schedule reminder

There is NO DiVe this week! Stay home and be thankful.

Next week is MENTOR night, so no official DiVe that week either!

We'll see you all back on December 10th.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

what a night!

wow. praise God, what a great time we had last night. Thank you for being obedient to the Spirit's moving in all your hearts last night at our first Catacombs. It will be, without a doubt, one of the most memorable times I've had with you all. The richness with which you ministered to each other, to us, was phenomenal and it gives us something wonderful to build upon.

God heard our prayers, the Lord is making us one.

Catacombs

The Catacombs were second century Christian burial areas underground. Christians could not follow pagan practices of cremation-or burning the deceased-because of the belief in the resurrection of the body. Following the deaths of the apostles and other first century Christians, followers of Christ began to build underground passages with tombs carved out of the rock for their dead, and for the Saints that became martyrs for our faith. People speculate that Christians hid from persecution in these locations, but what we know for certain is that services were held here in honor of the martyrs.

Several years ago, “catacombs” was chosen as a name for a special time of worship of the youth at Crossroads. It is a time for reflection, prayer and coming together as one to worship our God, just as they did almost two thousand years ago.

Together we are in an interesting place in our lives. Some of us are hurting or are struggling with issues. We need God to hear our prayers. As a church we’ve been without a youth pastor and I believe at times seem disconnected from each other. We need God to make us one again.


Imagine yourself, there in a hillside catacomb outside the ancient city of Rome tonight. Because there was no natural light, those who would visit the catacombs did so by candlelight, in solemn reverence for their departed brothers and sisters in Christ. We can imagine the cool, damp atmosphere…….giving way to flickering light that casts shadows on the carved rock walls. We can imagine the prayers of early Christ followers spoken almost two thousand years ago. We can imagine how their voices echoed as they sang and worshipped God.

Join us Wednesday night, as we continue this tradition in prayer, in song and in reading the Holy Word.

God, hear our prayers. Lord, make us one.

important to note! Schedule

Here's the schedule through the end of the year.......posted, just like I said I would.

November 19: Catacombs

November 26: No DiVe, Thanksgiving!

December 3: Mentor night

December 10: Service project night

December 17: Christmas PARTY

December 24: Christmas Eve-no DiVe!

December 31: New Year's Eve - Lock-In

wednesday rewind

So, I know we all want to judge the kid who sat on the ping pong table and broke it last night, but then, that would go against the point of our discussion last night about Christians being too judgemental, wouldn't it?

In the last of our series from UnChristian......we talked about the perception that outsiders have of Christians and the church being too judgemental. And they must not be too far off the mark, because a majority of Christian teens ALSO feel that the church can be too judgemental...and at least my guys gave me some instances where they felt like they were being judged.

I appreciate your thoughts about how we can be with people outside the faith and not judge them, but still love them in a way that shows Christ. And that's the purest form of evangelism we have.......reaching those who need Christ by modeling Christ. Crazy eh?

too judgemental? who, me?

This week we cover the perception that Christians are too Judgemental.............and it is the last in the series from "UnChristian".

What do you think? Can the church be too judgemental? Is the church a friendly environment for outsiders to come into? Stats paint a bleak picture of how outsiders view the church with regard to being a welcoming place.....only 1 out of 5 outsiders say they view it as a positive environment.

What about each of us? Are we judging when we're called to love? What's a healthy way to accept and love someone, but yet reject a sinful lifestyle?

Important questions. Bring your thoughts Wednesday-see ya there.

Mentor night this Wednesday-NO DiVe!

that's right.....just a reminder that there will be no DiVe youth meeting this coming Wednesday. Those of you who signed up for the mentorship program probably have already, or will be contacted by your mentors for arrangements.

We'll see you back on the 12th!