No Grow U

Grow U is on holiday. We wrapped up our last meeting Sunday night. We will be back on this fall with Grow U and a variety of ministry and leadership challenges.

Beach Camp Deadline

Our Beach Camp deadline is this Sunday, May 4th. There may or may not be spots available after this date. The cost is $295.00 per person with scholarships available. There is a $95.00 nonrefundable deposit required to secure your spot.

The camp is happening on July 15-19 in Orange Beach, Alabama. This is the 3rd trip the Middle School Ministry has made to the beach. It has been an incredible experience. The past two years we have attended camp with other churches. This year it is just going to be us. We want to focus on relationships and community. The week will be filled with worship, prayer, quiet times, teaching, small groups, and recreation on the beach.

Common Ground in May

There is a light at the end of the tunnel for Common Ground and it looks bright! Our ministry will be having a regular meeting next week to wrap up the month of April. We will then mix things up in May. Here is a breakdown of our final three meetings for Common Ground:

May 7th - Singing and Sharing - 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Our students will be singing and sharing before our church in Selph Hall. It will be a brief, yet incredible time. Following this, we will have ice cream sundaes and play games.

May 14th - Bar-B-Q - 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm - We will be having a cook-out and looking at the Top 10 things that Jesus did. We will be using the gym and the parking lot for all recreation, activities, and prize drawings.

May 21st - Party Central - 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm - Common Ground will be on location at Party Central. All you need to participate is $5.00, socks, and a registration card. We have a special guest who will come in and help the us understand the Gospel.

Common Ground has been an amazing adventure this year. The program is very young at just 2 years old, so it certainly needs a tune-up. It is our front door and we have had more Middle School Students walk through this year than ever before in the history of First Baptist Church. Our best days are still ahead of us!

The Edge Wrap-Up

The first ever Edge has come to an official end. It was an absolutely incredible weekend. The students that partipated showed so much heart, maturity, and potential. It was a blessing to have them involved in this leadership retreat. Here is a little information about the weekend...

Saturday:

We kicked it all off by heading to the Salvation Army in downtown Little Rock. Our group served food, filled drinks, washed dishes, cleaned up the dining hall, and visited with the various people coming in and out of the shelter. Following our service project, we headed off to dinner. We took a break at NYPD pizza. It was good to sit, visit, and relax.

Next on the agenda was to check into our hotel. Once we checked in, we all gathered at the conference room. The very first thing we did was teach the students to write their personal testimonies...their stories! The students were given a few minutes to work-out their faith experiences on paper. After the writing portion...it was time for the sharing. Each student shared their testimonies and did and a faboulous job. We wrapped up our first session with the Lord's Supper. It gave the students an opportunity to come clean with God and to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.

After a break, we all came back together for small groups. The small groups led by... Melinda, Doris, and Katie focused on "Being a Server" and "Being a Grower." The students and their leaders discussed thes topic and read Scripture.

We took one final break and then came back together for a large group session. It was at this time that the students were given practical application to becoming a "Server" and a "Grower." We were then dismissed to our rooms for the night.

Sunday:

The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and gathered in the conference room at an early 7 am. We broke into small groups and played a game. Following our game the groups turned their attention towards "Being a Connecter" and "Being a Server." Once the discussions were through the students partnered up and took turns washing each other's feet.

After a quick break, we came together large group to see more on how to be a "Connecter" and a "Server." This concluded the weekend. We then packed up and headed off to church. It was a great experience!

The Edge Details

It is exciting to think about those who are going to be a part of the first ever Middle School Ministry Edge Retreat. Our focus for the Edge is on “Student Leadership.” It will naturally be a smaller group. Why the Edge? It is because so many students are on the “edge” of doing something absolutely incredible for God. God wants to utilize them and we want to help them make this happen.

The Edge is happening this weekend, April 19-20. The cost is $25.00 per person, which covers everything. You do not need any additional money, unless you want to purchase snacks at the hotel. You will need to arrive at the First Baptist Worship Foyer at 2:45 pm on Saturday, April 19th. If you cannot attend, please contact us immediately.

Once we depart from First Baptist, we will serve for a couple of hours at the Salvation Army. You will be given the opportunity to exit your comfort zone. You will see many hurting people and have the privilege of helping them. Once we leave the shelter, we will have dinner together.

Following dinner, we will go to our hotel and gather in the conference room. It is at this time that we will begin to dive in deep. We will open this moment with sharing the Lord’s Supper. Beginning the Edge with serving and coming clean with God will make our study much more effective.

Next, we will begin a journey looking at the “4 Marks of a Student Leader.” A student leader is a:

-Server - Serves others in Ministry
-Sharer - Shares their Faith
-Grower - Grows on their Own
-Connecter - Connect to Others

We will then crash for the evening. The next day, we will wake-up, have breakfast, and jump in for a little more. Finally, we will pack-up and return to First Baptist for church on Sunday, April 20th at 9:00 am.

The Edge Deadline

Today is the deadline for the Edge. Our intentions are to limit the size of this group for focus and intimacy. We will close all registration very soon. If you plan on attending, you can turn your forms in on Monday.

It is happening April 19-20. We will serve and gather as a small group to focus on the aspects of a student leader. It will be a challenging, yet incredible experience.

Golf Tournament

You are invited to play in the George and Randy Mooney Memorial Golf Tournament. It is happening on Saturday, May 3rd at Longhills. You can access a registration form at FBC. If you do not want to play, there is still an opportunity to be involved. You can sponsor a hole in memory or honor of someone special, a business, or Sunday School Class. There are various ranges of sponsorship. Contact us to find out more. All proceeds go to fund Student Ministry summer events. Hope to have you involved in some way!

Singing at Common Ground

As many of you know, Common Ground is a blend of activities to lead to students to hear the Word of God. There is an emphasis on Recreation and Music throughout the night.

The students have been working on a couple of songs throughout the year. Coming up on Wednesday, May 7th, the students will be sharing a couple of songs in the Wednesday evening service. This service begins at 6 pm and follows our evening meal.

The kids will sing and then we will share a little about the mission and program of our Middle School Ministry. We will only be in this service for about 10 minutes, but it is an incredible opporunity. Our church will see students face to face and hear how God has blessed us so much.

Make plans to slip into the beginning of this service and encourage your child to be present this night. It will be a great time. We will still meet as normal this night...5:30 pm - 7:00 pm.

Small Groups

Small Groups makes our ministry much more relational. The curriculum rotates between the Old Testament and New Testament. This year, we are doing the Old Testament, which means that next year we will dive into the New Testament. Small Groups currently meet during the school-year on the 2nd floor each Sunday from 9:15 am - 10:15 am.

It is all about sharing the Word and building community. Here are the topics that our leaders have led our students into this year... Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah, Tower of Babel, Abraham, Sodom and Gomorrah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Ten Commandments, Balaam, Rahab, Deborah, Gideon, and Samson, Saul, and David to name a few highlights.

Common Ground

Common Ground is back on this Wednesday! We have been off the last two weeks with Dodge City and Spring Break. We are going to begin a new series entitled, "Game Time." Together, we will find out what God can teach us through ordinary games. Here is how April will look on Wednesday nights:

4/2 - Scrabble..."Power of our Words."

4/9 - Operation..."Checking our Hearts."

4/16 - Risk..."Spiritual Warfare"

4/23 - Monopoly..."Greed and Selfishness"

4/30 - Missions Night