We unveiled our new name as a student ministry last night! The students were excited about the meaning and direction of “Refuge!”

Here is a snapshot of our vision!

“On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.” Psalm 62:7

Refuge means…a safe place, act of turning to for assistance or security, a shelter from danger or hardship

The Refuge mission is to…Lead students into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ

Our Strategy:

1. Believe – Students surrendering their lives to Jesus alone for salvation (Love God)

Environment of…

- Gospel – Students learning how to live and share the gospel
- Love – Motivated by God’s love to SHOW love to everyone

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.”

2. Belong – Students finding community and encouragement through Christ-like relationships. (Love Each Other)

Environment of…

- Acceptance – Every student is be accepted
- Hope – Relationships built on hope

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

“I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  Psalm 91:2

3. Become – Students becoming like Christ through serving (Serve the World)

Environment of…

- Leaders – Students leading students to find refuge in God
- Obedience – Students obeying God’s authority

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Three questions to continually ask:

1. Have you SURRENDERED your life to Christ?
2. Are you building Christ-like RELATIONSHIPS with others?
3. What are you doing to become like Christ through serving?

“God is more passionate about our holiness than our happiness.”  This quote has impacted me to the core. The challenge for me everyday is to wake up and stay focused on surrender. Surrender is not a popular term. Rarely people say, “Oh, I can’t wait to surrender!” When a believer is surrendered in their hearts, they will have the freedom that God gives to impact the world with the gospel.

God is more passionate about our character than our comfort. We live in an “I deserve” culture. We believe that we deserve comfort and success. Only by God’s grace and mercy are we able to take our next breath. God does bless us, but that blessing should always be reflected back to Him for His glory. In order for our character to change – sometimes He allows us to go through some pretty tough times. It is tough times that build character.

The true happiness that comes is the deep satisfaction of serving God not because we have to, but because we want too. Real life comes when we die to ourselves and let God use us completely.

I’m pumped about heading to WIRED Camp this next week! I believe that God will do amazing miracles in the community. We are going to surrender and pour out God’s love and service to the area. Please pray for the students and the rest of the surrounding churches for God to use us in a mighty way. This is the first time that I’ve seen over 30 churches come together to serve the community. We are all on the same team!

Are you surrendered? Are you freed up to serve and reach others with Christ?

As you can tell (if you actually read my blog) I haven’t been updating lately. We are finally settled here at First Baptist Church Ashford. God has blessed me and Cassidy with a loving and supportive church family and staff. July is going to be an fun but busy month with two camps and VBS.

We are going to serve at WIRED camp located in Dothan, Alabama. It will be an exciting week of over 30 churches coming together to invest and minister to the community through various mission projects. It will be a blessing to serve with the students and be the hands and feet of Jesus.

We are going to BigStuf Camp the last week of July. I’ve never been to this camp but look forward to building unity in the youth group.

God has been revealing to me that students are ready to serve! I’ve been reminded lately of the need for leaders to invest in their lives and equip them to use their gifts to serve the Lord. We are building a team of students to lead in all aspects of the student ministry. One of my goals of ministry is to lead students to minister to students, not just make it all about myself or the adults.

Our vision is “to move from a youth group to a youth ministry.”

A verse that has kept me focused on this vision:

“For the son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.” Luke 19:10

What vision has God given you? What is your student ministries vision?

As technology progresses and the culture become increasingly mobile, we must stay current in knowing what students are facing. Students are facing temptations today more than ever.

Jim Burns (a respected youth worker) addresses some of the temptations students will face…on their cell phones.

I encourage parents to watch this video and have open communication with their students about the issue of purity.

Watch the video here

What are your thoughts?