Thanks

 

Thanks to everybody who helped to make the Gatlinburg trip the best ever!!  I can't wait until next year!

Incredible!!

We had an incredible night tonight!! But to take it all in, we must start at the beginning... This morning, our Bible study was about the rich, young ruler and how it seemed that he had everything he needed to be in God's good graces... And in the world's eyes he did! He was rich, influential, knew Scripture, went to church, and even sought out Jesus. He did everything he thought he was supposed to do, but when it all came down to it, he didn't have the only thing he really needed- and that was Jesus. Our main point was that without Jesus, nothing else makes sense. Jesus is the key that makes God accessible to us.

We then continued our day with a conference in the morning and go-karts in the afternoon (can anyone say whiplash?!) and then we got to tonight.

Tonight, we had a concert with Kari Jobe, needtobreathe, and Casting Crowns with Scott Dawson sharing the gospel. The Spirit moved in hearts across the room, including our own kids!! Tonight, we had five of our kids give their lives to Christ and one repent for sin he had been living in.

Praise the Lord that He answered out prayers and moved in our kids' hearts!!

Great ending to day 2

It's been a long but incredibly productive day. We spent this morning talking about Elijah and Samuel and how God used to speak to people like them out loud, but how He now speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. This is why it's so important to read and study and memorize the Bible, because it is God's words to us.

Then, we went to Gatlinburg on the annual scavenger hunt, where fun (and some shrimp) was had by all.

Finally, we went to the first Strength to Stand conference, where Kristian Stanfill led worship and Ergun Caner delivered a powerful message out of Mark 2- about the importance of Jesus being the center of our worship and the importance of us bringing others to His feet.

Everyone is having a blast here, especially Jalen Cates who has been rumored to have been taking in the mountain scenery by moonlight. Logan Criswell is also having a great time and meeting lots of new, scarily helpful, friends!!

Please continue to pray along with us and ask the Lord to move in the hearts of the kids and leaders who are here with us. See you tomorrow!

I know my sheep. My sheep know me.

We finally made it!! After a long (and sometimes stinky) van ride, all 34 retreaters are warm and happy in our cozy mountain home. The scenery is beautiful here. Think: Lucy first going through the wardrobe and seeing a snow-covered Narnia for the first time; then, add in lots of cabins with the word "bear" in their name, and you'll have a pretty accurate picture of our majestic mountain setting.

Being the honest, hard workers that we are, we jumped straight into our first Bible study tonight (after the obligatory squealing and room dibs ceremony of course!). For our first session, we discussed the difficulty of hearing God's voice amidst all of the noise around us, but that even though that may be the case, Jesus says in John 10:14 (our key verse for the weekend) that His sheep know Him. And earlier in the passage, He says that His sheep know His voice and listen to Him. The question, however, is, "How do we do that? How can we hear and know God's voice?". That's the question we hope to answer this weekend.

Here are some specific things to pray for:

That we would continue to all get along in tight quarters and that no little squabbling would come up along the way.

That we would be able to focus on our small group time together, even though we have so many others things going on that could steal our attention away.

That the kids would take it to heart that the "Key" to understanding what God is saying to us is Jesus. Without the Key, God's message to us will be undecipherable. With the key though, God will speak truth into our lives that we never dreamed.


Thank you for checking in on us and for praying along with us that the Lord would work and move in the hearts of our kids this weekend. We know that if it's going to happen, He'll be the one who has to do it.

Stay tuned! More to come tomorrow!

Getting ready for the mountains

All of this winter weather has made me feel like I am already in the mountains!  What in the world is going on?

Our trip is almost here and with each day that passes I am getting more and more excited about what the Lord is going to do within our group.

Please join in with me this week by praying that all of the kids and leaders who go on the trip will hear from the Lord while we are there.  That is our topic of study-- what it means to hear from the Lord and how we can know His voice amidst all of the noise around us.  Our key passage is John 10:1-21.

Here's hoping that our time with the kids this weekend is much more successful than the Oregon offensive line!

The HUB

Welcome to the Chapel Hill Student Ministry blog!  This is your central location to find out information about our trips and events while we are on them!

The next event coming up: Gatlingburg 2011!!  Make sure to check out the blog while we are in the mountains to see pictures and updates from our time at Strength to Stand!