7

The mission of Ignite student ministries at Journey North Church is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by creating environments where students prioritize their relationship with Christ, influence their friends, and experience personal ministry.

To that end, we have developed a new large group environment. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… 7 .

7 will begin meeting from 7 – 8:30 pm on Wednesday nights. It looks like we are all set to be able to use the Pine City Elementary School multipurpose room each week when it is not being used for other events.

On Wednesday, March 12, Ignite students and leaders will meet at the school to plan, pray and play. We’ll work on the setup and get the feel for the facility. We'll also strategize about the best way to accomplish our purpose, followed by a time of prayer and some fellowship and open gym time. 7 will ‘launch’ on March 26 following Spring Break.

We want 7 to be a place where Ignite students can invite their friends who don’t have a church or youth group of their own to attend. Our goal for 7 is as follows:

7 is a place for students to experience enjoy exciting music, engaging talk about today’s issues, and hang out with a cool group of outgoing people. It’s a place where they can laugh with new friends, play some crazy fun games, have a really intense discussion, and pick up some tips that will make life's journey a little smoother.

What is the significance for the Journey North Church family? It means we are taking it up a notch with a large group weekly growth-level environment that is also outreach friendly. It means our Ignite students will have additional opportunities to serve and reach out to their friends. It means we will be looking for additional adult volunteers to minister as sponsors, getting to know students and investing in their lives by building relationships with them. It means we’ll be looking for adult and student volunteers to assist with food preparation, equipment setup, and cleanup. It means everyone can join in as we pray that God would use 7 to help students take the next steps in their journey.

I believe God is going to do some amazing things in the lives of our students.

In the meantime, just for fun, here are…

7 things you should know about 7:

• God created the world in 7 days.
• Ignite student ministries weekly large group gathering, 7 , meets at 7 pm.
• Hebrew culture views 7 as the general symbol for all association with God. The number 7 brought to mind God’s covenant of holiness and sanctification.
• Junior and senior high students gather for 7 on Wednesdays - every 7 days.
• Jesus told us to forgive 70 times 7 times.
• 7 is the optimum number of hours of sleep for humans, according to a US scientific study.
• The original name of 7Up was Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda.