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Pastor Dave - October 19, 2008 (4:24pm)

Topic: Summer!

Activities & Special Events!

We had a great summer! God was very good to us! We were able to participate in two mission trip, one to Nova Scotia and one to Peru. We had a group go to the Wilds, the largest group that we have taken since I have come to Grace. We had an outreach to our community and saw several young people come to know Christ during our four weeks of Grace Games.
The most exciting thing to me as a youth pastor is to see the spiritual strides that so many of our young people have taken! It has been so amazing to watch God change our hearts and lives as we have ministered for Him and listened to His Word be proclaimed. It was a real blessing to me to see the excitment of so many during the four weeks of outreach in July and August. God was very faithful to us during those weeks and we saw many visitors and several young people trust Christ. Continue to pray for those who accepted Christ as their Savior during the Games.
I am thrilled to see what God has for many of our young people in the future. Excitment about our walk with God is increasing and as it grows in our group it becomes more and more contagious.
Keep on for Christ!

Pastor Dave - February 20, 2008 (2:21pm)

Topic: Oops!

This blog!

Well, I had an accident this morning. While updating this page, I accidently erased the last blog that I had written (from November). Big Oops!! Well that's probably ok because, if you hadn't read it you probably weren't going to and if you had well then you probably don't remember it was no great loss!
We had our first annual Coastal Carolina Youth Conference this past weekend. We had a great time! Our attendance for the first year was a bit low, but we already have had several more churches call and how interest for next year. I am thrilled for what God can and will do with this opportunity, but most of all with the lives of young people who will be changed by coming and interacting with God's Word, other godly young people, and godly youth pastors and sponsors.
It is always exciting to see something begin and grow as God works in the hearts and lives of people. Thanks so much for your support. To all of my Grace teens, I was so proud of the way you reached out and included others. We had a couple visitors from Wilmington and you all made them feel welcome and invited them to come back and be apart of our group on a regular basis. Your kindness and faithfulness to God was a blessing!
Keep on for Christ!

Pastor Dave - September 5, 2007 (9:02am)

Topic: Grace Youth

Great Youth Group!

We have had a great summer! The Lord has been very good to us. We had a great week of camp in July. Many of our young people made decisions that have already made a great impact on their lives. Many that have made decisions are still acting on those decisions. Those who made decisions have had a very good impact on the rest of our youth group.
Our seniors, though small in number, have a heart to follow Christ and lead our group in a way that pleases Him. I am excited about our junior class. Their enthusiasm is contagious and as their love for Christ grows they will be able to have a great impact on our youth group. Our freshman and sophomores have such potential, it is exciting. Our junior high young people are almost as enthusiastic as our juniors.
God has greatly gifted our young people and I am so excited about what God has been doing and will continue to do with our youth here at Grace.
Please come and join us! We would love to meet you and welcome you into our group!

Pastor Dave - April 17, 2007 (10:02pm)

Topic: What is a Youth Pastor?

What is his role?

We live in a day where truth is relative. This is definitely true when attempting to define a youth pastor. What is the role of a youth pastor?
Several years ago, I heard a preacher address this very question at a conference for youth pastors and youth workers. He preached on the different aspects of a youth pastor’s job: protecting, guiding, leading, helping, and discipling. He then went on to compare the role of a youth pastor to a tomato cage. As I listened, that did not seem to be a very glamorous description; but as I thought about it, that made sense. A tomato plant has similar characteristics to a vine, it grows and spreads and when it produces fruit, many times it actually causes the plant to tip over or even break. A tomato cage adds the stability that is necessary to hold that plant up and to keep it alive, so that it can produce more fruit. The illustration, though far from glamorous, is a very accurate picture of the role that a youth pastor attempts to fill. Often times, the restraint or boundaries of the tomato cage may not be enjoyable; but without it the tomato plant could not be as fruitful.
Over the next few blog posts, I will discuss the role of a youth pastor and would enjoy your comments and interaction. Please feel free to contact me by phone, email or in person.

Pastor Dave - March 19, 2007 (10:34am)

Topic: Putting out an APB

Are you searching for the truth about Christ?

The other day I was reading in Acts 8 about the Ethiopian eunuch to whom Philip was sent to minister. What is so fascinating to me is that the eunuch was searching for a relationship with God. He had left Ethiopia to come to Jerusalem to worship, he was riding in his chariot reading the Old Testament Scriptures, and when Philip is joined to him by the Spirit he asks him who this statement “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so He does not open His mouth. In His humiliation justice was denied Him. Who will describe His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” is all about. This man was searching for God and a relationship with God. He wanted to worship God, he wanted to discover more about him, and ultimately he wanted to know Him. When I read this, I thought, do I want to know God like this lost Ethiopian did? Do I seek after Christ daily? Why not? Then it hit me, I’m just too wrapped up in my world, in what I have to do.

APPLICATION:

Are you seeking after God? Striving to know Him? Have you ever been introduced to Jesus Christ?

Pastor Dave - March 13, 2007 (1:46pm)

Topic: The question of all questions

What is the most important question?

This morning I was interacting with my Bible class and we were talking about some pretty controversial topics in the Bible. Who is right, who is wrong and why? In thinking about our talk after class, the thought came to me, “What is the most important question about God’s Word?” No matter how much you know or how long you have studied, we all still have questions. There will always be some things that just don’t seem to make sense, things that we have a very difficult time working through, some things that may even seem to contract – things that are both supposedly true. Well in thinking about all of this, the thought struck me, the most important question about God’s Word is this, “Will I believe?” Once I read it, study it, come to understand what the Bible says, the real issue is whether or not I am going to believe what it says. Millions in America claim to know God, they claim to be “saved”, but do they really believe what God says? I don’t know about you, but I want something as important as believing in God to actually affect my life, to change me in some way. If you know God, has what He told you in His Word changed you?

APPLICATION:

If you don’t know God, would you like to?

Jake F. - March 11, 2007 (4:32pm)

Topic: What are you....braindead?

What happens between the brain and the spirit?

Is ALL human thinking materialistic by nature? Or is there consciousness outside the material world of your brain? Is the electrical circuit that God has placed on our shoulders the only source of known communication? Is there communication between my spirit and mind that I do not know about? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
Ok, ok, ok, I know what I know because I have experienced reality. My senses say I have experienced heat, cold,(touch) sun, moon,(sight) music, silence,(sound) sour, bitter,(taste) perfume and trash(smell). But how does my spirit tell my brain to sense that I have experienced God's spiritual presence in my life. They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, right? So, can the brain experience the spiritual realm and then be aware enough to tell me that I am or have? The simple answer is....I am not sure. This would be our sixth sense. The spiritual sense. Not to see dead people (as a recent movie has portrayed it), but a sense that tells our brains when we have communicated with our Creator.

APPLICATION:

This can be interesting to theorize about, but I think God has given us a brain to use and comprehend and discuss and contemplate and also to tell our bodies what to do. I think ALL of these have to be done. And remember: Discussion is nothing without action about what is discussed.