We had a great turnout last night at Young Life club! Usually at club we have about 25 kids, last night we had 48! Many of them were new! Nate Landis gave an amazing talk, with about 10-11 kids accepting Jesus into their lives. Clister performed three songs; he is so talented! Stephen Wescott shared his testimony. A big thank you to the 10 people from Northminster who came! And thank you all who donated the delicious cookies and cupcakes.

Everyone is invited next Monday (October 6th) to Community Night- we will have casual fellowship at the Clairemont Square from 7pm-9pm. Come meet kids and leaders.

Our next big club will be Monday, October 27. Markus will be speaking!

God Bless,
Chelsea

We took a high school boy (let’s call him Jimmy) to camp this summer on a full scholarship. He had an amazing time and at the end of the week, gave his life to Christ!  He came back a changed kid- on fire for God.  He decided he wanted to become a Wyldlife leader, to share this love he had found with more kids. We took him with us this weekend to the Knotts Berry Farm leader retreat. I don’t know if you are familiar with teenagers these days, but if you are you know that they are all about image. Jimmy and his fellow high school friend were singing worship songs, arms around each other’s shoulders in encouragement, excited to share this joy they had found in Jesus. Do you remember when you first became filled with joy because of God’s love?  Unashamed, excited, hungry for whatever new knowledge you could get?

This morning we dropped off Jimmy after the ride home from Knotts Berry Farm. He asked if we could pick him up later to go to church- and though exhausted, we said “of course!” But I added, “only if you bring your girlfriend!” somewhat jokingly. He said “ok, sure,” with a huge grin that comes with any new teenage relationship.  We’ll call his girlfriend “Jane.” So tonight we make the rounds to fill our van with five kids- including Jimmy and Jane. The other three kids had already been to this church’s night service many times. Jane hadn’t been to a church in a long time, and kept saying she was scared. She didn’t know what to expect, and said something along the lines of “you all know everything, I don’t know anything!” We told her not to worry. We got to the outside of the building and she said “Wow, this is like Disneyland. There has got to be a roller coaster in there somewhere!” It is a pretty big church. We walked inside and she took in the huge stage and all the seats and said “this is like a movie.”

We got to “our” section- the third floor, right side.  The kids automatically sat one row ahead of Matt and I, or “mom and dad” as we jokingly refer to ourselves sometimes. The worship songs started, other kids had their hands raised, faces lifted up. The whole time they were trying to make Jane comfortable, so Jimmy would take her hand, and then the whole row was holding hands in worship. Let me remind you, these are high school boys- image is everything. Not tonight, tonight was about joy that only comes from Jesus. It brought tears to my eyes just watching them, thinking that everything I do– all the talks and lunch clubs and car washes and camps– the one kid who finds everlasting life makes it all worth it. The world around that kid will change no matter what; their decisions will be different, the friends they hang out with will be impacted, their family will notice a change…Praise God that we have seen hundreds of kids saved, but I can’t help but get excited for ONE more.

We got to the end of the sermon and the pastor prayed and invited people into a relationship with Christ.  I started praying that Jane would stand up at the end. The prayer ended and I opened my eyes- there was Jane with two friends on either side, standing up to accept Christ!  God is good!  She got a Bible and a devotion book. “Where did Jimmy go?” we all said as we headed out to the van.  He had gotten a free Bible at camp this summer, but he came running up and was excited to show us another Bible he had just bought- a special “duct tape Bible.” I guess he just wanted as much of the Word as he could get!

You are welcome to come to our first club tonight. You will witness first-hand– kids experiencing joy, laughter, controlled chaos, and the message of Jesus’ love. If you can’t make it, please pray for the kids coming, that the message will penetrate their hearts. Please also pray for the leaders as we put on this club. Thank you! God Bless. Chelsea

Sermon by Tommy Myrick on September 28, 2008

Tommy is a student at Westminster Seminary in Escondido California.

This is the fourth sermon in the series titled “Fully Engaged”.

Theme - John 4 shares a surprising encounter as a Samaritan woman meets a stranger only to find her world and city turned upside down. How can a word preached change a city? Tune in to discover the shocking answers!

 

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As of last Sunday, 57 people have already signed up for small groups!  I think that’s the best news I’ve heard all year!

The sermon series that the small groups will be focusing on is “Shift:  Learning to Live Missionally.”  This word, “missional,” is one that tends to get used a lot, but there is still a sense of vagueness as to its meaning.  How is it different from simply doing missions?  Or doing evangelism?  Or doing outreach?

Well, in this next series we want to unpack that word a bit so that we can all develop a clearer understanding of what it means for Northminster to be a missional church, as well as what it means for us to be missional individuals.

If you haven’t signed up for a small group, yet, have no fear!  They begin the week of October 5, but you can still sign up this Sunday (September 28) or next Sunday (October 5)!  Sign up on the patio after church.  Simply find the group you want to join and put your name down.

You can also call or e-mail the church office and they’ll add you to the small group of your choice.  The phone number is 858-490-3995; the e-mail address is church@northminstersandiego.com.

I’m so excited about what God is going to do through these small groups!  And I’m excited that so many of you are going to be a part of what God will do!

I am so excited about this year in Young Life, I can hardly contain it!  We are going to be doing things differently this year, and I hope you will join us.  Our goal is to reach as many kids as possible, so that they can be invited into a relationship with Jesus.

CLUB- Club will be once a month.  It will be an outreach event with pizza and t-shirts.  We recently met with some of our core high school kids and asked them what would draw more kids to club.  They said FOOD, t-shirts, and great music.  With that in mind, we will be giving them physical food as well as spiritual food.  We have one generous donor for pizzas already, but we need more!  ($100 for pizzas at lunch, $100 for pizzas at club.) On the day of club we are going to go to Madison High with 20 pizzas and set up a table.  Each kid that comes by will get a slice of pizza and a flier for club that night.  We will introduce ourselves and personally invite them to club.  Our core kids will be involved in this as well- and all have a matching Young Life t-shirt to wear to school that day.

Imagine you are a student at Madison High school. You come to school one day and see about 30 kids wearing the same red t-shirt that says Young Life.  At lunch, you get a slice of free pizza and a flier, you are greeted warmly and INVITED.  You are told that the first 30 kids that come to this Young Life event will get a free t-shirt! Not only are you invited, but you will feel INCLUDED.  The more Young Life t-shirts we have out there, the more kids will know about it, and the more kids will come and be INVITED into a relationship with Christ!  As a high school student, is there anything better than feeling invited and included?  No way! We still need a T-shirt sponsor for our first club- 30 t-shirts at $220.

“What else can I do to help with CLUB on Sept 29?” Just being there and observing is a great first step!  I would love to have more of a Northminster presence at our Young Life clubs.  Leaders will arrive at 6pm to set up and pray.  At 6:45pm kids will start arriving and eating pizza.  At 7:15pm the doors will open and the controlled chaos will begin!  Special guest Clister will perform some of the songs he wrote.  Around 8:10 Nate Landis will give a “Club Talk” that you don’t want to miss.  We are praying for an amazing response from kids- that this might be the night they accept Jesus into their lives for the first time!

I really hope you can make it.  Please feel free to call me any time if you have questions.

Become a leader! We are always looking for more Young Life and Wyldlife leaders.  If you are interested in becoming a leader, come with us on our Leadership Weekend at Knotts Berry Farm Sept 26-28! Cost is $150.  Fun, fellowship and training- please let me know ASAP if you are interested.

Become a Mentor for a Leader! Leaders will all be paired with a mentor, and they will meet for ONE hour each month to encourage that leader, pray for them, and ask a set of accountability questions.  We still need 5 male mentors and 3 female mentors.  One hour information/training meeting TONIGHT, Sept 21, from 5pm-6pm in the youth room! If you can’t make it to this meeting, but still want to be a mentor just let me know.

Preschool Potluck- we need helpers! The Preschool is having a parents’ night THIS Thursday, Sept 25.  Young Life is in charge of child care from 5-7:30pm.  We need 8 more helpers for this event. Please let me know if you are available.

I thank all of you for supporting this ministry. God Bless- Chelsea

Sermon by Markus Watson on September 21, 2008

This is the third sermon in the series titled “Fully Engaged”.

Theme - Human beings were created to be in relationship. And in order for us to get the most out of our relationships we need to be fully engaged in our relationships. We can do that by putting ourselves in a position to connect with others, by being encouragers, by praying specifically for people, and by taking advantage of opportunities to talk with people about our faith.

 

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As many of you know, small groups will begin the week of October 5 and run for eight weeks until the week of November 23 (the week of Thanksgiving).

Why join a small group?  Several reasons.

1. This will be a great way for you to get to know some other people in our church that maybe you didn’t know as well before.  And even if you do know some in your group well, you’ll have the opportunity to get to know them even better!
2. Since the groups will be discussing the sermon each week, your group will be a place where you can ask questions, offer ideas, and discuss how what we learned on Sunday can be applied to real life.
3. You’ll a have a support group—a group of people who will be praying for you every week.  And who couldn’t use more prayer?!

Click here for more information about Small Groups at Northminster.

Click here for a list of group times and locations.

I look forward to seeing what God will do as we take this opportunity to grow in our faith together!

Sermon by Markus Watson on September 14, 2008

This is the second sermon in the series titled “Fully Engaged”.

Theme - What does it mean to be fully engaged in your church?  It means:  1)  to be committed to your own spiritual growth, 2) to practice contentment in your life, 3) to serve in your church, 4) to invite people to your church, and 5) to give to God through your church.

 

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Sermon by Markus Watson on September 7, 2008

This is the first sermon in the series titled “Fully Engaged”.

Theme - For some reason many people tend to think that our faith is kind of a boring aspect of our lives. That may be true if our faith is only half-hearted. But when we get fully engaged in our faith–in our relationship with God–there aren’t enough words to describe how exciting our lives can be!

 

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Hello Northminster!

Young Life will be starting an exciting new mentor program this year.  Young Life leaders will be required to meet with a mentor at least once a month.  Wyldlife leaders will meet with a Young Life leader as their mentor. The mentor will pour into them, pray for them, help to keep them accountable, and encourage them.  Mentors will schedule a time to meet, and each month will send me an email that they met.

We have some mentors signed up, but we need more.  You could be a mentor! Just one to two hours per month, you will get to know one of the amazing leaders, and help the Young Life ministry.  Requirements for being a mentor are 1) You love Jesus!  2) you come to ONE of the training sessions at Northminster, either on Thursday, Sept. 18 from 7-8pm, or Sunday, Sept. 21 from 5-6pm.

Please let me know if you are interested in becoming a mentor.  (619) 322-7586

Chelsea