Pine-ing Away for Minnesota

Okay, that title doesn't have the same ring to it as my Sunshine Day post, but as it turns out we will now not be moving to Florida. My job transfer had been approved and we were minutes away from signing a lease on a rental house when we felt God saying "no". We just didn't have a peace about moving to Florida right now.

So we are staying in Pine City. I'll be working at Walmart and hopefully moving into management in a little bit. We are excited to settle in and get involved in the great church we have been attending here in town (Evergreen Church).

We are very sad not to be able to be closer to my dad, aunt, and friends in Florida, but that's what vacations are for, I suppose. We are also sad to leave the wonderful sunshine and warm weather behind (it's supposed to snow Tuesday and it's almost April!) Of course we have nice scenery here, too, from time to time - that's sunset on Lake Pokegema in the picture up above.

On the other hand we are happy to be able to stay close to the wonderful friends we have made in our neighborhood and at work. And we are glad to be able to keep the boys in the great schools in Pine City. (Now if someone could do something about that awful auditorium... but that's a topic for another post.) I also have greatly enjoyed working at the Pine City Walmart and have made some good friends there.

So, Pine City, you're stuck with us for the time being. If anyone in the Pine City school district knows a house we can rent, let us know! Be seeing you!

The Real Estate Agent Who Called Back

No, this is not an imaginary story, dream, or fantasy post. We actually had a real estate agent who called us back today! If you are wondering why this is a big deal, you obviously haven't dealt with real estate agents recently. We barely hear from our own agent in Pine City who has listed and - finally - sold our house. Trying to find someone in Florida to return a call - because they never answer their phones! - was difficult. I even tried contacting an old friend I grew up with who manages properties and even he never called back.

So how did we find a real estate agent who would call us? We went through Dave Ramsey's web site, clicked on his real estate Endorsed Local Provider (ELP) link, and found one in Florida near where we will be moving. In a few minutes we had a name (Steve DuToit) and contact info for our agent and in less than 24 hours we got a call from the agency with a very helpful agent who is assisting us in searching for a rental in the area. Dave comes through for us again! I know they are careful to endorse only great agents which makes me feel good about who we are working with.

It's pretty sad, in a sense, that something as simple as returning a phone call/email/etc. can make such a huge impact but so few do it. I can't tell you the number of churches I've contacted whom I've never heard from again. Several years ago this happened with a large well-known church in the Madison area. We had spent the entire day meeting on site with the search team and the senior pastor (who also gave us a tour of the city). We left with a great impression and were never contacted again - no email or anything to indicate that we had ever been there or been under consideration! Seriously, for churches that are supposed to be caring for people, the way they treat potential candidates is abysmal. I suppose it does give you a clue to the church leadership and culture, though.

In any event, we now have a realtor in the area we can work with and you can bet we'll be in touch in a few years when we're ready to buy another house. How hard would it have been for one of the other agents we tried to contact to reply? They could have had a faithful customer (and a cool write-up on our blog!)

It's a Sunshine Day!

You may already have heard via my Facebook page or the rela-net (relative network), but our house has sold and we will soon be moving to Florida. We're still waiting to lock down details on exactly when we'll be moving - depending on our closing date here and when we can find housing and employment in the Sunshine State - but we'll be back in my hometown of Bradenton by the end of May.

I never thought I would want to move back to Florida, but over the past year or so that has really changed. We were talking with a church in Bradenton recently about a youth ministry position and our whole family was very excited about the prospect. We decided that even if that opportunity did not work out, we all still really wanted to be in Bradenton near my Dad and the rest of my family and many friends who still live there. It'll be a great chance for Jordan and Jonah to get to spend more time with their grandparents on my side of the family whom they have only been able to see once a year or so until now. It may mean that I will be out of vocational ministry for a season, but we really feel like God is leading in this direction. I'll still be actively involved in a local church and be able to volunteer with the youth ministry wherever we end up attending.

Another attraction of living in Florida for us is the great weather. We are all very tired of the snow and cold - it seems like this winter has been worse than most. None of us are into winter sports (other than the occasional broomball game) but we love the water and swimming which we only had the chance to enjoy twice last year. I've lived in the Midwest for over twenty years now and am ready to warm back up!

We'll keep all our friends and family posted with our new address once we know what it will be. Our e-mails will remain the same so you can keep in touch that way, via my blog here, or through Facebook. Plus we'll look forward to having many of you visit and stay with us on vacation! (You can spring for Disney World.)

Jordan's Speech Meet

Jordan competed in speech this year in the category of Great Speeches. He gave Robert F. Kennedy's speech in Indianapolis following Martin Luther King's assassination. The speech included commentary that Jordan had researched about the speech. He did an awesome job, placing 6th in the category. The Pine City Junior High Speech group placed 2nd overall!

Great work, everyone! Here is a picture of the team with their trophy. (You can see Jordan's head in the back row, just to the right of center, above the kid with the baseball cap on.)

A Wonderful - and very funny - Treat

A dear friend of ours surprised our family tonight by having a pizza and breadsticks delivered to our house. (Youth pastors and pizza - you can't go wrong there!) It was a super thoughtful and delightful treat.

The funniest thing happened when I got a call from Pizza Hut asking for directions to my bar. I said, "What? I don't have a bar."

She replied, "We have an order here and I thought they said it was for Rob's Bar."

Busy Weekend

A good friend e-mailed today to ask for an update on Jonah. I was reminded that not everyone who reads my blog also has a Facebook account and keeps up with my personal family stuff. That tends to be the place where I micro-blog about just brief personal items while using this blog for longer, deeper insights, observations and updates.

Nevertheless, here is the update: Jonah is doing well and should have his stitches out on Friday. He came down with the stomach flu on Saturday, followed by Rosalie with a milder but longer-lasting version the next day. Jordan was afflicted, as well, and both boys spent the day at home Monday, but are back to school today. Rosalie is doing better, as well, and I somehow seem to have dodged the bullet this time. So far. I hope.

One other highlight of this past week was Jordan's first speech meet. He is in the Great Speeches category and delivers Robert F. Kennedy's speech in Indianapolis following Martin Luther King's assassination. Part of the speech has to be Jordan's own researched commentary. He did an excellent job - in spite of some nervousness - and received an A- from both judges (he had to devlier it at two different times). I'm very proud - as always. Congratulations, Jordan!

Jonah's first stitches

Jordan was the first in the family to have a broken bone (with his foot due to a football injury last year) but Jonah now claimed first place from his brother for stitches. We has a call yesterday shortly after noon asking us to come get Jonah from school as he had fallen during a floor hockey game in gym and hit his head on a cement ledge, cutting his ear. Two hours and seven stitches later, he was home and beginning the healing process. His convalescence is continuing today after a restless night (he kept wanting to turn over, but can only sleep on one side). He should make a full recovery with only a small scar.

As you can see, Toby is taking good care of him, too!

Just a Quick Little Note

As I predicted in my last blog post (last month/year), things are finally beginning to pick up as far as job postings. It's still very slow and many fewer postings than we will no doubt see later in the spring, but at least there are some potentially compatible churches that I have sent my resume to. Nothing has gone beyond initial contact so far as many have only posted in the past week. A few have graciously responded to let me know they will be looking at resumes by the end of February - which is actually fairly quick for church search committees. I don't expect to have many - if any - interviews before late February, but at least it is encouraging to have some potential contacts.

The long, slow process of ministry placement can be discouraging, especially coming off of a disappointing ministry experience with the church leadership at my last church. But God has a way of keeping us encouraged even when we're feeling down. I received this awesome email from a good friend and former youth group student not too long ago. Here is an excerpt from the email he wrote when he found out about us leaving our last ministry posting:

I am sorry to hear that. I must say that I too share your surprise and sadness.

I will say this, though. Your unyielding trust in God's good and perfect will over the years is truly inspiring. It's the kind of "rubber hits the road" faith that is wonderfully encouraging and admirable. I don't know why God keeps throwing you guys around to this church and that, but your relentless pursuit of Him is a blessing. 

Just know (and you obviously have to already know this, but it bears repeating) that your work in these students' lives has certainly not been in vain. My life and faith in those critical junior/senior high years is due largely to your love and effort to raise up a young man with the truth of the gospel. I cannot thank you guys enough for being the church and giving me such a gift.

*Begin cornball section*

It's like that story about all the starfish being washed up on the shore, and the girl keeps throwing them back in and then the dude comes up to her and is like, "Hey, what the heck are you doing? There's like, a million of these things. You can't possibly think you're making any kind of difference." To which she replied as she tossed another starfish back into the ocean (and you know the ending): "It made a difference to that one." 

Even if you had yielded nothing in your ministry over all these years (which is certainly not the case), just know that I am that "one starfish." Your love, education, time, effort, etc. has made a world of difference to me.

*End cornball session*

I will pray that God sends you exactly where He needs you. And I will pray that exactly where He needs you will be exactly where you want to be. 

Love you guys.

That's the kind of thing that keeps us going in youth ministry in spite of the sometimes daunting challenges. I know how God has worked in the life of this young man and it's a humbling privilege to know He used Rosalie and me to minister to him through the years. It's amazing how much encouragement and blessing can be received from just a quick little note.

So who can you encourage today with a quick little note?

Playing the Waiting Game

I haven't blogged in quite a while (hope someone's still out there reading!) Part of my lack of online presence is the absence of much interesting to blog about, and the other is general busyness around the holiday season, including my new part-time job.

Many have asked about our search for new employment. In the short term I have been continuing to substitute teach in Pine City and Hinckley. I also have a part-time job at Walmart in the electronics department evenings, weekends, and holidays. It makes for long days when I am doing both, but it at least helps us out a bit financially for now. Not a long-term solution or plan by any means, but it puts food on the table.

Ministry searching is especially slow this time of year. The state of the economy doesn't help any, either. From talking recently with other youth pastors who have been unexpectedly "employment-free" it seems that finding new ministry placement is averaging eight to 12 months or longer. We ended up having to start the job search in the exact worst possible time of year. The other thing that factors into this equation is that most churches have a long, extended search process that goes on for several months, so even if I found a church tomorrow that was a good fit for us the process would likely not be finalized until 3 or 4 months down the road at the earliest. So while I am trusting God to provide in His time, I'm not anticipating much happening before spring or early summer (I'm hoping I'm wrong, but we'll see.)

Nothing new on the house sale, either. We're into our third month on the market but yet to have even a showing. Our Realtor says nothing at all in our price range is moving in Pine City right now. I have mixed feelings on this as I don't want to have to move twice and since we don't have any place to go anyway right now it's nice to be able to stay here. Best outcome - it sells right after we have a job offer! We'll see and pray for the best.

Thanks for all the e-mails and encouragement from so many of you! Keep us in your prayer and we'll keep you updated!

Purple Pants Creations now online!

In addition to substitute teaching, my other "part-time job" recently has been helping Rosalie get her home business - Purple Pants Creations - off the ground. She's been sewing like crazy for the past few weeks, getting ready for a big craft show in Hinckley this weekend. One of the things we have wanted to do is to have an online store where people who don't live nearby can purchase some of the hand made doll clothes. Well, it's now available! Check it out at purplepantscreations.ecrater.com. (If you live in or around Pine City, you're welcome to come by to see her entire stock and you can save on shipping!)

There are only a few items on the site so far (it takes a while to photograph everything!) so check back regularly - or use the RSS feed at the bottom of each category page! All the doll clothes fit 18" dolls such as American Girl or Gotz dolls.

Now we're parents of a teenager

Hard to believe, but Jordan turned 13 yesterday! I can't believe we're now parents of an honest-to-goodness teenager! (If only we had some experience dealing with teens...) We had a nice day, celebrating together as a family.

Seems like only yesterday that Jonah turned 12 (although it was only a couple of months ago!) Here's one from his birthday in September:

I'll have to get some more pictures on my Facebook page, too.

Ready to Sell

A friend reminded me that I hadn't updated my blog in a while so I thought I'd better post again lest people stop checking it! (I shouldn't assume other people use a blog reader to get posts as they get updated. It's been a while now since I've done the old "click on a blog bookmark to see if there's anything new." Even if you look at just a couple of news or blog sites every few days, you'll really save yourself a lot of time by using something like Google Reader.)

Our family has been mostly occupied for the past several weeks getting our house ready to sell. Fortunately we have a strong housing market and the economy is great overall. (That was sarcasm, in case you missed it.) We were able to finish off our basement project (combining a former bedroom with another common area to create a nice sized family room) by putting down some new vinyl tile flooring. The basement looks great - as does the rest of the house - and should really help the house to sell (once we get any prospective buyers, that is!) The house is now listed with a local Realtor, so we'll see what happens.

Someone thought we had something lined up already as we were putting our house on the market. Not so - we are just trying to stay ahead of the game as we knew we could not keep payments going without a steady income. Plus there's just not much in this area as far as job opportunities for someone with my skills, traning, and experience, so the odds of us having to move are very high (like 99%!) That's a big frustration as we love Pine City and the boys really like their schools. Plus we have wonderful neighbors and some good friends in the area. (Since it looks like we will have to move, though, we're hoping God will lead us somewhere just a bit warmer! It seems like summer went way too fast again this year!)

Dave Ramsey’s “Common Sense Fix” for our economy

Wouldn't it be nice if common sense were... oh, I don't know... more common?! I'm really tired of the doomsday predictions all over the major media and from too many of our politicians and so-called 'leaders'.

There's a great post on Chris Thomas' blog about Dave Ramsey's ideas regarding the current state of the economy and what should be done. Here's a copy of his post:

Unless you’ve been living under a Wachovia branch for the last couple of weeks, you’ve probably noticed that our country is in the middle of an economic struggle. Congress seems to think that we have two options: 

A) Endure a $700 billion bailout 
B) Go to Hell in a handbasket

Dave Ramsey seems to think there is another option.  He has put together a “Common Sense” alternative to the impending bailout.  The three step plan involves insurance, mark to market accounting rules and the capital gains tax.  It will be easier to implement, a lot less expensive for taxpayers and, in all likelihood, will have a much more positive impact on the markets, both short and long term.

Go check out the plan, and if you agree with Dave, TAKE ACTION!!!

And thank God for Dave Ramsey and his voice of reason…

A Sad Trip

Our family is heading down to Charles City, Iowa, today for visitation for Rosalie's Uncle Elmer, who was also her godfather. He passed away on Friday after a long struggle with cancer. We'll be driving there and back all in one day as we don't want the boys to miss school tomorrow, so we'll miss the funeral Monday, but at least we will be able to be there today for Rosalie's aunt, her mom, and the rest of Elmer's family.

I didn't know Elmer that well, having only seen him sporadically over the past 14 years that I've known her family. He always struck me as a wonderful, soft-spoken gentleman with a twinkle of humor and mischievousness in his eyes. He and Rosalie's dad were great friends and he loved Rosalie as the daughter he never had. He was like a second father to her and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Job Search

Big changes for the Spahr family. I found out this week that the leadership of the church I have been serving no longer feels that my gift-mix and ministry style are a fit for where they want the youth ministry program to go. As a result, I am currently in the job market and looking for other employment.

Thanks for keeping our family in your prayers. If you know of any job openings feel free to drop me a note.

"Guy Talk Girl Talk" at CONNECT

I am so excited to announce the we will be starting a new series in our CONNECT senior high small groups next Wednesday night (September 24) called "Guy Talk Girl Talk". Katie Sommerfeld will be leading the senior high girls which will meet at her house. I will be with the senior high guys which will start out meeting at my place. Each student will receive a special notebook to use for notes, journaling, prayer requests, etc.

All senior high students are invited to attend as we kick off our fall small groups. There is no cost (although we may ask students to volunteer to bring treats from time to time). The groups begin at 7 p.m. and run about an hour and a half.

I think this will be a great series with topics of interest to each person. Here is the description of the series from the Simply Youth Ministries web site (which publishes the curriculum):

We’ve created an extensive 10-week small group curriculum with two paths, each specifically tailored for one gender or the other.

This small group curriculum series will help your students get solid biblical insight on topics ranging from friendships and gossip to peer pressure and sex. Designed to get your students talking about significant and real issues that they face everyday, you’ll see your students begin to open up, share their thoughts and feelings, and witness the formation of deep and lasting friendships.

Guy Topics Include:

• Being a Man
• Self Image
• Relationships
• True Strength
• Girls
• Lust
• Wounds
• Responsibility
• Leading
• God-given Tools

Girl Topics Include:

• Appearance
• Friendships
• Girl Politics
• Gossip
• Image
• Kindness
• Purity
• Sex
• Value
• Worth

Help your students tackle the issues they face as guys and girls in a fallen world.

Ignite Large Groups Move to Sundays

Ignite Student Ministries' large group gatherings for students will be held on Sunday nights this school year. X-Factor for junior high will meet from 6:15 - 7:45 p.m. and 7 for senior high will meet from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Both groups will be held in the multipurpose room/gym at Pine City Elementary School. Our first meeting for the school year will be Sunday, September 14.

One of the challenges of not having our own building is working around the schedules of the facilities you are using. We were not able to secure the use of the school consistently on Wednesday nights, nor were we able to resolve the scheduling challenges of having only one room to use.
This requires us to move our large groups to Sunday nights - which may work out for the best in the long run. It has opened up Wednesday nights for special events (like Fall Kick-Off, on September 17) as well as our CONNECT small group ministry. We'll also have additional time to set up for youth groups which we would not have on Wednesdays.

We will be doing some tweaking of our schedule for our groups, experimenting with a new format. Junior high X-Factor will begin at 6:15 with game time until 6:45. At 6:45 the senior high students will begin arriving for 7 with our worship and challenge time beginning at 7 p.m. for both groups. Junior high will be dismissed at 7:45 and senior high will enjoy their game time until 8:30. The benefit of this format is that we will be able to have both junior and senior high together for worship, with a student worship team drawing from both groups of students. (Because of safety and security precautions, we ask that senior high students not enter the building before 6:45 p.m. They may enter any time between 6:45 and 7:00.)

As always our large groups will have great food, fun, giveaways, worship, and challenges from God's Word. All students are invited to attend (and bring your friends!)

Paintball Challenge

Ignite students are challenging all interested adults at Journey North Church to a day of paintball fun on Saturday, September 20, at Northside Sports Park (formerly Just Paintball) in Hinckley. We'll leave from the church office at 8:00 a.m. and return around 4:00 that afternoon.

Cost for the day is $30 and includes field fees, 500 rounds of paint, air and equipment. (There is no discount if you have your own equipment.) Let us know if you are interested in attending as space is limited. Registration payments can be made to Ignite Student Ministries by Sunday, September 14, to guarantee your spot.

Plan to bring a sack lunch with you. We'll have a cooler for you to put water bottles, soda, etc. in. You will also need a signed release to attend. You can pick up a form from me or click http://www.northsidesports.com/0809Waiver-NSS.pdf  to download your own.

This is a different field than the one we've been to in the past and it is supposed to be spectacular! It should be a great time out together.

Fall Kick Off

Mark your calendars for Wednesday night, September 17, as junior and senior high students and kick off a new school year with a "super" event at Northwestern College. Well enjoy great music, free admission, and prizes, along with special guest speaker Greg Speck. Greg, a youth specialist with Reign Ministries & Royal Servants International, will challenge teens to be a super hero for Jesus Christ. His humor, illustrations and ability to connect with audiences of all ages make him a "super" communicator.

The vans will leave from the church offices at 4:45 p.m. We'll stop for a quick bite to eat for those that haven't had dinner, and we'll enjoy some popcorn on the plaza once we get to Northwestern. We'll get back to the church office about 9:45 p.m.

Sign up early if you would like to attend as space is limited! There is no charge, but you'll need to bring money if you want to buy food at Taco Bell on the way down.

CONNECT after Connect

Students looking to continue to "connect" after this year's Connect - See You at the Pole are in luck: Ignite Student Ministries' small group ministry - also called CONNECT - will be launching for the fall on Wednesday evening, September 24, at 7 p.m. and continuing on Wednesday nights throughout the school year.

We believe that small groups are an integral part of our journey with God. We experience community and grow together as we meet each week to talk about God, His Word, and life. Join us as we 'connect' with God and each other and do life together in our CONNECT small groups.

Watch for more specific details on leaders and locations in the next couple of weeks.

SYATP Shirts

This year we will be offering See You at the Pole shirts that students can purchase to help promote the event beforehand and remember it afterward. Rob and Rosalie have samples of the shirts that you can see. There are some very nice ones this year and it's always helpful to be able to actually see the shirts before ordering them. If you'd like to get an idea of what they look like in advance, just click here.

We aren't using this as a fund raiser. The amount we charge will cover the cost of the shirt and some of the shipping.

You need to place your orders by Sunday, September 14, so that they will arrive in time for you to wear them before the 24th as well as on that day. If you order the same size as the sample (and you are the first or only one with that size) you can pick it up at youth group on the 14th.

See You at the Pole!

With school starting yesterday that means that See You at the Pole is just around the corner. See You at the Pole is a student-led prayer event that started in the early 1990s and has spread around the world. It is held each year on the fourth Wednesday in September. I am so excited as this annual event serves to help students not only start the year with prayer but also to connect with other Christ-followers at school as they gather to pray and worship.

Appropriately enough, this year's theme is "Connect". I can think of few better ways for followers of Jesus to put aside irrelevant differences and connect with God and each other than through prayer.

This year's See You at the Pole will be held on Wednesday morning, September 24, at 7 a.m. at the flagpoles of junior and senior high schools around the world. Student are encouraged to attend for all or part of the event as they are able. The time praying around the pole usually lasts between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on the students themselves. Some years students have brought guitars and led some worship with a couple of songs, but other times the time just consists of students joining together in prayer. Following the event, be sure to look for the Spahr van which will be packed with goodies (donuts, fruit, cookies, juice, etc.). All students who participate are invited to enjoy some snacks, no matter which church they may attend.

Adults are encouraged pray for these students during this time, as well. Those who are able often join in prayer from the parking lots of the schools. (Those wishing to donate some food for the students are welcome to bring it that Wednesday morning or drop it by the church office the day before.)

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.

IGNITE Unwrapped

We had another great time at our midweek large group environments, X-Factor and 7, last night. Taking a cue from Food Network's Unwrapped show, we went 'behind the scenes' with Ignite student ministries, talking about why we do what we do.



Using the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-39) we drew out the five biblical purposes and how we've integrated them into our purpose statement and ministry. Here's our working purpose statement, both the concise and expanded parts:

IGNITE student ministries exists to create environments that challenge students to take the next step toward becoming fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

We seek to help students receive and share God’s GRACE, experience GROWTH in their walk with Christ, connect with others in GROUPS, use their GIFTS in ministry, and practice GOOD STEWARDSHIP of their time and resources as a part of a life of worship.

I love the alliterative use of the 5 G's that Willow Creek developed and that we have adopted to describe the five purposes. Here's how we expanded on these areas in the challenge:

• Grace – receiving God’s forgiveness, making him the leader of my life and sharing the Good News with others; outreach; “Go”


• Growth – discipleship; becoming more like Jesus “Make disciples…”


• Groups – entering into community/fellowship with other Christ-followers; “baptizing”


• Gifts – serving others by using your abilities and spiritual gifts in ministry; “Love your neighbor”


• Good Stewardship – being open-handed with my time and resources as a part of a life of worship;  “Love the Lord your God...”

We also talked about how our midweek environment (7, X-Factor) is just one small part of our larger ministry and meant to be a step that encourages them to explore these purposes in their own lives with the help of our other environments (like small groups!) Our goal is to challenge each person no matter whether they are a Seeker, a Stumbler (brand new Christ-follower, or not living out their faith), or Sold Out to Jesus.



It was a good chance to share with everyone the core of what we want to be about not only on Wednesday nights but throughout our ministry. The vast majority of our students this week ended up being very new to our group, having only started attending within the last few weeks or months (or just this week as we had four first-time visitors!). Many of our long-time Journey North Church students were away on vacation or other summer commitments this week. What might have been just helpful review for them was completely new for those that were there last night. It was great to share the vision of what we want to be and do as a 'church within a church' with kids who are just starting out on the journey of faith.

Nelson's Receipts Help IGNITE Ministry

Just a quick thanks to all of the Journey North Church attenders who so faithfully turn in receipts from Nelson's Market each quarter! The money we get back from Nelson's for these receipts goes to help our Ignite student ministry and we really appreciate the assistance.

One of the things that has driven our ministry from the beginning is that we don't want to be known for always trying to raise money. Sometimes youth ministries fall into the trap of constant fund raising. I've heard it said that some youth groups are better at creating young capitalists than young Christ-followers. Not that there's anything wrong with being a capitalist - it's just not the reason we exist as a ministry.

That doesn't mean we won't ever do a fundraiser, it just means that when we do have a fundraiser it will be very low-key and behind-the-scenes. We want to be known as a youth group (and a church) that is looking for ways to bless and give to the community, not out trying to get stuff.

Our ministry is primarily supported by our church body (through the annual budget) and individual student event registrations. These are supplemented by low-key fundraisers like the Nelson's Community Cash program. When we have events that are more expensive (like Fall Fling, Districts, Nationals, and mission trips) we look for ways to provide students with an opportunity to work and earn extra money for these events.

All of that is to say - keep on saving those receipts and turn them in either to the office or in the "Joy Box" each week at worship. I found out this week that the receipts - which are submitted quarterly - have to come from that particular quarter. In other words, if your receipt is from an earlier quarter it doesn't qualify for the rebate. Their rules are that all receipts must be dated within the calendar quarter that is due (no exceptions). Here's the schedule:

• Receipts saved from January - March must be turned in no later than April 15th
• Receipts saved from April - June must be turned in no later than July 15th.
• Receipts saved from July - September must be turned in no later than October 15th.
• Receipts saved from October - December must be turned in no later than January 15th.

Thanks to Elaine Westman who heads up this effort each quarter. And thanks to all of our church body for all of your support in this small but very helpful area!

Multiple Calendar Issue - Solved?

I was talking with another local youth pastor the other night (hey, Vicki!) and we were discussing scheduling challenges with our youth ministries. We want to schedule things when the maximum number of students can attend, as well as being considerate of family schedules and - especially - school schedules and potential conflicts. Vicki's idea was to create a master calendar with all of the church activities listed along with all of the school activities. It would be something we could use and also share with parents and students.

Thanks to the flexibility of Google Calendar, I think we solved the problem. I spent some time the other day and imported all of Pine City High School's fall sports and music events from their web site into a public Google Calendar. If you've not used Google Calendar before, you'll want to check it out because it's pretty slick. Just do a search of public calendars for Pine City High School, (or click that link) and add it to your list of calendars. Then do the same for Journey North Church to add our calendar. Then you can create your own personal calendar and manage your entire schedule from one place, or print it out to put on your fridge (if you have a color printer each type of calendar event will print in it's own color, making it very easy to figure out what's what).

The bonus is that there are a bunch of great public calendars you can add to your list (I have the Green Bay Packers schedule on mine!) You can toggle the different calendars on and off if you wish, as well.

The only downside is that I will likely not be able to keep the Pine City High School events up to date if there are changes (one of the reasons I've only added fall sports so far - plus I haven't had time yet). For that you'll need to go to their web site. (Maybe I can get them to start using Google Calendar, too!?) Let me know if that's helpful to you, because we could create separate calendars for each sport (if you only wanted to add football, or just tennis, etc.) or for each grade (just 8th grade sports, etc.). It would only take a few minutes but I'm not going to do those if nobody's interested. So drop me a note and tell me what you think.

Into Every Life a Little Rain Must Fall - But the Wind Was Ridiculous!

We had quite the 'little' storm last Friday night. We knew it was coming - with temperatures in the lower 90s all day it was setting the stage for some serious storms. I spend the day sweating in the heat at ValleyFair Amusement Park with our senior high youth group and we headed back a bit early because of the coming storm (and the fact that the heat seriously sapped our energy!)



Within about 20 minutes of arriving back home our power went out and was to stay out until about 1:00 the next afternoon. Then - the wind! Someone told us there was 70 MPH straight-line winds in our area. It was blowing through our back yard and at the house so hard that the rain began bubbling up through the bottom of our sliding glass patio doors. It looked pretty scary for a bit and we grabbed the pets and sat in my windowless basement office for a bit - just in case. When we came out, Jonah looked in the back yard and said, "Where's the trampoline?" Somehow our trampoline was lifted two stories over our house, taking out the (unused) TV antenna, whipping across and down the street where it slaughtered the neighbor's basketball hoop before smashing their SUV. Whoops. (Fortunately we have very understanding neighbors.) Here's what the mangled mess looked like when it was done:

Our other neighbor helped out by climbing on our roof the next day and removing the remains of the antenna and patching up the holes it left. We are so thankful for our wonderful neighbors! Other than the antenna, though, our house was undamaged by the flying trampoline. Unfortunately we can't afford to replace our trampoline right now so our boys are pretty bummed. But the good news is that nobody was hurt!