Lots of changes going on...

Holy cow the days are starting to blend together. Our youth ministry is about to kick into high gear and I am extremely busy. The next 3 weekends will be really busy for me. We have a workday this Saturday, which will probably start on Friday because we have a ton to do. Then Aug 10/11th we have our Worlds of Fun Rally with a concert by Jonah 33 and then Aug 17th is our Back to School Bash with a concert by Sidewalk Prophets. On top of that we are in the process or starting up some new programming. Very busy indeed.

One major thing we have just overcome is naming our youth group. Before I even got here that was my #1 priority. We held a contest for students/adults to submit logos and names for what they thought the group should be. We had 4 entries. The name that was chosen was Flite Ministries (Fellowship, Leadership, Involvement thru Evangelism) and the logo is what you see here. I think it looks great and have already started integrating it into our ministry. Now comes the fun part of getting all our marketing together with the new logo.

I am constantly amazed out how God works in our lives. I know for a fact that He moved us to KC. I am glad that He did, but there are times when I don't feel that what I am doing is really worth the compliments that I get (even though I am not the one who should take credit). I just feel that there are times when I don't put my best into a lesson, event, or anything else in my ministry, but He overcomes that and makes into something special. I am just amazed...

Weekend Wrap-up 07/29/2007

Sunday 07/29/2007

Attendance: Average (for the summer)
Lesson Topic: Safe at Home Plate?: 2 Samuel 12:1-7a
Fun Factor: Above Average
Volunteer Involvement: Average
Music: Below Average (1 song)
Lesson Quality: Above Average
Length of Lesson: 30 minutes
Student Response: Above Average

Tonights youth group was interesting. I think that everything went very well. We are continuing the Join the Story series. I think I am going to end it next week and start something new on Aug 19th. We talked about David and his sin with Bathsheba. We looked at the 10 Commandments and talked how most of us have broken them and how some people see certain sins worse than others. Sin has a way of creeping into your life and getting worse as we get used to it. And when we are "caught" in sin, we tend to try to lie or cover up our sin like David did. But in the end we always get "caught" either by our parents, friends, or bosses but always by God. He knows our sins and our hearts. In Psalm 51 David wrote to God to forgive him for what he had done.

Even though it isn't always easy, when we sin we must confess and accept repentance from God and then make restitution with those we may have sinned against. The example we used was to cover-up for a friend, being asked to lie to a parent or friend to help a friend stay out of trouble. As noble as it might seem, lying for someone else only diminishes our own testimony with that person. David was confronted by Nathan and even though it wasn't easy, Nathan delivered the message of God to David. David took his punishment (as severe as it was) and looked to God for repentance.

Everyone sins. We are all sinners but Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin and that allows us to go to God for repentance and to be forgiven. He knows our every thought and deed. What sin in your life haunts you? What is it that you do that keeps you away from God? God is waiting to forgive you, all you have to do is ask.

Weekend Wrap-up 07/22/2007

Sunday 07/22/2007

Attendance: Average
Lesson Topic: Are You Dog Loyal?: Ruth 1:16-18, Ruth 3:10-13
Fun Factor: Above Average
Volunteer Involvement: Above Average
Music: Below Average
Lesson Quality: Above Average
Length of Lesson: 35 minutes
Student Response: Average

We got back on track tonight with our worship service. We cancelled
last week because I wasn't feeling good. I hate changing our service
because it seems to throw off the students. The bad thing is that the
next two weeks are going to be off with me being out of town next
week and the Platte Woods Church at the Y on Aug 5th. I am praying
that things continue to go well. Tonight we were off because we
didn't have our gym time before service because there was a banquet
going on. Some kids grumbled but overall it was good.

Tonight's service was good. We had a great PowerPoint game that the
kids loved. The song was good and I think the lesson went off well.
We talked about Ruth and her relationship with Boaz and Naomi. That
story gives us a great example of loyalty and love. The examples of
how relationships should be. Dealing with our relationships without
our own agenda and doing what we promise to do, can make all our
relationships much easier to handle. Our students spend to much time
dealing with relationships with parents, friends and
boyfriend/girlfriends rather than worrying about our relationship with
God. Society shows us relationships are about what we can get out it,
rather than what we can put into it. God has given us great capacity
of relationships with Him and others but we often twist it for our own
gain.

--
Roy E. Probus Jr
Youth Pastor @ Platte Woods Church
Cell: 816.522.2946
Blog: http://soulshaper.blogspot.com

I hate painting...

I spent most of the day painting. I really hate painting. Last week I spent Saturday painting with my Jr. High. Today I spent the day painting with my wife. We painted my office at church. It went from being a ugly light tan, to a very bright blue and yellow. I will post pictures later but I think it came out looking nice. We kind of made some lines in the wall, so they just aren't painted a single color. I wasn't sure how it would come out, but it came out very nice and very bright. I will be interested to see the reactions come Sunday and Monday.

Our church right now is in a very interesting spot. We are in the process of becoming a "Fruitful Congregation". This is based off a book written by the Biship of the Missouri Conference. The book talks about 5 way to become a more fruitful congregation. Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-taking Mission & Service and Extravagant Generosity are what he describes as things churches need to do to become more fruitful. Our pastor is really wanting us to make changes within these areas. I am excited about it and really hoping that our church takes it seriously and we can get some things done. I believe our biggest issue is in the form of radical hospitality. We are a large church, so it is much easier for people to get lost in our crowd. We have over 800 in worship each week, in 4 difference services over two days, so it is hard to know really when someone comes or not.

I know there are some things we can change. For our youth group, it is the changing of rooms and painting them with nice, bright colors. The students who have helped paint, love the look and are glad for the changes. Next week we will be doing even more painting as we take over another room and move our classes. Over the next couple months we will be making even more changes. I am praying they are for the good. I am excited about being here, but I still hate painting....

I missed a major milestone...

I went to start blogging today and realize that I had missed a big blogging milestone. I have blogged over 100 times. This is my 101st blog. I am excited.

I am still amazed that some people continue reading my blog and I do my best to make the information more than just personal issues. Over the next few months I will begin to dive deeper into faith and spiritual growth issues. God is really pushing me deeper than what I am currently at. I know that my students will only go as deep as I am, so I must "stay ahead of the curve" so to speak.

So tell me what your favorite post was of the last 100? I am interested to see what people like or don't like. If there are any questions that you want to ask, please let me know and I can do as much as I can...