Dave White

Tonight (Saturday), I was reminded of the reality of what we are dealing with in regards to our youth.  Brothers and sisters, we must fight the battle for their souls and their lives.  We cannot give up.  We cannot ignore their struggle.  We must remind ourselves of the depth and breadth and importance of what they are going through every day in their schools, and we must not forget the terrible strength of the world’s enticing culture of self-worship and impermanent pleasures.The world has a powerful grip on the spiritual throats of these kids, but our victorious Christ has said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Our struggle may be great, but our God is so much greater than our task.  He is mighty in deed and powerful in effect.  “Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”  Pray for us and all those who minister the GOOD NEWS of Jesus our Savior to those who are dying in their sins.  Pray for these kids, caught in the spell of the devil, world, and flesh.  Only Jesus can save them, and He is able!

^{Psalm 78:4-8}

⁴We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

⁵He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
⁶that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
⁷so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
⁸and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Collect pledges to support your Overtime 2010 event. Together, we can rock the region for Christ!

When: Saturday, March 27th from 3-5 pm
Where: Holiday Bowl – Groton, CT Minimum Pledge to attend/bowl: $11 (to cover the cost of the day)
Who can participate: Teens (young adults and parents are welcome to collect sponsors and join us as well!!)

3 Great Reasons  to “Soul Bowl“:

1. COOL Prizes! Download the prize sheet showing all the stuff you get just by bowling!  Bring in the most money and you could win a Wii Gaming Console!!
2. We can get the ball rolling for Overtime 2010 months in advance, both financially and spiritually!
3. Soul Bowl is a great opportunity to empower our teens, young adults and parents to “own” Overtime with us, contributing directly to the quality of the event and the impact it will have on their family and friends!

To register, fill out the form below and download the following forms: (the forms will be available by Feb. 8th)

• Prize Sheet
• Instructions
• Pledge Form

Happy Bowling!

Over these years in tbc we have seen well over 100,000 kids — not even including teachers and parents. All of those have heard openly about our faith and how much we love God, and how much He loves them and wants a friendship with them. We’ve had concerts where between 100-200 kids would become Christians in one gig! God has used us in ways that we couldn’t even imagine.

We’re just ordinary girls doing extraordinary things for Him, and we are weak, but with Him we are strong. We’ve had opportunities to travel (which is one of my favourite things to do) all over the UK, South Africa and America! We spent 2 weeks in South Africa, and had an overwhelming response. In one public school, after we’d done the assembly, all the students (about 1,000) started singing the worship song, ‘One Way, Jesus!’ This totally blew us away, we had to hold back the tears! And then we spent 5 weeks in America. We went to North Carolina, Georgia and Connecticut! It was such a fantastic experience, it was challenging as we were away from home for so long, but God showed us so much during the tour and hundreds were saved and saw breakthrough in their lives! We’ve been to loads of festivals and just had the chance to sing to and speak to thousands upon thousands of people.

We want to show young people that being a Christian isn’t about loads of rules and regulations that they have to follow, but it’s about having a friendship with God. He knows what they’re going through and struggling with, and wants to help them and be there for them. So many people come and go in our lives, and hearts get broken when people betray our trust, but God is the only one who will NEVER leave and will NEVER let us down. We also want to show them that Christianity is exciting, not at all boring, and it is relevant to them. There are so many other bands out there that are entirely inappropriate for young children, they are not good role models and are teaching them things that aren’t healthy, so we want to give them an alternative. We try to communicate our love for God through up-to-date chart style music, and a high energy show that is full of dancing and different ways for them to interact!

Never in my life did I think I would be able to do this: fulfilling my dreams of singing and dancing for God! It is funny how when you try to make things happen in your own strength, it doesn’t work very well and you get burnt out. But when you hand it over to God and let Him take control, things happen beyond your wildest dreams, and better than what you could ever imagine! So why don’t we ever learn our lesson? Believe me, I’m still working on that. But God is so full of grace and unconditional love for us. I know Gods plans are perfect, so I dont know how much longer He wants me to stay here, but either way I’m so looking forward to whatever He’s got planned for these next couple of years… so bring it on!

To support Lucy and her amazing work with Innervation, you can make a gift here. Send us an email and let us know your are designating to Lucy.

This March, f2fmi and The Lifefaqs Foundation will launch our most aggressive mission in Southeastern Connecticut to date. Touring schools, group homes, youth groups and churches, Twelve24 will bring their message and music to teens throughout our region. Twelve24 will confront issues that teenagers face today by using their message and personal stories to influence the choices that young people are making. Bookings are coming in left and right and we expect to do more than 15 different missions during the week.

However, all this cannot happen without your help! We need to get the band here and the goal is to raise $2,500 for their airfare this month. Will you help us make history in Southeastern Connecticut? Give your gift today of any amount and it will be applied directly to the airfare of the band.

Click HERE to give a 1x gift through the Lifefaqs Foundation (Paypal) and be a part of bringing Twelve24 for their first USA appearance!

You can also send your check by mail and make it payable to:

The Lifefaqs Foundation
P.O. Box 38
Montville, CT 06353

Dave White

When I can’t feel You, I have learned to reach out just the same
When I can’t hear You, I know You still hear every word I pray
And I want You more than I want to live another day
And as I wait for You maybe I’m made more faithful

- “Faithful” by Brooke Fraser

Our theology and worldview should be based on Scripture above all, but sometimes the Holy Spirit will use an extra-biblical song to minister to our souls.  A dear friend of mine shared “Faithful” with me a few weeks ago and reminded me that God is always

on the throne.  So, I’ll make two points here.

First, thank God for the members of His body, who He uses to minister to each other!  “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”    - Hebrews 10:24-25

Second, God is King!  He delights in His children.  He has known us from before we were born.  He knows the plans that He has for us.  God takes care of His kids.  Furthermore, in this world, we will have trouble -of various kinds and degrees- but Jesus Christ has overcome the world.  Jesus is well able to sympathize with us in our weaknesses and troubles, because He lived and

was tempted just like us, though He did not sin.  God is faithful.  He will never abandon us.  He can even use the suffering we are going through as a means to let us know Him more intimately, to help us grow in maturity, and to better equip us to help others.  Regardless of our present circumstances or emotions, we can rejoice is what Christ has done; and we can trust that He is still near to us and is making us more like Jesus.  Praise God!

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…”    -Deuteronomy 7:9

Gary Campbell is the Director of Youth Ministries at Groton Bible Chapel

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18- Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Tonight I’ll be considering these words of the Apostle Paul with a group of middle school students and as I read the words, “…and the dead in Christ will rise first”, I have to admit that sometimes youth ministry can feel like already being “the dead in Christ”.

How often do you or I rely on our own strength to pound through our weekly or daily lists, or how do the multi angled expectations of middle schoolers, high schoolers, parents, senior pastors, and others cause us to manage both our time and emotions, then there’s the stories that we carry of kids lives- brokenness, anger, insecurities, poor choices, and on and on, that at least I at times, wrongfully, try to carry in my own strength.

This is NOT our calling, yes, we are to “bear one another’s burdens” and lay down our lives for those that we serve, but the strength to do that MUST come from a lifestyle of dependence and desire for time alone with our Savior. It His power that works in us “to will and to do”, not our own.

Beyond all this is the promise of these verses that given everything that we see, hear, and experience in youth ministry, THIS life is not the end game. This should not only encourage us, but give us words, that Paul instructs us to “encourage one another with.”

It is the risen Christ that gives us hope (v.13), it is the risen Christ that gives power over death (v.16), it is that same resurrection power and the promises that come with it, of redemption, new life, hope, and eternity with the God of heaven that empower our lives, our families, and every facet of the youth ministry work to which God has called us- whether we are a volunteer teaching a Sunday school class, or a full time youth minister.

Be encouraged today and lean on the One who gives power and strength even as you lean forward listening for that trumpet call!

Although Austin is a Christian author/speaker, I had never heard of him and I have never seen Survivor. I decided to check Google for some videos on Survivor and found a few with small clips with him in them. I would have preferred to rent the season and see what all the hype is all about but since Netflix isn’t carrying it, I figured it’s more trouble than it’s worth to get my hands on it. I settled for an under five minute recap of the entire season that I found on Youtube. It wasn’t particularly enlightening to my research for this post, but you can watch it too if you want a little bit of context.

Austin is from High Point, North Carolina – pretty clever for working that in to his title. His book is a collection of essays that are in no particular chronological order and highlight different times of his life where he was wrestling with life and faith issues. Plume published it, which interestingly enough is a subdivision of Penguin, where my friend Rhiannon was working in London. Penguin’s offices overlook the river Thames, Big Ben and the Eye of London and I got some great photos from a balcony at the top of the building last January.

I have to admit, Austin’s opening chapters really irritated me. In the first chapter, Austin opens by revealing that his journey has been a combination of partying hard and then having seasons of pursuing the Christian lifestyle fairly intensely. That in itself doesn’t really bother me. Many people who have grown up in the church go through those times. I went through my seasons too. He then makes his point that nowadays when he is in a place that serves alcohol, instead of ordering water so that people can see that he’s not drinking, he orders Coca-Cola. He doesn’t want people to know what’s in his glass because it’s between God and him. He also doesn’t want to make a show of the fact that he’s not drinking. Fair enough. However, the question that continues to force it’s way in to my mind is, “Why is he telling me this?” Is it so that I won’t be religious about what I drink? Where I drink? Who I drink with? Or has Austin found a way to be a Christian party boy and be around the same crowd he has always hung out with without having his conscience disturbed by what’s in his glass. I don’t know the answer to these questions because I don’t know Austin. Not having developed himself as a character for his own book, I just think it was a rough way to start a book. Maybe if this chapter were somewhere else in the book, I would feel differently.

All that aside, chapter 2 really irritated me. He talks about evangelistic outreach in a very general way that in my opinion is reckless. For me, this did not improve my impression of his book. Yes, there are some of us out there that have done a bad job representing Christ. However, poking fun at individual evangelists was not his aim. Austin talks about his experience sitting in an evangelistic meeting and feeling the need to respond after the message. He basically says it did nothing for him. He thinks it was not a valid response. I would say — don’t throw the baby out with the bath water! Just because he was confused about his response does not mean that others aren’t reached through traditional evangelistic methods.

Austin criticizes the fact that someone was counting responses. Maybe he doesn’t have a knowledge about how event evangelism is put together, but let me share how we make it happen:

1. Numbers are important to keep track of because it’s diligence in our field. As a member of Luis Palau’s Next Generation Alliance, it is f2fmi’s responsibility to keep our ministry’s statistics. At the end of each year, these numbers get reported back to head office and then we have a snapshot of what evangelists all over the country are doing to reach people for Christ. Since it’s impossible to measure the heart, responses are what we track.
2. It is how our organization gathers resources. Without numbers, there is nothing to show donors as far as results. f2fmi’s donors are excited and engaged by our diligence in keeping track of what we are doing.
3. Finally, numbers are key in retelling the story of salvation as we encourage the church. Nehemiah did it (read the book). The Lord moved him for a cause. Nehemiah asked the king for support and then carried on with his mission. Along the way, he was diligent to record exactly what happened and and reported numbers of people, livestock and even financials. Many times in the Bible you see this model recorded. It’s very Biblical to do our homework

Moving on to the rest of the book, Austin does some great things in some of his other chapters. I enjoyed reading about his awkward years, his relationships with girls and even his ministry experiences. Austin makes some valid points about what it means to live the Christian faith like — pray as if God is a real person without using special religious language, and growing in faith through adversity and loss. These points make the book a decent read.

The book comes out nationally on Jan 26th. You can buy it from Penguin here.

What’s Up:
NGA Evangelists, Pastors, para-church leaders and those excited about reaching New England for Christ are invited to come find rest and encouragement with other Alliance members as we worship the Lord together through fellowship, praise, food and instruction. In essence, New England’s first NGA mini-conference!

When:
March 3rd and 4th, 2010

Where:
Frontline Church - 2340 State St. Hamden, CT 06517

Cost:
We have a certain amount of lodging accommodation available at no cost (first come will be the first served) and all meals will be covered. There is no cost for these conferences.

Schedule:
This area will be updated as it becomes available.

Registration:
Because we are providing food, it is essential that you RSVP so that we can prepare enough.

Dave White

Well, not really. Anyways…

I had a wonderful time early this month spending time with great friends out of state. I did a lot of driving, and, by the time I returned home, my car was filthy. So, Thursday evening after work, I took my car through the wash. I even splurged and got the $8 wash with the special foam and dry. I felt pretty good about myself as I drove home in my shiny car.

On Friday, I awoke to snowfall, and I drove to work through the snow. By the time I got to work… my car was filthy again. Far better than being grumpy about this, God used this to remind me of His forgiveness. Through the blood of Jesus, we are washed clean of our sins. Though we sin again and again, the Father welcomes us back into His arms and washes us clean through the regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Thesis #1 of Martin Luther’s 95 theses was this: “When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent”, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

It’s shameful how often I cover myself with filthy sin, but God’s love and grace is greater than my tendency toward depravity. More than I dislike the dirt on my car, God hates our sin. He is good and cannot stand evil. Nevertheless, far more than I enjoy my ‘95 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, God delights in, rejoices over, and adores His children!

My car gets dirty again and again, and I need to keep washing it. Our lives get mucked up again and again, and we need to continue repenting of our sins before God- turning from our wrong deeds, words, thoughts, and feelings and turning to Jesus, who washes us clean again and again by His Spirit.

“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” – Titus 3:3-7

Dave White

 “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life…”    – 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

A couple weeks ago, I had a couple of days in a row where I did not eat or sleep very well.  I noticed something.  As a result of my malnourishment and sleep deprivation, I smelled funny.  Not just funny, I smelled bad.  In the same way, when our spiritual lives are malnourished and deprived of communion with God, we give off a spiritual stench.

You’ve seen this.  You’ve met people that just stink.  It might be a funny feeling or a strange look in their eyes or just some vibe you get off of them, but some people just stink.  Also, if I may be so bold, there have been times in your life when you have not smelled so sweet yourself.  The root cause of their stinkiness or yours is a lack of communion with God.  When we cut ourselves off from the Giver of life, we smell more and more like death.

On the other hand, when we are connected to our Father through Jesus Christ, our lives give off a fragrance.  Communion with God -through Scripture, prayer, or some other form of worship- plugs us in to the sweetest life and beauty.  You smell beautiful when you are in right relationship with God.

Even so, as the Scripture above declares, we who are filled with the fragrance of life in Jesus smell like death to those who are perishing.  We smell bad to non-Christians.  We will be mocked and ridiculed for following Christ, but we are not seeking to please the world.  We are living our lives for God.

So, deliberately live your life in such a way as to please Christ.  Let your life be a fragrant offering to Him.  Give your life for His glory.

Peace be with you.