CIY "Move" Day 4: Party!

There's no way to keep this blog short--today was incredible! Today's theme was boldness, and as we learned about the boldness of the apostles in the book of Acts, God was working on our kid's hearts. Today was "skip a meal" (the money that would've been spent on lunch was saved to be used for overseas conferences), and after a great morning sessions and small group time, we headed to the university mall just to get off campus for a little while during free time. After dinner we had main session and a great time of creative worship. We were challenged well by the speaker about stepping up and being bold, and then came youth group debrief time. We talked a little while about reasons why we are afraid to share our faith or step up to the plate for God, and what areas we need to work on being bold. We took a few minutes to break into groups and pray for each other to have the boldness to make the decisions that God is prompting us to make. Afterwards we came back together as a group and gave the opportunity for people to speak up and tell the group if they need to make a decision...and the Spirit moved! I have permission by the following students to tell what happened (although I won't use last names): Tyler was the first to step up and say that he needs to get right with God and get baptized! His boldness encouraged others to speak up. Darin rededicated his life to Jesus, and Jesse decided to get baptized and wants to go into missions work! Andrew W. would like to be rebaptized and Andy L. also stepped up to be baptized for the first time! That's a total of 3 first time decisions for Christ and 2 rededications!! Thank you so much for your prayers...but don't stop now- please keep it up! Hallelujah!

CIY "Move" Day 3: Heavy

Yesterday's post didn't really give you a good flavor for what we are doing...it was just to show you a very basic schedule. The heart of what we are doing is one word: relationships. You might call us crazy for staying until 1:30am every night, but we have already been building memories and relationships that will last. We sing and jump around together, we eat and play together, we even share and weep together. Thank you for your prayers! We have been diving into worship, teaching, and applying God's truths, and I have noticed a real hunger for some deeper, heavier discussions. We had a representative from the online community known as "Heart Support" (check them out at www.heartsupport.com), and he spoke about the reality of teen suicide, alcoholism, self injury, eating disorders, depression, and addictions. It was an incredible time for everyone to realize two things: 1. If that is you, you're not alone! 2. You don't have to live that way...you can get out. This session sparked some great discussions throughout the day, and I am excited to report that there are already some decisions being made! I will not disclose any names over this blog, but rejoice and pray with us as God's children are running back to Him! Sorry for the long blogs, but I want you to know how God is moving this week--He is awesome.

CIY "Move" Day 2: Into the Groove

We are all now mostly familiar with the massive SIU campus and are starting to get the hang of everything. Each day consists of a few main activities (excluding meal times):
1. Encounter Time - where we have some morning wake-up music and a speaker that introduces the day's theme before we go out and spend about 20 to 30 minutes doing our own devo/prayer time.
2. Discipleship Group Time - we break into 3 groups (as a church), and our leaders get to teach Bible-based curriculum written for today's theme.
3. Move Experience - Different times from Comedians to serious discussions about cutting, pornography, etc.
4. Free Time! - SIU has a huge facility with basketball, track, raquetball, an enormous pool, and more.
5. Evening Main Session - An incredible combination of singing, videos, messages, creative worship, and challenges that are pushing us out of our comfort zones and deeper into the heart of God.

Today went great, and several students are already feeling that they need to make a decision this week...we are just continuing to watch and listen to see what and where God is calling us to!

CIY "Move" Day 1: Pumped!

We made it!! No bumps, bruises, backroads or breakdowns. Because of some last minute issues, our numbers are now 12 boys, 13 girls, 6 adults, and a baby (haidyn sears). Thank you so much for your prayers for safe travel and everything-God has been so good to us! We arrived in Carbondale at about 4pm, ate dinner, and got situated in our rooms. The evening session was outstanding, and Matt Bayless (our worship leader for the week) rocked the house! The theme of the conference this week is called "Move", and each day we will be focusing on a specific topic. This evening was one simple, yet super-important truth: Jesus is the ONLY way that we can connect with/move toward God. Everyone in our group is excited to see how God is going to move this week, and we are expecting nothing less than the miraculous. Please pray that both the adults and the students will open their hearts and their minds to whatever it is that God wants to show us. Ok, as you can see from the time on this post...it's definitely bed time! I'll update you later, as I expect God to continue to MOVE.

Getting Started

Hey everybody, 

This is the new blog for Axis Student Ministries at Carterville Christian Church.  I will post information about programs, trips, and events as well as information and articles relevant to youth culture.  You might even get a few blogs simply about what's going on in the life of my family and the church as well.  I pray that God uses this blog to help minister to you and your family!!

In Christ,

Shane