Operation Getaway 2011 was a HUGE success. We had around 70 total people attend the event, and everyone loved it! Here is the rules video:
Monthly Archives: May 2011
Thoughts on the Rapture
As you all know that Harold Camping has guarenteed that the Rapture would take place today (May21) at 6 pm this evening. I write this to you (of course) after 6:00 pm to show that this prediction was false. If you have been interested in Camping (like I have), you would find out that he also predicted this in 1994, and it was a false prediction as well. When asked about what happened in 1994, Camping responded, “I made a mathmateical error.” Now, before I go judging and rebuking Camping, I want to give me beliefs on the rapture.
Let me first say, the rapture is going to happen (just not at the time that Camping or anyone else can predict). In fact the Son of God does not even know the exact time, only the Father knows. Mark 13:32 says, “But of that day and (that) hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” If Jesus does not know the time when the Father sends Him to get His children, I am sure Camping nor no one else does as well. The first thing about the rapture is that it is going to happen. The second thing is that no one knows when! It could have happened today, or tomorrow, or last week! We are not sure. That is why we must be on guard at all times. You must live every day like it is the day of the rapture.
Now, about Camping. He is confused in his theology. I do hate the fact that I believe this is giving Christians a bad name. When the unsaved sees a believe predict the coming of Christ, and it does not happen, we lose our credibility. I hate to say that, but I believe it is true. I personally have wondered if Camping himself does not believe today is judgment day, but he just wanted the fame that he has received. Who knows. let’s not bash Camping, but let’s use this time as an opportunity to further the powerful life changing gospel of Jesus Christ because……HE IS COMING BACK!
Last Night of WOL @ The Grove
Let me just say, this has been an amazing year of Word of Life at the Grove. Now, you may be saying, what in the world is WOL @ the Grove? Word of Life is a local church ministry program that comes along side of churches to help us do what we do better and more effectively. It is a powerful program that thrives on Biblical teaching and relevant messages. The program is an August to May program for students each Wednesday evening. Tonight is our final night! Sad times. The Lord has taught us much about the specific doctrines of Sin, Salvation, and Man. We have seen many students come to know Jesus over this past year, and we are looking forward to what God is going to do this summer in our “Summer Sizzler” program.
Summer Sizzlers is what we call our summer program! Summer Sizzlers begin on Wednesday evening, June 1st. This is a casual atmosphere where we come together for an in depth time of Bible study. We also provide snacks and games as well. Come dressed casual for the evening. We also encourage bringing new students as well!
SUMMER SIZZLERS COMES TO THE GROVE ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1ST. WILL YOU BE THERE??????
your student ministry should mirror your community
I heard Pastor Messer speak at Trinity Baptist College about a year ago. In his message, he made this statement, “Your church mirror the community in which you live. If there are black people in your community, there should be black people in your church. If there are poor people in your community, there should be poor people in your church.” This convicted me like “nobody’s business.” I began dwelling on this thought as I continued hearing the Spirit speak through him to me. He then said, “if Jesus were on earth, He would be in the most cultural diverse church on the planet.” I began thinking, would Jesus be a member of our church. Now, this is a hypothetical thought, but seriously? Does your church mirror the community? I began to see what I could do to change this amongst our student ministry, the Grove! I began to pray for students of all different races and backgrounds. Since I began to encourage evangelism more and pray this prayer, the Lord has answered in some large ways! We have 4 black students enter our student ministry on a regular basis. Now, you say, is that all you are trying to do? In a way, no, but in a way, yes. Let me explain, if I was looking for a church, it would be difficult to attend an all black church. I would feel out of place as the only white boy in the congregation. Well, they feel the same way. We have to have an environment that welcomes people of all races and backgrounds. We are moving forward with this thinking with the help of the Spirit.
A loving or a Cruel God
Every Wednesday afternoon, our students go on community outreach. We go out and knock on doors inviting people to our church and further into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, I know knocking on doors may seem old fashioned, but it still works. We are getting the church name out in our community, and we can share the love of Christ with people each week.
This past week, I was placed in a group with 2 teen guys. We knocked on a door, and this man came to the door. He was an extremely nice man. He was very confused about his beliefs though. He claimed the Bible was not the actual words of God. When this happens, it is tough to witness, because everything I say is coming from the Word of God. We started talking about the belief that there is a God. He says that he believes at some time there was a Jesus. I spoke of judgment and the wrath to come. He said, “his belief in a God is that God is love, and it would be a cruel thing to do to send someone to hell, because they do not believe in Him. This is a cruel God, and he believes in a loving God.” He told me that the God that I say I serve and believe in is just a cruel God when I should believe in a loving God.
I thought about this, and I am convinced that the average unbeliever likes to think God is love. This is one of His biggest attributes. I love this attribute. The problem is that we also have to accept and believe that we serve a God who is holy and just. He hates sin, because of His holiness. So, He is 100% love, 100% just, and 100% holy all at one time. The just part is not as fun to think about as the love part, but based upon the holiness of God, He must judge sin! Bottom line, every person is giving a way of escape from the judgment of God through the love God has shown this world by sending His Son. The problem is like the man we spoke with on outreach, people do not accept Him.
Will you accept Him today?
The Importance of Good Leaders
Yesterday, I met with our adult leaders for a pot luck luncheon. The food was unreal. Everyone got involved and brought some great food! I was overwhelmed of the importance of having good leaders. We seriously have some of the best leaders on the planet. I know we all are biased, but seriously. Our leaders carry on the same vision that I have. They also work hard and are dedicated to the cause of reaching students with the Gospel. Here are some ways we are trying to do to develop great leaders:
- Meet Regularly
- Share your heart and vision with them
- Listen to their input
- Pray with them
- Use them
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is something that we all KNOW that we need to do. We all will admit that we need to forgive one another. The problem is we may know that we need to do it, but do we practice it. I have seen many relationships destroyed, because of unforgiveness. I have seen people never see people the same because of an unforgiving spirit. Recently, I was faced with similar issues in my own life, and I needed to make restoration with someone. I did, and it took:
- Humility. It is humbling to admit you are wrong and ask for forgiveness. It is also humbling to forgive someone who has wronged you.
- Putting others ahead of yourself. We are naturally selfish people. We are called to put one another’s needs in front of our own.
- Realizing it is about glorifying God. I realized that it is not about me, but all about Him! My life is all about glorifying Him and making His name known through my life.
Who are you not forgiving today? Who are you harboring bitterness toward today? Get it right by humbling yourself, putting others’ needs ahead of your own, and by realizing it is about what glorify’s God!
WOL CAMP GOLF TOURNAMENT
ATTENTION ALL GOLFERS
On Saturday, June 11th, the Grove will host its annual WOL Camp Golf Tournament! The tournament is to raise money for the students attending WOL Camp in Hudson, FL this summer. The tournament will be held at Olde Homeplace Golf Club (4295 Wallburg Rd. Winston Salem, NC) with a shotgun start at 1:00 pm. We encourage all golfers to arrive at least 30 minutes early to the course. When you arrive early, please feel free to visit the driving range since it is included in your payment. The cost is $75 per golfer! There will be prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place as well as closest to the pin and longest drive.
Note: If you have a business or if you are an individual that would like to sponsor the tournament, please let me know!! I have attached all sponsorship information to this email.
I hope that you will join us for this exciting day of golf! I have attached a flyer with a registration form. If you could turn that into Josh Evans by Sunday, May 22nd, that would be excellent. On your registration form, you can register as single golfer and we will place you with a team, or you can register all 4 members of your team. If you register an entire team, please send entire payment of your team at one time. All checks need to be made out to Union Grove Baptist Church. Please mail all payments with registration forms too: Union Grove Baptist Church Attn: Josh Evans 2295 Union Grove Rd. Lexington, NC 27295.
If you have any questions regarding the event, please feel free to contact me at anytime. Have a great day, and we hope to see you on June 11th!
God is so good
This morning I was doing my devotions, and I came across a couple of verses in my study in the book of Isaiah:
Isaiah 12:2 – “Behold, God is my Salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my Salvation.”
Isaiah 12:4 – “And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted.”
Wow! Have you ever seen some verses for the very first time? I do not mean just physically see it for the first time, but more like you never noticed it before. I have read the Bible through before, but these verses I never realized were there. When I was studying, I was like whoa. I am more convinced now than ever before that life is not about me, it is all about Him. The church is not reaching as many people as it could, because we are too busy thinking about ourselves and our personal preferences. We must realize that life is all about Him!
God is so good. We have sung that song for years, and it is a true song, but has it impacted you? That song is more words, that is truth! God has been good to everyone of us. I had a conversation with a student recently, and she said, “how can you say that God is good when you have seen what has happened in my life.” Trials happen…life is tough…I understand all of this. This does not change the fact that God is good! I have been through trials in my life, and I have seen bad things happen at times in my life, but I can still sing, “God is so good!” The reason is that I understand and admit that He knows what is best for my life. He sees the past, present, and future of our lives. He knows what is around the corner. If He sends me through a trial, it is because this trial is what is BEST for me at that point in my life. That is what God is so good. Also, He promises to be with me through the entire thing! How can it get much better than that?
Praise Him for He is so good! He deserves your praise today.
To The Grove
Good Morning!
I trust that you are doing well. We had a great service this past Wednesday night. We had a huge crowd for WOL Takeover at the Grove. We had about 190 total people in there for the service. It was awesome. The drama, music, and message were all very powerful. It was great! We saw many decisions made for Christ!
One of the big things that the Grove does is creative discipleship. Creative Discipleship is the program that we use for keeping students accountable for verse memorization, quiet time, faithfulness to church, and community outreach. We keep track from the beginning of the year until the end of the WOL year. At the end of creative discipleship, the students can take a verse test to finalize their creative discipleship. They then get 25% off of their camp price. They also get discounts if the Lord ever leads them to the Bible Institute for college. So, if your student has been faithful with this all year, they can take the verse test on Wednesday, May 18th at 5 pm. Please make sure your student is present at this time!
Operation Getaway is just around the corner! I need all students to sign up for this event by this Wednesday (May 11) with a $10 deposit. You say, what is Operation Getaway? This is a end of the year all night retreat! There will be tons of fun activities to do, and we will be staying at a camp that we rented out! All students are welcome, and you can invite your friends. The total cost is $36 per person and this includes lodging, all of your meals, and your activities. The dates are May 29-30. If you have any questions, let us know. We need you signed up by this Wednesday! Hope you will join us.
We are preparing a separate girls and guys Bible study for the summer, and we are in need of several guy and girl leaders’ homes to have it in. If you would be interested in hosting a Bible study at your home, please let us know. The Bible study will meet either on Tuesday or Thursday evenings. This does not mean you would need to feed the students. We will take care of that part.
Our upcoming events are as follows:
- May 15 – Adult & College Leaders Pot Luck Lunch. The lunch will start at 12:15 pm. I need all leaders to be there to discuss the year. Each leader is responsible for bringing a meat, vegetable or a salad, or a dessert. Please let us know what you are bringing.
- May 18 – Last night of WOL. This will be our last night of WOL for the school year, but don’t worry; Summer Sizzlers will begin on Wednesday, June 1st in the fellowship hall!
- May 25 – Baccalaureate at Union Grove. We will NOT have the Grove on this night. All students will be in the main service supporting our seniors!
- May 29-30 – Operation Getaway – This is our end of the school year overnight retreat. The cost is $36 per person for everything. The dates are May 29-30, and we need you signed up by this Wednesday with a $10 deposit! Hope you will join us.
- June 1 – Summer Sizzlers begins in the fellowship. Summer Sizzlers will be a Bible study that we will hold in the fellowship hall for all going into the 7th grade through graduating seniors. The service will begin at 6:30 pm. We hope to see you there all summer long!
- June 11 – WOL Camp Golf Tournament. You can view the golf tournament flyer on our website (ugbconline.com). You can also download the flyer and the sponsorship information. Honestly, if you work hard on raising money for this tournament, you can pay your camp payment off quickly. I encourage the students to find businesses to sponsor. You can also find people to play for you. You will get $32 directly to your camp expenses if you can get someone to play for you. The cost will be $75 to enter the tournament. The tournament will be held at Olde Homeplace Golf Club. I encourage you to go ahead and begin working on this! All students attending camp will be assigned a time to work on this day as well.
- June 18- WOL Camp Car Wash – The times will be from 8 am – 1 pm. We will have your student sign up for a time. You have to be there to receive a portion of what we make.
- June 20-24 – Vacation Bible School – We will be in need of students to work this. If you are interested, please let me know.
- July 9-16 – WOL Camp. The cost is $279.00 per person. If you are participating in International Teens Involved, there will be a $30 fee for that as well to add on to the $279.00 rate. I encourage all students in our ministry to be a part of WOL Camp. It is not just for Teens Involved students, it is for everyone! I also encourage you to participate in the many fund raisers we are doing so that it will be easier on your wallet come time to pay. You can invite your friends to this event!
- August 12-13 – Leadership Retreat. The cost will be $50 per person and ALL leaders are encouraged to attend so we can share the vision for the entire year. The $50 includes zip line, bowling, lodging, and all of your meals.
- August 27 – Winston Salem Dash Game.
I hope that you are keeping up with what is happening at Union Grove. If you ever have questions or want quick information regarding the Grove, check out our facebook page or check out the website at ugbconline.com. We love and appreciate you. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime.
