NewSpring Middle School Staff

I had the awesome privilege to meet with the greatest Middle School Ministry Staff in the world! Andrew, David, and John do a great job at serving our students! So many awesome things are coming our way. I have been doing a lot of brainstorming about our ministry and how we function. In the future there will be changes to our volunteer leader structure, follow-up procedures, service evaluation, volunteer leader evaluation and interviews, and much more! That is a whole lot of stuff. The great thing about it is that God is totally in control of everything.

Andrew is the quiet, humble leader. He does an awesome job of leading the band and our students in worship each week. He takes time to prayerfully choose each song, work with me on set list, and spend as much time with students as possible!

David is all over the place. He is primary responsible for our follow up procedure. Each week he makes sure that all of our new students get a letter, phone call, handwritten letter, etc.! He also shares most of the responsibility for the care of our volunteers and campus group planning with John!

John is MR. CAPS LOCK! JOHN ALWAYS WRITES IN CAPS LOCK. IT QUITE A THING TO READ. JOHN IS OUR NEWEST ADDITION TO THE STAFF. JOHN SPENDS A LOT OF HIS TIME WRITING SKETCHES FOR VIDEOS, BRIANSTORMING ANY WILD IDEA THAT I COME UP WITH AND MUCH MORE. He also shares most of the responsibility for the care of our volunteers and campus group planning with David!

Both David and John are also preparing to speak at IGNITE in the very near future! John will be speaking on August 27th and David on September 3rd. They are going to do a great job!

All these guys are great! Thank you so much for your dedication and loyalty to Jesus Christ, NewSpring Church, the Middle School Students, and to me.

I look forward to see where God takes us in the future and I thankful to know that I have the right pieces in the right place and the right time for God to take us there! Keep up the GREAT work!

BASIC: LOVE

Last night was AWESOME! We began a new series at IGNITE called "BASIC." We are spending the next 4 weeks looking at some basic elements of the Christian life. Last night we talked about LOVE (How to love others) - 1 John 3:16-18. The sermon points were: 1. Love is Sacrificial; 2. Love is Generous; 3. Love takes Action.

We had 10 students accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord! WOW! It was great! Also we had a total of 143 middle school students hanging out with 30 leaders. What a great ratio of close to 5 students to 1 leader! God is continuing to do some awesome things at IGNITE!

BASIC......

I am so stoked about a new series that we are starting this week at IGNITE called BASIC. We are going to be going to boot camp and learning about some basic things about the Christian faith. We have decorated the stage to look like an army bunker, with sandbags, camo netting, ammunition boxes, bared wire (not real, just looks like it), and much more! It is going to be an awesome night!

Needless to say, David is going to shave his head if we have over 160 students present! It should be awesome!

LONG TIME & NEW STUFF.....

It has been a long time since I last posted. Summers - you have to love them! They are always filled with LOTS of activites and things to get done in ministry! We just completed our summer student camp at NewSpring. We went to Panama City Beach, FL and stayed at the Majestic Beach Towers! WOW! It was aweosme. Perry spoke, Lee and Band lead worship. God did some amazing things down there!

We have a lot more coing this summer in student minsitry! Be listening at the services for details. Also I just got invited to a new service called eBible.com. It is Beta right now, but is really awesome! I have three invites remaining. If you would like to be invited, please leave a comment and I will send you an invite! Trust me, it is awesome! Check out the blog for more information: http://blog.ebible.com

MEMORIAL DAY.....

Memorial Day is always fun! Today, I woke up at 10 AM, ate a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and read the paper. Then Deanna came home for lunch. I love being able to have lunch with my wife at home. After we ate, we sat on the couch and watched TV, while see fell asleep. After that I vacuumed the floors and clean the hardwood floors in the den and kitchen. I also installed a ventilation fan/light combo in the master bathroom! Just a reminder, attics are HOT! I was sweating all over the place! CRAZY!!

Now, Deanna is home and we are getting ready to head over the big metropolis of Pendleton, SC. We are going to a get together at the home of Saunders Gibbes, JT, Eddie, and John F. Should be lots of fun! I will post some pics later, from my NEW digital camera!!!

WHAT ELSE WHOULD I DO.........

What else would I do if I wasn't in the ministry? Yesterday this question was posed to me. My answer:

I do not know! I cannot see myself doing anything else. This is what God has called me to! He has called me to ministry, specifically to students and their families. For me, serving in ministry has to be something that it is the only thing you can do! If you can see yourself doing something else, go and do it!! My passion for ministry is something that is deep down inside of me, I can feel it, it is deep inside my bones, I think about it, I dream about it! Serving the Living God through ministry is all I WANT to do!!

So I pose this question, what are you passionate about? For me, it is serving God by serving and ministering to students! You may ask what do you mean by passionate, passion, etc. Try this: what do you dream about, think about, love being a part of?

THE PIECES......

The pieces are starting to come together for IGNITE, the Middle School Ministry at NewSpring Church. Since January 2006, God has given me the wonderful calling to be the pastor to the middle school students of NewSpring. Since that time, I have spent a lot of time in prayer, spent time dreaming, spent time studying, and spent time investing in people. Today, we hired another piece to puzzle as we continue to build the ministry and staff that God desires. Andrew, David, and John make up a wonderful team of people who love Jesus and love students! Each one has so many different gifts and talents! I cannot wait to see all of us mesh and see the strengths blossom in each one of us! Welcome to the team John!

I am excited about what the future holds for IGNITE, FUSE (High School Ministry), and NewSpring Church! God is already doing some awesome things in the lives of our students and I know that it is going to get even better! My prayer is that we will stay faithful to God's call on our lives!!

USE CAUTION.....

Use caution in heading over to Perry's Blog! You might just be offended! Check this link out!

Tonight at IGNITE....

Tonight at IGNITE, we had an awesome night! We are in the middle of a 5 week series called "Exposed," giving a biblical view on sex. Interesting topic tonight, we discussed "sexual sin." It was a semi-tense night! I think that my students are still in shock of some of the terms that I used. It was awesome to see their faces of shock! Next week, a genuine Q&A with the students!! ! Reading through the questions it should be very interesting!

Here are some of the questions:

1. Is making out wrong?
2. How far is too far before getting married?
3. Why do people look at porn?
4. How far is too far? (Be specific!)
5. How do you know if a guy is looking at you lustfully?
6. How do you dress modestly?
7. What do you do if you have already committed sexual sin?
8. What do you do when a guy wants to go further than you want too? How do you say no?

Let you know how it goes!

Check this out......

Do me a favor and head on over to Mr. Lee McDerment's Blog and read his post titled: "Calling All Critics." I have say....WOW! Homerun!

INTRODUCING......

Jonathan Ellis Neighbors

Born: May 8, 2006
Time: 6:37 AM
Weight: 9lbs. 6 oz.
Length: 21 inches
Parents: Ashley & Nathan Neighbors
Brother: Anderson

LONG TIME.....

It has been a long time since I posted on this blog. Since March 1, God has been doing some awesome things in my life, my family, IGNITE Middle School Ministry, and NewSpring Church. At this time we are gearing up for the summer and focusing on our summer camp, The Gauntlet, which will be off the chain! Lee McD is going to be leading worship, Perry Noble is going to preaching, Majestic Beach Towers is providing the digs for the week, needless to say it is going to be AWESOME! To all studnets involved in IGNITE & FUSE, sign up TODAY!! You do not want to miss this!

**Side Note: March 8, 2006 at 6:37 AM, Jonathan Ellis Neighbors entered into this world! He weighed 9 lbs. 6ozs., and 21 inches long! Deanna and I are so blessed to have another nephew. Nathan and Ashley are wonderful parents and are thankful to have a healthy little boy! Anderson, his big brother, is very excited!! Pray for them as they go home today!!***

IGNITE LOGO

Ignite Poster

Familiar Verse To Us....

Familiar Verse To Us All....
 
Lately, the Lord has been moving in my heart and it has caused me to really turn to His Word. (When the Lord moves it can be exciting and scary-in a good way, I personally love it!!)
 
First of all let me say that God's word is timeless, sharper than a two-edged sword, creative, and the best book I have ever read. Secondly, I am so thankful that God had the great idea to give us the Bible.  I think back to the days when the Bible was being written, those guys did not even have the Bible and their faith was astounding.
 
As I have been spending time in God's Word and in communication with Him, God has been revealing so much to me. I want to take a verse that is familiar to a lot of people, some people say that it is their favorite verse, some quote it in tough times, etc. (By the way, isn't it great that God has something to say to us in every season of our lives! Go God!) Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
 
Notice that there are three things that we are to do: 1) Trust in the LORD with ALL your heart, 2) Lean NOT on your own understanding, 3) In ALL your ways acknowledge Him. What a minute....So, God is telling me that if I do these three things then my paths will be made straight? Yes, that is what the Lord is saying to all of us! WOW!!!
 
(Don't stop reading yet, keep on reading!!!)
 
Now we must be careful with those three things, they require all of you. I truly believe that the reason the heart is always the center point that we must give to God is because that is the center of who we are. My heart pumps blood to the rest of my body, which takes oxygen to my brain and other organs.  Without my heart there is no me! (I won't get into the whole scientific deal, because I would mess it up, but you get the idea!) 
 
With the promise that God gives in this verse, "and he will make your paths straight," we must remember that the path may not look straight to us. Not all paths we walk will look straight, there may be some that look windy, curving, hilly, and any other word that can be stated, but we have been given assurance that God has prepared that path for us. My prayer is that I will never depend on my own understanding (because it is very limited) but will walk the path that God has laid for me. 
 
Take a moment to really allow God to speak to you through His word. You will be amazed how clearly He will speak to you! “Be still and know that I am God…”  May God continue to bless you as you spend time with Him!

Messy side....

Tonight at IGNITE, I was informed of some stuff that would classify as the messy side of ministry (middle school DRAMA). We also had some students who came that would probably not be welcome at most churches. On the way home from the FUSEBOX, I had a thought from God. God spoke to me and all I could say was thanks! Thank you God, for allowing us to get neck deep in ministry, for allowing us to be apart of the “MESSY” side of ministry. Thank you for allowing students to feel comfortable to come to IGNITE and have fun. Thank you for allowing us to have great leaders that have built relationships with students that are open and honest!

TO ALL IGNITE LEADERS :: You are AWESOME! You are doing a PHEMONIAL job! Thank you for loving Jesus and loving students! You inspire me and spur me on! We are seeing God work and he is going to continue to move!

Taxes....

Okay, so I HATE having to do my taxes!  What a pain in the behind!  Does anyone else agree?

Correction.....

In a previous post, I made an error! I spelled a name wrong! Sorry GRANT LYERLY! You are the man!

Great Day.....

Today was a crazy but fun day! Got to work, check out messages, emails and all that fun stuff! By the way, the building is moving along and things are coming together! The children’s area is going to be unbelievable!!

Today I got the opportunity to hang out with John Flowers and David hall! Two of Ignite’s leaders! These guys have a passion for students. We rode to Clemson to interview some potential leaders and we ate at a place called Anchous (spelling wrong!!) I ate a sandwich called “BlackJack”! It was awesome!! John Flowers hooked us all up with some Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream; I had the “Chunky Monkey.” GREAT! Only bad part of the trip was that I got a parking ticket for $10. I was 5 minutes late to money in the meter and there was already a ticket! Hello!!!!! It takes longer than 5 minutes to write a ticket! Oh well.

Got back to the office to meet with the Ignite staff! What a great meeting we had. We planned out the service for this week and next week! It was awesome. These people have some great minds and a passion for our students to learn the truth of Jesus Christ! WOW! Tomorrow is the kickoff for Campus Groups at 7 PM! Things are rolling!

Now, I am at home and chillin! What a productive day! I am now going to leave and eat an awesome dinner with my AWESOME wife! Peace!

Busy.....

So I have taken a little break for a while!  So busy and so much to do!  Highlight of my day: leading an 8th grader to Christ on the phone!  YES, on the phone!  How wild is that!  Thursday, I am going to have lunch with him!  How awesome!  By the way, NewSpring moves in tour NEW building this Sunday!  It is going to be awesome.  See you there!

Today had Financial Peace class, Basketball game at 8:30.  Didn’t get there until halftime and they are down 16-21.  Come back and win 46-36!  Go NewSpring!  Great game in the 2nd Half!  Now, time to go to bed!