Each Sunday in January, the youth will be collecting both canned goods and monetary donations for FACES, our local food pantry. Please drop off your contributions in the baskets at the entrances to the sanctuary.

On February 5, we will announce our total collection as part of the nationwide “Souper Bowl of Caring” effort to help feed the hungry in our community.

What is Passport?  When are we going?

Passportchoices, a missions-based youth camp experience for youth who have completed grades 7-12, will be held at beautiful Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina.  We will be attending Session 6: July 17-22 (Sunday-Friday) this year.

Keep reading to find links to important information for this year’s camp, including required forms, packing lists, and payment deadlines!

What forms do I need to fill out? What else do I need to know?

For campers and parents:

Detailed Camp Schedule

Packing List

Camper-Parent Information Page

Camper Medical Release Form: TWO copies of this must be filled out in black ink only and notarized.  Bring these with you to the pre-camp meeting on Sunday, June 26th at noon immediately following the worship service.

For chaperones:

Chaperone Medical Release Form: TWO copies of this must be filled out in black ink only and notarized. Bring these with you to the pre-camp meeting on Sunday, June 26th at noon immediately following the worship service.

Chaperone Information Page

We will be having our pre-camp meeting on Sunday, June 26th, 2011  at noon immediately after the worship service.  All campers, chaperones, and parents are required to attend.

Who is going?

The chaperones this year will be Julie Gaines, B.A. Klein, Liz Chassey, and Jordan Whiley.  The following campers will be attending with us this year:

Girls

Caroline Bryant

Charlotte Cave

Thea Cheuk

Erin Copeland

Anna Cyrus

Lindsey Davis

Carter Gantt

Emmalee Klein

Alesha Jackson

Casey Meadows

Jewel Moore

Kayla Stockner

Taylor Schmidt

Boys

Carter Chassey

Russell Chassey

John Copeland

Davis Cyrus

How much does it cost? Are there any fundraising opportunities?

The total cost for camp is $330 for the week, plus the cost of three meals outside of those provided by Passport and any money for purchasing items at the camp store and snacks for the week.

We’re in the home stretch for the “fundraising season” for camp, and things have been going very well.  We’ve had two leaf raking fundraisers and a very successful soup lunch fundraiser, headed up by B.A. Klein.  Upcoming, we have a car wash at Advanced Auto Parts from 9 am to noon this Saturday, May 15th.  Many thanks to Kathryn and Ken Copeland in their leadership for this event!

We are keeping track of each youth’s account for camp in the church office.  Kathy is keeping a spreadsheet on her computer of each fundraiser we have and which youth participate in each one.  Very shortly, Kathy, Michael and I will be meeting to determine the remaining balance on each youth’s account based on the numbers we have in this spreadsheet.  You will be receiving an email regarding this balance as soon as that happens.

The remaining balance should be paid off on your student’s account in its entirety by May 25, 2011  as this is the date that we need to finalize our numbers and send everything to Passport.

If you have any questions, please email Julie Gaines, Head Chaperone and Youth Ministry Intern.

On February 6, our youth and children collected our “Souper Bowl of Caring” donations that will help FACES, our local food pantry. Afterwards, our youth and children and their parents hosted a soup lunch to help raise funds for camp.  For more pictures . . .

[Show as slideshow]

Hands 4 Christ is a one day missions opportunity that involves youth from Baptist churches across Southside to meet together, serve others in our community through various activities like repairing homes and raking leaves, fellowship with youth from other communities of faith, and spend a day volunteering their time for the good of others.  Hands 4 Christ will be held at Crewe Baptist Church on November 20th, 2010.  The schedule and additional information can be found below.

Hands 4 Christ Schedule

6:20 Meet at Farmville Baptist Church.  Julie will drive the church van over to Crewe Baptist Church.

7:00  Arrive at Crewe Baptist Church and register. Food and beverages will be available at this time.

7:30  Sign up for jobs.

8:00  Morning rally.

8:30  Head to job sites.

9:00  Begin work.

12:00-1:00 Lunch on-site

5:00  Pack up job sites.

5:30  Back at Crewe and cleaning up.

6:00  Dinner.

7:00  Worship.

8:30  Head home.

9:00 Arrive at Farmville Baptist Church for Pick Up

Other Reminders

You’ll need to make sure your student is dressed to work outdoors all day (it’ll probably be cold considering it’s November, and long sleeves are always a good idea when doing work on a job site anyways); this will also include closed-toed shoes (tennis shoes, not slip-on shoes or crocs), jeans or sturdy work pants, and clothes that you don’t mind getting messy.  Your youth can bring their Bible for worship at night if they’d like (we’ll leave it in the van so it doesn’t get lost or messy!).  The cost for the event is $10, which you can bring the day of, cash or check.  This goes towards meals and other expenses for making this event happen.

If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Julie.

We will be having a meeting on September 26^th at 6pm to discuss this past summer and the upcoming months as we transition back into a school year schedule.  This will be in place of youth group that night.  Both parents and youth are invited and encouraged to attend. We’ll be discussing things like when No Holds Barred should be held, what kinds of activities we’ll be doing as a youth group, and what days work best for these activities.  Please make plans to attend and email Julie with RSVPs.  Hope to see you all there!

September Plans

September is a transitional month between the carefree days of summer and the more structured, routine-oriented fall.  For this reason, the youth will be taking a relaxed approach to our schedule this month.  We’ll have No Holds Barred the first 3 Sundays of the month, and then we’ll have a meeting the last Sunday of the month as referenced above.  We’d like to encourage you to enjoy the time with your family and to get yourself back into the swing of school.  October promises to be interesting…

“Let us preach you, Dear Jesus, without preaching….not by words but by our example.”

-Mother Teresa

September Schedule

September 5^th: NHB @ FBC 6pm-7pm

September 12^th: NHB @ FBC 6pm-7pm

September 18^th: FBC @ FACES, 7:30am

September 19^th: NHB @ FBC 6pm-7pm

September 26^th: Parent/Youth Meeting @ FBC, 6pm-7pm

“TO LOVE IS TO BE VULNERABLE.”

-C.S. Lewis

Having a “Peter Moment”

There’s this story in the Bible where Peter and some other disciples are just hanging out in a boat, sleeping, waiting for Jesus to come and join them.  They wait, and wait, and wait some more.  Jesus is a night owl, and decides he’s going to wait until the last watch of the night (between 4-6am) to come to them.  Peter sees Jesus walking on the water towards them.  He’s curious, and calls out “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come walk on the water.”  So, Jesus invites him to get out of the boat.  And Peter, being the crazy man that he was, actually got out.

He double checked to make sure it was God’s voice that he was hearing, and then he went.  I don’t know about you, but in the middle of an awful thunderstorm, I wouldn’t be very eager to get out of a boat onto a choppy, unstable giant body of water.   But-Peter gets out and begins to walk on water.  And I’d bet that he’s enjoying it-knowing that he got out and was doing what Christ asked of him.  And then he looked down.

He looked down and saw the waves crashing around him.  He realized that he was doing something no human being besides Jesus had ever done before.  He realized he had no control.  And he freaked out.  I can’t say I blame him one bit, either.  Jesus calmly walks over, plays lifeguard, saves him, and says “Why did you doubt?”

Well, I’m having my own “Peter Moment” right now.  I’ve just graduated from college, spent the last 6 years training to be a teacher, the career I knew from age 4 was the career for me.  After my time this summer as a CBF CCI intern, however, I’m sensing a call to seminary and to vocational ministry.  Jesus asked Peter to get out of the boat.

I don’t know how it’s going to all turn out.  In fact, I know very little, but I do know that God wants what is best for me and will provide for me as I continue my journey.  I’m spending this year lifeguarding, serving as the Assistant Band Director for the Appomattox County High School Marching Band (GO RAIDERS! woo!), and interning here at Farmville Baptist until December.

This is a major transitional time in my life.  I’d bet that as some of you (your youth) get back into the more structured routine of the school year that you’re going through a transition yourself.  Transitions can be smooth, but they can also come with waves of fear, anxiety, and a sense of confusion about what the future is going to look like.  As we transition into this fall, I hope that all of us can remember to trust in where God is sending us.  Like Michael said last Sunday, God equips those whom He calls.  School can be hard.  Homework can be time consuming (not to mention obnoxious).  Friendships and relationships can be hard to manage with the busy schedules we keep.

As we enter this school year, know that I’m praying for you and your family.  Know that God is ever-present in your life, even when you may not see Him or understand the ways in which He is working.  Know that you are well-loved by God, and that no bad grade on a test or strikeout in the baseball game will ever change that.  Know that you have a church family that wants to help you and support you as you go through the ups and downs of the school year and of life in general.

God is calling you to get out of the boat in some area of your life.  Will you be willing to answer His leading, even if you can’t understand what’s happening?  Will you trust God during your storms?  Will you work with God through your “Peter Moments” to grow as a person, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally?  All it takes is a willingness to get out of your boat and take the first step.

Love you all. Julie

You don’t need to go to Calcutta to help people. Find your own Calcutta. – Mother Teresa

It’s hard to believe that the time for Passport is here again!  In less than three weeks, twelve of our youth and three of our bravest adults are headed to Wingate, North Carolina and the campus of Wingate University to participate in PassportChoices, a missions-based youth camp run by Passport, Inc.  We’ll be joined by four youth and a chaperone from Tarwallet Baptist.  This is a very exciting time for the youth (and the chaperones-I had a blast last year and am already looking forward to this year’s trip!).  Please pray for our group as we travel and spend a week worshipping God, serving others, bonding as a group, and growing in our personal relationships with Christ.

For those of you with students going, we will be meeting at the church Sunday morning, July 18^th, at 8:15am.  We’ll pack the vehicles, take a picture, and depart!  We should return around 6pm to FBC on Friday, July 23^rd.

Thanks to the church and all individuals who donated and volunteered and made it possible for our youth to go on this trip!  The Sunday after camp, July 25, the worship service will be a recap of the week.  The youth will have a chance to share their experiences and participate in the service, so make plans to be there and be a part of that!

FBC Passport Attendees 2010

Girls:

Tara Bauer

Caroline Bryant

Charlotte Cave

Lindsey Davis

Carter Gantt

Casey Meadows

Emmalee Klein

Whitney Southall

Guys:

Carter Chassey

Russell Chassey

John Copeland

Matt Covington

Chaperones:

Female:

Julie Gaines

B.A. Klein

Male:

Jordan Whiley

Miscellaneous Youth Happenings

Youth Night @ FBC

On Friday night, July 16^th, we will be having a get-together at the church to prepare for camp and to spend some time together!  We’ll meet at the church at 6pm, tye-dye some tshirts, and then go on a video/photo scavenger hunt around Farmville!

Please bring an old shirt, preferably white, to dye-new ones are fine as well, but not required.

If you are an adult and are willing to drive the youth around on this scavenger hunt, please email me back and let me know!

We’ll be done by 9pm that night.

NHB @ Davis’ July 11

Sunday night, July 11^th, NHB will be held at the household of Jack and Kim Davis.  Their address is 8660 Five Forks Rd Pamplin, VA 23958.  We’ll meet at 6pm and be done at 7:30pm.  Snacks will be provided.

Help needed July 17

Saturday, July 17^th, is FBC’s Saturday to help out with the food distribution at FACES.  All youth are encouraged to come and be a part of this church-wide ministry opportunity that will benefit the Farmville community!

Shifts start at 7:30 and 9:30.  We’ll be done by 11.

Passport Camp Recap Service

The Sunday morning service on July 25^th will be a Passport Recap Service.  I’ll be preaching and the students will be actively involved in a number of ways, including reading scripture, possibly acting in skits, singing songs from the week, and sharing testimonies with the church.  This is a wonderful way to share what God’s been doing in our youth group and to give thanks to God and our congregation for making it possible for us to go to camp.  Please plan on being at that service, and be excited about sharing what God’s going to do that week!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

We’ve all had to write those essays…in the first week after returning to school, invariably the teacher would request that you write an essay entitled “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”  You’d be expected to list every activity, camp, and vacation you were a part of during the last 2-3 months, describing in detail the time when you got bit by that giant spider and when you fell off your bike and scraped your face on the pavement.

What will you write about this fall?  Will you say you spent your summer laying around the house, catching up on Days of Our Lives (although, there’s nothing wrong with that show!) and cat-sitting your neighbors feisty cat Fluffy?  Will you say you hung out with your friends all day every day (again, nothing wrong with that)?  What stories will you have to tell about your summer?

We make choices everyday-lots of them.  We choose what we put into our bodies and minds.  We choose who we’ll talk to and who we’ll walk past.  We choose where we go, what we do, and when we do it.  We choose how we spend our summers, at least to some extent.

I’m spending my summer lifeguarding and interning at the church.  Each day when I come into work, I choose my attitude.  I can be upset that I have to sit in the heat (even indoors, it’s still close to 90 degrees all the time) and deal with screaming kids and people breaking the rules all day.  Or, I could choose to be thankful that I have a job when so many others don’t.  I could choose to interact with the people that I’m coming into contact with, hopefully brightening their day and showing them love.  I’m not always so cheery when I head into work, but I try to actively decide each day to be positive and life-giving to others, rather than be miserable myself and draw others into that feeling.

What are some ways that you could be a positive influence in the community this summer?  Perhaps you could go to FACES with the church every 3^rd Saturday of the month and help distribute food to those who are less fortunate.  Perhaps you could offer to mow the lawn for older members of the church or neighbors who are unable to do it themselves.  Perhaps you could spend time in prayer each day for people in the church, the Farmville community, and the world.

We live in a world that is so broken.  You can’t turn on the news for five seconds without becoming depressed that the world is in such a sorry state.  You have a choice, though.  You can choose to sit back and watch as people continue to harm and kill one another, as oil continues to spill into our oceans, as people in our town continue to starve and live without shelter.  Or, you can choose to do something about that.  It doesn’t take a massive effort all the time.  It starts with little things, little changes in the ways we live.  Walk somewhere instead of driving.  Give two hours of your weekend to the hungry.  Spend a week at camp learning how to serve others.  It doesn’t take much, but it all begins with a choice.  What decisions are you making today?

Love in Christ,

Julie

Youth Calendar for July

July 4: NO NHB

July 11: NHB @ Davis’, 6-7:30pm

July 16: Youth Night @ FBC, 6-9pm

July 17: FACES, 7:30am-11am

July 18-23: Passport Youth Camp, Wingate, NC

July 25: PYC Recap Service @ FBC, 11am

Links of the Month

Starting in the month of July, I’d like to share a link (or a few links) that I think are noteworthy.  This month, I’m going to share two:

1) “Your Love is Strong” by Jon Foreman

This is one of my favorite songs of all time.  It’s based on the Lord’s Prayer and has been a source of comfort for me through some extremely hard times.  Jon Foreman is the lead singer for the band Switchfoot.  Lyrics can be found here.

“The Power of Love” by Donald Miller

This is a link to Donald Miller’s blog.  Miller is the writer of Blue Like Jazz, and he writes almost daily about a variety of topics on his site.  This entry was from June 28, 2010, and discusses the undeniable importance of love in our witness and ministry to the world.  Miller never ceases to make me think about my own beliefs and move forward in my faith.  I hope you’ll find this link interesting and thought-provoking!

As the title of this section implies, we’re planning a lock-in at the church for Friday evening, June 18 at 7 pm through Saturday morning, June 19 at noon.  Activities in the planning stages include tie-dying t-shirts, finger painting, and hopefully a very interesting scavenger hunt.  Details are being finalized, so please be on the lookout for emails in the very near future regarding what to bring and how you can help!

In the meantime, please email Julie and let me know if you (your student) will be able to attend.  Please feel free to bring friends!!  This promises to be an event of epic proportions!

“In the Kingdom of God, service is not a stepping-stone to nobility: it is nobility, the only kind of nobility that is recognized.”

-T.W. Manson

Community Service Opportunity

The FBC youth will be joining the entire FBC church community in serving at FACES on Saturday morning, June 19^th.  We’ll be going as a part of our lock-in that begins on June 18th at 7pm, but if you’re unable to attend that, please feel free to come join us at FACES at 9am.  This is a great way to serve the community, share God’s love with others, and show we care.  It’s also a way to pick up community service hours for those of you who might be in need of them for whatever reason.  After we have finished up at FACES, we will walk over to the Daily Grind for coffee or smoothie (which the church will pay for) and for a little social time before going our separate ways for the day.  Pick up time is noon at the church.

Community: The Church = People

A few weeks ago, Pastor Cheuk showed a video in service about how people tend to think of the church as a place to go on Sunday and not as the group of people that attend said place.  I know that I’ve been guilty of this in the past, and I’m sure most of you would agree that you have as well.  It’s what we’re taught as children, as evidenced in the nursery rhyme “Here is the church-here is the steeple-open it up and see all the people.”  However, this “model” or idea of what church is isn’t working for most of America.  I personally find it easier to isolate church and my faith as a separate part of my life when I think of church as the building we have on Main Street or the activities that I am part of on Sundays.

This past Sunday at my home church, University Baptist in Charlottesville, my pastor talked about how we sometimes talk about “my church” or “our church” doing things a certain way.  He suggested that we need to be mindful of the fact that every follower of Christ is a member of the church at large, regardless of location, denomination, or any other factor; we’re all working towards the same goal—being a community of broken people who share life’s struggles and triumphs, who continually strive to become more Christ-like, and to share God’s unfathomably grand love with the world.  When we begin to remove labels and anything that divides us, we learn quickly that we have much more in common with the guy next to us than not.

A friend of mine who is a youth minister in Richmond gave me a t-shirt a while back that said “Love God. Love others. Worry about the rest later.”  So many times, I clutter my life with various activities and work, and it becomes all too easy to lose sight of what Christ wants for my life.  I complicate things very easily-I’m quite the multi-tasker (guess it comes with the teaching territory…).  This is one of the reasons I need church…to provide a sense of being a part of something much bigger than myself.  To remind me that there are others who are hurting in this world and need to know God the way that I know Him.  To realign my priorities for the next week.  I hope as we head into the summer that we as a youth group can build on the sense of community that we already have, sharing our daily lives with each other, and moving outside of the “Sunday habit.”  I look forward to spending the summer with you all.

Love in Christ (Like a Boss),

Julie

The dying Jesus is the evidence of God’s anger toward sin; but the living Jesus is the proof of God’s love and forgiveness.

~Lorenz Eifert

Future Summer Activities!

In planning for the summer, I’ve talked to the youth and to Pastor Cheuk about various kinds of activities that we’d like to see happen while school’s out!  Just a few things that are in the works are ultimate Frisbee nights, community service projects, a hike, and various smaller social activities, including longer NHB meetings (6 to 7:30 pm) to accommodate some light snacking.  There are others we’ve discussed, but I don’t want to take away the suspense just yet.   If there are any activities you or your youth would like to see happen in the next few months, please email Julie and let me know!

You all are amazing.  Thanks for all you do—it’s going to be a great summer!

Dates to Remember:

June 6: NHB @ FBC 6-7:30 pm

June 13: NHB 6-7:30 pm

June 18-19: Lock-in at FBC, 7pm-12 noon

June 19: FACES 9 am, Daily Grind after! (part of Lock-in)

June 20: NHB 6-7:30 pm

June 27: NHB 6-7:30 pm

July 19-23: Passport Choices (Wingate, NC)

July 25: Youth Participation in 11 am Service

PassportChoices Youth Camp
Wingate University, Wingate NC
July 18-23, 2010 (Sun – Fri)

Theme: “Barefoot”
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

Total Cost: $328 (minus $75 deposit and fundraising amount credited to camper’s account)

Payment Deadline: Friday, May 22, 2010.  (Parents and youth will receive a notification by May 10 letting them know exactly how much each camper still owes for camp.)

For more information and to download information and medical release forms . . .

Click on these links to download the following files:

Please fill out the medical release forms and turn it into the church office as soon as possible.

For campers and parents:

Camper/Parent Information Sheet

Camp Schedule and Program Information

Camper Medical Release Form

For chaperones:

Chaperone Information Form

Chaperone Medical Release Form

Orientation Meeting

An orientation meeting of all the campers, their parents and chaperones is being scheduled!  Once that meeting is scheduled, we will post it on this page.

List of Confirmed Passport Campers

FEMALE

1. Bauer, Tara
2. Bryant, Caroline
3. Cave, Charlotte
4. Davis, Lindsey
5. Gantt, Carter
6. Meadows, Casey
7. Klein, Emmalee
8. Southall, Whitney

MALE

1. Chassey, Carter
2. Chassey, Russell
3. Copeland, John
4. Covington, Matt

Afterwards, our children and youth will be hosting a spaghetti lunch fundraiser and dessert auction to help raise money for summer camp.  All are invited to enjoy the lunch (for a donation) and to take home fabulous desserts that will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.  If you can provide a dessert for the auction, please contact Kim Davis 223-4413 or JoAnn Bauer 391-1115.  Please RSVP the church office by April 7 if you’re planning to attend.

Update

Well, Youth Sunday was a great success!  Everyone did a wonderful job, and below is a YouTube recording of Jewel Moore’s solo.

We encourage you to attend and ask that you donate an amount to this cause that you would normally spend for a restaurant lunch.

Please contact the church office (392-5041) if you plan on coming to this fundraiser.