Monthly Archives: June 2011

06.30.11
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What to look for in a camp

One of the coolest things about student ministry is YOUTH CAMP! I love youth camp! Youth Camp is one of the weeks that the students, leaders, and especially the youth pastor looks forward too. Camp week could very well be one of the most important weeks of the entire year for your student ministry. While attending basketball or band camp, you would expect for the attendees to return with a greater knowledge of basketball or band. When finding a good camp, you should expect your students to come back with a greater knowledge of God and His will. I had the privilege of directing a youth camp for several years so I have some experience with directing camp. I also have had the privilege of taking my students to camp so I know what it is like on that end. I also have had experience with just being a counselor at a camp. If you are not taking your students to a good youth camp, I strongly urge you to do so.

  1. Biblical & Energetic Services- The most important thing in youth camp are the services. If you go for anything else, it will not be near as worth it as if you went specifically for the services. When searching for the right youth camp, check out their services. Attend a service ahead of time at the camp. Ask the director what is their purpose in the services. I have seen camps who schedule their services around the activities, but I believe the activity time should be scheduled around the services. Make sure the service contains Biblical content. Don’t take the students for fluff. Make sure the Biblical content is practical as well. The students need to learn how to apply what the speaker talked about. Don’t forget the music is VERY important as well. It is extremely important to the students. Sometimes the music speaks to the students as much as the preaching.
  2. Organization- I am pretty OCD about things, but lack of organization kills me. I cannot stand to take my students to something that is not planned out well. When someone comes to camp, they should feel like it is organized, and that they are properly informed about the schedule, etc. Schedules for leaders and students are important. By the way, students today care for organization. They want to know what is next on the agenda.
  3. Current Dramas- I did not think this was too important, but from what I have learned dramas speak to the students as well as anything. They want to see what they should do acted out. Make sure they are current though, because many camps are outdated with dramas and such.
  4. Free Time- I used to think we had to entertain students the entire time, but they live in a pretty chill society. Some are completely cool with just doing whatever they want to do.
  5. Fun Activities- Activities are not the most important, but they are indeed important. Make sure they are organized, fun, crazy, and short. Make sure they do not last too long, because the attention span of students is not too long. Also, when they see an end in sight, they do not want to see that to get there is going to take a couple of hours. Just a note: the game leader is very important. He must be loud, to the point, and extremely energetic!
There are tons of GREAT camps to take your students too. Here are a few of them that I would recommend:
If you are not taking your students to a camp, I would encourage you to do so. It can in turn be a life changing week for your students, but also your entire student ministry. I have seen a camp week get a hold of some students, and they in turn changed our student ministry as well as our entire church!
If you have any more thoughts on camps, we welcome your comments. Also, if you have a camp that you would recommend, please mention it in the comment box below:
06.24.11
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Our Means of Survival

If you subscribe to my blog or follow me on twitter, you will know that this past Sunday (Father’s Day), my wife gave birth to our first child, a sweet little baby girl. You can read more about it in one of my recent posts here.

The doctors told us that we must feed her for every 2 hours.  Lynlee was a small baby. She weighed 6 pounds and 6 ounces. 2 hours mean we must get up and feed her in the night, it means that we must wake her up sometimes just to feed her when she is sound asleep. Honestly, it is tough. It is the best job we could ever have, but it is the most difficult as well. I love every second of it. I have come to realize that the reason we feed her is because she is helpless without the food. She will not survive if we do not take the time to feed her. She would not survive if we just went to sleep. She is helpless without the food.

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of the Word of God, and you can check it out here. I have come to realize that we as believers are helpless and will struggle to survive without feeding upon God’s Word. If we just go on with life without daily feeding upon His Word, we will struggle to survive. We will struggle to survive in the midst of difficulty. The Bible promises trials and tribulations that will come our way. When they come, the only way we can make things better and come out on the other side is a daily dose of feeding on the Word of God. It is our source for survival. It is our source for victory over temptation. It is our source of joy during trials.

If you are not daily feeding upon God’s Word, you are headed downhill. I challenge you to begin a daily quiet time where the Word of God and prayer is focused on. This is where joy will be found, and where victory will be accomplished.

06.23.11
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Our Response to God’s Word

What food is to the physical man, the Word of God is to the Spiritual man. If I do not eat, I will not be able to do have the strength to do what I need to do. If you do not feed on God’s Word, you will not have the strength to do what God wants you to do.

82% of Americans believe the Bible is true. I suggest to you today that if the Bible is literally true and that we believe that this is God’s Word to us then it should mean something more to us than a book we put on the shelf all week! It should mean something to us, and it demands a response!
George Barna’s poll: 18% of Christians read the Bible every day. 23% of Christians never read the Bible.
Now, you say why is the Bible so important. This is God’s love letter to us! It is the very mind of God penned down on paper. The Bible is infallible (without error) and inerrant.

How should I respond to the Word?

I. Receive God’s Word- V. 18-21
There is a major difference between hearing and receiving. Matthew 13:13 says, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” You must be swift to hear. The idea of swift is ready or focused. It is possible to be in a position to hear the Word, but not be ready to receive God’s Word. Some of you are in here tonight hearing the Word, but it is passing you by. Eliminate distractions in your life so that you can be swift to hear. You must be Slow to Speak. You must be Slow to Wrath. You must be prepared. “Superfluity of naughtiness” is not a phrase we use regularly. It carries on the idea of overflowing with wickedness. It is the idea of a garden overflowing with weeds that continue to grow out of control. Don’t fill your life with things that are not compatible with God and His Word! When you stop filling your life with filth, you will be ready to hear His Word.

II. Apply God’s Word- V. 22-25
I don’t want to read for the sake of reading, you should want His word to mean something and to transform you. Too many believers think that coming to church hearing a good sermon will make them grow, but it is the application of the sermon that makes them grow. “Too many Christians mark their Bibles, but their Bibles never mark them.” I Thessalonians 2:13 says, “When you received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth!” We are casual Christians. We don’t take seriously what the truth of God says. You can either be casual or careful about the Word of Truth.

III. Live out God’s Word- V. 26-27
Obey God’s Word! This obedience is an outward demonstration of what is happening inwardly in us! So, God through James says, let’s put this to the test. If you seem to be religious…Let’s put that to the test. Let’s put some light on the real spiritual life and see if there is evidence of a relationship with God. How, he gives several things to check up on: You will exercise self control. Your faith is empty if you cannot control your tongue. God’s Word will keep you from slandering others or from gossiping about others. God’s Word will keep you from getting angry with others. You will demonstrate compassion to others. Jesus cared for the people that could not help ourselves. When the Word of God is poured into your life, you will begin to look like Jesus in the way you treat others. It will be a natural overflow for you to love the needy. The way I respond outwardly to those in need is a reflection of what is happening inwardly in me! When Christ is flowing through you, you will see people’s needs the way that Christ saw them! You will avoid worldliness.

How are you responding to the Word of God??

06.20.11
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I Love being a DAD

I figured that I would share exactly what I am doing right now through the means of a picture. Let me just say, “I love being a dad!” There is nothing like holding your daughter this close. I blog a whole lot about student ministry and church life, but I will definitely find myself blogging quite a bit about my family!

06.20.11
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VBS at Union Grove

Obviously with the arrival of Lynlee Jewel Evans, I could not be there for the first day of VBS which started last evening. There were over 120 kids at Union Grove for VBS. We want to invite you to come be a part with us every evening at 6:15 until 8:30 pm. There will be games, crafts, snacks, etc. The theme is Gold Rush so join us this week! Here is a quick promo regarding the VBS:

06.20.11
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Welcome: Lynlee Jewel Evans

As you know, Abby has been pregnant with our first child, a little girl. Her due date was June 29th. The doctors decided this past week to induce her on Wednesday, June 22. On Saturday, the Lord had different plans. The Grove had a car wash to raise money for our students attending Word of Life Camp. Abby and I were there the entire time. Abby took things extremely slow though. When we got home (2 pm), I went out to cut grass, and she was resting. When I came back in the house, Abby said she was going to take a shower, because she was hurting. She was so nervous to tell me that she thought she was having contractions. She thought that I would freak out or something. So, she slowly told me that she thought she was having contractions. So, what did I do? I FREAKED OUT! We called the doctor, and he said when the contractions get to about 6 minutes apart, you can come in. Not long after we got off the phone with him, they were 6 minutes apart. So, we rushed to the hospital making every phone call known to man. When we checked in, Abby had only dialated 1 1/2 centimeters. So, they were going to send her home if she was not progressing. So, they gave us the option to walk around to see if she progresses. So, we began walking around. While in the hospital, her water broke! So, we moved into the labor room. Abby was begging for an epidural so they got one fast. The problem was that the labor was moving so fast, the epidural did not keep up. So, she did not have one until about 30 minutes before she began pushing.

My parents made it about 20 minutes before she started pushing. Abby’s family traveled in from Florida, but did not make the birth. Abby moved from 1 1/2 centimeters to 8 centimeters within an hour. It was unbelieavable. So, she began pushing. It took about 1 and a half hours to push, and Lynlee Jewel Evans arrived! I can say, “THERE IS NOTHING ELSE LIKE THIS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!” Just to lay eyes on the little one for the first time is indescribable. She was born at 1:29 am on Sunday, June 19th. By the way, if you have not noticed, it was Father’s Day. What a Father’s day gift? I met my daughter on Father’s Day! Lynlee weighs 6 pounds 6 ounces, and is 19 inches long. She is tiny! She is amazing.

Later on after she was born, a nurse came into ask if we would be okay being on the news (WFMY2). I was like sure. Lynlee was the first baby to be born on Father’s Day in Winston Salem, NC. So, we were interviewed on WFMY2, and it was shown during the 11:00 pm show. Here is a link on their website: http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article/179944/57/Triad-Fathers-Welcome-Newborns-On-Fathers-Day. They also interviewed a few other father’s as well. Lynlee is famous on her first day with us! Here are some pics:

Let me just say, IT IS AMAZING BEING A PARENT! Also, everyone told me it would come natural, and I thought that was untrue, but it certainly is true. It is the greatest feeling ever. I could hold my beautiful daughter all day long. What a precious gift from a GREAT GOD! We are completely understanding to the fact that this is a “God Thing.” If it were not for God and His goodness, we would not be able to be holding our beautiful daughter. We give Him all of the glory for this incredible miracle. We also give our daughter to Him. I want our daughter to be His.

Please continue to pray for Lynlee and Abby during this time.

06.18.11
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Making your car wash successful

We did a car wash today to raise money for our students heading to WOL Camp in Hudson, FL. Car washes are fairly easy, and you can raise some serious money. We raised over $800 total for our car wash. The wash was held from 8 am until 1 pm. They are pretty slow at first, but then it picks up around 10 am. Many student ministries, etc do car washes for fund raisers. I put down a few thoughts on how to make car washes successful:

  1. Advertising. Obivously, you need to advertise. Make sure you have signs at the roads from all angles promoting it. We also parked cars in front of the bank we were doing it at with signs in them.
  2. Friendliness. I think many people enjoy our wash, because we have a good time talking with them. Our goal is to build some new relationships through this.
  3. Location. You need to use a busy location.
  4. Student Led. In our case, we had the students attending the camp. The people paying enjoyed seeing the product of where their money was headed.
  5. Quality & Speed. Do a GREAT job and do a FAST job.
  6. Make it donation only. Don’t set a price. In this case, everyone would pay that price. With donations, you will have many people donate well above what you would think, because it is for a good cause.
Just a few thoughts on your next car wash to think about.
06.16.11
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Student Videos

One thing that I am not good at is making videos. I do not have the various talent to be able to pull that kind of stuff off. So, I try and find students who are. We have one student, Austin Jordan, who is very gifted when it comes to video editing. So, he has done a few videos for us lately, and I am so stoked and proud of him. He is the man, and he still has a couple years of high school left! Please feel free to visit his youtube channel. Here are a couple of his recent videos:

06.15.11
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Update on my Family

So, I started getting into the whole blog thing a few months ago. It takes a great deal of energy to blog. Okay, in other words, you must find time to blog regularly. I hate running across blogs that are never updated. So, I try and at least put a post out there every now and then. Okay, I put one about every day if I can. It might not be something like, but I put something that I hope will be a help to you.

I figured that I have not updated you guys on what is going on with my family and I! Well, where to begin?? A lot has happened recently. So, I shall start with our living situation. When God called us to Union Grove, we tried selling our condo which was in Randleman (about an hour away). We could not sell it with the market being the way that it was. So, we decided to rent the condo which was a huge blessing at the time. Then, we had to decide on where we could stay. The church had a prophet’s chamber that they offered us. It was basicaly a studio apartment so it was all in one room. What a challenging experience? This was God opening doors for us though, and we KNEW it. So, we jumped on it, and moved a bit of our stuff in. The rest of it, we put in storage. The plan was to live in the guest room until we decided on where else we could live. So, we looked, but nothing came avaliable. We also were very worried about the lease running out on our condo in November. What if the renter does not resign or buy? We will be stuck with two mortages if we buy right now. So, we prayed….and prayed….and prayed a bit more! The church then offered us the mission house. It was a nice house that they had. The only catch was some missionaries were in there, but would move out at the beginning of the summer. That is not a problem. Once again, the Lord provided. So, we committed to it.

During that whole process, we found out that Abby was expecting a sweet baby girl!!!!!! How about I am super stoked to be a dad to this precious little baby girl. So, the church was willing to allow us to get the baby’s room ready while the missionaries were still living there. They would go away on conferences, and we would do some work in there.

Now, it is June 15, and we are completely moved into our house. Now, we can wait until November to see what happens with our renter. Also, a week from tomorrow, our daughter is supposed to be born! I am super excited about starting this new chapter in our lives.

The Lord is blessing in so many ways. Please continue to pray for us and the baby during this time. We appreciate your comments so please feel free to share at anytime. Also, you can contact me through email at joshhevans@gmail.com.