Getaway Update (Thursday Afternoon)

The beach was much calmer yesterday during free time so more of our students headed out to the ocean for some fun in the sun and waves.  Several of our students (and adults) also participated in a basketball tournament in addition to the other fun free time activities.

After free time and dinner our students headed to their small groups for a time of prayer before coming into evening worship.  During the worship service Pastor Chad allowed students to stand and read passages from the Bible over the rest of the group (this has become a camp favorite for many of our students).  Pastor Jeff preached from Ephesians 5.  He challenged the camp to realize that the days we live in are full of evil and that God has given us instructions about avoiding that evil.

After worship and some ice cream form Painters our interns hosted the last Late Nite of Getaway 2011.  The score was tied 3-3 going into the night but the girls dominated night 3 and walked away the Late Nite champions.

This morning I closed out the Esther story with a challenge to die to Christ to truly be used by him.

The last recreation of camp (which is happened right now) is a photo scavenger hunt so we have teams running all over Garden City right now.

Getaway Update (Wednesday Afternoon)

Yesterday was a great day at camp.  After small groups and recreation our students enjoyed some much deserved free time.  Unfortunately, the wind was very strong on the beach causing the sea to be pretty rough.  Our adults kept their eyes peeled and everyone had fun and was safe.  Our interns also hosted a corn-hole tournament yesterday during free time and many of our students participated in the shade.

Last night pastor Jeff preached from Joshua 1.  He challenged the students to make God's Word a regular part of their lives and that, by not being in the Word, they were hindering how much they would be able to enjoy the Christian life.  After some more free time we finished yesterday with another round of Guys v. Girls at Late Nite.  The score is currently tied 3-3.  Tonight will be our final Late Nite so we will see who comes out on top.

Today was "water day" at recreation and everyone ended up wet and smiling.  Small groups today were about secret sin in our lives and the message tonight will carry that same theme.

Getaway Update (Tuesday Afternoon)

The buses made it to camp around 5:00 yesterday and everyone was ready to begin a great week of camp.  Well, everyone expect those of us who still had a lot of set up to do.  In the end, we realized that we were going to have to do without a few of our technological items in the worship center because, ready or not, the students were here and ready for service.  In our first service of camp Pastor Jeff challenged preached a message on our theme verse for the week (Ecclesiastics 12:1).  He challenged to students to live there lives "Here and Now" by living for God as teenagers.  He confronted them with the fact that many of them see Christianity as a barrier to their happiness instead of the source of joy, fun, and fulfillment.  The students also had their first small group Bible study last night, beginning their week long study of the life of Joshua. Monday night closed out with Late Nite, where the boys took a 2-1 lead over the girls.

Morning Celebration began today after breakfast and quiet time. The students were introduced to C.A. Trailer (Kem Lindsay), a revival preaching fireworks salesman, who will be hosting our daily morning show.  Matt Agee began our morning series from the book of Esther by introducing the characters in the Esther story.

Both middle school and high school students have now had recreation and their second small group Bible study of the week and and will be heading off to the beach for some free time in just a few moments.

2011 Summer Parents' Meeting

For those who missed our parents' meeting this past Sunday, I would like to give a brief recap of the meeting.  Before I begin. let me say that the below info and more is available at parkwoodonline.org/students.

Summer events are underway in students ministry.  The next schedule event will be next Monday at 6:30.  We will have movie night at the Porch.  Other summer events can be found here.

Unscheduled "Viral Events" will be announced by text, facebook, and here.  You can be added to the text list by texting the word "parkwood" to 24587.  Info on events will be sent out 24-48 hours before the event.  You can also "like" our page on facebook to receive updates on your wall.

Our next topic was Getaway.  We currently have our largest crowd ever signed up for Getaway- 150 students plus adults (221 in all).  All Getaway info was mailed to those participating on June 13.  Please email lisa@parkwoodonline.org with specific questions.

Finally, I gave some information on the changes we are making to student ministry small groups on Sunday nights.  CPAC and Impact will now be called Student 1:28.  Middle school groups will meet on campus and will have a missions component once a month.  High school groups will meet off campus and will be expected to adopt a local mission project.  The biggest change to our high school groups is flexibility in group assignments.  Students will now be given several groups to choose from instead of being assigned to one group for all of their time in high school.  More info will be available at the end of the summer.

2011 Winter Parents' Meeting

Last Sunday we hosted our winter parents' meeting.  We had a great group of parents show up for this informational meeting.  If you were not able to attend, here's a basic rundown of what we discussed.  You can also watch the above video of my slides from the meeting.

REFUGE:  I will begin preaching a new series on Wednesday nights called "Origins" on February 2. I will cover the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob during this series.  It will last through the summer.  Our 6th grade transition groups ended yesterday and their first REFUGE will be February 2.

MS IMPACT & CPAC:  Sunday night groups will begin on February 6th.  They will meet early on those days because of the Super Bowl.  Middle school students will meet at Parkwood again this semester and do mission/service projects.  The High school groups will continue to meet on their own schedules.  If you would like for your teenager to be involved in one of these groups, please let us know.

180 WEEKEND:  As you know, 180 Weekend prep is in full swing.  There is still space for your student or their friends to participate in this great weekend.  We are in need of drivers and other volunteers for the weekend.  If you can help out, please email lisa@parkwoodonline.org.

HS HANGOUT & MS MADNESS: These are two of our most popular events on the year.  HS Hangout is on February 25 and MS Madness is on March 18.  More information about these events will be available at parkwoodonline.org/students or at Porch after 180 Weekend.

GETAWAY 2011:  Getaway is the best week of the year for our students!  Getaway will be June 27 - July 1.  Our theme for Getaway (and our entire summer) is "Here & Now".  We are going to challenge our students to be a part of what God is doing right HERE and right NOW.  Pastor Jeff will be preaching Getaway again this year.

MISSION WEEK 2011:  We will have 6 mission trips this year for students (2 middle school and 4 high school).  The 6th grade trip is to Greenville, SC and the 7th & 8th grade trip is to Chattanooga, TN. The High School trips are to Phoenix, AZ to work in a VBS; Huntington, WV with World Changers; and 2 trips (back to back) to Honduras.  The Honduras trip has already had an interest meeting.  If your teenager would like to consider that trip they need to contact me ASAP.  Information and application for the other trips will be available soon.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING I LEFT OUT:  Parkwood will be hosting "Age of Opportunity a Paul Tripp Parenting Conference March 25 - 26.  This is a "must attend" event for parents in our church.  We will have studies for middle school and high school students in addition to what parents will be hearing from Paul Tripp.  More information about this great conference is available at parkwoodonline.org/discipleship/paul-tripp.