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To NMC Students - Let's Build a CHURCH!

At the NMC Student Ministries' "Kids In Need" Celebration this Wednesday night, we'll be taking an offering to help build a church in the Pygmy tribe of Rwanda. Last school year, as a result of Rwanda Night and the Silent Auction, our students helped make possible a Rwandan Exodus Conference that resulted in the planting of over 20 churches in remote and unchurched areas of Rwanda.

One of the churches that was planted as a result of this Exodus, was in the Pygmy tribe. This "church" doesn't yet have a church building. For only $1,400, we have the opportunity to once again come alongside side this group of people that is considered "the least of these" and help provide a church building for them.

The stakes are high because unless the Pygmies have a formal meeting place (meaning a building), they will not be allowed to continue meeting as a church body. If I understand it correctly, there is a law in Rwanda that was put into place shortly after the Rwandan Genocide that said people were not allowed to have formal outdoor gatherings in one location for an undetermined amount of time.

Time is ticking! The Pygmies now have less than 6 months to get a church building built or run the risk of no longer being able to meet.

Wouldn't it be awesome if we were able to leave the K.I.N. Celebration Wednesday night with enough money to build the Pygmies a church building? The man talking in the above video believes it will take a "miracle" of God for this to happen.

Wouldn't it be cool for you to be apart of someone else's "miracle"?

So, Why A Dodgeball Tournament?

This weekend is our "Kids In Need" Dodgeball Tournament at NMC. The Junior High & Preteen Tournaments are Friday and the Senior High/Adult Tournament in Saturday. Read more about the details of the tournament here.

See the above picture and go here to learn more about the "why" behind this tournament.

K.I.N. Shoe Drive

This year, as part of the Spring Break "IMPACT Kenya" Team’s responses to the needs of the people of Kenya, a collection of shoes will be offered to help stem the tide of elephantitus in the area. This painful disease can be prevented simply by wearing shoes.

The team will be collecting shoes up until the time of the trip, which takes place over Spring Break (beginning of April). There will be collection areas all around NMC (Preteen Room, Fieldhouse, Grand Hall and in Connection Gym-Wednesdays Only.

All members of the community are encouraged to participate! All sizes of shoes and states of shoes are welcome! The team will decide if shoes need to remain in the United States depending on the state of the shoes and the sizes needed in Kenya. Join the cause!

Want to Make a Difference?

Since I know a lot of the people that read this are NMCer's, I thought I'd share this here as well.

Investing in the Next Generation: There's a great opportunity right now to serve as a leader on Wednesday nights in Preteens by using your gifts and abilities to help 5th & 6th graders see how they can be used by God to serve others and make a difference for Christ! We're looking for willing people to help lead “Workshops” that do just this by teaching such skills as: Cooking, Crocheting, Woodworking, Photography, Drama and more.

This Sunday morning there will be a Preteen Volunteer Orientation for anyone interested in working with Preteens on Wednesday Nights this school year. This orientation will be from 8:15 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. in GYM 250. This time will be informal, interactive, informative! For more information about volunteering in our Preteen ministry in NMC, give me a shout out at jasonthompson@nmc1.org or 574-773-7773, ext. 226.

Inside the Heart of a Preteen

When it comes to the maturity of Preteens, whether it be emotional, physical, mental or spiritual, there can be major differences between individual students. In fact, I've often say that there is no larger gap between two grades then there is between a 6th grade girl and a 5th grade boy. This can make it feel like, at times, that you are left to minister to students with a maturity level of a 3rd grader all the way to a maturity level of an 8th grader.

Needless to say, this can create significant challenges when you are trying to put together a program for such a wide-range of maturity levels. I'm often left wandering how effective we've been and whether we are effectively reaching students because of these varying levels of understanding.

Thus, when I read the following letter that one of our students had left behind after Preteen Camp, I was most encouraged! This young gal was writing in response to one of the "Time Alone With God" exercises that we took students through. This particular station was called, "Love Letter to God."

Dear God, I love you so much. But I know you love me even more. I want to do what you say to do. Make your word clear to me. Teach me your ways, not mine. I want to know you. So please reveal yourself to me. Thank you for making it possible that I could come to camp. I am being moved by you and I can feel it. Thank you Jesus. I love you.

I was reminded to never underestimate what God can do in the heart of 5th & 6th graders.

To NMC Parents: Sunday Mornings vs. Wednesday Nights

There have been a couple of times in the past week, where I've received messages from parents of our Preteens letting me know that they can't commit to volunteering on Wednesday nights because they don't attend on Wednesday nights for one reason or another.

Our stance as a Student Ministries, has always been that if a student really wants to get connected and grow spiritually, that they need to be involved not just on Sunday mornings but on Wednesday nights as well.

This is the response that I sent to one of these parents. I thought I'd share it with you in case you are wondering the difference between and importance of making sure your student is involved in our Wednesday night programming at NMC...

"Dear Parent, I would encourage you to try and work something out so that your daughter is able to come to Preteens on Wednesday nights this school year. The older kids get, the more it becomes a necessity rather than a luxury that they get involved on Wednesday nights at NMC if they are to really grow spiritually.

While what we offer on Sunday mornings is valuable, it's just not the optimal time to do ministry to students. With that said, what we are doing on Sunday mornings is valuable and is something we feel like we have maximized. It's just that Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. tends to be a much more difficult time to do ministry in Student Ministries to 10-18 year olds as compared to Wednesday nights at 6:45 p.m.

Thus, there is a lot that takes place on Wednesday nights that students who only come on Sunday mornings miss out on and consequently, tend to have their spiritual growth stunted to some extent."

Preteen Camp 2009 Pictures

Lots more to come. Here's just a few to get started...

Preteen Camp Highlight

At Thursday night's Preteen Camp Celebration time, I challenged students, using 4 stories of very ordinary kids their own age, to move from an attitude of "Who Am I?" to one of "Here Am I God, use me!"

I told them that the Lord could do a work through their life that would exceed their wildest dreams if they would simply allow him to do so. The 4 stories were that of...

1. Austin Gutwein - At age 9, he started the ministry "Hoops of Hope" that has raised enough money to build both a school and hospital in Zambia.

2. Austin Hostetter - Former NMC student who started inviting a lost friend to church in 7th grade. That friend later received Christ and starts college this fall with aspirations of becoming a pastor.

3. The boy in the story of the Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-14) - He simply offered up his 5 barley loaves and fish even though they weren't much and God used it in a miraculous way. He didn't care how much he had or that it wouldn't be enough. He simply was willing to give what he had and allow God to do the rest.

4. Jason Thompson - As a middle schooler, he was quiet, shy, stuttered and greatly feared public speaking. He would have been one of the last students his teachers would have predicted would speak publicly for a living. Not until he decided to fully trust the Lord with this fear as a college senior did God loosen his lips and give him the ability to speak effectively in front of groups of people. No one could have ever predicted that Jason Thompson would speak in front of literally thousands of students between 1998 - 2009. But they didn't know what God had in mind!

At the close of the Thursday night Celebration, I gave students the opportunity to stand and publicly state that they wanted to be used by God. Over 50 students stood and boldy proclaimed, "I want to be used by God." This was a powerful moment, a holy moment!

It was so powerful to see so many students move from a posture of "Who Am I?" to one of "Here I am God, use me!" For me, it was the highlight of the 2009 Preteen Camp!

on our way home from

on our way home from Preteen Camp. Great year!

Preteen Camp Update -Thursday Night

We had a GREAT afternoon of fun on the lake. One student said, "That was the most fun I had all summer!"

It's been incredibly rewarding to watch some of our core senior highers who are serving as camp counselors at Preteen Camp really dive in with students and give so much of themselves this week for the sake of 5th & 6th graders knowing how much God loves them!

Please pray for tonight's celebration. Tonight is about challenging students to "BRACE YOURSELF To Be Used By God." Pray that students would move from feeling like "Who Am I to be used by God?" to being willing to say by faith "Here I Am God, Use Me!"

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This is one of the 8 "Time Alone With God" experiences that students are rotating through this morning at Preteen Camp. This one is called 'Weights and Chains'. This station helps students ientifying anything that is weighing them down or that has them tangled up spiritually.

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Getting crazy worshipping God at PT Camp

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Preteen Camp Report: Wednesday Afternoon

Students are in their cabin groups right now working on their "Brace Yourself" skits that they will be performing tomorrow afternoon. These type of activities help to build community and new friendships all while having a ton of fun reforcing our camp theme.

We had a good opening Celebration time this afternoon as we introduced the camp theme along with the story of Job and the challenge to "Brace Yourself to Be Moved By God" while at camp this week.

Former NMC intern Matt Mendenhall is back leading worship for camp this year along with a couple of the students he brought with him from the church he is the youth pastor at in Clarkston, MI. It's always enjoyable to have a former intern or student return "home" & to see the dividends of our investment in their lives.

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I didn't take the guys 2 minutes to get the first of many games of "Gaga" underway. This game is legendary at Preteen Camp!

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Preteen Camp 2009 Starts Tomorrow!

Ways to Pray for Preteen Camp, August 5-7 @ Camp Crosley
142 students and leaders leave tomorrow morning for 3 days of an insane amount of fun and life-changing experiences at the 2009 Preteen Camp!

YOU can be apart of what God has planned for the 115 students that are headed to Preteen Camp this year by joining an army of prayer warriors!

(1) PRAY that students will move from a form of “Religion” to a personal “Relationship"with Jesus.

(2) PRAY for spiritual transformation & authentic life-change to take place

(3) PRAY that there would be a tangible, manifest presence of the Holy Spirit

(4) PRAY that students will leave camp being able to say, "“I have heard about you before but now I have seen you with my own eyes.”(Job 42:5)

(5) PRAY for those summer campers who's only yearly spiritual experience is at summer camp. Pray that what takes place at camp this year will only be the beginning rather than the end of a their spiritual experience.

(6) PRAY against the enemy’s distractions (sound issues, rebellion, family strife leading into camp, etc.)

(7) PRAY for lots of good, clean, edifying fun

(8) PRAY for good health and safety

(9) PRAY that students would become burdened for and passionate about reaching the lost.

(10) PRAY for students to make new “Christ honoring” friendships

(11) PRAY for our Speaker - Jason Thompson (me)

(12) PRAY for our Worship Leader - Matt Mendenhall

(13) PRAY for our Group Leaders as they help students make it personal and bring it home

(14) PRAY for our Camp Nurse - Tena Sheets

(15) PRAY for Rachael during these days as I'm gone. Pray that she will experience great peace as we are still obviously in the grieving process. She has some great friends that will be keeping her very busy for the next 3 days which is a huge blessing!

Ways God is Moving...

This morning, I came across 3 different blog entries/comments that I was inspired and challenged by...

(1) Kayln Lantz shares a specific experience she had during her trip to Nepal with Tiny Hands International.

(2) One of the team leaders of Katie Lengacher's (NMC student) AIM Team, shares a specific story that the team had as they ministered to the people in the Amazon Jungle region.

(3) Comments NMC Senior High students left on the Senior High TAWG blog as they begin to grow spiritually now that they are home from camp.

Preteens tonight at Todd & Sheila Eby's farm learning about the Parable of the Sower.

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Parents of Preteens: Summer Wednesday Recap (Series)

This summer in our Preteen program at NMC, we are taking a break from the norm. Each Wednesday we will be loading up on buses and heading to an undisclosed location for a night of fun as we SENSE God in new ways using our 5 senses!

Each week this summer, I will be posting a recap of what we did that Wednesday either on Wednesday night or Friday morning for the benefit of the parents of our preteen students.

This Wednesday, we are going to a farm to getting a hands on look at the spiritual truth found in Luke 8 when Jesus tells the "Parable of the Sower." Below is the handout that students were given.

A God-Sized "Ah-Ha" Moment

Over the years, I've had a bunch of "ah-ha" moments in ministry where God shown me something I've never seen before. Earlier this year, my ministry partner and friend, Derry, had an "ah-ha" moment that I think could impact our Summer Camp ministry for years to come.

Every year, we see students go to summer camp and see God work in their lives in very real and amazing ways. Yet many of these students really struggle to bring home what they've learned. It's typical to hear comments like "God changed my life at camp this year" or "I wish the whole year could be like summer camp." While, in and of themselves, these comments aren't bad, there is something that is missing. This is where Derry's God-inspired "ah-ha" moment comes into play. Here it is...

"What students are experiencing at summer camp is not spiritual growth. What they are getting at summer camp is renewed perspective of who God is and who they are. Real spiritual growth cannot take place until they come down from the mountain (summer camp), walk through the valley (real life back home), and put it in to practice." Here's a diagram Derry created to illustrate this Truth...





I'm so grateful to work with people like Derry who are a whole lot smarter than I am who I learn from on a weekly basis! What's exciting is that as this Truth has been shared with students at both camps so far this summer, students seem to be "getting it." Time will only tell...