or excellent.
Apparently, our job of evangelism is almost done- since nearly 8 out of 10 are headed for the streets of gold...right?
Then again, this survey never got past the surface questions. I wonder what the percentage would have been if the inquiries would have dug just a little deeper. It would have been so easy to slip in a quick follow up question:

"Since you believe that you are going to heaven, let me ask you this: why do you think you deserve to go there?"

Of course, once you drop that line, all manner of weirdness breaks out. Believe me; I think I've just about heard it all. Everything from alien connections to karma to even atheism. That's right- I've spoken with atheists who believe they are going to heaven.
Huh?
Generally what it boiled down to, though, was that most people believe they are pretty good. Good enough, in fact, to not have to end up in hell...therefore heaven must be their destiny.
Isn't that just like us Americans? As long as were not as bad as some people, we're sure to be headed for Paradise. So we take a mixture of belief systems, movie messages, conversations, and relatively harmless verses from a multitude of religious texts and-poof- everyone has there own made to order religion that's sure to end up all good.
The truth is that it is not going to end up all good. This survey reminds me of the rich and beautiful people on the Titanic who were drinking champagne and playing games with chunks of the iceberg while the ship was rapidly taking them to their deaths. I'm sure that more than 77% of them believed that everything was going to be alright- but the reality turned out to be very different than they expected.

Jesus addressed this exact issue:

"Knowing the correct password--saying "Master, Master,' for instance--isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience--doing what my Father wills. I can see it now--at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, "Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? "You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.' (Matthew 7:21-23- The Message)

Apparently there were lots of folks in His day who thought they were going to heaven as well. Jesus is plainly warning them that it is not a matter of religious works- but one of righteous faith.

The survey and this passage send a clear message to me:

We're asking the wrong questions. Many evangelistic techniques try to persuade a person to want to go to heaven. I've got news for you- most people already do! The issue for them is not whether heaven exists, or even if they believe they are going. The key is *why* they think they are going. It boils down to believing vs. behaving. If works could get us into heaven, then why did Jesus waste His time by coming to earth and dying a horrible death? As well- I think deep down most people- no matter what they say outwardly- know that they don't deserve heaven. Yet instead of facing that awful truth and turning to Christ- they decide instead to keep drinking the champagne of false religions and playing the games of denial and positive thinking.
Meanwhile the ship continues to go down.
How should we respond to this survey? The same way that of the greatest preachers who ever lived encouraged his congregation:

"Brethren, do something; do something, do something! While societies and unions make constitutions, let us win souls. I pray you, be men of action all of you. Get to work and quit yourselves like men. Old Suvarov's idea of war is mine: `Forward and strike! No theory! Attack! Form a column! Charge bayonets! Plunge into the center of the enemy! Our one aim is to win souls; and this we are not to talk about, but do in the power of God!" - Charles Spurgeon

P.A.

REFUGE this Wednesday night

Hey there everyone I hope your week has started out great. This Post will be a little shorter because my Monday is pretty swamped but I wanted to drop you a line and let you all know this coming Wednesday night is going to be awesome, we have brand new games we are playing, some great worship we are going to be doing and finishing up give it up series this Wednesday night.

So here is what you need to know.

Where: 6:30 - 8:30pm - At CVMC.
To Bring: Bring your friends with you, we will have lots of awesome things for you guys to do.
What: We will be learning about what it means to give back to God what is already His!

We can't wait to see you guys this Wednesday night!

P.A.

Great night at REFUGE

Man last night was so awesome! We had so many awesome students come last night and hang out with us. Here is a wrap up of what we did last night.

Started out with a dance party with the dance "interlude" it was pretty great, then we started into some games. We got to play a staple at REFUGE called the duct tape relay, then we got to play chicken on the roof with about 90 students! It was seriously crazy, I thought someone might get hurt but they were ok :), then we played spin that wheel where we got to draw on people's faces, saw a student where a batman costume, and see a student get pie in their face.

Worship was great we only did 2 songs because of time, but we got to sing together which is always fun, then we split into senior and junior high to for our discussion time. We talked last night about giving it all up for Christ, and how God requires the first's in our lives.

We then split into our small groups and I heard from our small group leaders that it went really well!

We had a blast last night, we hope to continue to grow and minister to students!

P.A.

REFUGE tonight!

Hey there everyone! I can't wait to see everyone tonight. It's going to be an amazing night tonight. We hope you can join us!

Here are the tails!

Where: Crystal Valley Missionary Church
What: REFUGE youth ministry
When: 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Why: Because we love Jesus so much we believe that junior high and senior high students in the middlebury area should have a place to be themselves, and be able to ask questions about God. This is a REFUGE. 
What to bring: Yourself and a couple of your friends!

Tonight we are starting a series called "Give it up" We are for the first time tonight going to split our Junior high and Senior high students for our talk time! I can't wait to see what God is going to do.

IF you want to come early doors open at 6pm, we have octaball that is going to be stinking awesome! So come and hang out and listen to some really fun and awesome music.

Hope to see you later!

P.A.

Devotional Tuesday

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (I Corinthians 10:12)

His resume as a follower of Jesus was really quite impressive. He voluntarily gave up his chosen profession, and stood by Jesus' side for three years. When the so called 'disciples' who followed Christ for the free food and magic show ditched Him when he started making demands, this person stayed the course.
As a matter of fact, of all the men whom Jesus chose to be one of the 12, this man was the most likely candidate to succeed- and (oh!) the things he saw during those 36 months. The sick healed, the blind given sight, the storm calmed, the masses fed, and the dead raised again. He walked with Jesus, broke bread with Him, laughed with him, and wept with Him.
Which is why it may come as quite a surprise that the last words Jesus ever spoke to Him were:

"Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke 22:48)

On Palm Sunday, Judas was cheering for Jesus with the enormous crowd. After all, he was excited about the popularity of this miracle-working teacher. Only two days later, Judas agreed to betray Christ with a kiss.
How could his attitude have turned so quickly from dedication to deceitfulness? The same reason that ours does: disappointment. Judas (like the crowds) was quite sure that Jesus would conquer those nasty Romans and put Israel back into the number one ranking again. Surely after the big parade He got on Sunday, He would respond on Monday with an unprecedented heavenly strike of Biblical proportions, right?
But Judas and the crowds didn't get their way, and within one week their cheers for Hosanna changed to chants of hatred.

History hasn't treated Judas very well since that day. He's always the ugly one in paintings and movies about Jesus' time. I've not come across any parents who desire to name their children after him, and in fact I've never even met any people who would name their pet after him (come here Judas! Come boy, sit, sit...) Yet before we point the finger at him, let's consider our attitude towards Christ when things don't turn out our way: questioning, complaining, mistrusting, even willfully rejecting.

(Come on Lane, are you saying that if we betray Christ, we hurt Jesus like Judas did? What an overstatement!)

For it is impossible to restore to repentance those who were once enlightened--those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come-- and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people to repentance again because they are nailing the Son of God to the cross again by rejecting him, holding him up to public shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

This week, consider deeply where you stand with the Savior. Don't praise Him with your lips on Sunday, and then betray Him with your actions Monday –Saturday. Most importantly, don't ever think that you couldn't fall into the same trap as Judas, for it is then that you are only one step away.

P.A. 

Wednesday night

Hey there everyone, I hope things are going awesome! This coming Wednesday night we are going to be meeting back at CVMC (Crystal Valley Missionary Church) and we are going to be doing some amazing things!

We will be kicking the night off with some amazing fun games, and then heading into some worship time. I can't tell you how excited I am to worship with you guys again. That is seriously some of the best moments of my week when I get to spend worship our Amazing God with you guys!

Then we are going to kick off a series called "Give it up". We are going to be talking about giving back to God's what is rightfully His. We need to understand that He has blessed us, and we want to honor Him with our gifts.

So come see what God has for us this coming Wednesday, We are praying for big things to happen this Wednesday night! We hope you can join us!

6:30pm - 8:30pm at Crystal Valley! We can't wait to see you there.

P.A.

Fall kickoff = EPIC PARTY

Last night was so awesome! We had a lot of new students who came out and got to hang out with us, and eat some delicious food!

I want to thank again Terry Smith for letting us use their house, it was fantastic! I also want to thank all the small group leaders, and volunteers that came out to help us it was so stinking awesome!

For those who are checking this out for the first time, we hope you will join us next Wednesday for REFUGE at CVMC! We have a ton of fun with octaball, games, and great time with small group leaders.

We have some great events planned for this coming year, if you didn't get a calendar last night we will have some available next Wednesday and we will have them posted online soon!

Hope you have a great rest of your day!

P.A. 

Fall Kick off tonight!

Hey there everyone, Welcome back to school! With the school year kicking off, we are also kicking off our REFUGE year with an awesome party tonight. Here are the details:

When: TONIGHT!
Where: Terry Smiths house (58270 hemminger dr. Goshen, 46528)
What to bring: Yourself, clothes you don't mind getting a little dirty, your appetite, and a couple friends!
What to expect: A ton of fun, lots of laughs, and whole lot of awesomeness! Oh did we mention FREE FOOD!
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm, be dropped off at Terry's house.

We will be playing so many awesome and fun games tonight, so make sure you invite some of your closest friends to join you. We are having a Build your own Nacho Bar tonight, A Massive game of Twister, a sweet game of Ultimate Frisbee, and we are going to build Chicken Launchers!

Tonight you will also get hooked up with your small group leader, and you can start meeting some of the new leaders, and great volunteers that will be in your group this coming year!

We are super pumped for this kick off party, and we hope to see a lot of people out there tonight to have fun with us!

If you have any questions please feel free to email us at cvmcadam@gmail.com. or call the office at 574-370-2094.

Hope to see you tonight!

P.A.

Tomorrow night is the Night!

We are T-minus 30ish hours away from kicking off our year! We are so super stoked and we are starting to set up all the awesomeness today! So here are the details:

When: August 15th (TOMORROW NIGHT!)
Where: Terry Smiths house (58270 hemminger dr. Goshen, 46528)
What to bring: Yourself, clothes you don't mind getting a little dirty, your appetite, and a couple friends!
What to expect: A ton of fun, lots of laughs, and whole lot of awesomeness! Oh did we mention FREE FOOD!
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm, be dropped off at Terry's house.

We hope you can join us for our launch of our year at REFUGE! We are going to be having so much stinking fun I promise this is what everyone will be talking about for the next week!

Just another reminder we aren't meeting at the Church we are meeting at Terry Smith's house and that is where you will be picked up!

Oh yes did we mention FREE FOOD! 

Have a great last day of summer.

P.A.

Fall Kick off in 3 days

The Big Fall Kick off is right around the corner, and we are doing some pretty stinking awesome things for our kick off. Here are the details!

When: August 15th
Where: Terry Smiths house (58270 hemminger dr. Goshen, 46528)
What to bring: Yourself, clothes you don't mind getting a little dirty, your appetite, and a couple friends!
What to expect: A ton of fun, lots of laughs, and whole lot of awesomeness! 
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm, be dropped off at Terry's house.

We are planning on doing some super fun things this year, we will be talking some about this coming year and all the fun things we are planning on doing, you will also be getting able to connect with your small group leader.

Prayer for our leaders

Hey there everyone! I hope your week is going really well. Here are a couple things you can be praying for for REFUGE:

1. Our new leaders - We have some fantastic new leaders that are coming in to the ministry, and over the past 2 weeks we have had some amazing prayer, and teaching time with them. We have got to play some really fun games, and we have got to do a lot of eating and talking. I honestly believe that this is one of the strongest teams we have had in a long time. Be praying for strength, encouragement, and favor with the new students that will be coming up and into the REFUGE.

2. For our student leaders - We have some amazing student leaders that are stepping up and leading some great events for us here at REFUGE. Pray for these students to be strong, courageous, and bold with their faith. The enemy would love for them to say they are going to step up, but then be beat down by peer pressure, and fall to the way side. We need these students to be grounded in their faith, and ready for what the enemy might throw at them. We are super excited for these students to be stepping up and we believe they are going to be setting the ground work for God to move in a powerful way.

3. For the students - We have some of the best students in middlebury! We believe wholeheartedly that God is ready to move in a powerful way. We ask that you would be pray for students to encounter God in mighty way, for students to connect with their small group leaders, and for the students to put a high priority on their spiritual growth this year.

We hope that you would pray for our student ministry THE REFUGE!!!!

Have a fantastic day!

P.A.

Party on

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13)

There's a huge party coming up. No, it's not like any that you have ever been to. I'm not kidding!

What are the differences you ask?

Well, first of all the location is out of this world...literally. It's going to be held in an unknown (at the present time) location. Possibly in another dimension, or into the far reaches of the galaxy. Either way, this place will be like nothing you've ever seen or experienced.

Secondly, the guest list is mind-boggling. You could end up mingling with people from every nation, tongue and tribe from every conceivable corner on the planet. Not to mention as well that you will be shaking hands with people who have been dead for hundreds, even thousands of years!

Then there's the guest of honor. Think for a moment how you would feel about going to a bash put on by the President of the United States or royalty from a powerful country...think you might get a little amped-up about that? Well compared to this Host, the greatest people on the planet look like beggars.
The coolest part is that these festivities go on for...well, forever. It is a perpetual party except without the puking patrons and moronic masses. Just the opposite, in fact. These folks will know how to really have a good time without the consequences.

So what do you think? Wanna go? Perhaps you are already on the guest list, and you don't even know it. Let me show you the handwritten invitation:
That triggered a response from one of the guests:

"How fortunate the one who gets to eat dinner in God's kingdom!" Jesus followed up. "Yes. For there was once a man who threw a great dinner party and invited many. When it was time for dinner, he sent out his servant to the invited guests, saying, "Come on in; the food's on the table.' "Then they all began to beg off, one after another making excuses. The first said, "I bought a piece of property and need to look it over. Send my regrets.' "Another said, "I just bought five teams of oxen, and I really need to check them out. Send my regrets.' "And yet another said, "I just got married and need to get home to my wife.' "The servant went back and told the master what had happened. He was outraged and told the servant, "Quickly, get out into the city streets and alleys. Collect all who look like they need a square meal, all the misfits and homeless and wretched you can lay your hands on, and bring them here.' "The servant reported back, "Master, I did what you commanded--and there's still room.' "The master said, "Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! Let me tell you, not one of those originally invited is going to get so much as a bite at my dinner party.'" (Luke 14:15-24)

I'm not sure how you imagine heaven, but clearly one of the depictions given in Scripture is of a huge, blow out, one of a kind party.
Were you thinking that heaven was going to be boring? If so, it might be time to bone up on your Bible a bit.
Did you catch the other point made by Jesus' story? "The master said, Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full!"

If you are a believer, your reservation at the party is confirmed. If you know people who haven't RSVP'd yet, you need to remind them of their invitation. It's simple really, and I'm not sure why everyone seems to make it so complicated!

If you knew of an incredible party coming up that you were invited to, how fast would you be on the phone with your friends?
That's what I thought - probably immediately or sooner.
Oh, but when we share the gospel we have to 'wait for the right opportunity', or 'build more bridges', or 'look for an opening'...why??? Look, you don't know when their invitation is going to expire - so what are you waiting for?

Friends don't let friends miss the party.
Also, I'm thinking that you should get ready for the celebration yourself. I'm not talking about having clean underwear on or something like that, what I'm getting at is living a life pleasing to God and growing in your relationship with the King.

Don't worry, your seat is secure- but as for me, I want to walk into the room and have Jesus say: "hey, there's Lane! C'mon up front my friend, I want to introduce you to everyone and tell them what a good job you did for me on earth!"

What's He going to say to you?

P.A.

Fall Kick off Aug 15th!

Hey there everyone, I know we have been pretty relaxed on keeping up with this blog but we will kick this up a notch when our school year starts.

But we want you to know about the 1st event of the year........


The Big Fall Kick off is right around the corner, and we are doing some pretty stinking awesome things for our kick off. Here are the details!

When: August 15th
Where: Terry Smiths house (58270 hemminger dr. Goshen, 46528)
What to bring: Yourself, clothes you don't mind getting a little dirty, your appetite, and a couple friends!
What to expect: A ton of fun, lots of laughs, and whole lot of awesomeness! 
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm, be dropped off at Terry's house.

We are planning on doing some super fun things this year, we will be talking some about this coming year and all the fun things we are planning on doing, you will also be getting able to connect with your small group leader.

God has some great things in store for this year, we hope and pray you can come out and join us!

Hope to see you soon.

P.A.
 

Got Challenges?

I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

(II Timothy 4:7)

There is a famous shoe company who's motto is: Just Do It!

Well maybe that works in the sports arena, but it gets a little tougher when it comes to life. It seems like sometimes the older we get, the more cynical we become towards life. That's exactly what Satan would want! The devil throws disappointment our way for that very reason. He doesn't need to turn us into satanists, just get us whiney, weepy, and wimpy. So here is a reminder of a different kind of life motto:
 "Just Do It Anyway"

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for the underdog anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help, but may attack you if you help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you've got and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
(Mother Theresa)

P.A.