Youth Term 1 2016

Hi everyone - things have been pretty quiet for the past year with formal Youth activities, but WAC Youth have been getting involved in lots of all-age church activities, and we're seeing more and more taking on responsibilities around the joint - which is fantastic!

On Sundays there are youth running the data projector (and preparing the slides beforehand too), reading the Bible to us, welcoming, leading singing (with their voices and a mic., or drums, or bass, or piano, or brass!), serving morning tea, passing their knowledge and faith on to the younger kids in SALT Club - frankly, the place would probably fall down if the youth all took the weekend off at once.

Great news though!  There's an event just for youth coming up on the 4th April for peeps in Grade 3 + It's going to be a terrific afternoon/evening, with games, other fun activities (oooh, I do love a bit of mystery!)  and of course food.  All this is happening at Kerrie and Dan's place, so you know the food will be GOOD!  Thanks for offering, guys!

Hey, if you've got ideas for future activities, let us know - talk to Richard, Andy, Kerrie, Alison or Katie.  We love hearing your suggestions!

Youth News for 31st August!

© Stefanolunardi | Dreamstime.com

THIS WEEK: Last week we had delicious dinner at the Charles’ - thank you!  So, THIS week we’re REALLY going to study Gentleness…. - at Katie’s place, XXXXX XXXXX (you know where it is - or you can check the church Phone File)!  Drop off 5pm, pick up 6.30pm.

NEXT WEEK: And the very last fruit…: Self Control!  I can’t wait!  How can I last the distance!  I’m gonna burst!!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:  Did you know: Just days before the World Cup of 1966 in England, the trophy was stolen and then later retrieved by a dog. Blueberry juice boosts memory. Laughter is a proven way to lose weigh. Says so on the internet - so it must be true!

More Info About State Youth Games

For more info about the State Youth Games, go to the previous post - I've added 'buttons' for the SYG info page, program information, promotional video for 2014, and their facebook page.  Enjoy!

Youth Group 9th June: State Youth Games Night Rally!

The Queen's Birthday long weekend is next week.  And that means it's time for State Youth Games at Lardner Park - Yay!  Youth Bible Group is heading out for the Sunday night rally - great bands, terrific talk, a couple of thousand young people and lots more.  This is the kind of thing you definitely want to invite friends to!  If people are keen to go to the Saturday rally, I'm happy to take them to that too.  I hear Fatai from The Voice will be singing...

Here are the details:

RSVP is essential - we'll need to plan food, transport, and if folk want a sleep-over, there's breakfast, supervision, etc. for that, too.  Text Katie O4 28 72 4O 72

RSVP for the Sleep-Over by Saturday lunch time, 7th June!

RSVP for the Saturday Night Rally by Saturday lunch time, 7th June, please.

RSVP for the Sunday Night Rally by Sunday lunch time, 8th June, please.

On the day:

Saturday:

Drop off at WAC 5.30pm, we'll have a BBQ together and then head out to Lardner Park.

7pm to 8.30pm:  Program at Lardner Park

Pick up at WAC 9.00pm.

Sunday:

Drop off at WAC 5.30pm, we'll have dinner together and then head out to Lardner Park.

7pm to 8.30pm:  Program at Lardner Park

8.30pm to 9.15pm ish: Checking out 'The Village' - coffee van, stalls, hot chocolate, games, etc.

Pick up at WAC 9.30pm.

OR

9.30pm Sunday:  Sleep-over at WAC

8.30am Monday:  pancakes for breakky on Monday 

Pick-up at WAC 10am.

For the rallies, Saturday and Sunday night, you will need:  

Warm clothes and sturdy shoes - it will be cold, and it may be muddy!

A folding chair

A pocket torch if you've got one (helps if you need to use a portaloo in the dark)

About $10 - to cover entry plus a hot chocolate

For the Sleep-Over you'll need:

A sleeping bag, or quilt, blankets etc.

Something soft - thermarest, air bed, camping mattress

PJs

Toothbrush and paste

Teddy-bear

Some music to share!

It's gonna be good!

Fruit of the Spirit #4: Patience....

This Sunday:
At home at WAC, we're exploring patience.... waiting... waiting... waiting...
Drop off 5pm, pick up 6.30pm - see you there!

Youth Bible Group Term 2 Starts This Sunday!

Gallipoli trenches © Steveheap | dreamstime.com 

Lest we forget... what, exactly?

Hi everyone - we're back this Sunday, 5pm to 6.30pm at the church - can't wait to see everyone and find out how your Easter break was!

This term we're going multi-media, and Michael's starting us off this Sunday - it's gonna be good!  This picture is a hint...

See you on Sunday!

Rope Games this Sunday!

© Abimages | dreamstime.com

 © Kim Reinick | dreamstime.com

Prepare to get active this Sunday!

Also, we say farewell to Jonah, the Moaner - and ask ourselves, what would I do if God asked me to visit people in another country, and tell them about Jesus?

Things to put in your diary:
5th April:  'Kick Off' youth event hosted by Church of Christ
12th April, 10am to 3pm: Free Family Fun Day - try out the 'Youth Zone'.  Why not volunteer, have a good time yourself and share some of God's generosity with our community?!
17th April, 6.30pm:  Last Supper Revisited.  $10/ticket.  We're hosting this one, yummy roast lamb! Space is limited, so we're encouraging people to come if they can bring a friend who wants to know more about Easter and Jesus.
18th April, 9am: Good Friday service, for all ages - lots of songs and multi-media, PLUS something to take home, to help us reflect on what Jesus did for us on the cross.  Maybe a tattoo???
18th April, 10am:  March to the Cross - we'll gather in town and walk together down Smith Street to the Cenotaph;  on the way people from different churches will read, act and sing events of the first Good Friday.  Let's fill the street, and make it huge!
20th April, 8am and 9.30am:  Easter Sunday!  9.30am will be a celebratory communion service for all ages.

What We're Doing in Term 1 (and for Easter)

Most of you should already have your printed copy of the Term 1 Program - but in case it's gone missing, or we haven't got one into your hand yet, it's now been uploaded to the Current Program page of the blog - how handy is that!
Or you could try clicking on the little picture at the left here, it may pop up full size for you.
I'm loving sharing Term 1 with you guys!

Permission Form for Moe Trip

I'm trying something different to make filling in permission forms easier (I hope!)

Click here to find a Permission Form for Trip to Stadium 34 - 

You may need to click on the 'download' button after that, in order to see the form.

© Sallyeva | dreamstime.com

First Youth Outing for 2014 - YAY!!

Yay - it's time for our first Youth Outing for 2014!  This Sunday (16th March), by popular demand, we're off to Moe to skate, blade, skoot, ripstik and ripride!

When:  Drop-off at WAC at 12.45pm, pick up back at WAC at about 5pm (maybe a smidge earlier).

What to wear:  Imagine that you are hanging upside down from the monkey bars.  Wear something you feel comfortable being seen in!  (Stretchy pants and tops are good, and layers so you can take bits off as you warm up).

What to bring:  If you've got your own skates, blades or ripstiks you can bring those and save a bit on equipment hire.  Please bring about $15 to cover entry plus equipment hire, and a bit more if you think you'll want something to eat or drink while you're there.

YOU'LL ALSO NEED:  A permission form, completed by your parents!  There's a link in the right margin of the blog, headed "For Parents:  Printable Consent Forms".

BEFORE SUNDAY:  We need your RSVP by Saturday, so we can make sure we've got enough car seats and adult supervisors.  Thank you!

The Youth Team This Year!

Introducing our terrific team for 2014:

Katie Peken continues to head up the team... that would be me!  I am full-time in ministry at Warragul Anglican Church, and oversee our kids, youth, and young adult ministry.

Alison Buttle is back for more punishment, she's fantastic at coming up with great games, and gets us digging deep into the Bible!  Alison teaches at Chairo Christian School.

Tristan Wallace is back as fabulous acquirer of food and creator of games - he's also been practising for our next trip to Moe for roller-blading, he's going to leave us all standing in his dust!  Tristan  hopes to get into Christian youth camping in the near future.

Michael Gaylard joined us for a couple of sessions at the end of 2013, and (unsurprisingly - we're that terrific!) he's caved in to our pleading, and joined the team for 2014 - yay!  Michael teaches at Chairo Christian School.

Paul Peterson loves spending time investing in teens, he teamed up with us last year as driver/photographer/chip-in-wherever-help-is-needed-guy, and we're delighted that he's able to do the same this year - thanks Paul!  Paul volunteers at Warragul North Primary School helping kids one-on-one with their reading skills.

All our leaders have Department of Justice clearance to work with kids and youth, and buckets of experience too - which makes us greatly blessed to have them!

(Guys, we need some pictures here...!)

Jonah: Mr. Gonna-Be-A-Missionary-Whether-He-Wants-To-Or-Not!

Poor Jonah!  He'd rather be thrown into the sea in a raging storm than go tell the Ninevites about God!  Probably, most of us can relate!  Though we usually have less radical options for getting out of talking about what we believe...

God had other plans for Jonah, both kind, and also quite unyielding.  He's God, after all.

This week we find out when Jonah gets the call to the mission field, Take #2!

We meet at church, 5pm, pick up at 6.30pm, as usual.  See you on Sunday!

Opportunity Knocks!

Image from Dreamstime.com

Hi everyone!

THIS SUNDAY: Meet as usual 5pm @ WAC. We're on the home straight, finishing our gallop through an overview of the Bible - this week we look at Jesus' Resurrection - so what?  And Jesus' Gift to us - The Holy Spirit. And just because, we're going on a 'Treasure Hunt' - bring a camera or iPhone, we're 'collecting' treasure around Warragul town.  Permission slips are needed cos we're (walking) off-site: on the blog go to the right column and click on 'Treasure Hunt Permission' for a printable form.

NEXT WEEK:  We meet @ WAC for the grand finale!  The Return of Jesus, and the New Creation! New Creation... that's what we are when we're baptised into Jesus.   Hot summer evening... makes you think about water, doesn't it?!  Come in clothes you don't mind getting wet, bring a towel, and we'll have some watery outdoor fun (weather permitting)!

OPPORTUNITY:  Youth Bible Group has been invited to lead prayers for the Combined Carols, 8th December at 7pm!  We'll meet at the usual time, and plan our prayers over a bite to eat.  If you can't stay for the service, that's OK, we'd still love your input for the prayers. But we hope you can stay!

Term 4 Program is Finally Available!

Hi everyone, the Term 4 Youth Bible Group program is now available in hard copy (fluoro green) from Katie, and you can also look at it on the blog - go to the top menu and select 'Youth Bible Group Current Programme'.

I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this to you - thank you for your patience. Hopefully I'm nearly over this wretched bug and back to full speed!

There will be more information soon about the outing later this term (17th Nov), a movie and pizza night, we'll need permission if the movie is PG;  also we plan to go offsite for the Treasure Hunt the following week (24th Nov), just on foot, but will need permission for that.  Finally, I'm hoping we may be able to participate in the Combined Carols service on 8th Dec, but I'm waiting to have a meeting with Daniel about that.

Thank you all for your support over the past months - you've all been hugely helpful, in a whole lot of different ways! Cheers -
Katie.

'Bounce' Tomorrow! Consent forms available

Screen capture from Bounce Inc. website - looks pretty fun, eh?!

Only one more sleep till 'Bounce'!  Our itinerary, contact info., and consent forms are available NOW on our blog  http://wacyouthnews.blogspot.com.au/  - go to the right of the screen, find 'For Parents:  Printable Consent Forms' and click on 'Consent for trip to Bounce Inc. 20th Oct 2013.'

If you haven't filled out a form giving us your emergency contact details and medical consent, or if your details have changed since you last filled one out, please click on 'Parent Contact & Medical Consent Form'.  Katie needs these before we head off for Bounce.

If you want to get in the mood, they've got some great (short) video clips on their website!

Have You Seen This One?

© Pavel Siamionau Dreamstime.com

I was browsing a great youth ministry website today, and I found this:  http://fervr.net/bible/8-ways-to-stop-going-to-church-without-anyone-noticing

It's well written, and I can tell you, they aren't making it up!

S0me of the comments after is are pretty funny too - some people didn't realise that the article is tongue-in-cheek - they aren't telling us what they think we SHOULD do, they're telling us what, very sadly, lots of people DO do. 

Question for you:  what do YOU reckon are the main reasons people don't come to church?  I don't mean people who don't believe in Jesus, and don't already belong to a church;  I mean people who do believe in Jesus, and want to follow him, and belong to a church.  What do you reckon are the main reasons that people just don't show up?

Post your answers here - the first TWO people who post a comment on this blog will get a movie ticket!!  (for Warragul cinema, of course!)

Download and Print Consent forms for Youth Outings!

This one is for parents and other responsible adults!

We're all snowed under by paperwork, so I'm trying to streamline things a bit:

You can now download the Contact Info & Medical Advice Form by clicking the link at the right of this post.  I only need you to fill that out once per youth per year, unless details change during the year; I'll keep it in a file so that I know if there are any allergy issues etc for your youth/s, and have your contact info available in case of emergency during any outing.

Then there's a separate Consent form for each outing, in two parts:

The top half is for you to tear off and keep, it tells you what the outing is, and provides times, addresses, RSVP info, and how you can get in touch with the leaders during the event.

The bottom half is for me, it's where you consent to your youth/s attending the specific outing.  I need that back from you, signed, for each youth, before we head off for the outing. It will be filed for posterity at WAC - in case there should be an audit or question in the future.

The forms for our next outing are ready for you to download, print off, and fill in - all ready for 15th September!

This month's outing - Skating/Skooting at Moe!

Turns out that 'Bounce' is SOOOOOO popular that you have to book a couple of months ahead.  So I've paid a deposit for us to go there for our October outing.  More about that soon!

But that meant we needed a new plan for our end-of-term September outing!  So... This month's event will be skating/skooting in Moe, NEXT SUNDAY 15th September.  Not everyone loves skating (don't understand that myself, but each to his or her own!) - but that's OK because apparently there's also a skooting rink, with ramps and stuff - and you can hire a skooter $4 or ripstik $5 to use there.  Do I confess?  I'd never heard of a ripstik...

I borrowed this pic. of someone riding a ripstik from a website - click to visit

What do you need to know? 

Drop off @ Church 1.00pm, Pick up @ Church 4.30pm, Sunday 15th September. 
What to bring: $15 to be on the safe side.  Covers entry, equipment hire, and snack.  But there should be a little bit of change!  
What to wear: Comfortable stretchy clothes that you don't mind being upside down in!
Can you bring friends?  Of course!  Just let me know who's coming, and they'll need permission forms filled in by their parents.
RSVP:  I need to know how many people are coming, so I can make sure we've got enough drivers and adult supervisors.  So please let me know whether you are COMING or NOT COMING, by MIDNIGHT ON SATURDAY 13th PLEASE!

ALSO:  Alison can't make it this time, so I'm looking for a driver, preferably with a Working With Children Check.  Suggestions?

BBQ and Bonfire Night! Last Sunday's Outing

Well, that's what it was going to be - but God has a sense of humour!  When we were going to have a tobogganing trip, the sun came out and there was no snow.  When we were going to have a beach day, it poured.  This time, when we were going to have a BBQ and Bonfire night (doesn't that sound like a good choice for a chilly winter outing?!) we had wild wind, rain and thunder!

But the Youth Bible Group's motto is NEVER GIVE UP!!

SO... we had our BBQ and Bonfire at Katie's place - she doesn't have a BBQ, so we grilled the snags on the stove - and then rolled them in bread and tomato sauce in the traditional way;  and she doesn't have a bonfire, so we toasted marshmellows on the stove top - but hey, they went all crispy and black on the outside, and gooey and melty on the inside, just the way they do over a bonfire!  Someone ate so many he was feeling a little ill... or maybe that's because he prefers his marshmellows more charcoal than lolly...

AND we got to watch a rather peculiar animated movie - 'The Tale of Despereaux', which was definitely a warmer option than tramping through mud and long grass in a storm.

Next outing is scheduled for 15th September, and we're hoping to go to 'Bounce' in the city... what could possibly go wrong for that one??!

The Challenge...

OK, so I told the Youth Bible Group that their homework was to have a look at this blog... and that they would see something to their advantage...!  What could it be, what could it be?  ...  Here it is - this is a test of your ability to draw as well as whether you did your homework or not!

If you see this, sketch the pic. you see here, just a stick figure will do, as long as I can tell it's the same one - and show it to me after church on Sunday (you'll need  to be quick, I'm off to Ellinbank at 10.55!), or if (*gasp!* surely not!) you don't crawl out of bed in time for church, send it to me as an mms .... there's a chocolate frog in it!

This pic. tells us something about the big story of the Bible - it's not about a God who sits around hoping we'll like him.  It's about our God who comes looking for us, and does whatever it takes to rescue us.  Cool, eh?!