Andy sent one of our supporting partners this little update. I thought he wrote so well, it was a great idea to share with all of you!
"Our second daughter, Rachelle, was born a month ago, and AnnaSophia will be turning 3 in a couple days on Halloween. She is a great little helper with her younger sister, but we are certainly worn out by the end of the day after chasing her and also caring for a newborn. Our ministry to high school students is going well, but the number of students attending has dropped this Fall. That has been hard on morale at times. Much of it is just due to the ebb & flow of upper classmen graduating & having less underclassmen, but some of it is also due to curriculum. I have been trying to lead the students through deeper bible lessons & challenging them to take on spiritual disciplines like sincerely committing to reading the Bible every day. Although I have seen spiritual growth in several students lives because of this, fringe students have become less interested & have stopped coming. It's kind of a Catch 22. It's frustrating to see less faces at our meetings, but it's exciting to be closer to actual discipleship than just ordinary "youth group meetings! -Andy"
I hope you enjoyed! -Robyn
Showing posts with label Student Venture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student Venture. Show all posts
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Full House at Blair Student Venture
Feeling a draft of cold air graze me over and over again, I kept turning around to see who had left the door open. To my surprise it wasn't teenage negligence at all. The door was opening and closing over and over because people just kept coming in!
Last night 17 teenagers came together to throw Cheetos at each other, take turns at the DJing stereo with their iPods, and process how they can apply what they are learning about spiritual living. All that and a little billiards and pogo-stick jumping too-- we mustn't forget that.
Although Blair Student Venture's attendance levels fluctuate just like any other group, it's been a while since we've seen what used to be 30+ teenagers getting together on a weekly basis. Over a dozen highly active seniors graduated back in May. Although we have many committed students who want to grow in their faith and show love and truth to their peers, it has been difficult this Fall to plug in new students and help the underclassmen step into leadership. I am soooo thankful to many core students for their devotion to God and living honest lives-- It is enthralling to see them choosing wisdom and becoming young men and women of good character and integrity.
Last night our 19 was made up of a couple of the Spring graduates who were back for Thanksgiving break and we had 5 new students, 4 of which who had never been to anything Student Venture related before. it was exciting to see new faces and connect with new souls-- Although , obviously, numbers and attendance are not the most important goal for me or this ministry, it is exciting to see new faces light up when they process God's Word.
Last night 17 teenagers came together to throw Cheetos at each other, take turns at the DJing stereo with their iPods, and process how they can apply what they are learning about spiritual living. All that and a little billiards and pogo-stick jumping too-- we mustn't forget that.
Although Blair Student Venture's attendance levels fluctuate just like any other group, it's been a while since we've seen what used to be 30+ teenagers getting together on a weekly basis. Over a dozen highly active seniors graduated back in May. Although we have many committed students who want to grow in their faith and show love and truth to their peers, it has been difficult this Fall to plug in new students and help the underclassmen step into leadership. I am soooo thankful to many core students for their devotion to God and living honest lives-- It is enthralling to see them choosing wisdom and becoming young men and women of good character and integrity.
Last night our 19 was made up of a couple of the Spring graduates who were back for Thanksgiving break and we had 5 new students, 4 of which who had never been to anything Student Venture related before. it was exciting to see new faces and connect with new souls-- Although , obviously, numbers and attendance are not the most important goal for me or this ministry, it is exciting to see new faces light up when they process God's Word.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Halloween-AnnaSophia is 2!
Just a few days ago, AnnaSophia turned 2!
We had some fun in the afternoon at Chuck-E-Cheese's. The little rides were her favorite!
Then we went trick-or-treating! She was Nemo, complete with her little 'lucky fin' like they say in the movie! :) She would knock on the doors and at each person's house, she had to step in and look around and wanted to play. Of course she thought it was great that someone would come to the door and offer her candy, so she made sure to take 2 handfuls if they let her!
We had some fun in the afternoon at Chuck-E-Cheese's. The little rides were her favorite!
Then we went trick-or-treating! She was Nemo, complete with her little 'lucky fin' like they say in the movie! :) She would knock on the doors and at each person's house, she had to step in and look around and wanted to play. Of course she thought it was great that someone would come to the door and offer her candy, so she made sure to take 2 handfuls if they let her!
Earlier in the day, she helped me decorate her birthday cake with M&Ms in the shape of a 2. As well as some extras sprinkled on! (It didn't look like a 2 after that).
It was fun to sing Happy Birthday and she blew little tentative puffs at the candles at first. Then, after I told her to blow hard, she gave out a big gust and blew them out one at a time! Yay!
On the SV front
One of our area Student Venture goals this year is to establish an effective discipleship strategy within the Blair High School campus students. Andy has begun leading the students on Monday nights in The Essentials, a discipleship study by Campus Crusade for Christ. We are praying that this study will equip our students to grow deeply in their faith and learn to multiply their faith by sharing the Good News of their faith. Andy has taught a lesson from The Essentials for a couple weeks now. Please pray that God would use The Essentials and Andy to grow these students in taking the initiative and leadership in their personal spiritual life as well as in reaching their peers for Christ.
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