What we're reading in September

This summer, Isle of Hope started a new young adult small group. About 10-15 people ages 20-30 meet on the porch in the Greenhouse for food, fellowship, and a book/bible study. We recently just finished 1 & 2 Peter, however Mackay and I didn't make it until the end due to summer activities and such.

We both started attending a few weeks ago though and last week started the boo Forgotten God. I'm particularly excited about this book because I have a deep love for the truth Francis Chan speaks into my life. I've read Forgotten God before, but am looking forward to studying it with others so that we can hold each other accountable. This book is about the Holy Spirit and how it tends to be ignored amongst the other members of the trinity. Chan talks about how it's a vital part of our faith and how we so often talk of God or Jesus, yet the HS gets neglected. This book will guide us in understanding, embracing, and following the Holy Spirit. If you haven't read it, we suggest you check it out!

What we're listening to in September

Tuesday was a great day for music! Several new albums have come out (and are coming out) in the next few weeks. Makes me grateful for Spotify :) don't have Spotify? Ask for an invite! We have a couple left. Here's what we're trying out this week:

Ben Rector, Something Like This

Gungor, Ghosts Upon the Earth

Matt Maher, The Love in Between

And of course...

My personal all time favorite

Needtobreathe, The Reckoning

Check this stuff out!

October Article: Small Group Ministry

If you’ve talked to Mackay or I about what’s going on in our student ministries program, you may have heard us mention our new vision for our small group ministry. Small groups will be starting up this month and will be available to any student, grades 8th - 12th. They will be divided by gender and have around 8-10 students and two adult leaders. The groups will meet every other week on a day decided by the leaders, at a location of their choice. The location will also be decided by the group; some may meet in homes, at coffee shops, or at the Greenhouse. While small groups have always existed within our church, we are putting a strong focus on it for our students. James 5:16 says; “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Scripture calls us to come together and help one another grow. We feel that it’s so important to emphasis discipleship at this age and establish accountability.

Students that take part in these groups will develop lasting relationships that are centered around Jesus. The groups will be meeting together and talking about their week, sharing the things they are going through, studying a book or certain scriptures, and praying together. Our hope is that small groups will last throughout their four years of high school, and even continue on after. A group may be involved in the process of praying about which college to attend, as well as finding a church or ministry to be apart of once they head off to that same college. It’s so important to have that accountability, and there’s no better place to find it then amongst your friends at church.

While all aspects of student ministry are important, small groups are extremely meaningful to me personally. My small group has helped me in so many ways, by praying through many major decisions, as well as really helping me to grow in my personal walk with God. There are around about six girls in my small group and I have seen an amazing amount of growth come from it. One of the girls that is a part of my group was diagnosed two years ago with a brain tumor. She had experienced health issues since we were younger, and so I encouraged her to come meet with us on Friday mornings. We have laid hands and prayed over her as she has prepared to go to important doctors appointments, as well as created a community to take care of her on days where she felt to sick to do it on her own. While her physical health goes through ups and downs, her spiritual health remains strong. I am proud to say that our small group will be assisting her in planning her wedding, and we will all be their to support her in prayer throughout her marriage.

We also have a small group of high school guys that have been meeting over the past few months. The group organically formed and went from a few guys just getting together to talk, to gaining a strong desire to grow spiritually. These relationships are continuing to build and are forming the way these guys live their lives. When it comes to our faith, we were not meant to do this on our own, and small group ministry really caters to that idea.

I’ve learned that in order to pour into others, it’s so important to be filled as well, and that’s what we want these small groups to be: a way to be filled. If you have a student that you want to be involved in our small group ministry, please give Mackay or myself a call or send us an email. And while we want everyone to have a chance to benefit from this ministry, we will need to keep recruiting small group leaders in order to grow. If this is something God has put on your heart and you have prayed about it, we would love to talk more with you. There are also small groups that meet for adults within the church. Our hope is that you will be inspired to find a group to be a part of. 

Sunday School

Mackay and I tried to find videos this summer that went along with what we were learning in Sunday School. We decided to take a new approach to this now that we have new curriculum. If you are not aware, we are using a curriculum called Live from Simply Youth Ministry. Every week we take a look at what we will be learning and write out a skit of some sorts and record it. This week, our video will be done by one of our very own youth, Jake Hale. Jake is a sophomore at Savannah Arts Academy and will be producing ad videos, Sunday School videos, and bumpers for youth group. Hope you enjoy what we have so far.

Week One

Week Two

Stay tuned for more!

What we're listening to this summer

Our two KFC trips this summer were River of Life and Lake Junaluska. Things that you should know: ilovemusic. So when students kept asking what songs we did in worship on those two trips, I decided to just go ahead and make a playlist. If you have spotify (and very few of you do) you can subscribe to a playlist from River of Life. It has all of the songs that were played in worship, whether on a video or by the band. For those of you who cannot see this playlist, here's what's on it:

1. He Was There - David Crowder Band

2. I Will Follow - Chris Tomlin

3. Like a Lion - David Crowder Band

4. Can You Feel It - David Crowder Band

5. Make Your Move - Third Day

6. SMS [Shine] - David Crowder Band

7. God of This City - Bluetree

8. River - Bluetree

9. Everlasting God - Chris Tomlin

10. How He Loves - David Crowder Band

11. Christ is Risen - Matt Maher

For those that went on Lake Junaluska and want to know what we did in worship: 

1. The Stand - Hillsong United

2. Mighty to Save - Hillsong United

3. I Will Follow - Chris Tomlin

4. You Alone Can Rescue - Matt Redman

5. Revelation Song - Kari Jobe

6. How He Loves - David Crowder Band

7. Everlasting God - Chris Tomlin

8. Our God - Chris Tomlin

Hope you guys keep listening to great music! Let us know what you're listening to :)

Get Ready for Blend!

What does it take to be "rooted"?

This morning I started doing a personal bible study on the book of Colossians. I have always said that this is one of my favorite books, but wanted to make sure that I studied the mess out of it before I committed to that. So in the first chapter, it talks about (in verse 6) bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives. It also talks about producing good fruit. LOTS of fruit actually.

One of the partner passages to look up for further reading was the Parable of the Sower. If you're not familiar with it, Jesus talks about the farmer who is scattering seeds when some fell on or around soil that would eventually not help them grow. Some fell in places where they would whither up and die because they were not rooted.

Mackay and I have been talking a lot about wanting the youth to be "rooted", and t he more I thought about it, the more I thought about those who fall away from their faith and those who truly stick with it...those that are rooted. Then I began to think about what it takes to be rooted. Is it reading your bible every once in a while? Or going to church and sunday school? How do you end up in good soil and able to produce good crop?

First, I think it is important to find some time to do some sort of study on your own. As Christians, we love to talk about our Quiet Time. It's that golden 15 minutes that strengthens our faith. 15 minutes: that's 1/2 of any given TV show, 1/8 of the time you spend on social networking sites, 1/28 of the time you spend at school (on an average day)...let's face it, 15 minutes is nothing! But it's everything at the same time. It's that time that will get you to sit down, uninterrupted and READ your bible, sit in silence, talk to God...anything.

Next, I think it's important to have accountability. Your faith is your own, but if you try to do this on your own, you won't succeed. There are so many distractions, so many things to pull you away from your faith. What you need is a friend to talk about it with. To share struggles and thoughts. Some find with one friend, others find it in several. In the Fall, we will start having small groups for different grades. We want you to be a part of them so that you can be rooted.

This brings me to the next part of "being rooted". I believe that it's important to surround yourself with good people: people you can relate to, people who uplift you, and most importantly - people who support you in your faith. You want to be around people who bear fruit. If you surround yourself by people who do not have these characteristics, chances are, you will become just like them.

These things are important, but that's not all it takes. Going to church (being involved in that community of believers), taking part in different ministries, and going to Sunday School are important. They set the foundation for your faith, which is so important. But when you get older and head off to college, those things may not stick. Getting rooted now is important and our hope is to teach one another how to do that.