Just wanted to share some great thoughts from an Advent devotional I read this morning. Really made me stop and think...
Proverbs 11:24-25: "Some people give much but get back even more. Others don't give what they should and end up poor. Whoever gives to others will get richer; those who help others will themselves be helped."
We make a living by what we get out of life, but we make a life by what we give and how we give it. Beecher wrote, "No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. The heart makes a man rich. He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has." How do these words relate to your life this Christmas?
Hi all, just a quick note to let you know that we are going to be putting some new ads on Facebook directed towards teenagers with the goal of connecting them with EveryStudent.com. This site is an excellent resource for answering tough questions about life and god, plus reasons why God exists. Here are images of what the ads look like...
Please let ANY teenager you know see this post or any youth pastors who might have access to teenagers!!
Thank you so much for your prayers recently as I travelled to Voorthuizen, Holland for a gathering of 70 youth workers from across Europe. It was a beautiful thing to see all of the people that God called to be part of this gathering, and to hear the vision and dreams they have for reaching not just their country but even all of Europe and the world. One of the best things was that God brought people from not only a variety of countries, but also a variety of ministries and stages of life. There were couples there who had years and years of youth ministry experience and then we even had a couple teenagers who were fully engaged with reaching out to their peers. Probably the largest block of people represented were college-age students who were volunteers or interns with Agape (Campus Crusade for Christ in Europe). Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Estonia each brought college-age volunteers. This was so encouraging to see!
My main purpose in going was to share about our work with the Coaching Center and what we are doing to launch campus-based ministries from a distance. I have not done a lot of speaking reccently so it was a challenge to think about how best to communicate what God is doing here, and yet put it in a context that could be applicable in Europe. I'm sure God used it to give people some ideas, but the highlight for me was getting to sit down over meals or take walks with a number of the people I met. It was fascinating to learn what different ministries and staff are doing to reach youth in their countries and to brainstorm ways that we could encourage and help each other. There are some tremendous challenges to reaching young people across Europe, but nothing that the Spirit of God cannot overcome. To that end I also sensed a great desire to come together and pray for each other personally and our ministries.
What's next? One of the strong impressions I came away with was how many young college-age people God was raising up to help influence the youth in the countries represented. One of the contributions I think I can make is to serve as a mentor/coach/resource for some of the young men who I met. Not long ago this would not have been possible with me living in Orlando, but with great tools like Skype it makes communication much easier and extremely inexpensive. It's not quite the same as living there but God can certainly use it, so we will see what happens in the coming weeks and months.
One guy you can be praying for right now is Christian Tiedeke from Frieburg, Germany. He is an intern with Campus Crusade in Germany and working with the Frieburg team to reach college students and high school students for Christ. The staff team there does not have much experience with doing high school ministry nor does it have any male leadership to help mentor guys like Christian, so he and I are going to talk periodically on Skype. Pray that I can be a help and encouragement to him when we talk, and that the Lord would give Him wisdom and creative ideas for connecting with young German guys who need to know Christ.
Below is a short slideshow from the retreat. You can click on it for a larger view.
Thanks for your prayers and giving that allowed me to take part in this event that is going to influence an entire continent of young people for Christ!
Scott
p.s. - feel free to share a comment or prayer request below!!
So what comes to your mind when you think about Holland? Hopefully this week it will be me, as I have a unique opportunity to meet with about 70 youth workers from across Europe. The retreat will be held in Voorthuizen, Holland and has been put together by my friend Vince Purpero who helps gives leadership to Campus Crusade's outreach to youth across Western Europe. What makes this so unique is that these youth leaders will represent 12 different countries, so it is very exciting to think about the opportunity to rub shoulders with so many like-minded, yet culturally diverse brothers and sisters in Christ.
I have a couple prayer requests related to this. First, I will have about 30 minutes to share about what I do with the Student Venture Coaching Center and how we launch ministries from a distance here in the US. Please pray that the things I share will be well communicated and easily understandable in such a diverse audience. I'm hoping that I might connect with a few people that I could help coach or resource from a distance in order to see spiritual movements built amongst youth across Europe. In addition please pray that I would be a blessing and encouragement to some fellow youth workers that are laboring in some very difficult fields. God is certainly active and moving throughout Europe right now, but I also think it remains very hard ground spiritually speaking in many places. I feel it is such a privilege to have a chance to be at a gathering like this and I believe God wants to do some unique things, just don't know what exactly. Thanks for praying with me along those lines.
Secondly, would you please pray for Brenda and the boys back home. I always hate leaving them, seems to never get any easier! Along with the normal school, homework, and sports going on we also have had a camping trip planned this weekend with a couple other families. My wife is a real trooper and has decided she is still going to go with all the boys. So, you can pray for her sanity and strength!!
Finally, I would also ask prayer for the safety and protection of everyone travelling in to Holland this week. Given the recent Travel Alert for Europe a litte extra prayer support along these lines would be very much appreciated!! :)
Thanks everyone for your prayers and partnership with us. We so value our relationship with you!!
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” 1 Timothy 4:1-5
Hi friends and teammates, we're getting back in the groove here in Orlando and excited about the new school year. Hard to say what all God might have in store for us, but we anticipate Him doing some great things. Please take a minute to click on the link bellow to see our August update. We would love to know what is going on with you as well. Please leave a comment below with something you are trusting God for this school year and we would love to pray for that!
Greetings friends and partners in ministry, hope and pray your summer is going well. Below you can download our June update which has an update from the Rocky Mountain Getaway and the latest developments with our St Pete ministry. We so appreciate each of you and the part you play in our lives and ministry. Please consider leaving a comment below and share a prayer request or two.
Here is a pic from Mason's pre-k graduation night and below that is the link to our prayerletter. Enjoy!
Hi all, thanks for your prayers this week. It's been a good week and God has definitely been working in kids lives. Last night we had about 30 kids put their trust in Christ for the first time, and many more commit to reigniting their desire to surrender their lives to Him. Greg Speck spoke last night and will for the last couple nights of the conference.
I've enjoyed getting to know several of the college-age and older volunteers serving here at the conference. No clear indications yet of any that are ready to launch a new Student Venture movement in their community but still lots of follow-up to happen. Today our speaker (Speck) will meet with all of them to talk about how to discover God's will for their lives. This should be very practical for many of them as they are in that stage of life where they have lots of decisions to make.
Also, I've been meeting with four new part-time staff to do some training on how to raise their personal support. I've never done anything like this before, but it has been fun to help them get familiar with the process and learn what to do.
Finally, I wanted to let you know of a tragedy yesterday in Estes Park (the town near us). A teenage girl, not with our conference, who was in Estes with her youth group from Michigan was killed when some boulders a few of her friends were climbing on above her came loose and crushed her. She died instantly. Some of our staff and students from the Getaway were nearby and witnessed what happened, or saw the aftermath which apparently was fairly disturbing. Needless to say your prayers for this girl's family, youth group, and our kids and staff who witnessed this tragedy are very needed. It is all a sobering reminder that life is very short and we never know what lies before us each day.
Thanks again for your prayers and support. I'll probably update you again at the end of the week.
Scott
p.s. - The family seems to be having a good week at home and Brenda is managing to keep them all busy. Mason finished a couple weeks of swim lessons and I think is ready to try and keep up with his brothers in the pool!
06/15/2010
Hi all, brief update from the Getaway in Colorado. The conference kicks off tonight with 650 students, volunteers, and staff. We always give kids a chance to respond to Christ for the first time during the opening session. So please pray for God to speak to hearts tonight. It's also been fun to see a lot of the staff we worked with during our time in Houston. More updates coming later in the week!
Hi all, I owe you more of a full prayerletter and update, but this will have to suffice for now. I am headed out in the morning for Colorado to work for the week at the Rocky Mountain Getaway at the Y Camp in Estes Park. We'll have about 550 middle & high school students, plus staff and volunteers. Please be praying for a dynamic and powerful week in the lives of all who are there. I will specifically be focused on meeting with college students and others there from non-SV staffed cities who might be interested in launching something once school starts back. Please pray specifically that this will be fruitful time and I will connect with several people who are at a place where they are ready to launch ministry.
On a related note I would also appreciate your prayer for my health. I've had this sporadic neck, upper back, and arm pain for the last week that has been very limiting at times (part of why I have not gotten out a full prayerletter). It seems to have been better the last few days but traveling usually is not helpful to it so we will see how it goes. The good news with my health is that this past Tuesday I finally got my knee brace off that I'd had since my meniscus surgery on April 30. Still have some work to do on the knee but at least the brace is off!
Finally, Brenda and the boys will be back here in Orlando all week, so your prayers for Brenda's sanity with no school in session would also be appreciated! :) There have been some other exciting developments in St. Petersburg since our project there in March, but that will have to wait for a future update. I will try to update you all from Colorado this week.
Appreciate your friendship and partnership with us in Student Venture!
