A Year in Rewind...

The other night while watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons (a total waste of my time)--you know the movie where Brad Pitt lives life in a backwards fashion--in Rewind, I couldn't help but think of this past year in ministry at Crossroads. Let me take a few minutes and replay a little of last years highlights for ya:
Here the is gang at our mid-week large group environment called XTREME. It is pretty Xtreme but worth every amount of effort we put in to it. In a world where everyone is 'bailing out' on students, I am making it my goal that our leadership does whatever we have to do to ensure that we love students, that we care for every student we come into contact with and that we point them to Christ!

*The highlight for me this year at Xtreme--We baptized of 35 students!!!

Here is the class of 2009. These 8th graders (rising 9th graders) are the BEST!!! This group really embraced my family and I this year and made the transition for us very special. They were wonderful and I began to get emotional about losing them to high school very early on in the year. To the class of 2009, you made everyday with you guys a highlight. I love you and am still watching you!!!

WE just got back from our own summer camp just two weeks ago. Here we are with 160 of our MS & HS students. This was a great week just kicking it in Birmingham, AL learning about God and how to live out our faith.

As I end this post about the year in rewind, let me insert a portion of a letter that I wrote to all of my MS leaders:

WINS to CELEBRATE for the 2008-2009 Ministry Year:
Over 35 students baptized

Averaged 240+ at Xtreme on Wednesday nights

233 Students were enrolled into an XLR8 (Discipleship)group on Sunday Mornings

Over 75 students were in an identifiable serving role

In addition to looking at the past and rejoicing over it, here are some thoughts to keep you motivated about loving on and ministering to Middle School students in the future:

*Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania Ministries says that what a student believes by the time that they are thirteen will most likely be what they die believing. The reality for us is that if we want to impact what a student believes—which will determine what they do—we need to do all we can to minister to them while they are in the student ministry.

*Tonight, I just got back from the 8th grade dance at Lee Middle School and while I had a good time hanging out with students, it was also a great reminder of how much work there is still to be done as far as ministering to students is concerned. As I was leaving the dance, Joe Harrell mentioned that he saw just how strong the enemy’s grip is on our middle schoolers. The music they listened to, the way they dance (I guess you could call what they were doing dancing), they way the dressed, they way they acted, were all reminders that the enemy is working overtime to keep our students from knowing God and His best for their life. If the enemy is working overtime, may we become even more passionate about doing all that we can to ensure that we win every student for Christ!

There is not enough ways to say thank you for all that you have done for this ministry. I really love you all and I am so thankful for you. Please enjoy your summer and I hope you get to take a nap sometime soon—you deserve it!!!