Vitals - August 10th

The Spark (Jr. High) - August 10th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Self Control" by Kurt
Key Points:
Within each of us is incredible potential for GOOD and for EVIL.
How we THINK affects how we feel, how we feel affects the way we BEHAVE.
Self control EXPANDS your future. Self indulgence LIMITS your future.
When you are in a tough situation, press PAUSE long enough to make the WISE CHOICE.
Verses Referenced: Galatians5:22-25, James 1:13-15, 1 John 2:15-17
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance:
Total: 97
1st Service: 46 (36 students, 10 leaders)
2nd Service: 61 (51 students, 10 leaders)

NO HIGH SCHOOL SERVICE - CAMPING TRIP (35 students, 7 leaders)

High School Camping Trip!

This weekend, the High School Group is heading out for a camping trip at Ledges State Park. The cost is $10 for food and fun. Please bring your own sleeping bag, tent, pillow and toiletries as well as clothes for the trip. We will meet at 12:30 pm in the Student Zone (Theater) at Point of Grace and leave for the campground. We will return to Point of Grace around 2 pm on Monday, August 11th. Also if your parents can drive please let us know. Hope you all can make it to the trip! If your student does not come on the camping trip, we will not have 4ORTY 2wO on Sunday night August 10th, so don't have them show up... they will be all alone. If you have any questions, please feel free to call 515.987.9595 ext. 116. Thanks!

Vitals - August 3rd

The Spark (Jr. High) - August 3rd
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Gentleness" by Katie
Key Points:
Gentleness is not the same as WEAKNESS.
We all want to be treated with GENTLENESS, so we need to make sure we TREAT OTHERS the same way.
Knowing how to give and recieve CORRECTION is a requirement for having HAVING RELATIONSHIPS.
God sees GENTLENESS as a sure sign of STRENGTH.
When something is VALUABLE we treat it with extra care; How are we treating God's most valuable CREATION?
Verses Referenced: 1 Corinthians 4:20-21, Proverbs 15:1-5, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance:
Total: 86
1st Service: 45 (32 students, 12 leaders)
2nd Service: 54 (42 students, 12 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - August 3rd
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Gentleness" by Katie
Discussion Questions:
"What is something that you would describe as gentle?"
"What is your typical response when someone doesn't treat you with gentleness?"
Key Points:
Gentleness is not the same as WEAKNESS.
We all want to be treated with GENTLENESS, so we need to make sure we TREAT OTHERS the same way.
Knowing how to give and recieve CORRECTION is a requirement for having HAVING RELATIONSHIPS.
God sees GENTLENESS as a sure sign of STRENGTH.
When something is VALUABLE we treat it with extra care; How are we treating God's most valuable CREATION?
Verses Referenced: 1 Corinthians 4:20-21, Proverbs 15:1-5, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance: 66 (56 students, 10 leaders)

Vitals - July 27th

The Spark (Jr. High) - July 27th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Faithfulness" by Dawn
Key Points:
Living with faithfulness requires me to see the END PRIZE as more important than the OBSTACLES along the way.
God wants us to continue to FOLLOW HIM even when we are UNCERTAIN of the outcome.
God promises that it won't be EASY, but we will never be ALONE.
FAITHFULNESS is about following God when it doesn't make SENSE.
The Heart of a Champion STICKS with God even when it looks like they should QUIT.
Verses Referenced: Job 1:18-21, 2 Thesselonians 3:3, Matthew 25:21
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance:
Total: 92
1st Service: 43 (33 students, 10 leaders)
2nd Service: 59 (49 students, 10 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - July 27th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Faithfulness" by Dawn
Discussion Questions:
"What do you think of when you hear the word faithfulness?"
"It's easy to follow God when things are going well. What do you think that it would take to shake you of your faith in God?"
Key Points:
Living with faithfulness requires me to see the END PRIZE as more important than the OBSTACLES along the way.
God wants us to continue to FOLLOW HIM even when we are UNCERTAIN of the outcome.
God promises that it won't be EASY, but we will never be ALONE.
FAITHFULNESS is about following God when it doesn't make SENSE.
The Heart of a Champion STICKS with God even when it looks like they should QUIT.
Verses Referenced: Job 1:18-21, 2 Thesselonians 3:3, Matthew 25:21
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance: 61 (52 students, 9 leaders)

We Are Coming Home Early!

We are having breakfast in Hannibal Mo, right now so we are ahead of schedule. We estimate that we will arrive at Point of Grace around 3:30 PM. We hope that the time change doesn't cause too much inconvenience. We will see you when we arrive! I know the students are looking forward to seeing you!

Day 4 wrap up

Today was incredible! We learned about Gods heart for the world and how we need to live LARGER than ourselves! We got to see the Kenyan Childrens Choir perform this morning and we learned how we can get involved in helping those in need around the world. Then tonight we had 5 students start following Jesus for the first time! We had an amazing party as we watched what God has been doing this week! Then tomorrow we will baptize 14 students in the ocean! Its gas been an amazing week. Thanks for your prayers and all that you did to make it possible!

We will see you tomorrow. And we will update this blog as to our arrival time but right now we guess it will be aroun 6 PM. Are you soon!

Day 2 & 3 wrap up

We had an incredible last two days at Big Stuf camp learning how to live we a singular clear broadcast. We learned that God wants is to be honest about who we truelt are because He created is exactly according to his design. He also wants is to live connected in community with other Christ followers. But this requires authenticity and transparency! Please pray for your students as they begin to experience true community by beginning to be honest and real with others. We also encourage you to encourage your student to get in a Life Group in the fall so that the community can continue to flourish!

Big Stuf: Day 1 Update

Well as we wrapped up the first day, we are all very tired and maybe a little sunburned, but it has already been an incredible experience, even though we have only been here for about 8 hours. The opening session totally blew the students away with the amazing set, flashing lights and creative and fun games. The theme this year is "Broadcast" and the whole week we are asking ourselves "What am I broadcasting to the world around me?" It's really going to be amazing! Tonight we heard from Jared Heard and he challenged us to live out loud for God and to look at our life like a puzzle, and truly be honest about whether our life is a bunch of pieces or is it a complete, beautiful picture. Often times we each hold a piece of our life puzzle that we refuse to give God control of. Usually this is the piece that we desire the most; we think that because this thing is so valuable, that we have to hold on to it and have control of it, so that it is taken care of, rather than put that thing in the hands of the One who truly can control and change that one thing, that one thing that we care about the most.

As we go on through this week, your students will be asking themselves, "What am I broadcasting, not just with my words, but with my life?" Please pray for God to move in their hearts and change their lives as they fall deeper in love with Him!

We Made It!

We arrived safetly today at Big Stuf in Panama City Beach and the students are exatatic! Though long, the bus ride went very smoothly and the students had a great time in St. Louis at the City Museum and the Riverfront Park and Arch! We also got to see some fireworks. Its has been a good time so far and we are excited to see what God will do in your students lives over the next 5 days! Thanks for your prayers and look forward to more updates coming soon.

Big Stuf Details

Can you believe that we leave for Big Stuf in only 4 days!!  Here is the information that we covered in the meeting and all the details for what your student needs to bring, and what not to bring, to camp this weekend:

Registration begins at 10:00 am this Friday, July 18th, in the Atrium at Point of Grace.  Please arrive as soon after 10:00 am as possible as we have almost 100 people to check in.  We will be leaving by 11:00 am.  A parent or legal guardian must sign in every student going on this trip, and stay for the short Parent Meeting.  At registration, you will be giving the Parent packet with information about details at camp, your student's room leader and their cell phone number to contact them in the case of an emergency. You will also have to sign the Big Stuf Release Form.  If you do not sign them in and fill out this form, they cannot get on the bus.

We will be stopping on the way down to Florida at the City Museum in St. Louis, MO, and the cost for that is $6. We will also be stopping at Opry Mills Mall in Nashville, TN, on the way home.

Your student will need spending money for this trip. We suggest between $75 and $100 for food on the way down and back (6 meals total) souvenirs while at camp, admission to the City Museum, as well as snacks and food while at camp.  Also there are extra optional activities while at camp that cost money such as parasailing, Jetski rentals, Shipwreck Island Water Park and the Movie Theater, which are all options on Tuesday during Free Time.  Please send you student with money as we will not be able to cover students who do not have money for food. 

Please bring:

Toiletries

Pillow and blanket for the bus ride

One piece swim suit

Bible and pen

iPod, CD player, and other personal media devices (please put your name on them because they are for the bus ride only.  They will be collected when we arrive at camp and returned the night before we leave for home)

Camera

Spending money (we suggest between $75 and $100)

Please DO NOT bring:

Cellular phones (if your student is caught with their phone, it will be confiscated and they will not get it back until we meet with you)

Tankinis

Cigarettes, alcohol or other drugs not prescribed by a doctor

Bad Attitudes

If you have any last minute questions, please feel free to contact us at students@pointofgrace.com, or check out bigstuf.com and we will see you Friday morning at 10:00 am for registration and then it's off to Florida! It's going to be a great week. We are looking forward to it!

Gold Medal Monday!

Come hang out with us this Monday, July 14th, at Jordan Creek Mall! We will be having lunch and seeing Wall-E. Bring $12 or so for lunch and your movie ticket. We will meet at the Dew Zone at noon and pick up is at 3:30p. Hope to see you there!

Vitals - June 6th

The Spark (Jr. High) - July 6th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Kindness" by Katie and Kurt
Key Points:
Kindness is not giving when it's EASY for me, but when it COSTS me something.
When we give KINDNESS away, we RECEIVE the kindness we are looking for.
Verses Referenced: Colossians 3:9-12, Isiah 61:1-2
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance:
Total: 99
1st Service: 44 (34 students, 10 leaders)
2nd Service: 65 (55 students, 10 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - July 6th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Kindness" by Katie and Kurt
Discussion Questions:
"What is a time that you remember that you experienced someone's kindness?"
"How do you feel when someone is kind to you but it doesn't cost them anythings?"
Key Points:
Kindness is not giving when it's EASY for me, but when it COSTS me something.
When we give KINDNESS away, we RECEIVE the kindness we are looking for.
Verses Referenced: Colossians 3:9-12, Isiah 61:1-2
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance: 67 (58 students, 9 leaders)

This Weekend...

This weekend we got to visit some of the more difficult parts of South Africa.  We walked some children home to #7 which is a little makeshift village that is near The Pines.  There we saw to extreme poverty and despair the many Africans face.

We also visited the Hospital and passed out Beanie Babies to children (all under the age of 13) dying of AIDS, TB or other diseases.  It was incredibly heart wrenching to hold babies and talk with 5 and 6 year olds in the hospital who had been in there for months dying with no one coming to visit them.  It was a challenging time.  Then we went to a children's cemetery where children we buried.  To read the grave stones (on those that had them) made us cry seeing some babies not even live for a day.  The most morbid part of it all, was that next to the grave sites there were two rows of open graves, totaling about 50 holes, which we were told would be filled by the end of the week, just in and around Thabong alone.  As we rode home, very solemn, God had a special treat to lift our spirit's and we got stopped at a Net Ball game by African children flooding the street to see the crazy Americans and take pictures with us.

It was a day of sorrow and joy, hope and distress, but through it all we experienced the love of God for His creation and saw the desperate need that we must meet to help these people!

Week One Review

Hello All! We are so thankful for your prayers and so excited to be a part of what God is doing down here in South Africa! We wrapped up an incredible week of VBS style outreach club for the children that live around the Pines. We had over 60 children on Tuesday when Katie taught on the story of Noah's Ark and how we can trust God's promises to us, and ended the week with over 12 children praying to ask Jesus to come into their lives through the explanation of the gospel through the 5 color bead bracelet.  It truly has been an indescribable week so far!  Next week we are headed to the Public High School in Thabong, the townshi

p right near Whelkom, to speak to the senior class for a week about American, education, AIDS awareness and prevention and social issues such as gender, race, and basic human rights from God's perspective.  Should be a great time!  Thanks again for you prayers and please enjoy the pictures....

Katie teaching the Children

The Gospel bracelets the Children made

We Arrived in South Africa!

                
Well, we all made it safe to Chicago, then to London, and finally to Johannesburg, South Africa. After a long drive we showed up at the Pines with 12 kids in tow!  After getting settled we took a tour of the property and got the schedule for the week.  So we are settled in and we are having a Bible Club for the kids at the Pines as well as the children that live at the #7 camp down the road.  We are excited to be here and even more excited to see what God will do in and through us over then next 2 weeks!  Thanks for your support and prayers and be sure to look for updates and pictures to be posted as the activities get going!

Vitals - June 15th

The Spark (Jr. High) - June 15th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Joy" by Katie
Key Points:
Happiness is a MOOD, but Joy is the ATTITUDE of a champion.
Life is not always EASY, so Jesus offers us the TRAINING we need to win.
Living a GENEROUS life gives us a real PURPOSE AND JOY.
Our joy comes from what GOD has already DONE for us.
God produces JOY in our lives through the CHALLENGES that we face.
Verses Referenced: Hebrews 12:1-2, 1 Chronicles 29:17, Romans 5:1-5
Worship led by: Alex Wolfe and Key to the City
Attendance:
Total: 88
1st Service: 42 (32 students, 10 leaders)
2nd Service: 56 (46 students, 10 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - June 15th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Joy" by Katie
Discussion Questions:
"What do you think is the difference between joy and happiness?"
"What is your natural reaction when you encounter a difficult situation or person?"
Key Points:
Happiness is a MOOD, but Joy is the ATTITUDE of a champion.
Life is not always EASY, so Jesus offers us the TRAINING we need to win.
Living a GENEROUS life gives us a real PURPOSE AND JOY.
Our joy comes from what GOD has already DONE for us.
God produces JOY in our lives through the CHALLENGES that we face.
Verses Referenced: Hebrews 12:1-2, 1 Chronicles 29:17, Romans 5:1-5
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance: 52 (43 students, 9 leaders)

Gold Medal Monday! - June 16th

Gold Medal Mondays are just fun activities to generate community and have fun as a group. We hope your student will join us for all three this summer! The first one in this Monday, June 16th and its a pool party at Katie and Kurt's apartment. It is from 12-3pm and costs $5 for Jimmy John's Lunch! Here are the directions to the pool:

Take I-35 to Mills Civic Parkway. Go east on Mills Civic to 50th Street and turn left on 50th. Turn Left on EP True Parkway. Go under the Interstate and then turn left on Prairie View Drive. Take the second left into the apartment complex and look for the ballons. The pool is through the clubhouse (1000 building) which is directly in front of you.

See you there!

Vitals - June 8th

The Spark (Jr. High) - June 8th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Love" by Kurt
Key Points:
God measures the heart of a CHAMPION by the strength of our CHARACTER.
There is a difference between being great AT SOMETHING and being GREAT.
LOVE is always a DECISION.
Love means choosing to STEP UP and do something to help SOMEONE ELSE.
Love is and ACTION of a CHAMPION.
Verses Referenced: Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 10:43-45, Luke 10: 30-37
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance:
Total: 110
1st Service: 51 (42 students, 9 leaders)
2nd Service: 68 (59 students, 9 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - June 8th
Message - "Heart Of A Champion - Love" by Kurt
Discussion Questions:
"What do you think it takes to become a spiritual champion?"
"What comes to mind when you think about love?"
Key Points:
God measures the heart of a CHAMPION by the strength of our CHARACTER.
There is a difference between being great AT SOMETHING and being GREAT.
LOVE is always a DECISION.
Love means choosing to STEP UP and do something to help SOMEONE ELSE.
Love is and ACTION of a CHAMPION.
Verses Referenced: Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 10:43-45, Luke 10: 30-37
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance: 48 (40 students, 8 leaders)

PARENT BIG STUF MEETINGS!

PARENTS! If your student is going to Big Stuf camp with us this summer, please make plans to be at one of our Big Stuf Parent Information Meetings with your student. The meetings is this Sunday, June 8th at 12:30p in the Student Zone (Theater) at Point of Grace. You AND your student need to be at this meetings! If you do not attend this meeting, your spot may be dropped! If you are on the waiting list for camp, feel free to attend this meeting, even if you haven't heard if your spot has been accepted yet. Also it is not too late to get on the waiting list if you want to go to to Florida with us this summer!

Vitals - June 1st

The Spark (Jr. High) - June 1st
Message - "Senior Speaker" by Leah Banks
5 Purposes:
Enter - Evangelism
Merge - Fellowship
Construct - Discipleship
Access - Service
Elevate - Worship
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance:
Total: 142
1st Service: 53 (41 students, 12 leaders)
2nd Service: 91 (79 students, 12 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - June 1st
Message - "Senior Speaker" by Leah Banks
5 Purposes:
Enter - Evangelism
Merge - Fellowship
Construct - Discipleship
Access - Service
Elevate - Worship
Worship led by: Justin Willis and Key to the City
Attendance: 54 (43 students, 11 leaders)