"The Myth of the Perfect Parent"

I encourage every parent to read the article "The Myth of the Perfect Parent" over here.

As I think about our ministry, our role in ministering to the families and students here at Eastview, there was one thing that really spoke to me in this article. The author talked about the prophet Ezekiel and his constant attempts to draw the Israelites back to God. From the article:

"How successful was Ezekiel? The destruction he foretold played out in every gruesome detail. From our vantage, Ezekiel's mission looks like an utter failure. But God spoke a few words in this narrative that changed everything. As God commissioned Ezekiel to speak his words to Israel, three times he prefaced his commands with this phrase: "whether they listen or fail to listen" (2:5, 7; 3:11). One of those three times God completed the sentence: "Whether they listen or fail to listen … they will know that a prophet has been among them" (2:5)."

Over the past few weeks, I have been in conversations with parents and ministry team members about what we do here....should we focus on fun? Should we focus on Jesus? How can we get kids to "care" about their faith? As much as I wish every single student in our ministry would give their whole lives over to Jesus, reality and statistics say that this not going to happen. And this saddens me incredibly.

But I find hope in God's Word. We cannot be responsible for the choices our kids make. All we can do as parents and a ministry is be faithful to God in proclaiming what He has done.

Youth Group/EKlub Cancelled for tonight

Due to pending weather situations, all youth activities are CANCELED for tonight.

We sent out 3 emails today:

1. a general email to all parents
2. an email specifically for parents of middle school students
3. an email specifically for parents of high school students

Did you get them? Are you on the list? If not, email me at jmulholland@eastview.net, and I'll add you!

Video Highlights

Middle School Night @ Chuck E Cheese:



Sr High Christmas Partay:

Eastview PArent Weekly, December 13-19, 2009

Dear Parents,

It’s hard to believe that 2009 is almost over. We’ve had a year filled with activities and growth. We’ve moved to a multi-night youth group, and with all change, there are positives and negatives that come because of it. I’m in the process of completing our portion of Eastview Christian Church’s annual report. I’ll post it here on the parent’s website by Wednesday. I’d love for you to take a few minutes and check it out. Here are the important dates coming up (please note that the high school opening night for youth group has CHANGED to January 10th):

Calendar:

• December 16th- middle school Christmas party at Eastview during normal youth group time.
  
  • Students, please bring a white elephant/gag gift for gift exchange.
    

• December 19th- middle school party @ Chuck E.Cheese for those who have participated in the Bible/Homework/Scripture memorization “contest”.
  

• December 20th- high school Christmas party at Mulholland’s (385 16th St, Marion) during normal youth group time (6-8).
  
  • Students, please bring a white elephant/gag gift for gift exchange.
  • Boys-please bring your favorite bottle of pop or juice
  • Girls-please bring a healthy snack
    

• December 23rd- NO middle school youth group
  

• December 27th- NO high school youth group
  

• December 30th- NO middle school youth group
  

• January 6th- middle school youth group begins
  

• January 10th- high school youth group begins
  

Have a great week!

Youth Group/EKlub Cancelled for tonight

Due to weather, middle school youth group and eklub is cancelled for tonight, December 9, 2009.

High School Youth Group Update

We've been studying the Gospel of John over the past several months. We've had some great conversations in small groups. Beginning in January, we'll be challenging the kids to be in Scripture and talking about topics that are close to their hearts.

At some point, probably in March/April, we'll be using material called "Dateable", which will help our kids look at their desire for relationships in a different way. It is neither an anti- nor pro-dating. It will prove to be some challenging stuff for our kids to work through.