Creating a Contagious Youth Ministry

Outbreak Youth Ministry..... (Order Book)

Editorial Reviews From the Back Cover

Are you waiting to see the students in your youth ministry make a difference for Jesus Christ? Go viral. Teenagers everywhere are crying out for authentic Christianity. They want a relevant mission and passionate purpose. They need a cause worth living and dying for. In a culture tainted by faulty ideas about Jesus Christ,God is raising up carriers of the pure, powerful gospel. Enter the youth leader, ready to unleash a holy epidemic through the life-changing message of God's love and grace. This updated guide shows you how to give relevant, infectious invitations and provides tried-and-true strategies to equip your students for viral evangelism. Drawing from the successes and failures of the early church, Outbreak shows how a tribe of youth can become a contagious force that can bring revival to the church, the community, and the ends of the earth. Ready to sneeze?

About the Author

GREG STIER is the founder and executive director of Dare 2 Share Ministries International. Since 1991, Dare 2 Share has trained over 30,000 Christian teenagers across the United States and Canada how to share their faith clearly and confidently. He has been a guest speaker for Youth for Christ’s DC/LA Superconferences in 1997 and 2000, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Greg has authored several evangelism training curricula. He and his wife, Debbie, live in the Denver area and have one son.

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A Change of Perspective

Yesterday we took our student ministry to Rescue Atlanta which is a church in downtown Atlanta the meets the needs of the poor and the desperate and the homeless in a way that most churches would never. You see it is easy for our churches to go to the inner city and feed the homeless, it is a little harder to actually set up lunches and make hot meals and serve the homeless, but it is very radical to invite the homeless into our Sunday Mornings and our church service and invest in their lives on a permanent basis. Well, Rescue Atlanta Does this. Check out their website: Rescue Atlanta.

On Saturday we got to see the city of Atlanta from the perspective of how a homeless person views it. We ministered to over 150 kids from the projects across the street with a Kid's Jam and rode on buses to pick them up and take them home. My heart broke as we rode with them on the bus and realized that they all were getting ready to be kicked out of their homes so that they could build homes that were for higher income levels. After we were on the bus for a while some of my students called to me and told me that there was a boy who missed his stop. I went to him and asked him to come up front with me so I could tell Pastor Mel where he lived. He came up front and I asked his name and he told me. I could tell he was young and seemed a little scared. I told him that I was glad he didn't get off the bus yet so we could hang out for a few more minutes together. I looked at him and asked him how old he was. He held up his hand with just 2 fingers and said he was 2 years old. He told me he would be 3 in Nov. This 2 year old boy had no one that was watching him, no older brother or sister or friend that was with him and didn't even know if there was someone at his house. My heart broke as I realized that there was a 2 year old boy out there that had to grow up faster than he ever wanted.

My perspective changed as it always does when you take time to see life from people who are desperate and hurting. How often are we so afraid to do ministry in a way that invites the hurting and the desperate? How often are we afraid to do more than just go serve a hot meal at a homeless shelter? Are we willing to actually live in such a way that our lives invest in those who are hurting? I pray that our churches will move from feeding people and helping the hurting at the back door and start investing in them and moving them into the front of our churches. Let our people see that there is so much more to our lives than feeling comfortable. It is about doing the ministry of Christ for the Glory of God. Are we willing to get dirty and touch the untouchable?

This reminds me of the parable where there was a man with Leprosy that stood outside the gates and was calling out for Jesus. Someone with Leprosy couldn't be touched and had to yell out all day to people and let them know that they had leprosy so that people would stay away from them. Someone with Leprosy usually didn't have anyone every touch them and I would say one of the hardest parts about being a leper was there was no human touch. Well, on this day, he heard that Jesus was near and so he was calling out for Him. Jesus came to him and he asked Jesus if he would make him clean. Jesus did the unthinkable, he reached down and he touched him. He told him that he would be made clean and the man was healed. You see Jesus did the unthinkable, the radical! He touched the unclean. Are our ministries filled with students who are good kids? Are our students filled with students who are the popular and the accepted or are we teaching and equipping our students to get into their schools and get a little dirty? Are we teaching them to seek out the desperate and the hurting? Are we teaching our students to love the unloved? I would say if we did we would see our churches full of the desperate who have found hope. I challenge each one of us to take time to invest in the unloved and let's do the ministry of Christ.

The Secret of a Godly Life

Ok, how many times do we find that we are frustrated with our walk with God. We know God is all powerful, we know that God moves but we look at ourselves or our ministry and we don't see the Spirit of God doing what we hope for. This little blog is simply helping us evaluate a few things about our walk with God and hopefully will cause us to reflect on the right questions.

The first thing we all have to get straight in our lives is whether we have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Check on the blog, "Why did Jesus Have to Die?" to go through this a little more. If you have a chance after reading this blog, pick up your Bible and read through John 14-17. This is Jesus' last words to His disciples before He is arrested. Because it is His last words we can know that they must have been pretty important. Also, the book of I John (especially chapters 4 & 5), deals with these same truths I am about to go through with you.

Alrighty, so you have a relationship with Jesus. We know that relationship is forever because Jesus goes and prepares a place for us in heaven (John 14:1-4). Now the cool thing about that is that when we have that relationship with Jesus God does something pretty special. He puts His spirit inside of us (Col. 1:27, Gal. 2:20, John 14:17). You know one thing about God is, He doesn't do something unless He has a purpose for it. If He puts His Spirit, If God gives His own Son to live inside of us then we can garuntee that He has a purpose for that. We can know as Believers that God has a purpose and plan for our lives. He is going to accomplish His plan in our lives through Christ Living in us.

What is that Plan?

Well, as we look in John 15:8 shows us it is to bear fruit and bring Glory to God. Bearing fruit is a huge part of our relationship with Jesus. God put His spirit inside of us so that we can bring Glory to God the Father. The way we bring Glory to God is by bearing fruit. So that leads us to the next question.

What is the Secret of bearing fruit?

Remaining in Him!
The Secret of bearing fruit is mentioned in John 15 where Jesus says that we must abide or remain in Him. By remaining in Him we will be able to bear much fruit. The greatest moments of my walk with God comes when I am resting and remaining in Christ. It is those moments that I neglect my walk with God that I see my life as unfruitful. I pray that those moments are few. So if this is my prayer what must I do in order to remain in Him?

What is the secret to Remaining in Him?

Obedience! Is that all. You mean for me to remain in Him all I have to do is be obedient? The question is are you at a place with God where at any moment in your life you are willing to do whatever God asks of you? You know, I can't think of a time where I was disobedient to God and was abiding in Him at the same time. I have seen Him use me and change lives in spite of my disobedience before. The only explanation for that is God is faithful even when I don't seem to be. However, if this is our lifestyle and we continue to be disobedient we cannot expect God to use us. So if that is the case how do I remain obedient?

What is the Secret to Obedience?

Love! Jesus continued in John 15 explaining that if we don't obey the Father then we do not love Him. And if we do not love Him then we won't obey Him. We must love Jesus in order to be obedient to Him. Isn't it so much easier to do something for someone when you love them? Of course it is. I John 4:12-13 says, "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know aht we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of His Spirit." As we love, the more we will see God working inside of us to accomplish his purposes in our lives. So how do we love him more you ask?

What is the Secret to Loving God?

The secret to truly loving God comes from one thing: Knowing Him. As we get a right understanding of Who God is, His holiness, His Grace, His mercy, His faithfulness, His Justice, His Love for us, then our love for Him will Grow. The bottom line is that we must do everything we can to know God. There is a secret to growing in our relationship with God and it is knowing our God as He has made Himself known. We should invest ourselves in knowing God more through meditating on His Word, pursuing passionate prayer, doing the ministry of Christ and serving others. You see as our understanding of God grows our desire to be like Him will grow. As that happens we will see that we love Him more. As we love Him more we will be obedient to Him more, as we are obedient to Him more we will remain in Him more, and as we remain in Him more we will bear fruit and bring Glory to Him. This is a great and mighty purpose to live and I thank God He has given us His Spirit and His Son to live in us to accomplish His will!

In Christ,

Kevin Deming

What we must teach our students?

I am in the process of interviewing interns for the summer as we are growing an intern ministry. One of the questions that I have asked them is, "What do you believe are the foundational truths that we must teach students?" As I have heard some great answers and I have been praying about what we as Youth Pastors need to communicate to students I believe I have a really strong grasp on what it is that we need to teach.

Here they are:

1) A correct and complete picture of the Gospel. Please jump down to the "Why did Jesus Have to Die" Post for more information on this. Ultimately we need to make sure that every student that is in our ministry has a correct understanding of the Gospel. This is more than just having an inviation or sharing the gospel at your youth meeting. This entails getting to know your students and equipping your leaders to get to know the students in such a way that you really know what part of the Gospel they are struggling with. Do you know the spiritual condition of every student in your ministry? If you have a large youth ministry do you or someone on your leadership know every student's spiritual condition?

2) A right view of who we are in comparision to who God is! This is very extensive but it should be the driving force to where we are leading students. Are we leading students to discover a correct view of Who God is? Are we showing them a correct view of who we are as we relate to God? Everything that we teach them about God flows out of this. Our biggest problems with students are not keeping them out of peer pressure or trying to convince them to come to church. Our biggest struggle is working through all the junk and lies in their life that they believe about God and helping to correct that and give them a correct view of God. This view of God is founded in the Word of God as Paul so often teaches that we need to teach according to sound doctrine. (Titus 1:9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.)
(Titus 2:1[ What Must Be Taught to Various Groups ] You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.)

3) We need to teach them how to apply this right view to their life. We need to invest in students in such a way that we begin to allow them to see how God can and wants to change their life for the better. We need them to as they seek God and see His Truth understand how to put that to practice in their lives.

My encouragement to each and every youth pastor is to do whatever it takes to communicate this Right understanding of God. It starts with Salvation and the Gospel. It continues with the process of putting to practice the Word of God in their lives. The truest way to love someone is to help them know, understand, and apply God's Truth!

Leading Students to Jesus

How many times do we as youth pastors sit back and try to just let our Sunday Morning service be the answer to our kids coming to Christ? How many times do we teach our students about Jesus but just leave it up to them to come if they really want to make a decision? How many times do we actually take the initiative to see that our Students have a correct understanding of Jesus and they really have a relationship with Him?

This past Sunday we baptized 9 people but what I am so excited about is that 3 of them were student salvations that happened the week before. On Sunday Morning April 15th I stepped out of our Morning worship and met with some teenagers to tell them how they can know they have a relationship with Jesus. I was excited from my trip to Russia and leading some students to Christ there and I took the time to talk with some students who wanted to make sure they were going to heaven. I went to our small groups and just told students of the necessity that they understand why Jesus had to die. I asked any student that had never been baptized but wanted to make sure that they were going to heaven to come with me and talk. I had 5 students say they wanted to make sure they were going to heaven.

We spent around 45 minutes together talking about how God was perfect and we were not. We talked about our need to have someone who was perfect take our punishment of death so we could be with God. At the end of the time all 5 students said they wanted Jesus. They went from believing when they walked in the room with me that the way they get to heaven is by being good and doing right. Now, they believed Jesus died but they saw that as part of doing their best. When we finished they realized that it was only through faith in Jesus that they could be made perfect and have a relationship with God. They knew that we obey God, because we love Him (John 14). 3 of the students got baptized the next week. The other 2 had to wait until the next time we baptize. We also have 4-6 other students that want to meet with me in a class I call, "Believe." It is basically me sharing with students why Jesus had to die to forgive our sins. God is doing some awesome things and it starts with prayer, continues with having a clear understanding of how to share the gospel, and ends with students who are ready to hear God's truth. It is exciting to see what God can do! Be strong and Bold and make sure every student has an opportunity to hear the truth about Jesus. Don't take for granted that they come to church that is enough. If they are in your ministry or come to the church, as youth pastors you are held responsible for making sure that they hear the truth. Keep Seeking God with Passion!!

Why did Jesus Have to Die? Russia part 2

I want to tell you a story from our trip to Russia. It was Wed. night one of our last days at the Church which we were working with. We had a huge Youth Banquet planned and we invited the youth from the church where we had it (First Baptist of Bryansk) and also the Church plant that we were working with. We also invited students from the Deaf School and from the orphanages that we worked with. We had around 150 youth there and it was very exciting. We had a service upstairs where we had students share their testimonies, sing songs, and I got to share out of John 14-16 Jesus' Last words to His Disciples before he was to be arrested (which I focused on Jesus giving us the Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth.)

We went downstairs after the service and had it decorated for all the youth and we put all the youth around the tables. Our group made American Pizza for them and we all sat down to eat. We had the places set up where we would have 2 American's and 1 Interpreter sitting together so we could talk to the youth. I went down and sat at a table where no one was yet and prayed that God would bring the people he wanted me to talk with to come and sit with me. A group of students filled in the chairs and they sat down next to me and around me. One of the youth from my group sat with me and we had an interpreter with us. I think the first words out of the interpreter’s mouth to me were, "Ok, now you share Jesus with these boys." So I did.

It was very difficult trying to get the conversation going because you always have to use the interpreter and then they would talk to each other and it was hard to stay in the conversation. But we talked for a few minutes about the Bible and if they had been to church. These boys were from the shelter and the church we were working with did go and work with them some already. They seemed interested in the conversation so I said this, "There is a question that many American Students cannot answer and I would like to ask you. Why did Jesus have to die in order to forgive our sins?"

The boys answered with some responses but seemed unsure. So I asked them if I could share with them the answer. They said, "Da" which means Yes in Russian.

So, the door flew open and I was able to share very clearly the gospel. I walked through how God is our Creator and because of that he is owner and He makes the rules. He is perfect and Holy and He must separate Himself from imperfect people. A perfect God cannot live with Imperfect people. God must punish sin and the punishment is death (Rom. 6:23). We are not perfect (James 2:10, Romans 3:23) and therefore we deserve Death and separation from God as the payment for our sin. Hebrews 9 talks about the need for sacrifice and the shedding of blood to pay for sin. Hebrews 9:22, says "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

I told them of the sacrifices of the Old Testament and how they were just temporary coverings for sin. In order to have complete forgiveness there would have to be a perfect person willing to take our place and die in our place. I shared how Jesus was this person, God's Son. He was able to take our place because he was perfect (1 Peter 1:18-19). Jesus was the Lamb that was perfect that died in our place.

When we looked at this I expressed that Jesus had to die because God, being a Just God, must punish sin - there is no way around it. If we try to pay the price of sin by being good it isn't enough we are already guilty of breaking the whole law - even with one sin. If we want any chance to be with God we must have a perfect sacrifice and substitution for our sin. Jesus is that answer. By Jesus, dying on the cross he was able to stand in our place, take our punishment and for those who believe he would take all our sin on Himself. Wow!! Isn't that awesome!

I asked the boys if they wanted to keep trying to pay for their sin on their own and try to get to heaven their way or they wanted Jesus to take their place. The 3 boys all said they wanted Jesus. We went in another room and talked more in depth with them and all 3 boys placed their faith in Jesus being the only way to get to heaven (John 14:6) and how through his ressurection we can have the Holy Spirit living in us and guiding us in all truth (John 16:13).

We gave them Bibles, encouraged them to read it together, pray together and we introduced them to the Pastor of the church we were working with and with some of the students that go to that church. I could see it in their eyes that they really got it! It was exciting to see that asking a question like, "Why did Jesus have to die in order to forgive our sins?" was the open door to share the truth about Jesus.

The Russia Experience

Ok, I will have to do several blogs in order to begin to tell you how incredible my experience was on our mission trip to Russia. First, I am so thankful for God and How Mightily He shows Himself in my life and in the lives of the people he changes. Also, I want to thank the interpreters who were on our mission trip. There is no way that we could have accomplished all we did without our interpreters. They were such servants in communicating our hearts to the Russian people we were ministering too. But the coolest thing was it was their heart as well.

I will say if you have never taken a group on an international trip - make the effort to do it. There is something about going to a different culture where you don't speak their language and only through interpreters can you truly communicate with them. I also want to encourage you to do whatever it takes to have enough interpreters for your group and get ones who have a heart for the people you are ministering too.

Alrighty...

Russia, where do I begin. It was nothing like I thought and everything like I thought at the same time. On the other side of the world from where I sit today there are people who have the same dreams, emotions, struggles and pain as we do. These struggles may come out a little different than ours but they are the same. People need God, people want to be accepted, people long to understand their life and only through Christ can they find true peace and love.

To get a picture of what it looked like I encourage you to download Google Earth and type in Bryansk, Russia and then click on the pictures it has there as well. I can't describe what it looked like as much as pictures so take time to visit websites with pictures.

We went to 3 orphanages, a deaf school, 2 retirement homes, 2 Public schools (to which we were the first Americans to go to those schools), held a youth banquet for 150+ youth, and did a VBS at a church plant. And the great thing about this was we got to share the gospel at every place. Who could of thought that we would have been able to go into a public school and share the Love of Jesus with students. It was awesome.

I will share more later!

Off on a Mission

Please be in prayer for me as I travel to another country on a mission trip. We are leaving Wed. morning and will be back on April 7th. I know God has some great things planned. I will blog when I get back about all He did!! Thanks!

First Impressions

Ok, I said I would talk about things in our ministry that we should seek to improve upon and look at in order to be more effective. Today was a day where I found myself looking around our church and seeing things that we could always improve on. Don't get me wrong, there are some great things going on at my church, but I understand there are always some things in every church that we can be more effective in. One of the things at my church is the idea of first impressions. I was supposed to meet some people this morning and they didn't show. So I found myself looking around and taking time to clean up around the church. I was overwhelmed on how much actually needs to be done and how we probably have forgotten what it is like to be a guest and walk into our church for the first time.

I do believe the most important thing for us as Christians in our church is to come with a ministry mindset (I will probably blog more about this later) and look to how we can minister to everyone around us. Do you realize that if we come to church and just think about ourselves then we miss the many opportunities of hurting people all around us. Even though this is the most important I still believe the thoughts that people think from the parking lot to the Worship Center are very important. Is there trash in your parking lot, are your bathrooms cleaned, are there things that can enhance people's experience when they come to your church building or are there things that can put a negative thought or mindset when someone drives up?

I was talking to someone and he was sharing with me how church needs to be a place where people can come out of the world and be refreshed. Since I understand that church is the body of Christ I have to ask myself, "Do I refresh people when they spend time with me?" This is a very tough question to ask ourselves. Because if we say no, then that means we need to make some changes. I hope this encourages you to take time and reflect on how you present yourselves in your ministries. I know there is always room for me to grow and I pray that God would show me those areas so I can make the changes He desires for my life!

Kevin Deming

Day 3 - Daniel Fast

Well, the Daniel fast is one of those fasts that you don't necessarily feel the hunger but you do notice a mindset difference in the way you eat. Everything that I am used to eating I am throwing out the window and starting over. I have gotten familar with the fresh produce section of the grocery store and found that there are a lot more good fruits and vegtables than I remembered. Anyways, as I have been praying I want to encourage all of you and so during this fast I am going to be looking at different things in our ministry and our personal lives that we need to know.

Tonight we are having a college worship and Bible study and I am going to be speaking on defining moments in our lives and using the book of Esther. My kids have a CD from Frank Peretti with the story of Esther and it is one that Esther is faced with a huge decision in her life. The decision to stand up for her people or shrink back and hope everything pans out all right. It is important for us to remember that the only truth worth following in this world is God's truth and when we face choices that seem to lead us elsewhere we must renew our mind and follow Christ.

Anyway, I pray that as you read these posts you will be encouraged to take time and remember the most important things in our lives. To realize that our life here on earth is one that is missional. I mean missional in that we have a mission, to know Christ, to follow Christ, and to make Christ know to others so that they can follow Him. I remember when I was at college God laid on my heart a thought that I repeat to myself often. It was this: "Get to know Jesus, I mean really get to know Jesus and don't settle for anything less." Do you realize that by not following what God has planned for you that you are actually settling for less than what He has planned for you life. Pursue God and let Him guide you in all you do.

By the way, yesterday I went back to the gym and started talking to this guy and after a few minutes I asked him where he was from and found out he grew up in South America and his parents were missionaries. It is so cool when you talk to people and get a little more personal than the weather and sports that you can actually meet some really great people. I was definately encouraged by this guy's life.

Thanks!

Kevin Deming

Day One - Daniel Fast

The first day of any fast is always a little hard. Every time that I found I was getting hungry I just drank a glass of water or some orange juice. Yeah, I pretty much drank about 10 glasses of water and 5 glasses of orange juice. The cool thing about today was I had an opportunity on 3 occasions to give testimony of what God is doing in my life.

First, I went to the gym to get a little exercise since today was my day off. For anyone interested in whether it is ok to work out during a fast I think it is fine, as long as, you remember you won't have as much energy. I gave out a little quicker on the cardio and I used less weights. It is interesting how after just 12 hours of not eating your body already starts slowing down. Anyway, at the gym in the dry sauna after working out (I drank a lot of water after this) there was a man in there who I talked with for a while. I found out he goes to church and tried to encourage him a little in his faith. I find that I like building relationships with people in a setting outside of church because sometimes as pastors we spend so much time in a church building we don't make time to talk with others who may need to know Jesus.

The second time I had a chance to share some testimony of who God is was actually through an email. I had on the local sports talk station on here and heard the guy on the radio talking about his belief on the Bible. This came out of a discussion on homosexuality and how he didn't know if the Bible talked about homosexuality or not. He also pointed out that he didn't see a difference between someone who practiced homosexuality and someone who didn't follow the other parts of the Bible (which I agree). However, he took the stand that I believe many people who don't have a relationship with Jesus take. Basically he said that first he knew he wasn't perfect and he already messed up on following the Bible completely. Then he said he wasn't crazy about how people who claimed to use the Bible as a guide point fingers at others and they are not doing all it says either. So I got home and emailed him, which I haven't heard back from and probably won't.

Here is what I wrote:
_____________________________________________
I appreciate your honesty and how real you are on your show. You are probably one of the most knowledgeable about sports and you are not afraid to lay it on the line. Thanks!

Concerning the Bible, there is a huge misconception that people have. The Bible is not a book designed for people to point a finger at other people and say all the things they do wrong. The Bible is the revealing of how perfect and Holy God is and how we don’t come close to it. In the Bible it is explained that all people who are not perfect will be separated from God. That’s all of us, not the concept of those who are homosexual or have sex before marriage as you mentioned.

The problem is when we look at the Bible tells us how to live and then we condemn anyone for not living perfectly by it. God gave us His commands and guidelines for living to show us how desperately we need Him, not so we can brag to others about how we are better than someone else.

So why bother trying if we are not perfect? The truth about the Bible is that it teaches that if you depend upon Jesus instead of yourself then you can be made right with God. It is your belief that Jesus has taken our punishment for us. I as a Christian cannot point my finger at someone else who doesn’t believe in Jesus or the Bible and condemn them. Only God has the authority to do that. My role as someone who believes the Bible to be truth is to clarify it to people, teach it and reveal what God is actually saying in it. It is up to each individual person to make the decision on whether they accept it or reject it.

Thanks!

Kevin Deming

Probably the best book I have read about understanding the Bible is called, “Stranger on the Road to Emmaus,” by John Cross. If you’re a reader you should try and get it. I know you can find it on Amazon.
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Thirdly, I went to my son's parent teacher conference. As she was talking about how kind my son is at school and said she thought we did a good job teaching him to look to others, I used that as another opportunity to give testimony of how we talk about what the Bible teaches and we pray together about things that may be troubling him. It was another moment for me to be able to share how God works in my life and my kid’s lives.

So my first day on the fast was very interesting. I am not outwardly seeking to talk to everyone I know about Jesus. I am outwardly seeking my God and allowing Him to direct me to talk to everyone He wants me to. My prayer during this time of fasting is to grow deeper in my intimacy with God. I am going to read through the book of Hebrews during this fast. I chose Hebrews because I am not currently teaching out of it and want to have a book of the Bible I am meditating on that is not one I am just using to prepare for lessons.

Another thing to note for anyone who is going to do a fast of any kind is, if you are a regular caffeine drinker, you may expect a headache the first day or so. The good news is that it does go away and you feel better the next day.

Thanks!

Kevin

By the way, that apple I ate after the 24 hour liquid fast was pretty sweet!

Reaching Your Community

Today in our church was a very unique Sunday. We had a Russian Men's Choir come and sing, Scout Sunday where boy scouts were recognized (they were thankful that our church opened our doors for them to use our facilities and have our support), and we had a basketball recognition and luncheon where we celebrated our basketball teams that we had playing in a local church league. The great thing about this is that we had a wide range of cultures, races, demographics all come together under one roof with a purpose in mind of bringing glory to God. It is cool to see an impact on a community when our churches are not about buildings but instead it is about people. In our church basketball league we went from averaging about 12 guys playing and 1 team to nearly 50 this year and 4 teams that we had placed in a local league. The reason is that we went into our local high school and met students where they were at. They brought their friends and we met a need that they had. Our local high school had around 200 students try out for basketball and only a handful made the team. The guys were looking to find a place to play. We look foward to next year when we hope to move from 4 teams to 6 or 8 teams and have many more students connected. It is important for us as pastors and youth pastors to see where are students are, see where their need is and then find a way to reach them. May God bless your ministry as you seek to impact a community and change this world for Jesus Christ.

How do we respond....the Ted Haggard story?

It is hard for many of us to understand why something like this happens. The truth is that Ted Haggard will not be forgiven...for anything he does. He is not forgiven because he plays the part of a Christian, because of the way he looks, or because of anything he does. Ted and you and I are forgiven because of what Jesus Christ has already done. Our forgiveness doesn't rest in how good we are. In fact God has something to say about this in Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His love for us, while we were sinners, Christ died for us." God accepted us when we were filthy and there is no amount of good works or accomplishments we can do that would be enough to equal what Jesus has done on the cross. Only through Jesus and our dependence on Him can we be forgiven. So if you struggle with the idea of someone who has done the things that Ted has done you can know that he is not forgiven because of anything other that what Jesus has done for us. John 14:6, "I (Jesus) am the way, the truth, the life; no one comes to the Father except by me (Jesus)."

So why would someone who doesn't feel they are half as bad as Ted Haggard feel like they need Christianity? Well they don't. They don't need Christianity; they need Jesus to stand in their place of a Holy God who must punish sin - all sin. You see Christianity is when messed up people come to a Holy and perfect God and realize only because of His grace and Mercy can they be with Him. We don't deserve it. We shouldn't let it make us made when someone of the stature of Ted Haggard messes up. We should be in awe of a Holy God who in spite of our sin and disobedience demonstrates an amazing love for us by punishing our sin on the Cross of Christ for those who believe and trust in Him instead of giving us what we deserve - separation from this Holy God.

I am in no way saying that we should live any other way than in pursuit of being like this Holy God we serve. But remember that in the middle of our sin we can be reminded of why Jesus had to come and die in our place in the first place.

Santa Claus vs. Jesus Claus

I have been thinking about how Santa is perceived versus Jesus. It is something that always comes to mind when we are reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. For some reason even though we know that Christmas is born out of the birth of Jesus we still get caught up in the busyness of shopping and decorating and all of the parties that we oftentimes put the heart of Christmas on the backburner. I know this is especially true when we are driving in traffic near any mall on the planet. Anyways, God really gave me an interesting thought that I wanted to share with you all and encourage you to pass it along.

Santa Claus vs. Jesus Claus

The thought of Santa Claus vs. Jesus Claus came after I was taking my 4 year old son to preschool and a lady asked a boy that was standing nearby, "Is Santa going to bring you some nice gifts this year?"
The boy responding without blinking an eye, "Yes, I have been more good than bad!" I realized at that moment something interesting. There are two conditions that must be met in order to receive gifts from Santa. The first condition is that you must believe in Santa Claus and the Spirit of Christmas. You must believe that Santa is real. The second condition is that you must be more good than bad. I began to shiver as I thought to myself, "What would Jesus require for gifts?"
Jesus Claus would require something as well. In order to receive gifts from Jesus Claus you must believe in Jesus. You must believe He is real and He is who He says He is. The second condition is that it doesn't matter if you have been more good than bad as long as you meet condition number 1. In fact, the kid who is the most obedient kid doesn't get any more gifts than the kid who is always in time out or never seems to listen to their parents or do anything right at all.
This got me thinking even more. What does this say about what we believe about Christmas? There is so much focus on our behavior that we fail to see that the Love of Christ comes to each and everyone of us no matter how good we are. You see the standard for who receives the reward of heaven is absolute perfection. There must be no disobedience, no moment in our lives that we don't love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and no moment that we don't love others more than ourselves. Big Problem. I fail everyday. I would never get the reward or gift. Of course the great news is that the standard of perfection shows us that a Perfect God cannot live with imperfect people. God must punish sin and it must be done with total separation from Him, in other words, the payment is death.
Here is the "Santa Claus" problem. Many Christians and many people who try to understand what it means to be a Christian believe that being a Christian is more like Santa Claus than Jesus Claus. Many people believe that if you believe in Jesus and do more good than bad then you will get your reward. We don't live like we understand the truth that being a Christian is believing in Jesus and understanding you will never be more good than bad - we can never keep up to the perfect standard God lays before us.


Now the cool thing is that God has given us the coolest Christmas Gift we could get. If we believe in Jesus (Claus) and in what he has done (been the final payment of sin for us) then we can receive presents (gift of eternal life). All we have to do is believe in Him and what He has done and it is not based upon whether I have been more good than bad.
I don't think people question that God loves them or not, it is usually that we question whether He will accept us or not. Our struggle in understanding the truth of God stops when we fail to realize that God doesn't accept us because of our behavior. God accepts us because of our faith in Him. The only way to please a holy, righteous, perfect God is our faith in Him and what He has done. That our only chance for acceptance. We must realize that our acceptance is based in what has already been done on the cross.

I learned from a pastor one day a way to show my children how much I love them. Starting when they were just 2 years old I asked them if their daddy loved them more when they are good or bad. For the first few times I asked them they answered, "When I am good." I would reply back, "No, your daddy loves you when your good or bad." Now when I ask them they will respond, "My daddy loves me all the time, even when I good or bad." Then of course I look them in the eye and say, "That is how Jesus loves you too. He loves you when your good or bad!"

Thanks!

Kevin Deming
Youth Pastor
Annistown Road Baptist Church
Snellville, GA