Walking with Jesus in His Passion

Yesterday afternoon, 12 people gathered for a walk through the Biblical account of the Passion of Jesus Christ. In the center of the room were objects significant to the week. Each person had 1 or 2 scriptures to read and then they found the object and passed it around the room. There were 15 total...including; a sword, wine/bread, water basin, perfume, palm branch, crown of thorns, a rubber rooster, a cross, and many other objects that were significant to the last week of Jesus' life. It was a powerful time where we talked about how gruesome the sufferings of Christ were. We also talked about Jesus as our servant and how instead of being a military conquerer, Jesus came in as a servant to pay for our sins and love us in a way no human being is capable of doing. When we were finished, we prayed together and enjoyed a delicious soup supper. Becca, the leader of the ministry, played a significant role in the teaching time. We are looking ahead to Global Impact in a few weeks where we can all serve others and the Lord together.

Narnia has ended

St. Alban's had a great end to the 6-week Journey to Narnia series. The group engaged in a Narnia Party. They came in costume, dressed as characters from the movie. We had a couple Lucys, and Edmund, St. Nicholas, Susan, and several warriors and generals. We watched the end of the movie and talked about how God is changing us just like the children in the movie were changed. The evening ended with a battle and there were only minor injuries to speak of. The children are looking forward to next year's lent series. They are already talking about themes! Stay tuned!!!

Prayer Chapel

This year I've started to like setting up prayer chapels to have a quiet, reflective place to hang out with God. The re:mix prayer chapel was a great experience this year. Abram Kielsmeier-Jones and I worked on prayer stations. At re:mix Dave, Evan, and I set up the chapel and Jack Gabig helped coordinate spiritual direction. It was an important, but relaxing responsibility. The people who participated were blessed, as were those who coordinated it. I'm looking forward to setting up future prayer chapels.

re:mix '08 rap contest

The video speaks for itself! What do you think?

Godly Play

Evan is starting to really enjoy church. I think the main reason is that he gets a snack and there are toys he doesn't see every day to play with. It's interesting to try to figure out how to develop a devotional life in a 2 year old. It's very hard for him to sit still. In fact, this morning, his behavior at church was probably the worst I'd ever experienced since he came. During the sermon, there is a small portion of time for children's instruction called Godly Play and Evan really enjoys it. He hears a story, plays in the "desert," works on an art project, and then eats a "feast" with the other children. I think he gets something out of the opportunity to interact with God and the Bible on his level. As we left church today, Evan said "bye, bye Jesus." Do you think a 2 year old experiences the presence of a true, living, and present God when we go to church? I think he has some understanding of Jesus...at his level. It's precious to see.

Watch out for invisible cows...

This is a picture of one so you will have no trouble identifying them if you come across one. If you have any questions about this post, please e-mail me.

Leap Day Eve Party

St. Martin's is having a Leap Day Eve party this Thursday. Please be praying as they literally walk through an "ancient story" together and do activities based on this "story." Their group is going to have a BLAST!

Israel wants a King

Tuesday night was a great youth meeting at St. Thomas. There is a great group of spiritually hungry kids who have been reading through the Bible together. Father Murph taught out of I Samuel 8 and 9 in their series of studying the entire Bible in order. He talked about the historical context of Israel at the time...all the other nations had a king and Israel wanted one, too. The kids had many questions and a great discussion. I'm always impressed with the depth they seek to go when they study the Bible together.

When the kids outnumber the adults

Journey to Narnia continues to be a blessing to everyone involved. On Wednesday, we built Mr. and Mrs. Beaver's house and ate beaver snacks in front of their "fire place." It's really cool at St. Alban's to see the middle school group outnumber our children's group (last year it was the opposite) and faithful Sr. High helpers. The children discussed how Edmund betrayed everyone and the effects of his poor decision. We also discussed how Edmund's betrayal of his siblings and the beavers put their lives in danger. We compared that to our own sin and talked about how Jesus lived a perfect life in our place and took our punishment for sin and how now we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live our lives devoted to the Lord. The kids learned their memory verses and were able to pick prizes out of the "treasure chest." They also sang "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" with motions and "How Great Is Our God" with live guitar/keyboard accompaniment. The children/youth ministry outnumbers the adult ministry during Wednesday night lent studies at St. Alban's. Please continue to pray that God will move powerfully during out times together.

Sacrifice

Mark 8:34 - 38





"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for th gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul. Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.'"



This past Sunday at St. Alban's, I had the priviledge to work with the Easter confirmands. We watched bits of video from the "End of the Spear" and talked about the seriousness of saying yes to following Jesus. It's not a call to take lightly and confirmation is not a coming of age ritual. At confirmation, a person dedicates him/herself to following Jesus. We talked about putting Jesus first in all our decisions and clarified that following Jesus does not mean that a person has to be perfect for the rest of his/her life. For, if this were so, then no one would need Jesus. We also talked about committing to follow Jesus is even more serious of a commitment than marriage.

In the "End of the Spear" the people were so committed to what the Lord called them to do, that even when the 5 men died trying to reach the indian tribe, their families still went to the tribe and eventually led them to Christ. We discussed the deep commitment to the Lord and the Lord's work in them gave them the grace to forgive the men who had killed their husbands/fathers/brothers and the compassion to love them as brothers. How we fall short every day to living as Jesus lived...forgiving without question the men who killed him. Oh how we all need a lifetime commitment to follow Jesus closely. I hope that confirmation is the start of this for the young people at St. Alban's.

re:mix is coming

The countdown is on... 10 days until re:mix. It is gearing up to be such a FABULOUS conference, yet extremely under-utilized. Mike Pilavachi will be there, a FAMOUS speaker from ENGLAND. It is my hope and prayer that the conference will PACK OUT! This is an incredible opportunity. I just found out today that there are scholarships available, so money is no longer an object. Check out the info at www.rocktheworld.org . You can register there, also. YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS IT!!!!

Journey through Narnia

The children and youth at St. Alban's are doing a lent series called "Journey Through Narnia" where they are watching bits of the film and exploring the Biblical themes/applications through discussion, worship, games, activities, and food. Every Wednesday during Lent from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at St. Alban's Murrsyville. Check it out if you get the chance!

We had our first meeting last night and it was a lot of fun, in spite of many obstacles including SNOW. We talked about Edmund, the White Witch, and Aslan and the themes of Sin and Atonement. It was a great meeting and we hope to build up momentum over the next 5 weeks.

We will be learning about the Armor of God and how to use it in our lives.

Reading through the Bible

Last week I had a great experience leading the Bible study at St. Thomas. During the jr./sr. high youth ministry, they are reading through the whole Bible and discussing the meaning of the scriptures and how they apply to life. Last year they started in Genesis and have been reading together every week. Last week, I had the opportunity to study I Samuel 2 and 3 with the group. I LOVE I Samuel 3. Young Samuel is in the temple. He has been given to the Lord by his mother, Hannah for the Lord's service. Samuel studied under the priest, Eli. One night while Samuel was sleeping, he heard a voice calling him and thought it was Eli, but it was the Lord. God gave young Samuel a prophecy to speak to Eli about the sins of his sons.

I love this scripture because it shows how God can use children to further his kingdom. More than just middle-aged people can be used for the Lord's work. Read the Bible...God did real things through young people over and over again. Maybe it's because of their energy...maybe it's because of their unquestioning faith...maybe it's because we're called to a lifetime of service... Whatever the reason, we need to remember with God to expect great things...even if someone seems too young to be able to serve Him.

Developing Student Leaders

Saturday was a great training day. We talked about leadership teams and developing student leaders. I think it was interesting, but when Becca started falling asleep, I started to question if it was or not (he, he...love you Becca!). I'm always happy to see the Happening staff participate in what we are doing. It's great that other ministries can be blessed by our Timothy trainings. Looking forward to the training on running meetings and giving talks in March! It should be loads of fun!

Training on Saturday

I'm really excited about Saturday's Developing Student Leaders training. Materials look good and turn out looks good. My next challenge is figuring out how to make trainings available to more people. I hope to start working on this in the next month.

I look forward to seeing everyone who signed up on Saturday. It's good stuff!

Student Leadership Story

A version of this article will appear in a Rock the World publication this spring. I thought I would share it with all my blog subscribers.

This is a picture of Becca with one of her friends. Becca is on the left.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity (I Timothy 4:12).” The Apostle Paul calls a young leader, Timothy, to a life of following Jesus and leading others in that journey. Our world is becoming increasingly younger and we are charged with what I like to call a “Timothy Mission.” It is time for the church to equip young leaders to call others into becoming followers of Jesus Christ. At age 32, it is becoming harder and harder for me to lead teenagers into a meaningful relationship with Jesus, but there are many young people I know who are called to serve the Lord now who are more equipped to reach their peers for Christ than I am.

As I started the ministry, St. Timothy’s Co-op (St. Tim’s) for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2006, it became very clear that one of my churches would not be able to fully staff the youth ministry with adults. St. Tim’s was started to help 5 small churches in the eastern end of the city of Pittsburgh develop lay lead, volunteer based youth ministry. Each church individually could not afford a youth minister, so with the support of the Diocese, they collectively hired me to train and develop their youth ministry teams.

At St. Martin’s in Monroeville, there was just no one available to lead…no adult, that is. After several planning meetings and months of prayer and anxiety about getting a youth ministry started, the Lord laid it on my heart to ask a 12 year old girl in 7th grade if she felt called to be THE youth leader at the church. She thought for a minute and indicated that she had been thinking that anyway. Becca L. follows Jesus and she desires to share Jesus with others. With the right support, Becca is now a youth minister. The youth ministry was named “Party @ Church” and kicked off in February of 2007. Becca loves drama and she has many friends involved in the theatre. She decided for her first event to lead a murder mystery dinner party. There were 3 jr. high youth at the church and their first event brought in 33, most of which were not Christians.

Since that time, Party @ Church has maintained 12 – 20 kids at their monthly meetings. Becca and her family have daily contact with the group members who are asking questions about faith, the reality of God, the Trinity, Jesus, suffering, love, and many other things. The students come back each month because they feel safe at church and they know that they are taken seriously. Becca is the minister to this community of young people and the Lord is using her powerfully as a missionary to her peers.

On November 1, 2007, St. Timothy’s Co-op merged with Rock the World and is now seeking to fulfill a Timothy mission by equipping churches to reach a young world through leadership development and community building. Becca is one of many young leaders who are being developed in their gifts through this ministry. It is my prayer that this ministry will continue to grow and more young people will be equipped to advance the Kingdom of God.

By Kim Keller Louis

My Priorities

I love doing ministry. I'm so thankful that God has called me to lead others into His Kingdom and equip others for ministry! Until recently, my life was all about ministry. 4 years ago, when I started dating Dave, life changed slightly. Dave and I were doing ministry together. Then, after 2 years of marriage, we were both doing our own ministries alongside each other. This was a slight adjustment, but I could still devote 3/4's of my energy to ministry.

On October 10, 2007, life completely changed! That was the day our 2 year old son, Evan moved into our house. Now, my family is my primary ministry. Don't get me wrong, I still work a full work week and provide ministry support at my job...but in my brain it is all different. Nothing else matters to me when it comes to raising Evan in a place where he can know and love the Lord. Evan is teaching me about my dependance on God and how caring God is toward me. It is my hope and prayer that Evan will choose to follow Jesus with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. I know that if I can't provide and environment for Evan at home to know the Lord, I have no business helping other people figure out how to disciple the youth in their church.

So, when it comes to priorities, Dave and Evan come first...and we are hopefully able to bless many others in ministry because of that fact!

Following Him,

Kim

Quote of the Day

"Remember: The ark was builty by amateurs; the Titanic was built by professionals." -Leonard Sweet; Aqua Church

This quote really makes me think! In all the madness of developing lay-led non-professional youth ministry, I think it's important to remember how God was always faithful to give the amateurs everything they needed to accomplish amazing things for Him! When Noah was building the ark, he had never seen rain before. When we're talking about youth ministries developing into something transformational, in many churches, there is no example of what this will look like. God equips the amateurs to do things they've never done before. Trust Him!

Who thought spaghetti could be so much fun!

Tonight at St. Alban's several kids showed up...more than we thought would come...and one even brought a friend. When you are faithful to walk in the way God is leading, He always shows himself to you.

St. Alban's started SAY club in October and it has been a slow start. Once a month a team of adults open up the church to the teenagers. There was really low attendance at the first couple meetings...but God was leading and the team has been following.

Tonight, 14 of us sat around children's tables in the fellowship hall eating spaghetti that we prepared together. We shared our lives, we worshiped God by singing and praying, we listened to each other and ate football salad. We talked about how God is always with us, just as he was with the Israelites every step of the way as they left Egypt.

May God continue to develop community among these amazing teenagers and the leadership team!

The first week of 2008

Vacation ended excitedly as I got stuck in a blizzard in Columbus, OH picking my brother and his family up after they flew in from England. So, my year got started late, on Friday, January 4. St. Alban's is set up to have a dynamic confirmation program this year as it kicked off this morning.

While I was on vacation, St. Martin's had an incredible end to their year with a Christmas pageant like none you've ever seen. Becca, the 13 year old youth leader creatively interpreted the coming of Christ into modern times. The students rehearsed the pageant and performed it that night.

All Saints continues their confirmation process with confirmation happening on February 17, 2008.

St. Thomas is currently on break until their youth leaders return from vacation.

Fufilling a Timothy mission

This blog is an account of fulfilling a Timothy Mission. I Timothy 4:12 says, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

There are many things that need to be done to reach young people in today's world. A Timothy mission equips young people to follow Jesus with their lives and churches to foster this spiritual development. It is not an easy task!

This blog is an account of that mission.