Rescued One

Alignment

2011-05-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

I have really been studying words lately. Our SALT team is looking to re-brand our student ministry. Here is what Seth Godin's blog says about Alignment:

“A perfect relationship:
I want your company to help me, and your company wants to help me. We’re both focused on helping the same person.

The Walmart relationship:
I want the cheapest possible prices and Walmart wants to (actually works hard to) give me the cheapest possible prices. That’s why there’s little pushback about customer service or employee respect… the goals are aligned.

The Apple relationship:
I want Apple to be cool. Apple wants to be cool. That’s why there’s little pushback on pricing or obsolence or disappointing developers.”

What does this say about the church?

The church relationship (when it doesn’t work): I want God to solve all my problem and make me happy. The church wants your buy-in so that it can look prosperous, raise more capitol, hire more staff, and build more buildings.

The church relationship (when it does work): I want to sacrificially join with something larger than myself. The church wants you to join them in God’s Kingdom work.

Monday's with Mark 4-3-11

2011-04-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hey Parents,

At SNL we just started our most challenging series. We are talking about what honoring your parents looks like.

We are challending students to take the next step in honoring their parents. Ask your students!

Texting All Students and Parents!
Students and parents… how would you like to get the latest updates and info from Student Pastor Mark Winkler, when they happen? It’s easy to do if you’ll sign up to receive his text messages. For parents of students: http://trunc.us/5GaaPs, for Sr. High students: http://trunc.us/wjH51h, and Jr. High students: http://trunc.us/Fycu1Y.

Pastor Mark has a blog. Follow him, he likes to know that people are reading. You can read them at http://studentsatgreenvalley.blogspot.com/

Pastor Mark

Monday's with Mark 3-28-11

2011-03-28T11:35:00.001-07:00

Parents,

I hope you had a great weekend. They always seem too short don’t they?

Two things on this fine Monday that I want to draw your attention to

1. We have subscribed to a text message update system for our student ministry
a. This will help us to promote events and news to you through text messaging.
i. I need your name and cell phone number (with area code) as well as your carrier.

2. We are starting a new series this Sunday @ SNL. This series will encourage students to develop a strong relationship with their parents. Are you up for the challenges that come with this?
a. Week 1:
The Good Fight series exposes the truth about family life: All families fight. We just fight about and for different things, and we fight in different ways. Some families are very vocal; others quietly stuff their frustrations inside. But regardless of how families fight, every family decides what they are going to fight over. Fighting about rules and issues will always drive us apart, but there is another way. What if we began to fight for relationship? What if our sole objective was to know each other and to honor each other? The Good Fight encourages students to stay in the fight and never give up on their relationship with their parents.

Week 2:
When it comes to God’s intention for family, there are no ambiguities in Scripture. God desires for children and parents to turn their hearts toward each other and have a relationship. In order to have the good relationship God intends, we have to first learn how to change the fight. We have to stop fighting against “their way” and start fighting for a relationship. We have to surrender our right to be right and take up a new cause. We must prioritize relationship regardless of the cost.

Week 3:
This week is the final conclusion to our parent series. The goal of this week is to help students see the responsibility that they have to pursue a relationship with their parents. Some students have been hurt by their parents and they are living out the cycle by seeking to hurt their parents in return. This week we will look at the life of Absalom, who having been hurt, used the remainder of his life for revenge. We will see the outcome of Absalom’s choice and raise the question: Is this really the best way? Can students begin to break the cycle by refusing to use their influence as sons and daughters to inflict pain on the parents who may have hurt them? Can they be the instruments of healing in our parent’s lives?

Monday's with Mark

2011-01-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

There has been a word that has been on my thoughts for awhile now. The word is something that we have all heard and know what it means. We know it is an essential thing to have in our life, yet we struggle with it. The word is accountability.
Why is it such a tough word? In our work life we always seem to excel. I believe the reason behind that is simply because we are held accountable. If we didn’t do our job correctly we don’t receive a paycheck. We have a boss that is making sure we get the job done. What about when it comes to our faith?
Why is it that in our spiritual life we have a lack of accountability? I believe that accountability and spiritual growth are linked. As I step back and have looked over this last year I see the difference that our church can make in students lives is holding them accountable. Accountability is important; it is part of our H.A.B.I.T.S. It is also the hardest letter to teach in the H.A.B.I.T.S. series as well. I have started to ask a few questions. These are a few that I have started to ask myself.

1. Is my life an open book?
a. Don’t hold anything back. Many times we compartmentalize our life. This is not God’s desire. He wants everything. Are you willing to give this person rockstar access to your life?
2. Can you be taken serious?
a. When you start to speak truth into someone life they have to take you serious. If you are always joking and clowning around it will be difficult for them to seek advice from you.
3. Can I handle what comes up
a. There may be some things that cannot be cleared up within minutes. It may take days, months, even years to deal with some things

I wish I took this serious in high school. Trevor lived down the street. We went to a different church, although he went to a lot of things with my youth group. I never opened my life up to him and we were neighbors. I have no idea why either. Now that we are miles apart we have opened our lives to each other. What a help it is to know I have someone that is in my corner praying for me and cheering for me, and I am doing the same for Trevor. I am no longer afraid of what he might discover. He again is in my corner and there to help me get through it.
We are not lone rangers we are in this life together. I pray that we would seek out accountability. If that is the key to success in the business world, I know it is the key for the spiritual world.

Love Wins,
Mark, Student Pastor
Green Valley Baptist Church

Monday's with Mark

2011-01-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

Well D-Now weekend is almost here. This is one of the biggest events that we do all year. We put a lot of time and energy into making this weekend amazing. You will start to get a flood of information; here is your first rain drop.
The theme this year is God's Reality. There are a lot of reality shows on TV. We watch them and wish maybe our life was more like that family, we could cook like them, even lose weight like them, or thankful that we don't live with a bunch of strangers. We wish that someone else’s reality was ours...but the truth is we are not somebody else and the question is moved to what is God's reality for our life? During our 3 main sessions we will look at what God desires for us at school, work, where our thoughts should be, and how to change our reality to align with God's plan.
Each session will have a time of worship, led by Cameron Story and Kyle Kicker. The guest speaker for each session is Gary Permenter.
Students will spend the night in host homes that are divided by age and gender. Each host home acts as a small group and will lead their small group in a discussion of what they heard that day and the application side of it.
Students will need to eat before they come on Friday night. The cost of the weekend is $50 and includes a T-Shirt and the Bowling on Friday Night as well as meals on Saturday. For more info contact Pastor Mark. To sign-up grab a D-Now brochure fill, it out and turn in the fee.

Love Wins,

Mark

Monday's with Mark 12/20/10

2010-12-23T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Parents,

D-now and Summer Camp Packets are available @ the kiosk’s or from Pastor Mark

NO SNL or 9:45am Bible study this Sunday December 26th.

This was our last week of the SNL series “Tis the Season”. Use the questions below to create a spiritual conversation with your student or students this week.

TIS THE SEASON (3): LOVE

Bottom Line: Love is more than a word, it requires action.

Scripture References: John 1:14; John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 13

Love is one of the most used and misused words in the English language. We love so many things and use the word so flippantly. Your goal this week is to help students gain a desire to experience love as action. Love moved when God sent His Son to this earth. In the same way, we want our students to follow that example of love on the move and experience love as an action.

Create meaningful conversation. Adjust questions as needed, and don’t feel like you need to answer all of them.

1. What did you think of the talk this week? What did you hear the speaker say?

2. Give some examples of authentic love and counterfeit love.

3. Have you ever felt like someone was more in love with some thing, than they were with you? Have you ever been guilty of loving some thing more than someone?

4. According to what you heard this week, what does love really mean? What does it look like?

5. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:3 that faith, hope and love remain, but that love is the greatest. Why do you think love is considered greater than faith or hope? Should it be considered the greatest?

6. How did God show the world that He loved people like you and me?

7. God loved and because of that He gave. How do the people you love know that you really love them?

8. Why do actions speak louder than words?

9. How can you go beyond just saying you love people to showing them? (In your family? In your church? In your school? On your team? Around the world?)

Monday's with Mark 8-30-10

2010-08-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Parents,

Many of you joined us @ SNL last night and what an awesome night!

We have started our H.A.B.I.T.S. series. This will be one of the most important series that we do all year. It is all about creating healthy spiritual H.A.B.I.T.S. We use this series as a spiritual check-up for our students. The H.A.B.I.T.S. are as follows:

H-Hangtime with God
A-Accountability
B-Bible Memorization
I-Involvement in the Church
T-Tithing Commitment
S-Studying Scripture

Last night we discussed having a consistent Hangtime with God and the reason why we have that hangtime with Him. This week, follow-up with your students and ask them how their Hangtime with God is going. Remember that old saying “Do as I say; not as I do”? Use this week to evaulate your HABITS as well. Are we as followers of Christ developing good spiritual H.A.B.I.T.S?

Mark

Monday's with Mark 8-23-10

2010-08-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the chance to take all of my leaders to Sedona, AZ for a leadership retreat. We looked at the book of Nehemiah and learned some practical tips on leading from Nehemiah. Our team is stoked and ready to tackle youth ministry this year. I cannot wait to see what God is going to do in our student ministry. We have a great team that wants to see growth in our students not just in numbers but spiritually as well.

This Sunday is Promotion Sunday and we look forward to having all the new 6th grade students join us. We have a great night planned and are adding a few new elements this year to help make SNL even BETTER. We have also already started the process of planning a November Lock-in as well as D-Now weekend in February. We will make the promotions available when we have more details.

This Sunday @ SNL we invite you to attend to see what is happening in the student ministry @ SNL. Hope to see you there!

Mark

Student Pastor

Green Valley Baptist Church

Monday's with Mark 8/9/10

2010-08-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

We started a new series @ SNL entitled Dear Galtians.

Create meaningful conversation with your students this week?

1. Have you ever read through the book of Galatians before? How do you think knowing some of the history of this book will help you understand where Paul is coming from when we he writes to the church in Galatia? (For example, it’s better to see a movie from the beginning so that you can understand the whole movie rather than starting in the middle.)

2. What was the main problem between the new believers at the church in Galatia? (Read Galatians 1:6-7.) Why was the issue of what to do with the law such a big deal? Why do you think Paul got so fired up when writing about the role of the old Jewish law?

3. Have you ever been around someone who takes something very simple and makes it a lot more difficult than it needs to be? (giving someone directions, trying to express their emotions)

4. Read Galatians 2:16b. We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it—and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good” (Galatians 2:16 MSG). Why do you think it is so easy for us to think rule-keeping is a way for us to get approved by God? Why is it so hard to simply believe that Jesus as Messiah is enough?

5. What are some rules people following Christ live by?

6. Have you ever thought about how when we try to get closer to God by following the rules, we lessen the value of what Jesus did on the cross? How is the value of the cross lessened by trying to earn acceptance with God?

7. Jesus is enough. Period. What are some things that we do that make it “Jesus and” something else when it comes to getting acceptance from God? Why do you think the simplicity of this truth is hard to believe?

8. What does it look like to live in such a way so that what Jesus did on the cross is enough? What does it look like to trust His sacrifice and not try to do anything to earn our forgiveness or to get in good with God?

CLOSING CHALLENGE:
Hand your student a blank index card and a marker. Then have them write on the card: JESUS +. Challenge them to think about what they personally add to the equation.

Over the next three weeks, encourage your student to read through the book of Galatians. Start off this week with asking them to read Galatians 1-2.

Summer Camp Info

2010-06-07T15:30:00.001-07:00

Parents,

This Monday is all about Camp.

Students that are going to Hume Summer Camp, registration is all done online.
If you have not received an e-mail from Pastor Mark, please call the church office at 434-1906.
This registration must be done ASAP.

High school students going to Student Life, you should have received your (there’s an extra space in registration packets in the mail.
If you have not, PLEASE call the church office.

If you have any questions please call Pastor Mark.

Pastor Mark

Prayer

2010-06-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

Parents,

Like having a secret clubhouse or a favorite corner of the playground, God wants to have a special place–a hideout—with each one of us. The big surprise when it comes to prayer is that where we pray matters to God. As revelatory as this may be, your goal this week is to take whatever time is needed to understand where your students are when it comes to the topic of prayer. Have they ever prayed before? What do they think about prayer? Do they have misconceptions or frustrations holding them back from praying? Let this week’s conversation open up some of your group’s struggles and frustrations. Don’t feel the need to give a solution right away. Prayer is complicated and difficult to talk about. It’s important to create a space for your students to feel comfortable being honest about a difficult topic.

Create meaningful conversation.

1. What are your first memories of prayer? Did you learn a formula prayer? Who taught it to you?
2. Before tonight, what would you say if someone were to ask you, “Why do you pray?”
3. What frustrates you about prayer?
4. Would you say you pray (1) Too much; (2) Just about the right amount; or (3) Not as much as you “should”? (It’s important to remember there is no “should” here. God doesn’t give us a number of times to pray each day.)
5. When you don’t pray, what keeps you from praying? (Maybe things never seem to work out the way you want, maybe it feels like no one is listening, maybe you don’t know what to say, maybe you run out of time, etc.)
6. Where do you most typically pray? (In your car, on the bus, in the hallway, on the field)** If you have a student who already has a special place to pray where they are alone with God, you might ask him or her to share about that experience. Why did they choose their special place, and what difference do they think it makes?
7. Read Matthew 6:6. Why do you think Jesus taught his disciples to go to a special place to pray? How do you think the places you pray affect the way you pray?
8. God wants a relationship with you more than anything. If we keep this big picture in mind, how would this affect the way you approach prayer?
9. Where is a place that you can be intentional about spending time with God this coming week?

In Him,

Pastor Mark

Monday's with Mark 5/24

2010-05-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Parents there are several events that are upcoming that I want to make sure you are aware of.

Summer Camp

There were letters that were sent out last week about summer camp. This letter had how much you owe as well as packing lists. If you did not receive this letter please check with the church office. Not getting this letter might mean we do not have your student on our summer camp lists. The final payment is due 1 week before we leave for Camp.

Senior Dinner
This Friday night is the Senior Dinner. If your student is a senior in High school and has not sent their RSVP for the dinner, please call the church office by Wednesday May 26th. The dinner is on Friday May 28th @ 5:30 pm. We will be meeting @ the church at 5pm and head over to Carrabba’s off of Eastern.

Paintball
This Saturday we will meet at the church @ 8 am and go Paintballing. Bring $15 plus a sack lunch. We will return to the church @ 1:30 pm.

Parents we have mailed out the ultimate Tuesday Schedule. If you have not been getting mail from the student ministry please contact the church office
@ 702-434-1906.

Check out the new student website @ http://www.greenvalleybc.org/ Go to the ministry section and look for the student link.

Mark

Monday's with Mark for 4/26/2010

2010-04-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Parents,

I hope that you all had a great weekend.

There are several things that are coming up that I would like to draw your attention to.

May 8 there will be a community service project for students around the area. Please see attached Flyer. Let me know if your student would like to attend. This will help me line up transportation.

I have created a facebook group. It will have updates on events and pictures of recent events. Make sure that you join.

D-Now Weekend will be May 14-16. The cost is $40. You all should have received a letter with info in the mail. If not please call me and we will correct that issue.

Starting last Sunday we started a new SNL topic entitled Release. It is all about forgiveness. Below are some questions that you can use to engage your students in a spiritual conversation this week.

1. Who do you need to forgive?
2. Do you need to ask forgiveness to anyone
3. What are your scars?

In Him,

Mark