Eastview Parent's Weekly

Summer is almost here, although it feels like spring. With summer comes transitions, vacations, family activities, etc.

As of the end of May, Seth and Megan Clark, who have faithfully served our ministry team since before I came here, will be transitioning out. Megan is pregnant, with the baby due in July. We will miss them. They have worked hard in establishing relationship with our students by teaching, spending time with them, Megan went on our mission trip to Mexico in 2006, and they hosted last years Christmas party. They will indeed be missed.

There are several adults that I am speaking with about joining our ministry team. If you’re interested, please let me know.

I am currently taking applications from students for our “Student Intern” program for the 2008-2009 school year. This is a huge commitment on the part of a student. If you’d like to know more, I’ve attached a copy of the Student Intern Contract.

With mission trips, vacations and other things going on, there will be a few weeks that we may not meet during the summer months. I’ll point these out in the bulletin, monthly parent letters, weekly emails, and I will make every effort to keep the online events calendar updated. Here are the “for-sure” no meeting dates:

Sunday May 25- no d-group
Wednesday July 16- no youth group
Sunday July 20- no d-group
Sunday July 27- no d-group

Bill will be teaching Sunday school this coming weekend, as I’ll be in Ohio with Phil before he leaves for Iraq. On Sunday night, June 2, Hannah Burkle, the youth minister at the Cedar Falls Church of Christ, and I will be co-teaching our d-group lesson that night...the topic is “What does the Bible say about women in the church?”

Eastview Parent's Weekly, the Resource Issue

One of the values for our ministry here is to equip you as parents, especially as you try to help them become disciples of Christ. Here are some things that I have found valuable to our ministry; these will give you a little peak into the minds of those who minister to your students. Some are articles from the blogs from other youth ministers as well as youth ministry and culture websites, some are podcasts and sermons I listen to, others are books, many of which I own, and are available for me to loan to you.

Weblogs/Web Pages:
“Understanding and Parenting Your Teen”

“An Open Letter to All Youth Group Parents”

“Center for Parent Youth Understanding”

Podcasts
“A Vision For the Next Generation”
A five-part series from John Piper on the importance of the people of the next generation (our students) within the Body of Christ. The link for the
first in this series is at the bottom of the webpage.

“Understanding and Parenting Your Teen”

Books
“Family-Based Youth Ministry”-Mark DeVries

“Partnering With Parents in Youth Ministry”-Jim Burns, Mark DeVries

“Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers”-Chap Clark

“Youth Culture 101”-Walt Mueller

“Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture”-Walt Mueller

Movies/Videos
“Soul Searching: A Movie About Teenagers and God”

PBS Home Video: Frontline: Growing Up Online

Please let me know if you would like to borrow one of these resources!

the Rebelution

I wanted to take a moment to tell you about an event called "The Rebelution".  It is put on by two 19 year-old students named Alex and Brett Harris.  their older brother, Joshua Harris, is the author of the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye.  The event is in Minneapolis on June 21st.  The cost per student is $30, adults are $20, plus food and a hotel expense (split among those going).  

I've heard about it from a number of sources, World Magazine, a John Piper sermon, and Gretchen Holley.  

I encourage you to hop over to their website.  If you'd like for your student to go, please let me know over the next week or so.

Parents Weekly

God is good!

Kansas Mission Trip Update
We had our Kansas Mission Trip meeting last night. We have 12 students going on this “First Timers” trip, and I’m excited to see God at work. There will be a packing list to those going within the next few weeks.

Mexico Mission Trip Update
Our next meeting is May 18th, from 4:30-5:45 pm. Students should be working on their memory verses. As previously communicated, these meetings are mandatory.

CIY Believe
We have 8 students going to CIY Believe in Omaha this coming weekend. We’ll leave at 10 am on Friday, and try to be back by 11pm on Saturday night. We’ll be staying in a hotel, so students should bring a change of clothes, shower items, etc. They also need to bring their Bible, a journal and a pen. There is NO pool at this hotel. :(

Sermon Notes Contest
Please, read this carefully. Beginning next Sunday, May 11, and running through Sunday August 10, our middle school and high school students will have the chance to win either a 2GB iPod Shuffle or $75 in iTunes. All they have to do is take notes during our Sunday corporate worship service. The forms are available on the bulletin board outside my office, along with the official rules of the contest. How does a student win? The person who turns in the most COMPLETED (fully complete) forms is the grand prize winner. The runner-up wins $30 in itunes. There will be a random drawing of all those who fill out at least one form for a $15 iTunes giftcard. In the event of a tie for the grand prize, there will be some sort of tie-breaker. Why am I doing this? I want our students to be engaged in our Sunday worship service. I’ll be keeping track of the student’s progress throughout the summer. Let me know if you have any questions!

Have a great week!

Because of Jesus,

John Mulholland
Next Generations Minister
Eastview Christian Church

Ministry Update

God is doing amazing things here! This past weekend, we participated in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. We are blessed to have students like Kassi Hoback, Rachel Davis and Samantha Holley. They planned, led and ran the event, and it was incredible. We also had students pick our worship songs and lead others in singing praises to God.

For details from a student perspective, and some pictures from the weekend, hop on over to our Eastview Chronicles website.

The May Parent letter is on it's way, it's chock full of news about our sumer camp, and also has details for our upcoming promotion Sunday.

Fundraiser Tonight Cancelled!

Due to inclement weather, the fundraiser tonight is canceled.

Eastview Parents Weekly-April 6-12

I’m out of the office this week to Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago for their Student Ministries Conference. It’s a great time of fellowship with other youth ministers and learning. Please pray for safe travel and a good conference!

Last night in d-group we have an excellent discussion about relativism and the need for truth and absolutes as Christians in the context of defending our faith. We’ll be visiting this topic for the next few weeks, especially dealing the nature of truth.

A few things coming up:

Fundraising Opportunities

Kernels Stadium post-game clean-up
This Saturday, April 12, 4:30-6pm. We’ll meet at Veterans Stadium about by 4:30, and stay until we’re done (hopefully by 6!). We need a few adults and about 5 students. Please let me know if your student will be there!

I was contacted by a church member of a need at their home-they need their eaves cleaned out. We need 2 students, pay will be $20/each and will take an hour or two. The have ladders and gloves. Please let me know by Wednesday if your student is interested.

Events

CIY Believe
Permission slips and $50 deposit due by April 16th, total trip cost is $90/student.

Mission: Kansas
For those students turning in permission slips/applications with $25 deposit by April 16th, the trip cost is $130/student.
For those students turning in permission slips/applications with $25 deposit by April 30th, the trip cost is $150/student.
Applications/permission slips not accepted for this trip after April 30th.

Mission: Mexico
Uno- Pre-trip meeting April 20th, 4:30-5:45pm. This is mandatory for all those going on the trip.