SYATP

See You at the Pole is here again!

Each year students from across the country wake up early on a Wednesday morning to go to their schools and pray around their flagpoles.

This years SYATP is this next Wednesday, September 28th.  If you attend a school show up early and meet at the flagpole.  Christian students will meet you there to pray for your school, classmates, and teachers.

We will also be having a breakfast before SYATP at the Lighthouse.  It will start at 6:00 am.  If you attend Simon Kenton and need a ride, we can provide transportation after the breakfast.

If you would like to know more info on what your school is doing this year for SYATP, I encourage you to talk with your Christian club leader (i.e. FCA, FISH, or prayer group leader).

April = Crazy Month!!!

April was a very crazy month!

In the month of April we...

1. Built mobile toilets
2. Learned about righting wrongs
3. Prayed over our new Lakeside ministry
4. Met some cool people from Campbellsville
5. Picked up sticks for a church member in need
6. Created a barbecue restaurant for our church
7. Raised almost $1000 to help lower the cost of camp
8. Sang in a choir that introduced a collection of hymns and contemporary songs.
9. Played in a worship band that put on its first solo concert.
10. CELEBRATED THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.

We have a lot of work to do in May if we are going to top that!
Congratulations on an awesome month of service, fellowship, discipleship, and worship!

New Creation

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Currently we are going through our new series "More Than a Golden Ticket". We know that our ultimate destination and desire is to one day be in the presence of our Father in Heaven. But many times I hear people say "but now what?". "By accepting Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and being justified through His sacrifice, does that mean I am done?"

Certainly not!

As I said this past Wednesday my hope is that 3 things will happen through this series...

1. You will begin to understand that you are not even close to being done with your Christian growth and journey.

2. You will fully comprehend the wonderful gift of grace that God has given to you through His Son.

3. You will see the NECESSITY of sharing the Gospel to everyone you meet.

We can think of thousands of reasons why we don't share the gospel but with others, but really there is only one thing stopping us... and that's us.

The first week we talked about how we are a new creation. We use the example of baptism to represent the death of our old selves and the birth of a new creation.

We are not just an improvement of our former selves. By uniting with Christ, we become something completely different than we once were. Sometimes we treat Christianity as a head start. Like there is a race and by being a Christian you get to start further down the road than everyone else. Its not that at all. The Bible tells us that the old is gone.

We still sin... we still mess up... but our God is a great God. He is greater than all of our problems, issues, and sin.

I want you all to think about this as you go through your week. God has given you a new life. Don't live like the old one! We were made a new creation by the Ultimate Creator.

So... how are you going to live like you are a new creation this week? You may need to let go of your old life. Pray for God to use you in your school, workplace, and home.

If you have a story where you were given the choice, and you chose to live as a new creation this week, share it with me at oakridge.youth@hotmail.com. Your story may be shared or used to help others throughout the week.

Don't EVER limit what God can do in your life.

Unlock Your Heart-athon

The votes have been counted (a total of 6 votes), and its official. The teams for the canned food drive will be random. If you would like to know what team you are on, I'll have a team list printed out or if you just can't wait, e-mail me.

The rules are pretty simple.

Each canned food will be one point. If you bring in a higher quality food (something that costs more) more points will be added. If you bring in cans that are expired you will have points taken away.

All of the canned goods will be given to the new ministry "Unlock Your Heart". The actual giving of food to those in need is so much more important than the contest. Take time to pray over the food that it will bless others and that God's name will be glorified.

SYATP - Reveal - September 22nd

See You At The Pole (aka SYATP) is coming back fast!!!

For those who have no idea what is going on...

On September 22nd, nationwide, Christian students will meet at the flag pole located on their school grounds before school starts. As a group the students will then pray. They will pray about their school, teachers, lives, and other things that affect them. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to see dozens (sometimes hundreds) of students coming together to pray to God.

This years theme is "Reveal" with Matthew 6:9-13 as the scripture we are focusing on.

At Oak Ridge we will be providing a breakfast to anybody that would like to have some. We will be meeting at the Lighthouse at 6:00 am (yes 6am, that is not a typo) with breakfast. If you attend Simon Kenton we will be providing transportation (via church van) to the school. We wish we could give everybody a ride but we have so many students that go to so many different school. We chose S.K. because more of our students at Oak Ridge attend S.K.

That night we will be meeting up at the Lighthouse at 6pm and travelling to New Banklick Baptist Church for a SYATP Recap/Celebration. Many churches will be coming together to talk about what happened that morning. If you would like to meet us that is fine. The service starts a little bit before 7pm. Steve McDaniels will be leading worship and I (Bro. Thom) will be giving the message. This will be an awesome event to bring your friends!!!

To Recap...

See You at the Pole (SYATP) = Students praying and worshipping around school flagpole.

Date: September 22nd - Wednesday

Breakfast: 6am - Lighthouse

Transportation: For students going to S.K.

Recap Rally - Meet @ Lighthouse at 6pm. We will try to be back at the Lighthouse at 8:45pm.

Recap Location - New Banklick Baptist Church

World's Tallest Flagpole - 525 feet, North Korea

Morning Prayer and Afternoon Fish

Hey Guys,

I just wanted to let you all know about different opportunities you have to fellowhsip with believers at your school.

I will try to put as many schools as I can find or know about. Here a couple I have so far...

Summit View Middle School - has a morning prayer service every TUESDAY before school in the multi-purpose room.

Twenhofel Middle School - has a morning prayer service every WEDNESDAY near the front entrance of the school.

Simon Kenton High School - has a morning prayer service EVERYDAY. Ask Christopher for the location.

S.K. also has an amazing Christian club that meets every FRIDAY afterschool. It meets in the Chorus Room. This club started in 2001. If you have any questions about the club ask Christopher Setters (he's in charge of "I" week) or me, Bro. Thom (I was the first leader of "F" week.). Every week has a different idea or theme represented by the acronym F.I.S.H.

F-Focus - This is a time for members to have Bible studies and to FOCUS on who they are in Christ as well as what their purpose is as a witness for Christ.

I - Inspire - Usually this week has a speaker that comes in to share a message.

S - Share - This week is a time of testimonies, stories, struggles, and/or what God has said to you so far this week.

H - Hook - This week is BIG. We encourage you to invite your friends this week. There is usually pizza and drinks. It is during this week that the gospel presentation is presented.

The main purpose of FISH is to reach others for Christ. If you ever need a ride after FISH let me know. Don't let that stop you from coming!!!