Farewell

It's been a while since I have posted any updates. The last few months have been extremely hectic and filled with change. As many people already know I am stepping down as Youth Pastor at The River. I am not leaving The River but for the past several months I have felt God moving me in a different direction for ministry. After months of prayer and soul searching, several conversations with my wife and close friends, and restless nights I finally decided to step away from youth ministry. Needless to say, the decision was tough but not made in haste. I sat down and had a conversation with the lead pastor and told him how I felt and I immediately felt at peace with the decision I had made.

One of my greatest hopes in life is that I would have the courage to do what God wants me to do. The easy thing would have been to continue leading youth. But the easy thing to do is rarely the right thing to do. It's hard to face change and go in a different direction. It's hard to look at student's faces and know that some of them feel betrayed or let down at me leaving. I want all students to know that I am not leaving because of them. I have grown to love each student at The Source and the last 3 years have meant so much to me. I will never forget any of you and I will keep in touch with all of you.

Now the question is what does the future hold? And the answer is only God knows, but, we do have a plan in place. Heather Jenkins, who has been faithfully helping with The Source as a youth leader since September will continue to play an active role in the youth ministry. The Source is going to partner with Soulfire Youth Ministry at The Journey, a Wesleyan Church in Millsboro. Pastor Brent is an awesome youth pastor with an extreme passion for reaching students for Jesus Christ. To accommodate this partnership, Heather will meet the students at The River and drive them to Millsboro on Wednesday nights. We believe this is an awesome opportunity for the students at The Source to continue growing closer to God and meet more students who are excited about Jesus Christ.

As for me, I am going to continue to help with the fundraisers we are doing to raise money for a missions trip during the summer of 2011. I also plan on attending that missions trip with the students. In the meantime I have a lot on my plate. I work full-time, I have a wife and three kids, and I am a full-time student pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Biblical Studies. I am also going to devote quite a bit of time and energy into the Discipleship Group Ministry at The River. As Discipleship Pastor, my hope is to raise the Discipleship Groups and their leaders to a whole new level. I am also getting more and more opportunities to preach during the Sunday morning service called The Experience. I am grateful for these opportunities to share God's Word and grateful for Pastor Chris for helping develop my preaching and leadership skills.

As far as this website goes, we will continue to use it for updates on fundraising for the missions trip as well as any other events coming up in the future. So make sure you check in from time to time.

I'll close with this and I know I can also speak for my wife, Lisa, when I say thank you students of The Source Youth Ministry for all the great memories. We will truly miss seeing you every week but would very much like to continue being a part of your lives.


Blessings,

Pastor Chris (the former youth guy)

Christmas 2009 Pics!

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving week.  That means a few things.  First, a nice 4 day weekend!  Second, lots of delicious food.  Third, good times with family and friends.  Fourth, the house gets decorated for Christmas.  And finally, a reminder to be thankful.  So what are you thankful for?

Now for a quick update.  We will not be meeting tomorrow night.  We're taking tomorrow night off to give everyone extra time to be with family.  But we will be back on December 2nd to celebrate the beginning of Advent together.  Please come out and join us for some great discussion.

Also, the Source Youth Ministry will be going to the Selbyville Christmas Parade on Friday, December 4th.  We will meet at The River at 7pm.  Hope to see you there!

Take care and have a great Thanksgiving!

1 Chronicles 16:34 (NLT)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Blessings,

Pastor Chris (the youth guy)

A Big Update

Hello everyone!  There is quite a bit going on with The Source Youth Ministry that I'd like to share with you.  First, we hosted our first ever bake sale on October 24th at Hocker's Super Center in Millville.  We were there for 3 hours and had a very successful day.  Many people came by the table and were interested in what we were doing.  I got to share with a lot of people.  This was our first missions trip fund raiser of the year.  More on that a little later.

On Halloween the Source partnered with River Kids, the children's ministry at The River, to host a Pumpkin Party from 4-6pm.  Over 30 kids came out and had a great time!  We are already looking forward to next year so we can implement some new ideas.

Coming up on November 14th, the Source is heading to a Habitat for Humanity job site.  We will be spending the day building a home for a family in need.  It should be a great experience and one that I hope to repeat a few more times in the next year.
 
In December, we are planning a fun day out ice skating.  No fund raising.  No manual labor.  Just a fun day to hang out together.  I'm sure everyone will get the opportunity to laugh at me...I can't even roller skate!

Now...I have decided that the next trip I want the Source to go on is a missions trip.  We've been to a few youth conferences over the last three years.  These have been great experiences and have lead to memories that will last a lifetime.  But I want our next trip to be more meaningful.  I want our next trip to be a great experience for someone else...because we impacted their life in a positive way in the name of Jesus Christ.  We have a few locations we are looking into.  All of them are within the continental United States...which by the way is a huge missions field.  But that is a post for another day.

I have asked the Source's newest adult leader, Heather, to head up the fund raising for this trip.  She is filled with some awesome ideas and I am excited for what lies ahead.


Blessings,
Pastor Chris (the youth guy)