"It" by Craig Groeschel

I just finished reading the book called "It" and loved it. It is written by Craig Groeschel the pastor of Lifechurch.tv one of the top 5 largest churches in America. If your in ministry at all this would be a great book to read. His insight on churches and the need for God's hand and how to get "it" is inspiring and exciting. I'm going to go through it with my youth staff over the next couple of months I would encourage you to do the same. You'll love "It".

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from my family. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends. I pray that God will bless you mightily this Christmas season.

A Challenge to Student Pastors in 2010

If you're a Student Pastor please check out Dr. Alvin Reid's post on his website www.alvinreid.com. It's a great challenge for this next year. How awesome it would be if we all took it seriously. Take a look.

100 in 100

Our Pastor recently challenged our church to begin praying for 100 salvations in our church in the first 100 days of 2010. What an awesome vision and how exciting to be a part of a church with such a vision and heart to reach the lost. Please pray that we can reach that goal. What an amazing impact it will be for the Kingdom of God.

LifeGroup Leaders

We had our Annual Christmas Party with our Lifegroup leaders this past week. This is the best group of volunteers I have ever had the priviledge to work with. Thanks you to all your hard work and your faithfulness.

I am Second

I just added this video above to my Video Bar. It's called "I am Second". It stars Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy holding nothing back about their faith in Christ. It's been so awesome over the past couple years seeing these 2 guys as well as Tim Tebow being so outspoken about their faith in Christ. They are such great role models and are making a huge impact for Christ. I love it.

Heaven or Hell??

Today I went to visit a man in the hospital who may not make it through the week. I went to pray for him but most importantly I went to see where he was spiritually. I asked about his spiritual beliefs and if he had a relationship with Christ. Then I asked if he died did he think he would go to heaven? His response was "Yes I hope so". I said "don't you want to know for sure?". It's always surprising to me that many people will leave their eternity up for chance. Even when they are days away from death, all they cling to is a hope that they will go to Heaven.

It's not about being a good person, it's not about going to church a certain number of times, there's only one way and that's through Jesus Christ. It's through repentance, faith, belief, and the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. What about you would you go to heaven if you died tonight? Do you hope Heaven, or do you know for sure. I would love to talk with you if you have any doubts, give me a call.

First Words

This morning my daughter woke up earlier than usual, perhaps she's still not used to the timechange. When she wakes up early, it makes it a little more difficult for me to get ready, have my quiet time, and eat breakfast while trying to take care of her as well. So today instead of reading my Bible, writing, and praying in peace, she was climbing all over me, messing with the pages and disrupting my time with God. It was pretty frustrating for sure. Then she pointed to my Bible and I asked her "Can you say Bible?" after a couple of practices she eventually said "Ba-Ble" This was her 5th word now after Dadda, Momma, Hi, and Ball and it was by far the most exciting for sure. I then asked her if she could say "Eschatology" but that didn't work quite as well. Maybe she'll get that one in Grad School.

It was a great reminder to me this morning of how important it is to teach our children about God and how exciting it is to see them grasp something that means so much. Honestly her saying "Bible" was more exciting than her saying Dadda, because of how much my heart longs for her to have a love for God's word. May we never grow tired of begging God to do a great work in the lives of our children. Hopefully now I won't be irritated when my time with God is disrupted but I will be intentional about helping my daughter see how Awesome and Amazing our Lord is.

Doing Ministry with No Money

If you're a Youth Pastor, Pastor, or work in any church position have you dealt with a budget cut, spending freeze, staff layoff, salary cut or loss of your entire ministry budget? If you have, you are not alone. Over the past couple of years churches all across America have had to make hard choices when it comes to finances. It's been tough for everyone, but this doesn't mean we should stop doing ministry.

In Acts 3 Peter and John are approached by a beggar needing help. I love how Peter says "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ."

We have to remember that we have something greater than money to give to People and we don't have to have money to reach people. The early church didn't have a lot rescources but they reached people for Christ like crazy because of their passion, faithfulness, and zeal. We have to remain passionate and get back to the basics of reaching people.

So lets stop making excuses like "well if I had a bigger budget we could reach more people." or "well if I had a better building I could reach more people." We just have to start reaching people for Christ, we are running out of time and the consequences are eternal. Praise God for what we do have and lets make a difference.

A few tips for tight budgets:
1. More is not always better. Plan fewer events for the year but focus on making them better. Sometimes youth ministries try to do stuff non-stop and then have low quality events. You'll save money and have better quality events when you don't do as much.
2. Be the Speaker at Events. One of the most expensive things about ministry can be bringing in a guest speaker or band. Save money by doing the speaking yourself and get a local band.
3. This may be the time to bring things closer to home. Don't go so far for camp or a mission trip this year, there is plenty to be done right where your are.
4. Don't waste money, really think through and pray through what you're spending money on. Make sure it's spent to make an eternal impact.

Just Read

I just finished reading Francis Chan's new book Forgotten God. I highly recommend it. He hits on the fact that so often we depend on our own strength in life, in worship gatherings, and in Churches as opposed to the Holy Spirit. Great book!!

Next Sherwood Movie

Sherwood Baptist Church of Albany, Georgia has created 3 outstanding Christian movies over the past few years that have made a huge impact on the Big Screens. The creators of Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and Fireproof are getting ready to announce their next big title and basic storyline. The announcement is set to come on Nov. 15th. Be in prayer that this next movie will make an even greater impact and to find out more information take a look at www.thenextsherwoodmovie.com

2010 FL Baptist Convention at FBC Brandon

The Florida Baptist Convention will be hosted here at First Baptist Church of Brandon next year. The exact date will be November 7-10, 2010. We're very excited about hosting this outstanding Convention and look forward to all that God will do during that week.

The Power of Your Students!!

Twice a year we do a big push to get students to invite their friends to our Wednesday Night Program. Last night was our Collide event and it was a huge success. We had over 300 students attend and we had 11 decisions for Christ. God moved in such a powerful way. Today I was just going through the program looking at ways to improve and looking at why it was so successful. I think the first key to the success was obviously God's hand in it but secondly was our students. About a month ago I brought our Student Leaders together and asked them to come on board to support this and push this with me. It's one thing when I invite people but the power of peers inviting peers is incredible. They got excited about it and it took off from there. The success was theirs.

In Student Ministry the most powerful tool that you have is your students. It's not a Student Pastor's speaking ability, a cool band, pizza, or giveaways, it's allowing God to move through your students and them catching the vision and realizing the need to see their friends come to know Christ. Thank you to all my amazing Students, I'm so blessed to be your Student Pastor and so proud of your love for the Lord and others.

Ross Henderson

I'm very excited to announce that Ross Henderson will be coming onto our Youth Staff this week. Ross will oversee our Middle School Students. Ross is an awesome guy that loves the Lord and has a heart to reach Middle Schoolers. He's coming from Eagle's Landing Baptist Church in New Port Richey. Please keep Ross in your prayers as he makes this transition.

Collide

Students in the Brandon area mark your calendars for Collide. Come for free food, Ipod giveaway, Half Court Shot Prize of $200, Brandon High School Dance Team, Peavyhouse Band, Blind Makeovers, and much more. Oct. 7th in the MAC/Loft. Bring a friend.

New Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts

I first saw this on Brian Mills' website www.brianmills247.blogspot.com and couldn't believe it. I thought I would add it here to let more people know. These are new shirts coming out soon by Abercrombie & Fitch. Their target age group is High School and College students. Check out this article here http://www.afa.net/Petitions/Issuedetail.asp?id=358 and you'll find out more about it and see what you can do to make a stand against this.

Don't Text

Texting during Church services, small groups, and Wednesday night activities can become one of the biggest distractions. It's now become second nature to answer a text whether you're a teenager or adult no matter where you are. We've almost become slaves to our phones. We decided to make a video to try to encourage students not to text during services or else there would be consequences. Check it out.

Racism in Churches

I just finished reading the new book You Were Made For More by Jim Cymbala. Out of the entire book this one quote stood out to me more than anything:

"I am convinced that one of the main obstacles to spiritual revival in this country, is racial prejudice in churches."

Could it be that we aren't seeing revivals and awakenings like we have in the past because 11 a.m. on Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the entire week? What a shame that we will spend an eternity worshipping together in heaven but we can't seem to get it right here on earth. How long will it take until racism in America disappears but more importantly how long will it take for racism in our churches to end?

How awful that we may miss out on an unbelievable movement of God because we can't get over our differences in color.

Jeff Hessinger Blog

Jeff Hessinger is a good friend of mine. He is a great leader and has a heart to reach people. He has just started a new blog. Be sure and check it out for great links and information about ministry. Check it out at www.jeffhessinger.com

Interesting but Sad Statistics on Family and God

Families today tend to talk about everything but God in the home. Families talk about the weather, sports, school, extracurricular activities, and relationships, but rarely talk about their walks with Christ. Here are some interesting but sad stats discovered by Richard Ross in his book Parenting with a Kingdom Purpose. Great book to read.

-Only 10% of Church families discusses it's faith with any degree of regularity in their home.
-43% of church families never discuss there faith at home.
- 64% of church families rarely or never have devotions or worship as a family
- Only 9% reported having family devotions of any regularity at home.

Good news:
"Religious practices in the home virtually double the probability of a congregation's youth entering into the life and mission of Christ's church."

So much of a teenager's spiritual walk is dependant upon what he or she is learning at home. Parents it's so important to lead out in making your home an environment of worship, love, and discussion of the Lord.

The Power of Prayer

James 5:16 says "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

I love this verse because of it's promise that the prayer of a righteous man is Powerful and Effective. I fear that we don't really believe this much anymore. Prayer is hard because it takes time, focus, energy, and commitment. But prayer is Powerful and Effective. We talk about prayer a lot but we don't pray like we should. Our families need our prayers intensely, our friends need our prayers immediately, our churches need our prayers without ceasing, and our country needs our prayers desperately.


We unfortunately can't change much ourselves but God can do so much through our prayers. Let me encourage you to make prayer a habit. This does not just mean praying at the dinner table or before bed, but prayer that will really shake things up. Pray without ceasing and I believe God will use us in powerful and effective ways.

Goodbye Zach!!

I've had the incredible opportunity over the last year and a couple months to work alongside my awesome brother Zach. He came on full-time last summer and has done the most amazing job anyone could ask for. Today is his last day and tomorrow he heads out to finish up his Junior and Senior year at the best school in the country Ouachita Baptist University. Zach thanks for all the hard work, all the amazing videos, all the fantastic memories, all the moments of laughter, and all the ways you have challenged me to grow in my walk with the Lord. I'll never forget this time. You are very loved here and you helped this Student Ministry in more ways than you'll ever know. I love you and I'm gonna miss you man. God has huge things in store for you.

O how He loves Us!!

I have just uploaded a few songs from Youtube by Kim Walker. The first video is O how He loves Us and it is off the chart. Her voice is unreal and the worship atmosphere there in the midst of this song recorded is amazing. Check it out above.

Camp WoW Part II

Camp WoW this year blew me away. Before we left I just had feeling that God was going to do some amazing things. He did. We had 14 students give their life to Christ. I was able to baptize 8 of them this past Sunday and hope to baptize the rest this next Sunday. We also had 4 students who committed their lives to full-time ministry. 2 feel like they've been called into Youth Ministry, 1 feels like God is leading him to be a Pastor, and 1 feels led to serve as a missionary overseas.

So many other have come back with a fire to impact Brandon, Florida. Of all the camps I've ever been to in my life I really believe this was the best camp I've ever been a part of. I'm just so thankful that God moved so mightily and that so many will spend eternity in heaven. Thank you students for making this such an awesome camp, thank you adults for all your hard work, and thank you to my Youth Staff who went without sleep and worked countless hours on all this. You're all amazing. I can't wait for next year.

Camp WOW 2009

Tomorrow, I'll be heading up to Tennessee for our Camp WOW trip. This will be the largest group I've ever taken to camp in my 7 years of ministry. So I'm very excited and just prayerful that God would do remarkable things in the lives of students and adults. This is our second year to go to Horn's Creek Resort in Tennessee. Check it out at www.hornscreek.com . Please be in prayer for us as we travel that we will not have any road issues. Please pray that we'll see many students saved and please pray that those that are will gain a passion that won't die out. Pray that our adults and students will bring back a blaze that will ignite a revival in Brandon, Florida. I have this interesting gnawing feeling that God is going to do something major while we're there. Not sure what, but I'm so pumped to find out.


Lord, my heart's cry is that I will be Transformed, and that You will overflow out of my life to bring glory to You Alone. Change us Lord!! Shape us Lord!! Renew us Lord!! I don't ever want to be the same again.

42 Baptized at FBC Brandon

This past Sunday we had 42 individuals baptized during one of our morning worship services. 5 of the 42 were teenagers. It was absolutely amazing. I have never been in a service where that many people were baptized at one time. It blew me away. What a testimony it was to our church. Entire families were baptized together and many more came to make decisions for Christ in the next service because of what they had seen. God is doing some remarkable things here, it's great to be along for the ride.

Cedar Glades Camp

Monday I'll be flying up to speak at Cedar Glades Camp in Northeast, Arkansas. I'm really looking forward to the week and I'm praying that we will see many students come to know Christ. Please pray with me. Everyone going to the camp, I can't wait to see you guys.

Fearless Staff

Here's a picture of most of our Pastors holding a Python during a Vacation Bible School presentation. It was awesome!!

Congratulations Grads from FBC

Thank you Graduates for being awesome. I'm going to miss you guys being around all the time. You're an amazing group and I know God has great things in store for you guys.

Graduates!!

This Sunday we will recognize our High School Graduates!! They have been an incredible class and I will miss them tremendously. As they prepare to move on to bigger and better things I am excited but also a little worried. Statistics continue to show that between 75 and 85 % of graduates who faithfully attended church during their teenage years will drop out during their college years. That stat blows my mind and breaks my heart.

Why do so many fall away and how many of my faithful students will fall away from church and God?

There are so many different theories of why this happens, some people blame Youth Pastors, some blame the College Ministers and BCM Directors, some blame parents, and some blame the graduate. But I think the number one reason is simply CHANGE. A college student either goes away to another city, in which they have to find a new church, new friends, and new life. Or they stay in the same city where they move from one ministry to the next but may land amongst a totally different group of people in church than they had been around the previous year.

We need to bridge the gap and all work together. BCMs, College Ministries, Student Ministries, and parents all need to continue on the journey with the Graduate no matter how far away they move. Whether it's a phone call, a lunch, or cup of coffee, we can still make a difference in the life of the graduate. We have to change the statistics, or our churches will one day be empty.

New Orleans Mission Trip

All High Schoolers at FBC Brandon, time is running out. The New Orleans Mission Trip is just 3 weeks away. Be sure to get your money in before it's too late. It's going to be a great trip. Hurry!!

VBS

Vacation Bible School is a huge week for our church. Our Children and Preschool Staff do an incredible job of putting this all together. They are expecting over 1,400 children to be involved this year. If you are in the Tampa area and have children or know of any children that might be interested the dates are June 15-19. You can get more information at our church website www.fbcbrandon.org

Francis Chan

I uploaded some videos of Francis Chan on my video bar. I have really enjoyed listening to him over the past couple of years. Check him out.

Learning From the Best

Today I'm flying out to Memphis, Tennessee and heading to Bellevue Baptist Church. Phil Newberry is the Youth Pastor there and I have always had a ton of respect for him. I asked him if I could come up to see what they do just to learn, grow, and dream. I'm really looking forward to this trip. It is so important to me to continue to learn as much as I can so that I can become better at what I do. I never want to get to a point where I think I have everything figured out. I can definitely always improve. This trip is going to cost me some personal money and personal time, but I believe it will pay for itself in many ways.

Great Grad Gift

This time of year we're all trying to find good Graduation presents for the grads in our Student ministries, families, or for friends. Instead of getting them a key chain or a fancy pen why not get them something that can really make an impact in their lives.

Do Hard Things was written by 2 teenagers Alex and Brett Harris. I just finished going through it with one of my students and we both loved it. It's a challenge to teenagers to overcome low expectations and do something great for God while they're young.

You can also check out their blog at http://www.therebelution.com/

Elevate Student Ministry

I just got back from a meeting with some of the best Student Ministers in Florida. We met for 24 hours to develop a new curriculum to help new Student Ministers navigate through the ups and downs of ministry without getting burned out. I'm really excited about the impact this could have on Ministers and students all across the State. The guys involved in this project are:
Don Minton - FBC Pensacola
John Sanders - Celebration, Tallahassee
Raul Hernandez - Westside, Gainesville
Brad Smith - FBC New Port Richey
JJ Johnson - FBC Indian Rocks
Kevin Van Duser - FBC Naples
Eulie Brookins - Church of Hope
Todd Carr - FBC Callahan
Paul Turner - Lifeway
Jeff Hessinger - Florida Baptist Convention
Keith Harmon - FBC Orlando
Chad Reeves - FBC Orlando
Sean Vickers - Westside, Jacksonville
Jeff Stockdale - Hibernia, Green Cove Springs
Jay Gibson - FBC Daytona Beach
Nick Stoyer - Eastside, Orlando

Multiply Your Influence

Tomorrow I will be going to First Baptist Church of Orlando to meet with some of the best Youth Pastors in Florida. We will be meeting to create a new curriculum to help new Student Ministers navigate the world of Student Ministry. This effort is being led by a good friend of mine, Jeff Hessinger. More and more my heart desires to help others rise up and serve the Lord with all their heart. I am so grateful to those that have given me a chance and poured into me over the course of my life. I am praying that this time will impact people's lives for generations to come.

Hurting Students

Every week I talk to teenagers who are just hurting. Last night that was the case as well. There are so many teens that are struggling because of their home life, pressure at school, and a desire for worth. It breaks my heart. Please pray for our teenagers across America. They have so much potential yet I believe are facing more pressure and temptations than any generation that has gone before them.

Horn's Creek Resort

Tomorrow Andy, Zach, and I will be flying up to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We're making a pre-trip visit for our Camp WOW to get all the details lined up and to dream a little about how to make this year's camp the best ever. To check out more info on Horn's Creek Camp take a look at their website below. There's still time to sign up for Camp: Get signed up today.

www.hornscreek.com

I Love My Family

Hanging out with the family in Tampa at Channelside. I love that place.

The Year to Watch the NBA

I've been watching the NBA Playoff games the last few nights and I've gotten really excited about them. I think the NBA might be getting back to the glory days. I haven't been this interested since the Michael Jordan era. There are definitely some exciting players to watch, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, and many more. It's going to be a great few weeks.

Brandon High School

I got the opportunity to speak at a Club in Brandon High School this morning. I always love getting to speak in schools. God is continuing to do great things in that school. I'm so proud of all of our students that are standing strong for Christ there.

Town Hall For Hope

On April 23rd across America Dave Ramsey is doing a huge event. Thousands of churches and businesses are hosting this event. It's a financial message of hope during this tough time. Our church is hosting the event at 8 p.m. if you are in the Brandon area.

New Movie

I just heard about a new Christian film called The River Within. The reason that this interests me is that it is about a youth minister but what's cooler is that it was filmed in Paragould, Arkansas. Paragould was where I took my first Youth Ministry job. I served there for 2 and a half years. It's a low budget film but I hope to see it. Check out the link below for a preview.

www.theriverwithinmovie.com

Chris Allen

We are less than 2 weeks away from having the Chris Allen Band here. We'll meet in the Loft at 10:30 a.m. for a time of worship. They are an amazing band out of Orlando. Please be in prayer for their ministry.

Please Pray for Me

This weekend I'll be going up to Brooksville, Fl to speak at a Youth Leadership Retreat. I'm really looking forward to it. There are 3 or 4 churches that have come together to put on a retreat to challenge their students to become stronger leaders. I love talking about leadership especially with students. Please pray that God will speak through me and that these teenagers that attend will go back to their schools and churches and lead in great ways for the Lord. Thank you so much.

Get out of Your Box

I met a guy on a World Changers Mission trip several years ago in Atlanta, Georgia who was constantly telling his students to get out of their box during a roof project we were working on. Everything was about getting out of their comfort zones. He even told me to get out of my box on several occasions.

This past weekend we hosted 3 bands for a local concert for students around the area. Up until this weekend I have always been blessed to have someone run sound for Wednesday nights or any activity we had. So I have never bothered to learn it. Well we ended up with no sound guy for the concert. PANIC!! No one in the bands really knew how to run sound either so it was up to me. I pushed every button on the sound board and turned every knob and finally got things to work. I ended up running sound for Among Thirsty who is an upcoming band who will be playing with Toby Mac this summer. It ended up being really cool.

All this to say, it is so important to get out of our boxes. So many of us are so sheltered and afraid of doing anything different for God and because of that we miss out on all that God has in store for us. So whether it's witnessing to a friend, sharing a testimony in front of a group, going on a mission trip, taking a leap of faith into leaving your job and going into full-time ministry, or serving overseas as a missionary, we all need to be willing to risk getting out of our box for the Lord.

Great Week

This past week I had the opportunity to go up to Orange Beach, Alabama to speak at a Youth Spring Break Camp. I had a blast. The camp was for First Baptist Church of Benton, Arkansas. Clay Cunningham is the Student Minister there and is one of the greatest Student Pastors in America. I loved the students, they were amazing. God did some incredible things. Joel and Rebekah Winters led worship, they are old friends from college and they did a fantastic job. It's been a great week. Praise the Lord!!

Video of DNow 09

This is a video of our Dnow weekend. Just the highlights of the weekend. Thanks Zach you're the man.

New Orleans

Tomorrow morning I'll be flying out to New Orleans for a pretrip visit. We are taking our High School students there this summer to help rebuild homes that were damaged during Hurricane Katrina. So I am going to get an idea of what we will be working on as well as approve of the place we will stay.

There is still so much work to be done in New Orleans. There is still so much to be done physically but more importantly spiritually. Pray for New Orleans, it is a great city, but it needs God to move in an amazing way there.

Learning From Mistakes

We had an event a few days ago where we gave all our students T-shirts. I designed them and I was going for a simple look, but they didn't turn out very well, and believe me my students let me know: These were some of their comments.

"Who designed these shirts, are they on crack?"
"Why are these so plain?"
"Seriously Jeremy, just let me design the shirts next time."
"Last years were way better"
"This was a great event except for the shirts"

I used evaluation forms and everything got high marks except for the shirts. They didn't even try to make their comments sound nice they just destroyed the shirt design.

All this to say it's important to learn from mistakes. It's also important to give things away that you have no gift at doing. Our next shirt will be for Camp and I've already asked someone else to design it. That way they can get the blame if it turns out awful.

Mission Love Never Fails

If you're interested in leading a mission trip this summer or next there is still time. I came across this organization 3 years ago called Mission Love Never Fails. It's founded by Chris Lange. They do all the grunt work for your team to do missions.

They are currently focusing on New Orleans only but plan to branch out to other cities soon. We will be going to New Orleans this summer again with this organization. They are a fraction of the price that most companies charge and they organize your entire week.

Check them out at www.missionloveneverfails.com .

DNow 2009

Wow what a Weekend we had with our DNow this past weekend. This was the largest group we've had. It was awesome. We saw students accept Christ and students be broken. Thanks students for making it such a great weekend. Kelly Knause was our speaker and he did an incredible job. Chris Dick and his band let our worship and they were phenomenal. Our leaders and host homes were outstanding and our tech team was tremendous. The breakdancers "FBK" rocked our socks off. It's incredible how many people it takes to bring this all together. Thank you for all your prayers and support. Praise the Lord!!

YP Summit

I just got back from YP Summit in Orlando. What a conference it was. Here are the following speakers I got to hear:
Darren Whitehead - Teaching Pastor Willow Creek Church
Jay Strack - Founder of Student Leadership University
Francis Chan - Author of Crazy Love and International Speaker
Tim Stoner - Author of The God who Smokes
Phil Newberry - Student Pastor for 24 years at Bellevue in Memphis, TN.
Jeff Pratt - Lifeway

They all did a remarkable job. I have learned a ton and feel so refreshed. I can't wait to see all my students tonight.

Re-Energize Yourself

This weekend is our DNow Weekend. I love putting this weekend together but it is a ton of work. After the weekend is over I'm going to Orlando for 3 days to the Youth Pastor Summit. It's a conference for Youth Pastors and Youth Volunteers. There are 4 others I'm taking with me as well.

I'm really looking forward to being poured into, I'm looking forward to resting, learning, and being encouraged by others. I'm looking forward to being Re-Energized.

If you're a student minister or volunteer let me encourage you to plan somethine once a year at least to get away. Whether it's a conference or a retreat of solitude, these times are incredible for the soul and for your overall ministry. You pour out every day into people's lives and you need to be filled sometimes too.

Most churches will help with some or all of the costs if you just ask. They see the importance of it too.

DNow Weekend

This weekend is our annual DNow Weekend. God always does great things on this weekend. This will be our largest attended one yet. Students please pray that God will work in amazing ways. I've been praying for this weekend for a long time. Please pray with me. Students it's going to be great. Thanks for being such an awesome group. I'm so blessed to be your Student Pastor.

Chris Allen Band

Students on April 19th we are priviledged to have The Chris Allen Band coming to lead worship for our 412 Student Ministries. They are an awesome band out of Orlando, Florida. Be sure to plan on being here at 10:30 a.m. on April 19th in The Loft.

Hold on to your Family!

Over the past few months I have received the bad news that some of my friends have called it quits in their marriages. Many of my friends from college are hitting the 5-8 year mark in their marriages and are throwing in the towel.

I just wanted to write a note of encouragement to love your family, pray for your family, serve your family, and put your family above yourself.

This is my daughter who is an unbelievable joy. Every decision I make, and action I take could have an eternal impact on her. That's some serious consequences, if I choose poorly.

No job promotion, addiction, hobby, money, boat, car, jewelry or house is worth loosing your family. Put your family first. Pray for your kids everyday that God would place in them a heart and passion for Him.

Zach's Videos

Zach joined the Youth Staff full-time in August of 2008. He does an incredible job with our students. But his greatest gift is his video making skills.

I've added a few of his videos to my video bar above, but you can see all his videos on Youtube. Just search DJsacky and it will pull up his list.

The great thing is that I give him my message topics and he comes up with a relevant and hilarious video. Check em out.

First Fruits

Tonight our Pastor preached an excellent message on our First Fruits. He read some of our churches stats on giving.
71% of our church members give $0, Nothing, Nada.
86% of our church give under $1,000.00 a year.

What's amazing to me is that this is actually a pretty good percentage when you look at most churches giving patterns. Most churches fit into an 80/20 range. Meaning 20% give and 80% give nothing.

I can't help but think how many people could be reached if even 50% started to tithe. What a difference our churches across the world could make for the Kingdom of God if Christians really started to sacrifice for the Lord.

What a difference we could make if we weren't so consumed with all our stuff, and we could actually be consumed with giving our First Fruits to the Lord.

My Pastor said it best, "Revival would break out"

Youth Guys Acting like Idiots

We decided to put together a rap for our students this past Wednesday Night. Thought I would let you see why we're Youth Ministers and not full-time rappers. We did this for Fusion and Catalyst, our Wednesday Night Middle School and HIgh School worship. This is a compiled video of both performances.

YP Summit

If you're a Youth Pastor or a Youth Worker/Volunteer I encourage you to get signed up for YP Summit in Orlando. Registration is filling up fast but I know there are still a few spots remaining.

I plan on going and taking my youth staff and a couple of volunteers. The conference is March 2-3 and here are a few of the highlights:

Top-notch Speakers like Francis Chan, Mac Powell, and David Nasser.

Great training seminars with guys like Phil Newberry and Ron Luce.

Free Pass into Universal Studios

2 Free Lunches

Great place to Network with other Youth Ministers and Leaders.

And most importantly the Conference is FREE.

For more details check out their website at www.ypsummit.net .

Uncommon

I received the new book by Tony Dungy today. I haven't started reading it yet but I am greatly looking forward to it. It's called Uncommon. I loved his book Quiet Strength, I'm sure I'll love this one too. I encourage you to read it along with me.

Broken Vessels

Broken Vessels is an awesome band that I have had come play for our students for a couple of events. They have incredible gifts and incredible hearts for the Lord.

I highly recommend them if you are looking for a band for a camp, dnow, retreat, whatever.

Check out their new blog at www.brokenvessles.com .

Please Pray for Me

Please pray for me. I am flying out tonight to go to Arkansas to speak at a High School Retreat for The Summit Church.

I spoke to their Middle Schoolers last weekend and had a blast. Please just pray that God will use me and that God will do an amazing work in the lives of their students. Thanks.

Jared Pickney

Jared Pickney is a good friend of mine. He is in the process of starting a church in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
He and I served on staff together First Baptist Church of Paragould, Arkansas.

He's a great friend and is doing great things for the Lord. He's going to go far in life.

Here is the link to his blog. He has some great insights on here.
www.jaredpickney.wordpress.com

Mega Wednesday

Students Don't Forget MEGA WEDNESDAY!!!

Be sure to be here next Wednesday Feb. 11th from 6-8 p.m. You could win an Ipod and we'll have special guests here Urban J and Big Daddy K.

Don't miss an awesome night!! See you then.

Brian Mills Blog

Brian Mills is a friend of mine from College. He is now the Student Pastor at Second Baptist Church of Houston, West Campus. He always has some great insights on student ministry on his blog.

Whether you're a youth volunteer, student pastor, leader, or a student you'll be able to find some great stuff here.

Check out his blog at http://www.brianmills247.com/

Super Bowl Challenge!!

Students!! Be sure to be here this Sunday at either 9 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. for our Super Bowl Challenge!!

Eat all the Pancakes you can want.

Winners of Super Bowl Challenge will receive giftcards to Starbucks!!

Whoever eats the Most Pancakes can win a Prize!!

Make sure you're here and Bring a Friend!

More Than Dodgeball

It you are in Student Ministry this is a great website to read and get great ideas. Josh Griffin is the High School Pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forrest, CA.

The link is www.morethandodgeball.com

Super Bowl XLIII - Tampa Bay

Everyone is buzzing about the Superbowl coming to town next week. I thought these figures were interesting that I found on Wikipedia and the Tampa Tribune.

100 thousand - Guests expected to come into Tampa Bay for the Game.

$3 million - Cost for a 30 second commercial slot. There are still a few left if interested.

$200 million - Expected revenue for NBC

$250 million - Expected revenue for the Tampa Bay area

100 million - Number of people expected to watch the Super Bowl around the world.

It's going to be fun.

Francis Chan

Francis Chan is a Pastor in California. He is an awesome speaker with great insight and an incredible commitment to the reality of God's word. I've uploaded some videos of him to my video bar. Check it out.

Should You Stay or Should You Go?

I promise I am not trying to brag with the info I'm about to share but it's something that I don't read about much so thought this might help Student Ministers. This is somewhat of a hush hush subject so I thought I would talk about it. This week was an odd week in that I received 4 job offers from churches, 2 in Arkansas, 1 in Tennessee, and 1 in Louisiana. All were student ministry related and one was to be a Student Pastor for 2-3 years and transition into the Senior Pastor position. I get calls ever so often but never 4 in one week. If you're a Student Minister, at some point you will most likely get a call from another church asking you to consider their opening. So what do you do when that happens, how do you decide if God is leading you away or not? Here is how I handle it.

1. I commit to it to prayer. No matter what the position is I always pray through it. Even if my first reaction is "There's no Way I'm going there" I still seek God to see what His plan is. Sometimes it may take me a day to hear from the Lord sometimes it takes longer.
2. I don't draw it out. If you feel God is leading you there then continue the process but if you know God is saying "no" then let the church know. Don't lead them on and cause them to spend money to fly you out if you know it's not going to happen. Don't waste their time or money.
3. I ask tons of questions. You can never ask too many questions. No question is a bad question. The worse thing that can happen is for you to move there and find out it wasn't what you expected. There's no turning back at that point. Get firm solid answers, get stuff in writing as much as possible too. Talk to the previous Student Pastor, Talk to other Student Pastors in that town. Talk to the Associational office. Dig, Dig, and Dig some more. Moving is a big deal make sure you know what you are moving into.
4. I try to decipher between Physical and Spiritual. One of my hardest battles of temptation comes in these situations because I am often tempted to look at the position from a physical standpoint instead of spiritual. These are still important elements but cannot be the deciding factors. Things that are important to me are facilities, paid staff I will be leading, salary, number or students, youth budget, and the city and area of the church. These are all important but can never be the deciding factors. Don't get blinded by all these. Seek the Lord, He may want you to go into a smaller church, He may want you to get paid less, He may want you move to a town with a population of 2. Don't fall into the trap of bigger and better and more, Follow the Lord wherever He leads you. He will take care of you.
5. I ask myself what is best for The Kingdom of God. Are you going to leave your current position in shambles when you leave or will they continue on without you. Success is not that everything falls apart because you aren't there. Success is that you worked hard to leave things better than when you came and that ministry continues to grow after you leave. It may sound good to hear, "Things just aren't as good as when you were here." but really in looking at it through God's eyes you should be hearing "Since you left things have grown more and more, things are going great." You laid the foundation celebrate with them that God is still moving.
6. I seek the advice of those who know me best. I talk with my wife, my parents, my close friends.
7. I negotiate. If you feel that this is where God is leading you and there are gaps in the ministry, negotiate changes while you're in the process. Ask for A, B, and C. If they say no then you have to decide if you can live without those things. Some churches will say "Yea we'll get that in the future" be careful with those promises. You can accomplish a lot during the interview process.
8. I ask if God has released me from where I am. Is God done with you where you are? Maybe you're in a tough situation and just want to get out. But is he going to do something remarkable if you stay. If you have only been there a year or a year and a half, you should probably stay unless God has made it very clear to leave. You can't really accompish much in that amount of time. Some Student Pastors can grow a group pretty well in that time but it dies fast too. You'll will likely have a honeymoon period from 1-6 months, perhaps a trying time between 6 months and a year and a half, then after a year and a half, relationships are deeper, you've gained trust and you can really accomplish a lot. The average Student Minister only lasts 18 months in a church we have to break that statistic.
9. I ask if there's potential. If you go to check out the place, see if there is potential. If you don't see any potential and if you don't see opportunity, then you're not the guy for the job. Maybe someone else will see it if you don't.
10. Lastly is it God's will. This sums up everything. This is the ultimate question. Ask God to make it very clear to you and I believe He will. You should only leave if you feel that it is definitely God's will. Life outside of God's will is miserable. Follow His will no matter what and He will bless you tremendously.

I pray for those in the process. I pray that God will make this decision clear to you. God bless you as you make an impact on Students.

January 28th at FBC Brandon

Pastor Fred Luter will be preaching at our church on Wednesday, Jan. 28th at 6:30 p.m. Fred Luter is a passionate and dynamic pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. If you are in the Tampa area on the 28th come out and here him. We're at 216 N. Parsons Ave. Brandon, FL.

Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy has officially retired. Over the past 3 years it has seemed to be a difficult decision for him but this year he actually isn't coming back. What an amazing man Tony Dungy is. His book "Quiet Strength" is one of my favorites. He is an amazing Leader, Coach, and Christian. Always faithful to God and His family, he has been an amazing witness to millions of lives. He's moving back here to Tampa so hopefully he and I will get to hang out more. Just Kidding!

Tim Tebow

What a game!! I am not a Gators fan but I love watching Tim Tebow. He is an amazing player, he has an incredible will to win, and most importantly is passionate about Jesus Christ.

He grew up as a Missionary Kid and continues to serve the Lord all over the world. What an incredible witness and example he has been over the last few years. Nearly every interview including the one last night he thanks his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A lot of athletes say that but with Tim Tebow it's the real deal.

Florida 24 - Oklahoma 14

Why the Bible is True

I've attached a message by Voddie Baucham above to my video bar. I have always had a lot of respect for Voddie Baucham. He is a great preacher of God's Word. You can find out more about his ministry at www.voddiebaucham.org .

This message gives a clear understanding of why the Bible is true. He gives excellent points on proving the truth to those who do not believe.

SHOWGIRLS!! - SHUT DOWN

3 Years ago our church and other churches in our area fought hard to prevent this Strip Club from coming into the town of Brandon. We fought for months but Showgirls still managed to open up for business. Churches have continued to fight, Christians have prayed hard, and today Showgirls shut down.

This is a huge victory for us in Brandon but most of all for the Kingdom of God!!

The sex industry is rampant across the Tampa area and of course throughout our world. Satan is using this industry to destroy lives, families, and communities.

Continue to pray against this addiction that so many people struggle with. And keep fighting for holiness and purity in your communities.