Caroline's Thoughts

Reveal

2006-11-14T11:52:00.000-08:00

Reveal was the theme of the conference that I went to last week. It was a time that God revealed to me His faithfulness and community. During the week it was also revealed to me that our ministry, like any others, has strengths and weaknesses. Instead of focusing on the weaknesses like so many people do, I am deciding to focus on the positive. Our youth ministry will be a strong force to be recokened with in our community as time goes on. Don't believe me? I can already see changes in our students that are currently attending. On Sundays we meet with the middle school students and high school students in separate areas upstairs and the Spiritual growth and honest from the students is evident. On Wednesday evenings we have people bringing friends to the Zone. Some of the people bringing friends, have never brought a friend before. That's when it is exciting!

Also, we have students participating in the youth choir because they want to minister through music and participate in the whole program of the church for the Christmas program. The students and adults did a great job in serving during the "Pancake Breakfast." The middle school students came out on a Saturday morning to clean the beach and the high school students came out on a Sunday afternoon to feed the homeless in Los Angeles at the Rescue Mission.

God has revealed to me the great things he is doing and will continue to do in our youth ministry at University Christian Church. Coming up in December we will celebrate Christmas with parties and a New Year's Eve, Eve celebration. After Decemeber comes winter camps. Both our groups will be at a camp that is just for their age group. Yes high schoolers, there will be absolutely no middle school students at your winter camp! For the midddle school students you will not have to put up with any high school students at your winter camp!

There is so much more that I could write about, but for the sake of time I just have one question. What is God revealing to you? Have you ever sat down and thought of the good things going on around you that God is revealing everyday? I'm so thankful for the positive and good things that God is revealing to me!

Sunday mornings

2006-09-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

There have been many renovations in our ministries here at UCC. We have renovated our rooms upstairs and renovated our youth worship service into "The Zone" on Wednesday nights. Our newest renovation will be two services on Sunday mornings. This will begin on October 15th. The two services will be at 9am and 11am. The first service will be over by 10:15am. This gave me an idea. Since 9am is too early for teenager to come to church and you are used to coming at 10am, why not use the time in between the two services? We will have a Bible Study for middle school and high school at 10:15am until 10:45am. We will be upstairs and separated. It' s only 30 minutes long.

So, why do we come together on Sunday mornings? Most people would answer to worship God. That is true, but it is incomplete. We come together as a group of people trying to grow in our faith with God as a group. When we try to walk with God all by ourselves, it is more difficult. That's why I believe it is important for students to have a connecting place on Sunday mornings where we can connect with God together. May you find it in your heart to connect with God on Sunday mornings at 10:15 starting October 15th.

Youth Activities

2006-09-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

Last Friday evening the middle school youth went on an excursion to Cerritos California to learn how to roller skate. It was a great evening of fun, laughs and even some cool ice cream. One of the best things about this event that was different from all the others is that none of our youth budget was used. You see, the students payed for the entire event. That is a practice that needs to continue. On Saturday September 23, 2006 the high school ministry will be going to Magic Mountain in Ventura. We will meet at the church at 10:00am and we will return to the church at 10:00pm. We need to have the same outcome as the middle school ministry. We need students who are going to sign-up on Wednesday night at the Zone and give us a $15.00 deposit. The total cost is $35.00. On Saturday all we will need to collect is the rest of the total cost which will be $25.00.

So why are we doing this? It is crucial that we are good stewards with God's money. When we go to camps the camp must have a deposit or the full amount. The camp does not give us any money back for students who choose to stay home and go somewhere else. We need to know what kind of transportation to take on events. Renting vehicles to go to monthly activities can be costly especially when there are not enough students to fill the van. So, here is my plea. I plead with all of the students and their parents in our youth ministry to be good stewards with our youth budget. When we have activities, please sign-up and leave the designated deposit. Also, if you want to bring friends, do the same for them. This will help in the future with camps and retreats and other activities because we will have money in our budget to use for camps, retreats and other activities. So, the reason for doing this will not only please God as we are being better stewards with his money, but will also benefit our youth ministry as a whole.

Back To School

2006-09-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

Summer is over and it's a brand new year at school. Football games, pep rallies, homecoming, proms, homework, teachers, and many other things that you are used to start all over in the fall. One thing that I am passionate about is young people coming to Christ and growing in their faith. Even though education is very important (Hey, I want to get a doctorate degree, so I'm not bashing education!) our spiritual lives are the ones that will last forever. It is vital that you grow in your faith in the school year. It is equally vital that you represent Christ on your campus. That is hard and can only be done when you are always growing in your faith. We have a ministry on Wednesday evenings that can help you achieve that.

The opening of "The Zone" was awsome! We have a praise team from our youth ministry for the first time ever in our church! Not only do we have a praise team, we have one that is excellent! We will create the atmosphere every week to emphasize the theme. Come check us out! We meet from 7-8:15pm. See it as a study break. It's one that will be well worth it.

Have a school year that is one that you will grow Spiritually as well as in education.

The Zone

2006-09-01T11:53:00.001-07:00

The Zone opens this Wednesday September 6th. What is the Zone? A place that represents God's space. The Zone will have high-energy and an interactive experience for middle school and high school students. It is where we will all have the opportunity to experience God. It is my prayer that you will all join us in this adventure.

We will start at 7:00pm in the fellowship hall. After a time of worship we will divide the middle school students to upstairs to the room marked "The Zone--middle school." The high school students will remain in the fellowship hall to continue the experience there. We will end at 8:15pm.

I want you to come and discover what this is all about. Bring friends who also need to experience God in an atmosphere created for middle school and high school students. Don't miss out on this great experience. Come and experience "The Zone."

MEGA Week

2006-08-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Mega Week is August 21-25
Mon.-Thurs. 8:30am-6pm
Friday 8:30am-8:30pm

Cost: $75.00

This is for middle school students (Those entering 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grades in the fall of 2006)

Our mornings are filled with crazy games, worship time, Bible studies and interactive games. We eat lunch here at the church Mon.-Thurs. and leave for our places at 12:30pm.

Mon. Mulligan's in Torrance
Tues. L.A. Zoo
Wed. Pacific Pier and feeding the homeless
Thurs. Bowling & Arcade
Frid. Wild Rivers in Irvine

Friends are welcome to come if they are middle school students

CIY (High school summer camp)

2006-07-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

CIY (Christ in Youth) was an amazing week of students in our youth ministry worshipping God and enjoying life. It wasn't as hot in San Luis Obispo as it was here in Los Angeles, in fact it even snowed one night during worship. I want to encourage all of our students to make every effort to attend next year. It will be about the same week so if you can stay out of summer school! One day was totally focused on unity. It made me think. That a church or youth ministry that is united is a growing ministry or church. Paul writes in Corinthians that the body has many members and that all of the members are to work together as one. So my prayer is that our youth ministry begins to be united and loving as a family. Sure there are people in your family that drive you crazy. That's what makes a family so great. No matter what you still love them. One thing our family needs to do is to grow. We don't want our family to become extinct. With unity we will see growth.

My first post--always learning

2006-07-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have been in youth ministry for 16 years and a year ago finished a Master's degree in Christian Education with an emphasis in youth ministry. With all of that I still am learning all the time. I'm learning that I know nothing. It's very humbling. If I knew everything, then I would be perfect and that I am not. So here is my point, continue to learn. It makes life much more interesting. Today I learned that people really do see everything we do. What is it that you have learned?