5 Ways to Help Teenagers Share Their Faith

Check out this video my friend Tim Schmoyer put together with Matt Brown.

TIMS 2010 Speakers / Worship Leaders

At CRC we’re excited about the speakers we have lined up for TIMS 2010.

July 18^th to 24^th – Speakers: Tim & Sara Evanchick - With 15 years of youth ministry between them, newlyweds Tim and Sara Evanchick are excited to be speaking at TIMS in 2010. Sara has been working with youth in and outside of the church in Williamson, NY for several years. Until 2009, Tim worked with teenagers through Youth For Christ in the Albany area. Now he serves the youth of Wayne County as a Site Director for Scarlet Thread Ministries. Sara and Tim are also on the ministry team of the One Week Workcamp in their area where they get the opportunity to worship and work alongside students doing home repairs for local people in need.  They share a passionate love for Jesus Christ and a desire to share that love with teenagers.

Sara was a feature writer for our TIMS 2009 Devotional. Sara is also a contributing writer for the Youth Specialites blog

July 25^th to 31^st – Speaker: Patti Gibbons – Returning for her second year as a speaker for TIMS. Patti is the editor of YMX powered by Youth Specialties as well as a host for the YM Women. Patti will challenge you and your students to grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus as well as share the “good news” with others. Patti says; I’m a passionate pursuer of Jesus Christ, a wife of more than 20 years, the mom of two incredible young people.  I’m interested in people, what they do and why.  I’ve spent a good chunk of my adult life as a youth minister in a number of settings, but I’ve done some other interesting work also.

These days, I write, speak and teach related to youth ministry – ranging from communicating to youth and writing curriculum for youth ministry, to helping manage communities for youth workers and women in youth ministry, to making myself a resource in any way I can to see teenagers and their families know Christ and make Him known.

August 1^st to 7^th – Speaker: Brian Ford – is the TIMS Program Director at CRC. He’s been in youth ministry for over 12 years serving in various capacities. He’s passionate about Jesus, communicating the message of the cross, and equipping teens to know, live, share and own their faith. He’s a contributing writer to YouthMinistry.com, YMX, and Dare2Share’s Gospel Journey Maui.

Brian will challenge your students and leaders to grow deep in their relationship with Jesus as well as equip them to relentlessly and relational share their faith.

July 18^th to 24^th – Worship Leader: Janelle Painter will be returning for her second summer to TIMS. Janelle is a part of the Bridge Youth Ministries in Elizabeth, NJ. She’s been a youth worker for 8 years, serving as a youth worship leader, an all-girls small group leader, and is in charge of creating hands-on prayer/worship stations once a month for the youth church, the Sanctuary. She loves singing, creativity, clouds, thunderstorms, and making people smile. She is also a youth ministry mentor with Life in Student Ministry. Janelle has a passion for communicating the message of the cross through music and song.

Is Jesus My Senior Pastor?

This past weekend my wife and I traveled to Colorado to visit family and friends. It was our first time meeting nephew #2 since he was born this spring and he’s doing great. We also spent our weekend with some friends and joined them for an awesome worship experience on Sunday morning.

During the service Scott Hamilton preached a sermon that has been on my mind all week. Northern Hills is doing a series called “Saints & Sinners: A reminder of who we are.” In 1 Corinthians Paul is dealing with one main problem within the church. People were not identifying themselves with Jesus Christ, rather they were focused more on the men preaching the gospel. As a result their focus was on themselves which led to division and arguing in the church.

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into
the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” – 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

I wonder…are our churches experiencing this very same issue today? Are we putting too much focus on the men preaching from our pulpits? When you think of a church in your community or well known churches across the country do you immediately identify with that church because of the person leading it or because of what Jesus is doing through the lives of everyone in that church? “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 3:11

If we’re going to become united as one body we MUST indentify with Jesus. Jesus has the right and power to do what he wants because he’s the ultimate authority over EVERYTHING. So why do we indentify with the person/s behind the pulpit, the church name, or church building? If we’re going to boast about anything we should only boast about Jesus. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 1:31

Is Jesus the program director of CRC? Is Jesus the head of my household? Is Jesus my Senior Pastor?