One More Week to School and Ignite's First Fall Event

We're in the middle of our family's two week "vacation" (someone told me it was a "stay-cation" since we are mostly staying around home, but I think that term sounds silly). Even though I'm on 'break', I can't help thinking of school and our fall student ministries program, both beginning next week. It seems like the summer has flown by at warp speed! Still, I'm so excited about our great fall youth group schedule.

Students are heading back to school on September 2 and our Ignite student ministries will launch our fall programming one Sunday, September 7, with a Family Picnic. The picnic will double as a parent/student meeting where we'll share about all of our fall programs and events. All students and their families are invited to attend. Students, if your parents and families can't attend, please come anyway. You don't have to bring anything.

If you want a sneak peek at our fall calendar, be sure to check out the Journey North Church Google Calendar for the very latest dates and times of our events.

Update: Instead of having our picnic at the Johnsons, we will have the picnic following our church worship celebration on our new church property (about 1 mile north of Hwy 11 on the west side of Hwy 61—just look for the signs). The worship celebration is at 11 a.m. and the picnic will begin around 12:30. We’ll enjoy a great lunch together followed by a brief meeting where we’ll take a few minutes to share about this Fall’s schedule for student ministries and to answer any questions you may have. We’ll also have volleyball, Frisbee, and a bonfire (with some s’mores!) You can bring a chair or blanket to sit on or some lawn games to play!

First Day of "Vacation" - Getting Ready for a Garage Sale

Well, it's the first day of our two week 'vacation' and we have spent to morning getting ready for a big garage sale scheduled for this Wednesday. We talked with our neighbors and a bunch of them are holding garage sales, too, so we'll have at least 5 or 6 houses with sales all along 9th Street SW in Pine City this Wednesday, August 20, beginning at 7 a.m. (Stop by if you're in the area!)

Now I'm busy trying to track down tables (you can never get enough for a garage sale, you know.) Got a table we can borrow? Drop me a line or call me!

Upcoming Ignite Events

Just a reminder that our youth groups (7 and X-Factor) will be at our house in our backyard tonight (August 13). We’ll have volleyball, s’mores, and more! If you haven’t read the book of Jonah yet this week, you may want to read it before tonight at we tackle part 2 of our Jonah series.

This is our last youth group for the summer and we’ll start again on September 3 (hopefully back at the elementary school).

Also, for those involved in our summer small groups, our final meeting will be tomorrow (again at our house!) Our school year small groups – CONNECT – will re-launch in September. Watch for more details.

Finally, here are some upcoming dates and events to keep in mind:

• Friday, August 15 - NEEDTOBREATHE Concert Event at Club 3 Degrees - Join us as we head to the Christian nightclub Club 3 Degrees in Minneapolis for a great concert event featuring special guests Myrrh and Furlough! Cost is only $5 for admission. Register tonight if you’d like to attend!
• Ignite Family Picnic—Sunday, September 7 at 3:00 PM. 12:30 p.m. Join us at Paul and Kay Johnson’s home for a great time of volleyball, swimming, tubing, dinner and more (or should I say, s’more?). Your whole family is invited to attend and we wrap up summer and kick off the fall! We’ll carpool from the church office at 2:45 PM. The picnic will be done around 6 PM.
• Fall Kick-Off at Northwestern College - Wednesday, September 17 — featuring guest speaker Greg Speck! FREE! We’ll leave from the church office at 4:45 PM and get back around 9:45 PM. 
• Paintball Challenge—Saturday, September 20. Cost is $30.
• See You at the Pole prayer event—Wednesday, September 24
• Car Wash Service Project—Saturday, September 27 (weather permitting) Watch for more details.

Update: Picnic details have changed. See this post for more info.

7 and X-Factor Relocate for August

I just found out that due to the construction at the elementary school we will not be able to use the gym/multipurpose room there for our youth groups for the rest of the summer. This week our groups will be meeting at my house and we'll see about next Wednesday.

Our access to the gym is still up in the air for fall, as well. If anyone knows of a facility we could use in Pine City for our weekly large-group gatherings please let me know! We'll trust that God has a great place for us.