I have received a few emails asking about the upcoming activity, "Flashlight Clue Hunt." I will attempt to explain what we are doing. This is a flexible activity meaning that you can shift it around any way you want.
If you are doing this activity with a mixed group of guys and girls, it is wise to have guys only and girls only teams because the lights will be off and there can be a lot of physical contact.
You will need:
- flashlights
- rope
- duct tape
- blindfolds
- envelopes
- clue cards (3x5 cards work)
- The weirdest looking Goodwill clothes you can find.
Let's say you have 5 teams, you will need 5 shirts, 5 pants, 5 pairs of shoes,
5 hats, 5 coats, etc...
By the end of the game, one player from each team will be dressed totally ridiculous.
- At least 5 volunteer ninjas (dressed in all black and positioned throughout the property)
- A passport page
The object of the game is for the teams to compete for the fastest time of completion. Completion means that every clue has been solved, every station has been visited, and every challenge has been completed.
You begin with all players in a main room with the lights on. Your ninjas are already hidden throughout the building/property. Once you have separated teams, you give the first clue to each team. Each team will have a different clue in their envelope so that the teams do not cross paths too often. Once you say "go," they run off into the darkness carrying only their clue and their flashlights. They must solve the clue in the dark and continue to find new clues. It seems easy enough, but the ninjas are what make it interesting.
The Ninjas:
The ninjas are hidden all over the place. Having them at clue stations helps with the "scare tactic." It's a lot better if you can make the kids jump. But there will not be a ninja at every clue station. There should be at least 10 clue stations. There should be at least 5 ninjas.
The ninja's job is two-fold:
- To report back to the Youth Pastor who cheated.
- To provide the teams with challenges.
Challenges include:
- Tie the entire team together with rope. They must remain tied together for the rest of the game.
- Duct tape 3 team member's mouths shut.
- Blindfold someone in the group. NO PEEKING!
- Make the team sing Happy Birthday.
- Make up your own.
The clues should be a progressive story line. The clues should tell a story and they should find one article of clothing at each clue station to dress one member of their group in. This makes a great picture at the end of the night. You might even want to walk around and record the teams walking around with night vision camera. (Most HD cams have this setting.)
It is funny to watch the difference in the way that the teams start out and the way they finish. They start out running from clue to clue and think its easy. But as the challenges come on them, they get slower and slower. By the last clue, all of the teams are barely moving because they are tied together, muted by duct tape, and trying to talk a blind guy through a maze of hallways and rooms.
The game should take no longer than 45 minutes - 1 hour to play.
ENJOY!
-A Youth Pastor
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Update
I plan to have another post up soon. My wife and I made it safely to Sioux Falls, SD where we are working in Eastside Baptist Church. I am assisting Pastor Phil Spencer and I am stepping into the role of Youth Pastor. I would be lying if I said I am not scared to death. But, I realize that God pulls us out of our "comfort zone" in order to grow us sometimes. I can truly say that I feel at home here even though the uneasiness is present. I look to God for comfort and guidance as I know that I cannot do this alone. We ask for your prayers as we start full-time ministry. I am thrilled with the possibilities ahead! Onward!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The Book of James
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012-
A product that does not follow
through with its advertised promise is not appealing. A hair dryer that does
not dry hair, a cold medicine that does not relieve the symptoms of a cold, a
car that does not have a steering wheel; these products all seem totally worthless
to us. Why are they made worthless? Because the task that they are designed to
complete is not being completed. A hair dryer that does not blow air would be
best fit for a trash can. A car that does not move would probably be one destined for a junk yard.
Christians are instructed by God to live
lives that are meaningful and fruitful. Christians know that this is true, yet
a majority of nominal Christians remain as fruitful as a dead tree. A Christian
that does not follow through with his mission to produce good works is not
appealing. James confronts this problem with direct and meaningful words.
First of all, it is important to realize
who James is writing to. Jewish Christians are the target audience in James’
letter. These Jews were persecuted and scattered throughout the Middle East due
to persecution. They were persecuted by Gentiles because they were Jews, and
they were persecuted by fellow Jews because they were Christians. Because they
were in such fear, an adaptation to that current world’s philosophy and their
own fleshly nature began to take place. Through God’s loving mercy and grace,
He prepared a message in the heart of James which was poured out onto paper with words that we still admire today.
There is a harmonious vein that flows
through James, and to put it into my own words does it no justice. But for the
sake of understanding, the theme I see is: A
Call for Genuine Christianity that Produces Good Works. The book of James
can easily be applied to “Today’s Christian” because when we look around, we
easily see self-proclaimed Christians that produce little or no good works. The
wonderful thing about God’s grace is that He does not let us stay where we are
as true Christians. He allows the book of James, probably written around A.D.
49, to affect us in A.D. 2012. It just takes our effort as well to become a “doer”
of the Word.
I challenge you, if you have not made James part of your recent bible readings, make time to read it with the intent to see something that can change you. God placed it there in love and through His mercy. It is at your disposal. James is probably my favorite book of the Bible. I look at it as my maintenance manual. My intention is not to demean the Word by saying it that way. In fact, the entire Bible should be read with the intent to maintain your life.
My plan is to preach through this book some time in the near future. I look forward to what it will do in my life!
- A Youth Pastor
Monday, August 20, 2012
Contrast: The Wise & The Fool
MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012
"Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself." - Proverbs 18:1-2
Every April, an event takes place that captures the interest of many. Especially football fans. In this event, college football players are selected by professional football teams and signed to multi-million dollar contracts. This event is known as the NFL Draft. Since 1936, the NFL Draft has grown in popularity. Football fans from all over this continent tune into ESPN to watch the draft take place.
A few drafts have drawn more attention than others. In particular, the 1998 draft centered focus on a young star who dominated in his college career. His name was Ryan Leaf.
Leading up to the draft, scouts and analysts were feasting on the potential of Leaf. And they were not exaggerating. The young quarterback broke many records for his school, Washington State University. His accolades include the following:
- In his Junior year he averaged over 330 yards passing per game and threw 33 TD's. (A school record)
- He ended the school's 67-year Rose Bowl drought and helped bring the Cougars their first Pac-10 championship in school history.
- He also was selected as the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, was named first-team All-America by Sporting News, and finished second in the nation in passing rating.
Many looked at his college career as a success. Because of his success, everyone knew that he would be one of the first players picked in the 1998 NFL Draft. The San Diego Chargers saw Leaf's potential, and went "all-in" to get him. The Indianapolis Colts had the first pick, and the Arizona Cardinals had the second pick. In order to have the second pick, the Chargers traded away many of their first few picks. San Diego picked up Leaf immediately and signed him.
The rest of the story did not go the way that San Diego planned. In ten games that season, Leaf threw two touchdown passes and fifteen interceptions, passing for 1,289 yards and having a 45.3 percent completion rate, with a poor quarterback rating of 39. This guy was ridiculously horrible on and off the field. In interviews, he got in arguments. He even got physical with a few reporters. Leaf was eventually released by the the Chargers. He was claimed by a few other teams, but still showed no real ability to play at the NFL level.
Probably the most remarkable thing about the 1998 draft was not the story of Ryan Leaf. The most dominant story would eventually come of the man who was picked before Leaf. His name was Peyton Manning. What is remarkable to me is that Manning was said to be a less capable quarterback than Ryan Leaf. But when I looked deep into the mindset of the Indianapolis Colts, I see logic and foresight that went unnoticed.
When the scouting department of the Colts viewed Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning side-by-side they did not see a lot of difference at first. However, they did not stop on what they saw on the outside. One scout had made mention of the character of thee two. The character of each man was quite different:
- Leaf showed pride in his abilities and spoke highly of himself. Manning was very humble and gave no credit to himself.
- Leaf golfed on his days off, and only did the bare minimum for gameday prep. Manning was dedicated and hardworking, constantly working on weak spots.
- Leaf expressed that he did not even like the game of football on one occasion. So we made our decision based on the character levels and also on the desire of the game.
As we look at the careers of each player today, we can say without reservation that Peyton Manning was and is the more successful football story when compared to Ryan Leaf. And the preceding example shows us how things that look the same, sometimes are not.
Before the draft, Manning and Leaf looked a lot alike. They both had raw talent and statistics proved them to be a good quarterback. However, when time pushed on, the outcomes were quite different. Why was this the case? Well, the same can be very true when applied to our lives in any area.
In Proverbs we see Solomon writing in contrast to vividly paint the picture of a wise man and a fool. Solomon does this in many instances in Proverbs and even through Ecclesiastes. And when we look closely, we can see what he is talking about and how this applies to us.
Through desire- The whole context of this passage hinges on these two words. This is the avenue by which we obtain that knowledge. How are we to obtain knowledge? Through desire. True desire. Not a fabricated nominal desire. Nominal means "by name only." If we say that we desire something, that doesn't mean that we really do.
I am not a basketball fan. I don't really like the game. Go ahead, shoot me! When I played basketball, I never really saw progress in how well I played the game. Why? Because I had no desire to play the sport, let alone practice it.
When we look at the analysis of Ryan Leaf by the Colts organization, they saw a lack of desire to play the game of football. And that foresight saved them a lot of wasted money on wasted talent. No desire means no progress.
A man, having separated himself- Even as I type this blog post, I have separated myself from the things that would otherwise distract me from accomplishing the task I wish to complete. When you really desire something, you act. The action you take should be separation. Separation from what? Whatever would hinder you from reaching the ultimate goal.
Seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom- And of course, when someone really desires something enough to separate themselves, the next thing they do is... just sit there and stare at a wall. NO! They seek. And because they have taken time and sacrificed what their flesh would want, they seek with diligence. So much diligence, in fact that they begin to intermeddle. Intermeddle means to take part in the concerns of. The concerns of what or who? The author goes on- ALL WISDOM. Now this usage literally means all available knowledge. This seeker is going to look everywhere for his answers. Notice also that Solomon uses the word "wisdom!" Not just any old opinion will do. No, the idea is to seek in areas that would provide you answers that exhibit godliness.
And, we get to verse 2. With a contrast there is always another side to the good. With good there is bad. With light there is dark. And with wisdom there is a fool. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
With the wise man, there is a desire. This desire fuels him towards wisdom. But the fool is totally satisfied with his condition. In fact, he is so satisfied that he "advertises" his intellect. That is what it means by "heart may discover itself."
Now let's think back to Ryan Leaf. Why did he ultimately fail? Well, he did not desire to progress in production. All he cared about was where he brought himself with his talent.
The beautiful thing about this passage is that it universally applies to our lives. The knowledge that we seek after could be in any realm of life. And this works in any realm of life. Think about it:
In your married life- Are you struggling with having a healthy relationship with your spouse? Well, the reality is that somewhere along the path of marriage, you have lost that desire to love the one you have promised to love until death. And if you are reading this, you are not dead. It begins with desire. You desire to be around him or her. You work on that desire by loving them no matter what they choose to do. What happens when you seek and intermeddle your life into theirs? What happens when you study your spouse like a book to try to find out what you can do for them? What happens when you separate yourself from that iPad/laptop, TV, friend, etc. What begins to happen is joy in your marriage. But what happens if you are simply satisfied with where you are in marriage like the fool and make no progress towards maturing your love for each other? Do you see the wisdom of Solomon's writing?
What about work? One may say that they are unhappy about their work situation. But they would be wrong in viewing their job as a burden. With unemployment rates the way that they are, one should be very pleased about having a job. And a true desire to be a Christian employee should propel us towards separation, and constantly learning how to be better.
Our walk with God is the primary application for this passage. A desire to be with God to build a relationship is a healthy thing. If that desire is not there, something is wrong. We have the Word of God at our disposal. Is there any greater wisdom? Or are we like the fool who is content with where they are?
To conclude this post (which has gone really long) I would like to use one last example:
Imagine with me 2 gardens.
One to your right and one to your left. We till these gardens and plant the same exact vegetation within the gardens.
What do we see? The gardens look identical.
Now the garden on your right we will leave alone. Don't touch it for 3 months. However, the garden on your left will be kept daily. We will water it. We will separate the weeds. We will make sure it has plenty of sunlight.
...
3 months have passed...
What do we see now?
Well, now the gardens don't look at all the same.
The garden on the right is full of ripe vegetables and fruit, ready to be picked. This garden is successful.
The garden on the left... We might as well mow over it and start over again. Wasted potential.
The potential of growth is totally dependent on upkeep. Desire fuels upkeep. The same is very true for our own lives; physically, emotionally, and most important, spiritually. Life does not have an auto-pilot mode. Only a fool would think this way.
Which garden is your life?
Is it bountiful due to diligent maintenance fueled by a desire to see progress?
Or, like the fool, is it unproductive and wasted potential?
Think about it.
-A Youth Pastor
"Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself." - Proverbs 18:1-2
Every April, an event takes place that captures the interest of many. Especially football fans. In this event, college football players are selected by professional football teams and signed to multi-million dollar contracts. This event is known as the NFL Draft. Since 1936, the NFL Draft has grown in popularity. Football fans from all over this continent tune into ESPN to watch the draft take place.
A few drafts have drawn more attention than others. In particular, the 1998 draft centered focus on a young star who dominated in his college career. His name was Ryan Leaf.
Leading up to the draft, scouts and analysts were feasting on the potential of Leaf. And they were not exaggerating. The young quarterback broke many records for his school, Washington State University. His accolades include the following:- In his Junior year he averaged over 330 yards passing per game and threw 33 TD's. (A school record)
- He ended the school's 67-year Rose Bowl drought and helped bring the Cougars their first Pac-10 championship in school history.
- He also was selected as the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, was named first-team All-America by Sporting News, and finished second in the nation in passing rating.
Many looked at his college career as a success. Because of his success, everyone knew that he would be one of the first players picked in the 1998 NFL Draft. The San Diego Chargers saw Leaf's potential, and went "all-in" to get him. The Indianapolis Colts had the first pick, and the Arizona Cardinals had the second pick. In order to have the second pick, the Chargers traded away many of their first few picks. San Diego picked up Leaf immediately and signed him.
The rest of the story did not go the way that San Diego planned. In ten games that season, Leaf threw two touchdown passes and fifteen interceptions, passing for 1,289 yards and having a 45.3 percent completion rate, with a poor quarterback rating of 39. This guy was ridiculously horrible on and off the field. In interviews, he got in arguments. He even got physical with a few reporters. Leaf was eventually released by the the Chargers. He was claimed by a few other teams, but still showed no real ability to play at the NFL level.
Probably the most remarkable thing about the 1998 draft was not the story of Ryan Leaf. The most dominant story would eventually come of the man who was picked before Leaf. His name was Peyton Manning. What is remarkable to me is that Manning was said to be a less capable quarterback than Ryan Leaf. But when I looked deep into the mindset of the Indianapolis Colts, I see logic and foresight that went unnoticed.
When the scouting department of the Colts viewed Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning side-by-side they did not see a lot of difference at first. However, they did not stop on what they saw on the outside. One scout had made mention of the character of thee two. The character of each man was quite different:
- Leaf showed pride in his abilities and spoke highly of himself. Manning was very humble and gave no credit to himself.
- Leaf golfed on his days off, and only did the bare minimum for gameday prep. Manning was dedicated and hardworking, constantly working on weak spots.
- Leaf expressed that he did not even like the game of football on one occasion. So we made our decision based on the character levels and also on the desire of the game.
As we look at the careers of each player today, we can say without reservation that Peyton Manning was and is the more successful football story when compared to Ryan Leaf. And the preceding example shows us how things that look the same, sometimes are not.
Before the draft, Manning and Leaf looked a lot alike. They both had raw talent and statistics proved them to be a good quarterback. However, when time pushed on, the outcomes were quite different. Why was this the case? Well, the same can be very true when applied to our lives in any area.
In Proverbs we see Solomon writing in contrast to vividly paint the picture of a wise man and a fool. Solomon does this in many instances in Proverbs and even through Ecclesiastes. And when we look closely, we can see what he is talking about and how this applies to us.
Through desire- The whole context of this passage hinges on these two words. This is the avenue by which we obtain that knowledge. How are we to obtain knowledge? Through desire. True desire. Not a fabricated nominal desire. Nominal means "by name only." If we say that we desire something, that doesn't mean that we really do.
I am not a basketball fan. I don't really like the game. Go ahead, shoot me! When I played basketball, I never really saw progress in how well I played the game. Why? Because I had no desire to play the sport, let alone practice it.
When we look at the analysis of Ryan Leaf by the Colts organization, they saw a lack of desire to play the game of football. And that foresight saved them a lot of wasted money on wasted talent. No desire means no progress.
A man, having separated himself- Even as I type this blog post, I have separated myself from the things that would otherwise distract me from accomplishing the task I wish to complete. When you really desire something, you act. The action you take should be separation. Separation from what? Whatever would hinder you from reaching the ultimate goal.
Seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom- And of course, when someone really desires something enough to separate themselves, the next thing they do is... just sit there and stare at a wall. NO! They seek. And because they have taken time and sacrificed what their flesh would want, they seek with diligence. So much diligence, in fact that they begin to intermeddle. Intermeddle means to take part in the concerns of. The concerns of what or who? The author goes on- ALL WISDOM. Now this usage literally means all available knowledge. This seeker is going to look everywhere for his answers. Notice also that Solomon uses the word "wisdom!" Not just any old opinion will do. No, the idea is to seek in areas that would provide you answers that exhibit godliness.
And, we get to verse 2. With a contrast there is always another side to the good. With good there is bad. With light there is dark. And with wisdom there is a fool. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
With the wise man, there is a desire. This desire fuels him towards wisdom. But the fool is totally satisfied with his condition. In fact, he is so satisfied that he "advertises" his intellect. That is what it means by "heart may discover itself."
Now let's think back to Ryan Leaf. Why did he ultimately fail? Well, he did not desire to progress in production. All he cared about was where he brought himself with his talent.
The beautiful thing about this passage is that it universally applies to our lives. The knowledge that we seek after could be in any realm of life. And this works in any realm of life. Think about it:
In your married life- Are you struggling with having a healthy relationship with your spouse? Well, the reality is that somewhere along the path of marriage, you have lost that desire to love the one you have promised to love until death. And if you are reading this, you are not dead. It begins with desire. You desire to be around him or her. You work on that desire by loving them no matter what they choose to do. What happens when you seek and intermeddle your life into theirs? What happens when you study your spouse like a book to try to find out what you can do for them? What happens when you separate yourself from that iPad/laptop, TV, friend, etc. What begins to happen is joy in your marriage. But what happens if you are simply satisfied with where you are in marriage like the fool and make no progress towards maturing your love for each other? Do you see the wisdom of Solomon's writing?
What about work? One may say that they are unhappy about their work situation. But they would be wrong in viewing their job as a burden. With unemployment rates the way that they are, one should be very pleased about having a job. And a true desire to be a Christian employee should propel us towards separation, and constantly learning how to be better.
Our walk with God is the primary application for this passage. A desire to be with God to build a relationship is a healthy thing. If that desire is not there, something is wrong. We have the Word of God at our disposal. Is there any greater wisdom? Or are we like the fool who is content with where they are?
To conclude this post (which has gone really long) I would like to use one last example:
Imagine with me 2 gardens.
One to your right and one to your left. We till these gardens and plant the same exact vegetation within the gardens.
What do we see? The gardens look identical.
Now the garden on your right we will leave alone. Don't touch it for 3 months. However, the garden on your left will be kept daily. We will water it. We will separate the weeds. We will make sure it has plenty of sunlight.
...
3 months have passed...
What do we see now?
Well, now the gardens don't look at all the same.
The garden on the right is full of ripe vegetables and fruit, ready to be picked. This garden is successful.
The garden on the left... We might as well mow over it and start over again. Wasted potential.
The potential of growth is totally dependent on upkeep. Desire fuels upkeep. The same is very true for our own lives; physically, emotionally, and most important, spiritually. Life does not have an auto-pilot mode. Only a fool would think this way.
Which garden is your life?
Is it bountiful due to diligent maintenance fueled by a desire to see progress?
Or, like the fool, is it unproductive and wasted potential?
Think about it.
-A Youth Pastor
Thursday, August 16, 2012
An Introduction & A Testimony
THURSDAY 8-16-2012
Hello Blog-osphere! Let me first say that I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to blogging. I realize that a majority of people who blog tend to make it all about themselves, but I pray that will not be the tendency of this blogger. Let it be known that my intentions for this blog are 3 fold:1. To glorify Christ.
2. To edify others.
3. To have fun. (Because Christians can do that!)
So, with that being said, allow me to introduce myself via life testimony.
I was born at a very young age... ahem...
Let me start over! My name is Corey Estep. I love the LORD, I love my wife, and I just plain love life! My parents started attending church when I was 2 years old, so that is pretty much all I have ever known. And I am so thankful for that. I grew up learning foundation truths from God's Word by men and women of God living out what they preached and taught. I learned how to love God and I learned that He loved me. In fact, He loved me so much that He sent His only Son to die for me. I made a profession of faith when I was 7, but I didn't really grasp the whole concept of a relationship with someone that I couldn't see. I pretty much grabbed at the "fire escape" for fear of Hell.
 |
| Cozaddale Baptist Temple. Goshen, OH |
When my parents made the decision to move us from public school to Christian school, they also decided to move to another church: Cozaddale Baptist Temple. I thank God for my parents and God leading them. I got involved in the Cozaddale Baptist Temple Teen Group led by God through Bro. Travis Burke and Bro. Matt Martin. I had never been a part of anything like this. I absolutely fell in love with the place. I was very much a part of the teen class. I became the class president of the Jr. High Department.
Now let me explain what was going on in my heart during this time. The entire time at CBT, I knew I was lost. But, because the youth group was so tightly knit and the right thing to do was also the popular thing to do, I sloughed off the conviction because I cared about being popular. Now, don't get me wrong; having a youth group like this is definitely a great thing, but I allowed becoming class president to tighten me down with pride. "I can't go forward! I am the class president!" I pushed the Holy Spirit away countless times because I was too good to be lost. I was a good kid. I watched some go through the Christian school and teen church classes and totally rebel. I heard them talk about things that made me blush and things that I had never even heard of, so it couldn't make me blush!
Fast forward 2 years. I am now 14 years old. Its New Years Eve, and we are having an awesome teen activity. We went to a college basketball game, laser tag, bowling, and then we all wen to Moraine Heights Baptist Church's gymnasium. Did I mention that it was an all-night activity? EPIC activity! About an hour into the new year (2004), we all settled into a large classroom where Bro. Travis preached. I don't remember exactly what he preached on, but I remember the whole time knowing that I was not saved. So I went forward. That night I accepted Christ as my Saviour and to this day, I know that i am saved!
Fast forward 6 months. It's June. Teen Camp is coming up soon. My dad calls all of us kids into the living room of our brand new home. He told us that we would be moving to Kansas.
Kansas?!
I pushed the whole talk aside and went on with the next few weeks not believing my dad. Literally, I didn't believe him. But a week before teen camp, they told us that they were going to Kansas to look at the ministry while we were at camp.
Okay, they must be serious...
I shut down. I didn't want this to happen. Not to me! NOT NOW! I am a Junior in High-School! I will not go to Kansas where there are yellow-brick roads, tornadoes, and feed lots! I shut down. My heart wasn't right. I hated my dad, and I hated what God was doing to ME. Me, me me! Every thought in my stupid head over the next few months started with "I, me, my..."
I went to teen camp, but I didn't take God with me. I took a bad attitude and a bad friend. All I did that week was look for girls. I stuck close to that friend, and decided to ignore the good, real friends that I did have. I didn't hear from God that week because I didn't let Him speak to me. I didn't care.
The date was set for the move and I was headed on my last youth activity. It was November, and we all went to Fairhaven Baptist Church in Indiana for Empowered Youth. That week, I was going to talk to girls, and that's it. But, I had some people praying for me. Bro. Travis pulled me aside on Tuesday night and asked me how I was doing. You know those kinds of talks. I had been upset with a friend of mine earlier that day and I didn't feel like getting interrogated. But he persisted. I broke down. I told him that I didn't want to go. I don;t remember exactly what the entire conversation consisted of, but I do remember him asking me one question: "Have you surrendered?"
The congregationals started and we cut the conversation short. I was spacing off until I heard the preacher for that night say the title of the message. "Surrender."
I knew what needed to be done. I couldn't wait until the invitation! I knew God was ready to use me, but He just needed a willing vessel! I don't remember anything else that was said during that message apart from the title. He could have got up there and said "Surrender," and I would have gone forward!
I grabbed Bro. Travis and went forward. I knelt down and apologized to God for my attitude and surrendered to whatever He would have me do, and follow my parents for as long as I was under their roof.
I won't say that the move was easy. In fact, it was probably the hardest thing I've ever been through emotionally. But, through it all, I had a peace.
To make the rest of the story short: I wound up meeting my wife in Kansas. I also found out about Heartland Baptist Bible College. HBBC, has been my growing place. I have feasted on a plethora of wisdom from men of God who have "been there and done that!" And now my wife and I are ready to move to Sioux Falls, SD where I will be the associate Pastor and Youth Pastor full-time. Wow, what a blessing!
While I do not feel worthy or fully capable to be in full-time ministry, I do feel strengthened by the sacrifice of many others to equip me for the Great Commission. I pray that I may be able to strengthen some teenager to boldly, but humbly, go into battle for the glory of Christ!
-A Youth Pastor
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