image via Orange42

This probably might be your preteen. Anxious and ready for summer to come. I have so many fond memories of summer break. Sports, water, the beach, vacation, camps, etc. But if there is one word that comes to mind about preteens and summer, it’s the word “bored”.

At some point with the excitement of summer coming and the tests that school gives to put a nice bow on the school year, we forget to make plans for what to actually do during the summer.

This year we are going to help this for our preteens! We are compiling a checklist of activities for them to take place in. Basically a ton of activities for them to accomplish during the summer. There isn’t a plan for a prize or a contest being made out of the checklist. We just want our students to dream big of the things that they can accomplish during the summer months.

So here are some things to think about as you are planning your summer for your preteen ministry or your own preteen.

1. Ways to beat the heat – think of some fun ways to give your preteens opportunities to beat the heat.
2. Community – What ways are you planning for the community that your preteen is a part of? Small Groups, sports teams, and neighborhoods are all examples of areas to plan for.
3. Volunteer Opportunities- What ways can your preteen serve this Summer? What groups do they want to focus on serving?
4. Fun – What are some things that you preteen would just eat up? One Direction concert, Backyard campout and cooking dinner for the family are just a few different kinds of fun that your preteen might enjoy
5. Make memories – As baby Cannon is on the way, this is something that I have been dreaming about for my own son. What can you do to make a memory that will last a lifetime? Summer Campis definitely in the mix here!

What are some things that you are planning for your preteens this summer?

photo by Leo Reynolds

Sometimes you have things that just get stuck on your mind. Lately there have been a few ideas, thoughts and things that I just can get off my mind. Here they are:

1. The Gospel

My mind and heart have been reawakened to the glory of the gospel. It’s literally changing so many things about the way that I teach, explain and plan for my preteens, that it’s constantly something that I’m thinking about. God’s plan, our fall, Christ’s life, death, resurrection, our response, and God’s reconciliation of creation to Himself. One specific idea related to the gospel I will share later. I felt it was significant enough to get 2 spots.

2. Parenting

As I write this, my wife is 8 days from due date. I have had a distinct desire to just hold and kiss and spend time with my son the past week. It’s crazy. It also has gotten me to think about all of the sermons, books, and blogs that I’ve read on parenting. It’s also why this song from Elvis has been resonating in my heart:

Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time

I’m praying that this isn’t what I look back on when it comes to parenting.

3. 5:1

This is an idea that I heard about from the Orange Conference from Kara Powell, author of Sticky Faith. She talked about as ministry leaders that we need to be more worried about the 5 adults voices in the lives of our students rather than our 1 adult for every 5 students.

I can not shake this one.

It’s so easy to communicate to parents and so helpful. I’ve already shared this with parents at 2 separate meetings. I love getting to talk about it. Man if I could help parents grasp this, I truly believe volunteering, faith, and collaboration would look very different at Brookwood Church.

4. Cannon

Yeah, my son. I’m so pumped for him. I’m worried for him, I’m excited for him. There has always been the thought in my head that God may have only created me to be a dad and a husband. I can’t wait to see the journey that God has planned for us.

If I haven’t already shared this, my son is at an increased chance for Down Syndrome. We chose not to take any tests to find out if he does or not. I don’t think about this a lot, but believe me, it’s in my brain. God is in control and we are all in on our baby son, but to think that it doesn’t scare the living crap out of me would be dishonest.

5. Switch

God has been giving me some new vision for Switch. Mainly, that I need to release a lot more control. I love to teach students, however, I am not the only one that can teach 5th and 6th grade students at Brookwood. That is not what God has called only me to do.

I can’t wait to see how this happens, but God is already moving on this front. Can’t wait.

6. 2 services

Our church is moving to 2 services. We’ve always done 3 services since I’ve been here. It’s exciting and challenging logistically but it’s such an opportunity to pour vision into our families. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do!

7. 6th graders

For the first time in a while, I’m excited for 6th graders to move into 7th grade. Our newest addition, Brian Schwanbeck, is the pastor to students in grade 7 and 8. He has so many things on his mind to grow and challenge the rising students. I can’t wait to see what they are going to accomplish together.

8. Writing

I love writing. I’ve been blogging since I was a junior in high school. That was almost 10 years ago. I blogged for me to process through things. It’s helped. Now this space is being read by people around the world. I’ve been making a concerted effort lately to write for others, rather than for myself. I feel like it’s helped my writing.

However, I still like to write for me. So I’ve got something that I hopefully will pour some major time into soon. It’s a big writing project. I’ve always dreamed of writing a book. I’m ready to start

9. Gospel Centered Homework

This is an idea from a book that I read entitled, “Gospel Centered Discipleship”. Phenomenal read! Rather than explain the idea fully, here’s a video with the author and Matt Chandler talking about Gospel Centered Homework:

This idea has changed how I look at my message preparation. I’m pretty real when it comes to my students and I always try to prick the lies, but I’ve never had an organized way of thinking thru it. Now I do.

Hang on Switch!

10. Mentoring

I’ve had the desire to take part in ministry mentoring for a while now. It’s something that’s always on my mind. Being a dad soon, has piqued my interest in the subject. I have some incredible men around me.

Some older: Dad, dad-in-law, Mike Hepola and Josh Bradley

Some at similar ages: Jared Patrick and Brian Schwanbeck

But I’ve really been thinking thru what this looks like for the younger ones around me. Full on, straight up mentoring younger men thinking about pursuing ministry in some format. I’m praying that God points me in the direction of some men that I can pour my life into.

So that’s what’s been on my mind. What’s on your mind?

So The Masters gets started today. For the first time I’m really excited about it. Not because I’ve recently become a fan of golf or because there is a specific storyline that I’m following. It has more to do with the fact that my coworker and our HS Pastor, Jared Patrick, was a golfer and is a huge fan of the game.

He’s interested to see Tiger Woods play and he’s rooting for Phil Mickelson. I’ve decided to root for Graeme McDowell this year. He’s got a cool name and was one of the first that I saw on Twitter.

I’m more interested than I have been in the past, mainly because someone on our team is a fan. When it comes to a team, you live what they live and become sorrowful over what they are sorrowful for. I’m pumped to be a part of the team that I get to be a part of and I’m excited for the season that God has us in right now.

I feel as though we’ve dreamed more over the past few weeks, than at any other time that I’ve been a part of Brookwood, and I’ve been here for four years. I’m pumped about what is to come!!

image via Steve Snodgrass

Today I’m celebrating 4 years of ministry at Brookwood Church. It’s crazy to me to think that I’ve been here for four years already. This post might be a long one so bear with me.

Brookwood Church is now the place that I have been employed at longer than any other place. That may seem like a short time for you ministry veterans, but I’m 25 years old. I worked at UPS for over 3.5 years while I was in college. It seems like ages ago.

There are things that you are only able to see in a long term stay at a place that are impossible to see in a short stint. I’ve seen students grow up before my eyes. The students that are now 6th graders in my ministry were 2nd graders when I arrived at Brookwood!

• I’ve seen runny noses turn into ruthless lacrosse players.
• I’ve seen High School Musical notebooks turn into Justin Beiber iPod mixes and now into Hunger Games shirts.
• I’ve seen students experience life in Christ.
• I’ve seen students hurt by families, students, and schools.
• I’ve seen families transformed by the power of Christ.
• I’ve seen students take on leadership
• I’ve been loved on by adults
• I’ve been hated on by adults (some justifiably)

It’s been a glorious 4 years. I’m thankful for what God has done in and through me and what God has allowed me to see happen in the life of Brookwood Church and it’s people. As I’m looking back, it’s hard not to look forward. I believe the most exciting days are ahead for Brookwood Church and more specifically Switch.

As we’ve been talking about where we are going over the last 2 months, a few things have become clear. Switch is a growing ministry with positive momentum, but in order to take another step forward I need more help. It may shock you that there is only one Switch staff person at Brookwood Church. However, that is the case. In order to take steps forward I will need to lean into families more and more than ever before. We will need more volunteer leadership and more volunteers.

Over the past months we’ve been developing new structures for Switch that we are praying will help us move into a place where we continue to grow rather than become a stagnant ministry.

Ephesians 4 has stuck out in my mind as an emphasis for the next few years of ministry for me. Here are a few key points:

• to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:12 ESV) 
• from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:16 ESV)
• And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (Ephesians 4:11 ESV) 

This new structure will allow people to operate more in their area of strength and gifting and will allow us the structure to invest in new volunteers as they invest in students!

I also just want to take some time to talk to Parents and Volunteers.

Parents

I have a few challenges and thank you’s to issue to you. First the Thank You’s.

• Thank you for giving me permission to do ministry with your students. I don’t say it enough, if you don’t bring your kids, we can’t minister to them.
• Thanks for your prayers. Without your prayers for blessings and growth, we wouldn’t have it.
• Thanks for your support. Your smiling faces, Your comments about the growth of your student(s), and your overwhelming excitement about your child help me to press forward and more diligently.

Here’s some things I’d like to just throw out there as a challenge:

• Invest in your student’s faith. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6:21. For some this may mean you being a volunteer, or maybe more intentional conversations about faith, or maybe even paying for camp to give your child a chance to create memories that will last forever, whatever it is make sure that you invest in it. I would want to get to the point where I look back and can’t count the investments I made in my child following Christ.
• Talk with us. If something doesn’t go well or you have questions, stay connected to us. We get better by encouragement and criticism that is meant to help.
• Come see our services. We have an open door policy in our services. We will ask you who you are and why you are there, but know that is because we want your kids to be safe.
• Pray for our Small Group Ministry. The one thing that I am more excited about than anything else is our small group ministry in Students. Imagine that your child is invested in a small group that meets in a home from 5th – 12th grade!! 8 years of small group before they get to college. Imagine the relationships, the conversations, the connections, the memories that your student will leave with by the time they graduate High School!! Pray, sign them up, volunteer to host a group in your home, or even volunteer to lead one.

Once again parents, thanks for all that you’ve allowed me to take part of in the lives of your students. I’m blessed.

Volunteers

Leaders, I can not and will not ever be able to thank you enough for your investment into our students. The things that I have seen volunteers accomplish in the ministry at Brookwood Church is ridiculous to say the least. We love people like nobodies’ business. Here are some things I’d like to tell you:

• Thank you. For the double shifts, the long hours, the times you didn’t hear thank you, the times you missed an email, the times you didn’t get the food you wanted at a volunteer meeting. For all the things that go unnoticed and all the things that do, I cannot do ministry without you. You are the lifeblood of Student Ministry.
• Keep going. Ministry is tough. Remember the good, move on from the bad, and most important stay connected to Jesus.
• Work with God, not for Him. Work under his leadership and discern where the Spirit is moving. Give Him everything
• Relationships, Relationships, Relationships. This is how God operates. This how people operate. Let’s operate this way in Student Ministry
• Think about ways that you can step up your ministry. Maybe you need to become more of a recruiter of leaders, maybe you need a more intense role to love on students, maybe you need to change areas. Heed the call of God and look for opportunities to grow in your ministry.
• Pray, we may forget, but we can talk to the Creator of the World and he encourages us to. Please make it a point to talk to him about the students that you are trying to invest in.
• Connect with Parents. This is a step to gain trust and more understanding of a child. This is what it will take to make more strides towards growth.
• Thanks for treating us like a part of your family. You mean the world to us.

Volunteers I need you more than ever to take more steps towards making Switch better and continuing to have a ministry that makes a difference in the lives of students. Pray about what God is doing in your life. Pray that you know where to put your feet in the sand and push. It’s time to move, it’s time to grow, it’s time to make a difference.

I couldn’t imagine a more gifted, incredible group of people to do this with!!

Staff of Brookwood. Thanks for all you’ve shown me about ministry through relationship, example, and prayer. I’m a part of a team that loves people and wants them to love God and place all of themselves into His care.

Perry Duggar thank you.

Mike Hepola thank you.

Laurie Sinkele thank you

Patti Jo Mackey thank you.

Jenni Bowman thank you.

Jared Patrick thank you.

Brian Schwanbeck thank you.

Melinda Barth thank you.

Josh Bradley thank you. Even though you went off and planted a church!! Love you man.

Thank you for those not on the list, too many to name.

Can’t wait for the next 4 years.

We found out a few weeks ago that we were going to be having a boy sometime around May 25th of this year. We are so stinkin pumped about it!! His name is Cannon Thompson, haven’t decided on a middle name yet. Maybe Joseph or Andrew. He’s definitely a blast and full of energy already.

God is already telling an interesting story through him as well. I can’t wait to share some of that story with you later.

Wanted you guys to know that I didn’t fall off a cliff while meditating, just been super busy.

Any advice for a dad-to-be? And what about the middle name, anything have a ring to it?

pic from Panoramas

When it comes to ministry, this picture is a scary one. It’s a picture of a plateau. A beautiful piece of God’s creation, but not really what you want if you are the leader of any ministry or business entity. Because this image represents lack of growth.

It might only be for a season, but this is something that in no way is something that I look forward to experiencing. In fact it scares me. But it’s also something that you must learn to embrace for a season.

There are certain things that you can see from a plateau:

1. Where you’ve been
2. Where you’d like to go
3. How stuck in the middle you are

I still have such a long way to go....

Tomorrow I turn 25 years old. I’m psyched, scared, nervous, and freaked out. To you, 25 may seem like life is just beginning. To me, 25 is another reminder that I am going to die one day. I want to make a huge difference for the kingdom of Christ, for people and for my family. But I have learned a ton from some incredible people. Here are 25 lessons that I’ve learned in my life, broken down by 3 sections of my life:

Childhood

1. Treat people the way you want to be treated. -Thanks Faith Baptist Church, where I grew up
2. You won’t always get what you ask for, but you definitely get more stuff if you ask for it.
   
3. Be an original, not a copy. -Mom
4. Both of my parents would tell me, I don’t care what your friends are doing, they aren’t you… This continues to resonate with me today. You don’t have to do or be something because other people are doing it. 
   
5. Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9, John 3:16, Phillipians 4:13, 1 Timothy 4:12 -all these verse learned from 3rd-5th grade are still essential in my faith today

Teenager

1. People need to know that whatever you are asking them to do, you would do. -Another one from Dad
2. You are only as good as your last win. -Dad taught me this one I would also add this, don’t concentrate on people’s perception or your past, produce more wins.
3. Be a man, treat ladies with respect and honor, they like that. -One more from Father
4. It’s not about me. -Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
5. Relationships take work and upkeep. -learned this while Kristen was in Argentina
6. You can trust God -I learned this one through tough things happening.
7. I was created to lead -UPS taught me this one.
8. Training and Evaluation teamed with love produce growth in those you lead. -UPS
9. God’s will is not as mystical as we make it out to be. Become like Christ, period. -learned from Bro. Bob, pastor at Faith Baptist Church(church i grew up in) and a book called Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung and Joshua Harris(affiliate link) every teenager should be required to read this…
10. Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, it’s an element of it. -Faith and Doubt by John Ortberg (affiliate link) Had a conversation with a student last night wrestling through this very thing.

Young Adult

1. There’s nothing new under the sun. -written by Solomon, coined by Mike Hepola
2. Leave and Cleave is definitely more difficult than I ever thought. I love my wife more than my mom. It’s definitely been a fun ride going through this one.
3. Invest in the right relationships. learned this one from Josh Bradley
4. Church is always ran by people, who aren’t perfect. O, and we aren’t either, thank God for His grace.  Jared Patrick
5. Let’s be a complex church, rather than simple. Our God is complex and so are people. -Perry Duggar, pastor at Brookwood Church.
6. At least pretend to care about your appearance. -my wife is teaching me this as we speak. I have a hard time with this one. YOUR APPEARANCE MATTERS.
7. Good Communication is the key to lasting mutually beneficial relationships. And so is smiling
8. Christ alone is where my dependence rests. On Him I gain strength and life. My faith in His sacrifice in life and death are the sweetest gift that I’ve ever been given. Rest in His Grace.
9. Don’t be a punk. Always be a part of what’s happening.
10. Being in a place with someone is not the same as being with someone. It’s best to learn this early on in life. -My wonderful wife is still helping me through my tech crazy habits

Bonus Lesson… You always learn more through struggle than comfort. (going through this one right now )

So the above picture is one of those shots!! Ruth Russell took them and set them up and told us what to do and made us smile!! She’s so good!!! Anyway, I’m trying to get her website going, but if you are looking for pictures for an event or just some family pictures, then shoot her a message on FB or shoot her an email at rrussell718 [at] hotmail.com

Here are some more pics to whet your appetite:

Our Happy Family

Yeah, that's my wife

So you should definitely check her out!! But look for some new pics all over the place!!! What do you think of the pics?

So my birthday is next Friday. and I’ve got a few big things that I want. I’ve gotten my big birthday present already (a giant gas grill ), but if I don’t make a list of what I like then it won’t be a goal for me. So here are five big gifts that I want to have. Also these are like BHAG, (big, hairy, audacious gifts) that will take some time for me to make happen.

1. Canon EOS 7D kit I want this Canon 7D because, I am looking for a DSLR that has video capability and Chris Brank has totally sold me on this camera.
2. Apple iPad 2 - We have a few iPads in our Preteen Ministry . They are an incredible tool and with Lion coming out, they are going to be more and more useful.
3. Macbook Pro My wife has been wanting this for awhile and I really want her to have one. The 13″ would be perfect for her and our home
4. 37-Inch Full HD 1080P LED LCD HDTV with VIA Internet Application - we are looking for another tv for our home. I really love vizio and this would be perfect
5. Amazon wish list I have another larger one here too: Big Wish List I love reading and books. I can always use more books

So it’s been so long since I’ve been on a regular schedule. It’s been a blast though. Couple things to be thinking, praying, and looking forward to in the next few weeks here at jcisonline.com

• We, Student Ministry, will be owning the main service this Sunday. Worship, Greeting, Message, etc. Can’t wait. It’s going to be huge for our church and our Student Ministry.
• Pulled off another incredible Adventure Week. This year instead of production, I was in charge of figuring out a way to make it awesome for our tweens. It was awesome. Can’t wait to tell you about it. Got a series brewing.
• Recruiting, Coming up with Training Plans, Camp planning, and just everything that you normally do during the summer in Youth Ministry. It’s going great and I’m realizing just how much help I need running a ministry. It’s crazy!!!

So it’s been awesome. Over the past few weeks I’ve: read a fiction book (haven’t done that in years), played Portal 2 all the way through and crushed it with a buddy of mine, and watched an entire Cubs game!!!

Also I’ve been reminded of my need to have a hobby outside of ministry and I agree. I need something besides working on my lawn. So here are some ideas that I’ve got, but I want to know what you do apart from your ministry and family life. Here are some things I’ve thought about in the past few days:

• learn how to play guitar ( don’t know how, but I would love to)
• read a good fictional book series. (I’m reading through Hunger Games right now)
• Invest some more time into photography. (Haven’t done it in awhile. Really want to upgrade my dslr to one with video capability)

So how’s your summer and what are some things you do besides ministry and family?