join us - April 8th - no shoes!

Tom's Shoes is a fantastic organization with a great mission. Please check out this video and join us on April 8th!

service @ Easter

Yo! I know I have said it before, but just wanted to let you know there will be no student services on Easter Sunday (4th). Instead we ask that you connect with GraceKIDS/Easter Egg Hunt thru service!

Also adults, we still have heaps of spots available to serve this Easter. Please let me know if you are interested!

I am not a superstar.

I am not a superstar...

I have faults, flaws, pet sins and the like. I am sometimes selfish and self-centered (and redundant). I sometimes forget to pray for kids. I sometimes see a parent coming and quickly duck around a corner to avoid chit-chat because I think they might hold me up from something "more important".

Many times I rant more than I bless. Most days I can't stand Kirk Cameron. I sometimes cheat when I'm playing Uno. I don't replace the toilet paper when it runs out. I get impatient and angry... often. So, if you are looking for a super-star student pastor. I'm not it.

But what I can give is Christ. Despite my best efforts to be an idiot, God has saved me from a life of sin. I am changed and know he can change even the "worst" cases. I know I rolled off a lot of bad attributes about myself earlier, but God really has given me fruits of His spirit and I try to live in those every day. But it is only because of HIS grace and HIS mercy that I do any of this. Because, I am not at all a super-star.

But I believe with a zealot's intensity that Jesus of Nazareth is who He says He is. I believe that He is present and active in your student, in their schools and in Youth cultural in general. I believe we are His people and He has called us (together) to reach students with His good news. I am willing to die upon this hill. But I am not a super-star. I just want to be the "Norm" God created me to be. God is the object of ultimate glory. God's light shines into the deepest of darkness. This is the solid rock I will stand upon. Will you join me?

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Seriously stoked about our new series called, "On the Lot". We are going to be discussing one of my most cherished things in the faith. The Bible.

Wait. I know what you're thinking. The Bible, at church...? Wow you dug deep for that one! But I would venture to say many of us would agree that this is a difficult area to discipline ourselves in. Whether this is your 50th year as a Christ servant or first 5 minutes or even if you don't believe in God, we can all agree that the Bible has been an important book throughout history. But in this series, we will challenge you to go beyond just words, sentences, ink and binding.

We are going to discuss what it means for the scriptures to COME ALIVE in your life.

We want to help your student understand what the heck it means to take the Scriptures in and live them out in 2010.

This week we are starting off in the Psalms and are going to take a fresh look at the "Mt. Everest of Psalms" Psalm 119. So you won't wanna miss it :).>

GraceSTUDENTS news! (Jan/Feb)

It has been a great two months to start off this year in GraceSTUDENTS!!! I want to thank you for all your support, care and prayers for our student ministry. I also want to take this time to celebrate with you the victories that have happened in the last two months. We have so much to be thankful for and here are just a few of the things that have happened so far:

SUNDAY MORNING----------------------------------

First of all, we have started the year with two awesome teaching series right off the bat. Our first series was "Rise Up and Go". We challenged students not just to make new year's resolutions but make real, tagible steps to follow Christ in 2010 with everything they have. In February we are going through "Search for Significance", where we break down what the bible says about who we are in Christ. Also in this series we are teaching the value of giving others around us significance through Christ's message as well.

This March we are starting, "On the Lot". "On the Lot" is a series that derives it's title from being on a movie lot. Many movies have a script, but until people actually act it out, we don't see it come to life. In this series we will be teaching about how important the Bible is and how it is not just words on a page, but life, action, and a tangible story of faith!

WORSHIP TEAM--------------------------------------

GraceSTUDENTS now has an official worship team!!! This team is made up of high-schoolers whose desire is to worship and serve through music. We are very proud of the time and effort they are putting into the team and I think they are creating a wonderful environment for the middle school worship service @10:15--(do you want to see them in action? Take the Backstage Tour, which is at the first of each month-email Grace for details)

SUPPORT TO HAITI------------------------------------

Did you know that your students raised over $215 in change to support Haiti Earthquake victims through Churches helping Churches??? In just a little over two weeks your students emptied their change jars and helped GraceSTUDENTS make an impact to Haiti. I am so proud of our students getting involved financially to help a good cause. Great job!!!

SMALL GROUP REPORT------------------------------

We have three Middle School Small groups up and running. Our goal is that each of these small groups do a service project once a semester. One of these groups in particular (Middle School Boys--meets wed nights) actually made over 100 pbj sandwiches for the homeless for one of their service projects this past month. We were able to give these to the coalition for the homeless and they had a great time doing it. Way to serve guys!!! (if you want to know more about small groups please contact us at students@gogracefellowship.com)

WEBSITE------------------------------------------------

GraceSTUDENTS has their own official website now, and if you haven't checked it we encourage you to do so. It is www.gogracestudents.com. On this website you can actually find out about who we are, what we do, current events, 2010 Calendar, forms, and resources. We try to keep this up-to-date so if you ever need forms or want to know about events it should be on our calendar, big thanks to Dave Diaz who has been working diligently on this site!

SUMMER CAMP----------------------------------------

Registration is now closed for our 2010 BigStuf Summer camp, but we are taking 38 teenagers to Panama City this July!!! We are so stoked about taking these students and are looking forward to the life-change that is going to happen on this trip. Please keep this group in your prayers, especially as we draw nearer to this time!!!

I'll have some links on the side...

Just thought I'd throw up a quick post about the "Friends and Such" menu on the right hand side of this website. I mean I know it's pretty self explanatory but you might wanna know why stuff is there. So quick an easy, here's the skinny.

Brad Cooper-- This guy is a stud student director @ New Spring church in South Carolina. I love what he says and what they are all about at *Fuse

Church Cruch-- Anything tech-geek and church related can be found here. Whether you are a social medialite or just trying to use technology for the glory of God, this site has lots of good news, info and tips.

Grace Fellowship Orlando/Grace Student Ministry: Doy. It's us ;)

Pastor Steven Furtick-- Seriously, this pastor is wise beyond his years, but has a fresh and insightful way of bringing the gospel to life, lot's of good wisdom, teaching, leadership insights on his blog.

Reach Records-- one of Hip Hop's best up-and-coming record companies. Has (in my opinion) some of the best artists in the rap game.

Restored Students-- nothing like good friends right? This is one of my best friends student ministry page. They are doing great things in West Orange County and I wanted to help him get Jesus' shine on out there.

Viva Pancho Villa-- This is my dog. He has a blog. I know it's sick, but he's a pretty talented writer, when he's not chewing my slippers.

Where it's not-- Trent and Kay Jones, who are good college buddies of mine, are serving as missionaries out in rural Bolivia. They are such awesome and selfless people. Their blog inspires me to be more passionate about Jesus in my neck of the woods and keeps my eyes on international missions. Good Read.

World Vision International-- Kim and I have sponsored children thru this organization and it really is one of the best out there. Take a look at the website and consider it yourself, it is really a great ministry and you can make a huge difference for dollars a day.

Toms Shoes-- I'm just a big fan of this organization and how they have really met a need that sometimes we just forget about. They are solidly committed to their mission and plus they are some pretty cool kicks too.

GraceSTUDENTS website

Hey my folks!!! If you don't know about the GraceSTUDENTS website, then you need to take some time to hop on over to www.gogracestudents.com and see what Grace Fellowship student ministries are all about.

We have a pretty cool website that we host through Clover and it has frequent updates about what teaching series we are in and all kinds of updates on key events that are happening in our student ministry.

I am pretty happy with the way it looks now, but we are working on even more features that will help you and your parents learn more about what makes us at GraceSTUDENTS tick! So check it out and browse around. Tell me what you think!

New Series: Rise up and go

I cant tell you how excited I am about this new series in GraceSTUDENTS. I am just beside myself with anticipation. I really think that this will be a great way for us to kick off the year in student ministries and I hope for the year to come.

Growth Spurt! Part Two

this is part two of an earlier post...

3. We cannot do it alone. I don't know why many leaders suffer from the "hardheadedness" syndrome. Read it. Say it. "I cannot do it alone." Think on it. Don't be a ministry hog. Share the blessing. Enough said...

4. Anything good takes time. Can I be transparent for a moment? A while back part of me wanted to be the "student pastor guru" that gets book deals and goes around the country telling people how to do a student ministry. I thought, "If I can blow something up in 2 years, I can prove to people that Im worth listening to."

I was egotistical. Not one ounce of that dream was about God... I know... I was a poseur. Years later I have learned that God is the one who makes true growth. So what if that takes 10 or 20 or 100 years? We need to wait/trust/lean on the LORD and not push forward out of our own power. If I ever write a book about student ministry it will be titled, " Hey you! Listen to God, dummy!" ;)

5. Be flexible with your plan, but don't be flexible with the mission. I have had all these, great ideas and plans starting off. But, since then listening constantly (to God speaking, wise teammates, my wonderful wife, and my pastor and others) has helped keep a good amount of fluidity in our student ministry. But one thing we do not compromise on is the mission of helping people take their next step toward Christ. That's what Grace Fellowship is about. We want to reach those who haven't yet stepped foot inside a church. From this we will not back down.

We are going to be heading to camp BigStuf in Panama City this year!!! We will have details coming up soon so keep on the lookout for date/time/cost and RSVP deposits due!!! yeah!!!

New feature to the graceSTUDENTS website

Yo. Just FYI but now the GraceSTUDENTS website includes a "Current Events" page. You can check it for upcoming events, service opportunities or shindigs! Check it!

Snips and Snails and puppy dogs tails? Really?**

I have no kids. No teenagers. There I said it.

But, what I do have is at least 12 years of experience working with countless adolescents from church and school settings. And I know all parents are down with getting any info they can on dealing with middle school boys. So here are a few things that I've observed and like to throw in the mix for you.

1. Guys will be guys.

Teenage guys have mad energy. They just need to move, be crazy and have fun. I know this is a big "doy!", but I have seen many parents fight against letting their student be a typical teenager. He's a boy, who is growing, learning, struggling to be a man.

The teenage years should be (with Godly supervision and encouragement) a testing ground of sorts. You can't expect a kid with a super surge of hormones, growth spurts and cognitive growth to just be a sweet little angel. Uh Uh. Ain't gonna happen.

2. Guys need community.

Guys like to run in packs. I had a roomate in college that I used to make fun of because where he grew up they had a group of friends called "the wolfpack". I still tease him about the name, and no I won't change my mind. But seriously, guys have this brotherhood mentality from early adolescence on. They need a tribe of guys who will validate them as masculine. They need to experience a heart connection with other guys that they can't get at home.

3.Guys need real leaders.

In my experience there is no better time then in adolescence for fathers and older men to come alongside of guys. A mentor is there to impart wisdom, character and encouragement to a young man. Guys need mentors who will walk the narrow path with character and faith and will show them how to do the same. (PS we still need guy leaders in GraceSTUDENTS, so man up!)

4. Guys need to be loved.

The only way a teenager can learn to love is to be loved.

I have a quick rant to fathers. You may feel that you learned tough love from your strong, silent type dad, but to replicate that type of love to your son is NONSENSE. Tell your boy you love him. Spend real quality time with him. Be a real man and give him a hug and let him know intimacy with his dad is a good thing. Kids are learning so much about love at this stage in life. So I implore you to love on your teenage sons. They will learn how to love God through their relationship with their parents. Trust me.

If you are parenting teenage boys know that my heart and prayers go out to you. If you ever need someone to bounce things off of, or just need encouragement I'm here!

** a great resource to check out is "Teenage Guys" by Youth Specialties.

Monday Morning Musing 11/9

First of all... It's stinking November. I mean it was like July three weeks ago and now we are in November. How did that happen? Nine whole days into November. Anyways, sorry about that.

1. Sunday was massive!!! Like great teaching, great worship, great time together, like massive. I hope and pray that we remain encouraged throughout this week to worship and serve boldly. Go and be the church Grace!

2. Our Road Signs series ended well! Brent Upham shared his testimony and it was just awesome to hear a story about what Grace is doing in the lives of people. So awesome!

3. As usual our student leaders were all on point! Great job guys/gals! I love working alongside of you on this mission to help students take their next steps toward Christ.

4. Looking forward to our new series "thanksGIVING" which will talk about us taking our thanks to God to another level by serving and giving to those who are in need around us everyday.

5. love you guys, remember to worship GOD, build relationships and influence your world!

why Grace?

Hey my peeps. I just wanted to shout out at you about a place I call home. I want to qualify this blog by starting off saying I know that the church is not an organization or a building but the people of God. We are the church (if you are a Christ follower). No ifs ands or buts...

I love the Church period. But I also love being a part of a local body in Orlando who I feel is making an impact in central Florida. I just want to take a moment and tell you why I love what I do and why I love being a part of Grace Fellowship Orlando. Kimberly and I were going to Grace long before I came on staff. I love it then like I love it today.

What impressed me so much about Grace was how missional it was. I see tons of new faces come in the door all the time. But not only was I seeing that, but I was (and still am) seeing people's lives change from night to day, from darkness to light. Seriously. BIG life change in people. Both de-churched and unchurched people alike were encountering God (and still are) on a weekly basis.

I love that Mike (senior pastor) doesn't allow Christ followers to be satisfied with being bench warmers. We were all designed to play! If you are around Mike long enough you will learn that he is going a million miles a minute and he will not spend one moment unturned for the glory of God. That is a leader that inspires me. But he does it as he follows Christ. We are all challenged to that end as staff members. Love God. Love your neighbor. Don't waste your life!

I love how Grace has helped change me from the inside out. Through the messages both Kim and I have been changed as a couple. We have been moved to love our neighbor as ourselves and live as agents of change in our spheres of influence. I see student's lives change on a weekly basis. And I also get to watch as families reconnect to God, and it makes me smile!

At Grace Fellowship you can be sure that you will be challenged to live sent. You will hear a message (from any of the ministries) that following Christ daily is an imperative and living out our faith is the directive. We don't get it perfect and we sure can do some crazy/goofy things (i.e. wrestling mask ) and also some inspiring things (i.e. Easter at eola )

But it all is so that people, no matter if they have been following Christ for 50 years or have just encountered God today, can take their next step toward Christ! Grace exists to lift up the name of Jesus not Grace Fellowship. There are many great local bodies out there in Orlando, but this is a little bit about why I call Grace "home"!

Pillar Three: Influence your world

3. Influence your world.

How do we influence such a large world? One person at a time. One moment at a time. God has given us the privilege to carry His message to the people around us. We all have spheres of influence that we come in contact every with day. (School, work, family, friends, etc.) And this is where we can have the greatest influence.

Influence can happen quickly or may take years of relationship to happen. I heard a story about a man named Andrew Murray, who prayed for a close friend for 20+ years before he came to know Christ. We don't know God's time table, we just need to be faithful with the spheres He has put us in.

Also, let's not sell ourselves short to the amount of influence we have. Believe it or not you have the Creator of the universe who's got your back. He's the one who works through you anyway. Is it possible your idea of influence is too small? I can't answer that for you. But remember to be faithful with the small things in life. That's how you get to the big things.

Pillar Two: Build Relationships

This is a second blog post in a series. These talk about our core values as GraceSTUDENTS, but can be applied to any Christ-follower, at any age.

2. Build Relationships

God designed us with a need for intimate relationship. In fact God in His very nature is in relationship. (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) As Christ followers, we are brought into a relationships with God the father through his Son.

If we are in Christ then we are designed to build relationships with those around us to continue the process that God designed. And let's face it. Life is easier when we have people that are willing to walk along side of us and help us through the hard times.

We offer small groups in GraceSTUDENTS to help teens get connected with other students. But the truth is you can build relationships just about anywhere. The main thing we want is for students to build deep, meaningful and intentional relationships with other students. (and by "intentional" I just mean that we take care in how we handle friendships and know that what we do really can effect others).

An important thing to remember is to build relationships with those in the faith. We need people that have our back and understand what it means to be a student of the cross (a daily Christ-follower). We need people that can be praying for us and that are willing to hold us accountable. These relationships will be like water to us in dry times.

So if you don't have a group of friends like this, check out our small groups at Grace Fellowship. You will be glad you did!

Pillar One: Worship GOD

I really love what I do. I love the place I work and the people I work with. (that's YOU!) But many times it is easy for the purpose of our ministry and the vision to leak. So that's why I wanted to write a few blogs about who we are and our purpose as GraceSTUDENS. You can find a short synopsis of our tenants on www.gogracestudents.com as well.

1. Worship God.

Two words with monumental meaning. We all worship something regardless of faith. We all have something that we put front and center in our life. As a ministry we choose to put God front and center. We want God to be the object of our attention and our affection each and every day. This is only possible through Christ.

This pillar of our student ministry is numero uno because without worshipping the one true God, you cannot do anything else. You can pretend by acting religious and doing "so called" good deeds, but it really means nothing if you do not know who God is.

I find that most external struggles/sin we deal with really begin as internal struggles. Even more so our struggles begin with the heart. If our heart is not rightly related to God through Christ, then of course our outside world will be wack (even wiggida wack)!

In college we had this worship service called "Power Source". Yeah, I know. Cheeseball. But as kinda lame as it sounds, there is truth in those words. We cannot do anything aside from being plugged into God. Only God alone can birth in us the ability to love people and change our world. SO my question to the students is, What are you worshipping? Because only someone who worships God day in and day out can live out the life God has called us to.

Monday Morning Musings- 09/28

My Sunday Night Recap is now called "Monday Morning Musings". I decided to do this because 1. I like getting a day to think about all the things that happened and B. I spend Sunday nights playing Mr. Mom because Kim works late, so I figure what's one day?

1. People coming into a relationship with Christ for the first time Sunday at Grace = 31! How flippin cool is that? 4 of them were in the middle school service and that is the greatest thing ever! Heaven is rockin' with joy that you are now part of the party!

2. Our small groups went really great and we are getting more students involved for our second week of small groups! Make sure you are there!

3. This week is our third week in our "Back to the Start" series. We talked about building relationships and how that is important for us as followers of Jesus. We build relationships at GraceSTUDENTS via our small group ministry. Which is a great place for students to get to know one another in a deeper level!

4. YOU! I love that you guys have been outside of the walls being the church to your schools and your circles of influence. I am so glad that you have been committed to helping other people take their next step toward Christ!

Sunday Night Re-Cap 9/20

Great Sunday everyone!

1. We had another good Sunday, with new faces and new leaders!

2. We covered the second week in our "Back to the Start" series, in which we went over what it means to worship God! We have been traveling through the book of Acts, which has also been quite cool.

3. We have a few students already excited about Baptism, which is coming up Oct 18th. Please let me know if you are interested!!!

4. Small groups are up and running this week please check here for details!

5. Last but, definitely not least, @mcadkins brought a great message in the main service series, "Making Love Last!" If you havent heard the podcast yet, go check it out! Also we should have video up on the web by Tuesday AM!

Fantastic!

We had a great small group kickoff party last night! If you missed it, you are just gonna have to make the next one! ;) Anyways just wanted to lay down the times of the Middle School small groups for you so you can see what dates and times* they are going down.

Monday Night (7th/8th Boys) @ 6:30-8:00

Brent Upham/Dan Hoyle

Tuesday Night (Girls) @ 6:30-8:00

Kim Tumlinson/Sheryl Parker

Wednesday Night (6th Boys) @ 5:00-6:30

David Touchton/Norm Tumlinson

Thursday nights (Girls) @ 6:30-8:00

Julie Sienko/Ginger Wright

*once you pick a night you need to commit to that night for the rest of the semester. no exceptions

**for safety purposes locations are not listed on this blog. For specific locations please email students@gogracefellowship.com