Q&A: How many miracles happen per year?

In the youth class on Wednesday nights, I asked our students to submit biblical questions that they would like answered. Some of the students were hesitant to submit questions due to their very busy summer schedule, so I promised them I would put the answer to each question on my blog for them to read at their leisure. Hopefully, this is beneficial to my reading audience as well. 

Question: How many miracles happen per year?

Answer: To answer this question we must first have a better understanding of miracles. First, take an overall look at the miracles which happened in the New Testament. Are those those type of miracles happening today? Miracles were used for 4 purposes:

1, The first purpose of the miracles was to prove that Jesus is Deity/God. (John 1:1-3; 20:30; Acts 2:22). Why would John have made a record of these miracles, if Jesus were still performing miracles today? 

2. The second purpose of the miracles was to confirm God's word to those who heard (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:1-4). Why was this important? The people in the New Testament did not walk around with their leather bound bible that had their favorite translations. They relied on manuscripts and word of mouth. So, in order to confirm that the words were truly from God, then miracles were performed.

3. The third purpose of miracles was to verify a true apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12). Reputation was important and God knew that, so He performed miracles through the apostles to give verification to those they were teaching that they indeed were apostles. 

4. The fourth purpose of the miracles was to fulfill prophecy (Matthew 8:17). Isaiah wrote about someone who was coming that could heal the sick and take away illnesses. So, Jesus performed miracles to fulfill a prophecy that was written in the Old Testament. We do not have prophecies to be fulfilled today because the ultimate prophecy was fulfilled on the cross (Isaiah 53).  

I, also, would like for you to take a look at I Corinthians 13, particularly around verse 8. After instructing the Corinthian Christians on the proper attitude in using miraculous gifts, he tells them that they are only temporary. Prophecies will fail. Tongues will cease. Knowledge will vanish away. When will this take place? The miraculous knowledge is limited. The prophecies are limited. But, the completeness (that which is perfect) will come; and when it does, these partial things (miracles) will vanish away.

Even though Paul had the ability to heal the sick, he didn't always heal them (2 Timothy 4:20). He mentions his leaving Trophimus sick at Miletum, by which it appears that though the apostles healed all manner of diseases miraculously, for the confirmation of their doctrine, yet they did not exert that power upon their own friends, so it would not look like a conspiracy.

The word "miracles" translates the Greek word "dunamis." Where teras is a display of power, dunamis is the power. It is translated as "mighty work," "power," "strength," or "miracle." Miracles are alterations of natural events. The birth of a baby is a wondrous event, but it is not a miracle because its birth follows the course God set for the world. Jesus healed people, but the reason we call his work miracles is because they happened instantaneously. There was no reversal of the course of a disease; the disease ceased to exist. There was no recovery time as the body restored itself after a battle with disease, the people displayed full use of their bodies. Take the example of the lame man: "Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked" (John 5:8-9). Read through the miracles of the Bible and notice how often it is emphasized that the change was immediate and complete.

By calling typical event "miracles" we are actually diminishing the true miracles recorded in the Bible. Were the works of prophets, Jesus, and the apostles everyday events or simply the change in attitude of people? Were they not something so notable, so extraordinary, that even reading about them 2,000 years after the fact we still sit in awe at what happened?

We do not need miracles today, because we have the completed word of God!

If you have further questions, feel free to e-mail me at andrewt519@gmail.com.

2 years and counting...

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Galatians 6:9

Last week my two year anniversary as the Youth and Family Minister at Rose Hill church of Christ quietly passed (March 3). Each year, I like to reflect on the past year and look at the changes and growth that our ministry experienced, as well as, that I personally experienced. Youth Ministry can be a frustrating and discouraging job. It requires lots of patience, gentleness, kindness, understanding, and self-control (Galatians 2:22-23). You will go through many ups and downs in ministry. However, what keeps me going is that the ups in ministry always ALWAYS outweigh the downs. You're affecting people's lives and affecting them for the better. There's a lot of gratification in counting your blessings and cheering on the small victories in life. 

Personally, I read Galatians and it speaks to me personally in so many ways. Paul, a patient man, writes to the people in Galatia - some who sought to destroy his character and authority. He writes anyways. Particularly in Chapter 5 Paul encourages the Christians there to serve one another in love (5:13) and cautioned against a temper, which if indulged, would hinder us from showing the mutual love and servitude in which he recommended (5:16). I read Chapter 5 and I ask myself, "Why youth ministry?" It's simple - a love for others, particularly our youth, to teach and show them what a mighty God we serve. Yet, my shortcoming is wearing my emotions on the outside and having an easy face to read. Something that Paul specifically cautions against because it will hurt our ministry. In a way, it is good when people can see my passion for ministry. The negativity is when something goes wrong and disappointment floods into my emotions while spilling out into the public. What a balance it is to be able to serve in love and to control your emotions for the sake of not damaging your ministry. It's something I feel like I am constantly working on - a thorn in my flesh. 

Then, I read Galatians 6. This speaks directly to me and the ministry I am a blessed to lead. 

• Keep watch on yourself, lest you be tempted (v. 1). A lot of people have a notion that Youth Minister's do not have struggles. How can we when we are teaching others about overcoming sin, right? However, some of our lessons are more personal than you know. We/I must avoid placing myself on the pedestal of not having struggles; otherwise, that's when temptation will become the greatest.   
• Bear one another's burdens (v.2). Sometimes it is a lot to bear, but there's no doubt that you will feel some satisfaction when helping to carry someones burdens and sharing in that together. Isn't that what being a part of a Christian family is all about?
• If anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, deceives himself (v.3). Wow! That is so true. If we ever begin to think that what we do is ministry is all about us - watch out! I am only able to do what I do because of the grace of God and nothing else! I simply plant but God provides the increase. I pray that I will never forget that.

I could go on and on about the verses leading up to verse 9. This one really hits me. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (6:9) Let us not become weary... Wow! Is that possible? Tiredness seems to be a natural occurrence of what I do. When I read this, I translate it to mean - Let's not become so tired that we experience burnout and leave the work because at the time of God's choosing we will be rewarded for our work if we do not give up. Yes, I do experience weariness but the desire to do the will of God gives me life and energy to keep pursuing the harvest. 

Once we have understood v. 9, we can move to v. 10 - "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially those in the household of faith." Don't go weary, you will be rewarded for not giving up; therefore, we need to seek opportunities to do good to all people when we have a chance, especially Christians. What a summation of ministry: Let's not grow weary and let's do good for all people. In other words, "Go into all the world..." seeking people we can minister. That includes our youth group, families, strangers, friends, etc. 

And here we are at the 2 year mark... What's the assessment? God has plenty of work that still needs to be done. I will continue pursuing the work, ministering to the needs of the students and families, and will count my blessings (big and small) along the way. I will continue to pray for strength to overcome my shortcomings and count it all joy (James 1:2) when I do encounter less than pleasant times because I know it will help us to be a stronger ministry by going through trials and various things. 

To God be the Glory!

www.rosehillyouth.com - check us out!

Social Media Crash Course

I was talking to some of the parents that have been attending my parents class on Sunday mornings. We were talking about the class and if it was beneficial for them. In the midst of talking we started discussing future parents class, and the idea of having more discussions on technology/social media/digital parenting/etc. It's one of those things we could fill up a whole 13 week quarter discussing because there is so much out there for parents to learn and discover as kids try to stay three steps ahead of their parents. I want to share with you today, another resource from Chad Landman, "Social Media Crash Course". Granted, this is a fluid and ever-changing world - by tomorrow none of this information could be relevant (and that is the scary thing when we think about the digital world).

For more of Chad's articles and resources visit www.chadl.co or http://start2finish.org/category/active-digital-parenting/

Social Media Crash Course 

Social media, just like technology, changes at the speed of light. Next month there will be a whole new app or service on the scene that appeals to your kid more than the last. Some have more lasting power than others. Some are dangerous, like one I will tell you about today. Some are harmless if you know you child's account info and can log in to see what they've been doing.

Things to remember...

**1. You are the product, not the customer.** These services bill themselves as services to you, the customer, but in actual fact, you're really they're product. How do these companies make billions of dollars? Every time you click, like, retweet, or post something, they get money. They sell your data to advertisers. That's how they make billions.

**2. Nothing is private.** In the face of all the passwords and security and what not, you'd think your data would be safe and secure. It's not. Data breaches happen at these companies all the time. Your data that you put out there has to be transmitted somewhere and it can be intercepted in a variety of ways. Your data is stored on server farms out in the middle of nowhere and people can get your data that way. DON'T EXPECT ANYTHING TO BE PRIVATE ON THE INTERNET.

**3. Know your child's account username and password for any and all accounts.** You should have unlimited access to their accounts at any time, and they should KNOW that you have unlimited access to their accounts at any time.

**4. Your child will naturally gravitate towards what is popular with their friends and what you're NOT using.**

Twitter

• Twitter - the simplest of the social media services
• "Micro-blogging" at 140 characters (same limit as a original text message)
• Facebook status updates without the Facebook
• Twitter is especially appealing to teens because parents aren't on there yet
• Big diff between Twitter and Facebook: Twitter is largely ungoverned - except for spam. 
• You can follow whomever you want - users can also follow you (unless you have an protected account)
• You can retweet whomever you want - and people can retweet you - basically reposting to all their followers what you tweeted
• You can block whomever you want
• You can report anyone for spam
• Direct Messages (DMs) - private messages between users
• Hashtags - ways of categorizing tweets (i.e. #BAMAvsTAMU) 
• Everyone that looked up that particular hashtag could see my tweet 

Facebook

• Started in 2004 for college campuses to interact with each other
• Has grown to over 1 billion users worldwide in 2013
• Has been extremely popular with kids up until the last 24 months or so
• The Hashtag and "private" aspect has dwindled teens' involvement
• Parents and adults now flood the site (most active group is 35-45 year olds)
• You can like Pages or join Groups - none of this private
• You can tag or be tagged in photos - provided you have enabled that under privacy settings
• Privacy setting I love: Make everyon that tags you in something let you approve it before it goes to your timeline
• Privacy settings change and are reset at irregular intervals - no time to go over all of them
• Privacy Shortcuts
• Make sure to check your settings periodically to make sure nothing has been set back to default
• While sometimes confusing, Facebook does allow lots of control of your privacy on their site
• You can deactivate your account, but your data remains for a minimum of 36 months
• Facebook's entire motive is to get you to share EVERYTHING
• Addresses - Facebook does not need to know my address!!

Instagram

• Photo sharing - not a whole lot else
• Let's you tag or @-reply to friends or anyone - also add hashtags a la Twitter and geo-locate
• Let's you take pictures and post them through the app or select pictures from your camera roll
• Allows graphics, screenshots, other pictures and content
• Does not allow pornography or violent content
• You can like or comment on a photo
• You can connect your account to post to Twitter, Facebook, and other services
• Remember: Facebook owns Instagram now, so they will do everything they can to connect it to Facebook for you

Vine

• Vine is "Instagram for video"
• Let's you share 6-second micro-videos with the world
• Does allow you to protect your account (only followers can see your posts)
• Does not allow you to edit existing video and use it
• Allows social discovery of videos easily (not all videos are exactly Christian) 

Snapchat

• Billed as the "private" messaging app
• Very alluring to teens because it deletes photos 10 seconds after they are viewed
• You can friend (add) people and send them messages
• You can add text to your messages
• From the beginning, this app did not have good intentions
• It was built for sharing nude or inappropriate photos on a "non-public" network
• Deleted photos can still be intercepted, stored and retransmitted
• Photos can be screenshotted on the actual phone itself
• Honest opinion? Delete it. Don't allow your children to use it.

Kik Messenger

• Not a lot of difference between this and Snapchat
• Does not delete your photos unless they are deleted manually by the user
• You can share all types of media - Youtube videos, sketches, etc.
• It's just another place where parents AREN'T

For more of Chad's articles and resources visit www.chadl.co or http://start2finish.org/category/active-digital-parenting/

There are so many other apps out there. I plan to share some of the Top 15 apps that kids are on in my next blog post! Hope you have a great day and find this information beneficial!

iOS Parental Controls

We spent two weeks on social media/internet, etc. in our parents class. Honestly, we could have spent a whole quarter talking about how to safeguard our kids from social media and sites they may stumble upon or intentionally go to, as well as, apps which can be dangerous. I was listening to the "I'm a YM" podcast presented by Adventures in Ministry and hosted by Eric Gray and Andrew Jenkins. The subject was technology in youth ministry and one of the areas discussed was "Tips for Youth Ministers to help parents set internet safeguards with their children". Chad Landman (Youth Minister - Church Street) was the guest on the show and he writes often about Active Digital Parenting. I am sure the parents at Rose Hill are getting tired of me sharing his articles with him, because I do... often. It's important, as Chad said, for parents to "Be active. Be intentional. Be ruthless. It is the parents job to protect them."

I consider myself a somewhat tech saavy Youth Minister, in that, I try to be where the kids are. If they are on snapchat, I am also on snapchat. If they are playing trivia crack, I play the dumb game called trivia crack - so forth and so on.

There are many apps that you can use to safeguard your child's internet privileges. However, one of the simple things to do is setting restrictions on any apple device that belongs to your child. Here are a couple of different ways a parent can do that.

To hear the podcast: http://www.adventuresinministry.com/ympodcast/020
*It will give you more ideas on how to safeguard your children including using Covenant Eye or Curbi app.

This can be found on Chad Landman's website (www.chadl.co) under Resources > Active Digital Parenting. 

iOS Parental Controls

Apps have become the ecosystem of communication, interaction, and gameplay since the iteration of the iPhone five years ago. Apple pioneered the App Store concept - they we're necessarily the first, they were just the first ones who did it right. Everyone has an App Store now.

There's two very important differences in Google (Android)'s Play Store and Apple's iOS App Store.

Apple's iOS app store requires a thorough and lengthy process of certifications to just get in the Store. Google does not, to a certain extent. Apple will not approve anything with porn or inappropriate material. Google doesn't care much for this, they are much more lax in approval of apps.

Google's Android OS, in fact, has an option to sideload apps from third-party sources, meaning that virtually anyone can make an app for Android and have it be on your device.

To accomplish the same thing, iOS users must do a bit of reprogramming called "Jailbreaking." Jailbreaking is dangerous and not authorized by Apple because of malware, viruses, and other concerns that may slow down, harm, or even brick your phone (making it unusable). Google allows you to do this with flick of a switch in Settings.

Now, am I saying that Android is less safe than iOS? Yes. In my opinion, it is.

I love Android, I love it's openness, I love the fact that I can tinker with it, but in my opinion, it is not an OS that is meant for teens and children, because it's much easier for them to figure out that you can get to bad stuff.


## App Store: Things to Look Out For

1. **Make sure your child hasn't jailbroken his/her device.** Sometimes they get their friends to do it, other times they can do it themselves. It's as easy as downloading the correct software, plugging up your device, and letting it do its work. Jailbreaking appeals to kids because it allows them to get "free apps" or "free music", but what's happening is that they're jailbreaking their phones and iPods and opening themselves up to all sorts of apps that have not been approved by Apple - some harmless, some not so much. Apple will not work on a phone if they see it's been jailbroken. Jailbreaking isn't against the law, and it won't necessarily harm your device or cause it to go nuts, but the wrong apps or software downloaded CAN do that. It's better for your child to not have a jailbroken device.

2. **Make sure your child knows not to sign into someone else's account.** I was on a trip to Oklahoma with another youth group doing some relief work and realized that it was pretty commonplace for kids to let one another sign in to each other's accounts on their phones and iPods so they could download the apps that the other has purchased, in a sense creating a loophole to get apps for free. This is inventive, but it is stealing. Just like illegally downloading a movie or song, downloading an app you didn't pay for is stealing. Not to mention that this gives another device access to your account. I had this happen to a young man in my youth group - he let a friend sign on to his family's account, forgot to sign it out, and his friend racked up over $400 of apps in just two days. Getting that money back from Apple is nearly impossible.

3. **Make sure you have parental controls set on whatever account and device your child uses.** Some parents opt for using the "Put in the password" method, meaning every time your child wants to download an app they have to come to you and let you put in the password. That's clunky, annoying, and every parent I've ever known gets tired of it and just tells the kid their password, so it defeats the purpose of having the password at all. Now, the new fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5S that just came out last week opens up all sorts of possibilities for you being able to approve app purchases. For example, you can set your fingerprint on your child's device so that only you can approve a purchase with your finger. You can let you child know the alternate passcode to get into the phone. The fingerprint (or Touch ID) is going to be interesting for parents as they find new ways to manage what your children can do online and in the app store.

Settings > General > Restrictions

The method I would recommend is the "Observation" method. This method allows you to observe what Free apps your child downloads. If you and your child are on a different account, that's okay. You can sign into their account via the bottom link on the App Store and then you can go to **Updates > Purchased** and see every app they've downloaded, free or not. Make sure that the password isn't changed on this account.

## Settings 

You can  limit them from using any Parental Controls settings found under Settings > General > Restrictions.

Safari: You can eliminate Safari from the phone. Beware: there are other browsers that you can download as apps that let you navigate the internet, as well as some built-in browsers of apps that let you do the same thing. Disabling Safari means that the app doesn't even appear on the phone any more.

Camera: doesn't allow you to use the Camera app to take pictures.

Facetime: Facetime is like Skype - realtime video chatting. You can disable this as well.

iTunes: Prevents them from opening the app and purchasing movies, books, music, and music videos.

Installing Apps: Completely deletes the App Store icon from the phone.

Deleting Apps: will not give the option of deleting apps. Want to catch your child red-handed? This feature is great because they can't uninstall apps they've downloads that they don't want you to see.

Siri/Explicit Language: The EL tag here only pertains to Siri. Siri is an automated assistant, like a glorified and voice-activated Google. Probably just be better to turn this off for safety.

Airdrop: Airdrop is a local-area file sharing utility. Say you and your friend are having lunch and he or she takes a picture or has a file they want to send you. Using Bluetooth, they can send a file directly to you via Airdrop. The file doesn't go through email, servers, services, or anything else. It's directly from device to device.

Ratings: If you allow access to downloading music and movies and such, you can customize what ratings your child can access. Special attention to Apps, and In-App Purchases - I would turn off In-App purchases. This may save you a lot of money in the future.

(Apple has heard complaints about companies making it too easy for kids to make in-app purchases, and they're making it harder to do.)

Websites: You can Limit Adult Content here and apply this filter so that your teen can't see any adult sites, or you can go so far as to only allow certain sites to be accessed. Apple even gives you a short list of sites to start with.

Require Password: I would set this to Immediately - it will require a password at all times.

Privacy: You can see here in these settings what Apps have access to what. Does Facebook access your location? Does Twitter access your photos? You can tailor this or lock it down completely and see what works best for you and your child.

Privacy Settings: these are varied between specific apps you have on your device. You can also see what apps have access to your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Allow Changes: on you child's device, I would just put this to No. Then that does not allow them to make changes.

Game Center: Mostly harmless, but I would make sure to stress that your child only adds friends they know personally. Game Canter does not allow communication or messaging, but it's best to be on the safe side.

Hope you take these ideas and settings recommended by Chad and use them to help safeguard your kids. Be active. Be intentional. Be ruthless.

For more articles by Chad Landman on Active Digital Parenting: 
http://start2finish.org/category/active-digital-parenting/

Fifteen Ways to Show Kids (Yours and Others') That You Care

As I was studying for the parents class that I am teaching on Sunday mornings at Rose Hill Church of Christ, I was reading in a book that I use as a resource tool in my teaching and I stumbled across an article that I thought was very relevant to this week's lesson. The discussion will center around building a support network for our students and parents with the idea focusing on intergenerational connections for our kids. We need to surround ourselves and our students with adults who care about their spiritual development, but we must show that we care about not only our kids but the kids of other parents, as well.

The article was "Fifteen Ways to Show Kids (Yours and Others') That You Care" from "The Sticky Faith Guide to Your Family" by Kara Powell:

1. Ask them about school.
2. Find out their extracurricular activity schedule and go to at least one game, recital, or show.
3. Call them and sing to them on their birthday.
4. Swing by their house with ice cream after they've had a spectacular day.
5. Swing by their house with ice cream after they've had a lousy day. 
6. Keep your promises! (no matter how small)
7. Text them and share your three favorite things about them. 
8. Find out their favorite candy and give it to them for no reason at all.
9. Give them your undivided attention.
10. Ask them how you can be praying for them. And then pray.
11. A week after you asked them how you can be praying for them, loop back and find out how they're doing.
12. Learn their top hobbies or interests and then connect them with someone you know who can teach them more about what's special to them,
13. Let them choose the music in the car, and learn why they lean toward that style.
14. Send them something - anything - in the mail.
15. Give them your phone number and let them know they can call you at any time, whether they need help or just to talk.

Be blessed! I am in prayer for you and your family. 

@andrewt519 - Follow Me

Full of Thanks: Everyday Thanksgiving

In November, every year, we focus on the things in our lives we are thankful for. Some of us take to social media using hashtags #thankful, #thanksgiving, #turkey, #getinmybelly (Sorry, I may have my grandmother's thanksgiving meal on my mind), #thankfulfor, and the list goes on and on. Some will participate in a 30 day Thanksgiving challenge on Instagram where you post a different picture each day of things you are thankful for using the #30daysofthanksgiving. As a family, you may sit around the table each evening and talk about one thing you are thankful for in your life or during that particular day. We all have different ways to convey who and what we want to give thanks with it culminating on a day of giving thanks where we meet with family and friends to share a meal together. I love thanksgiving because it combines my two love interests: food and family! There are also no strings attached through the giving a gifts, it's just a genuine thanksgiving feast full of love.

As I sat during worship yesterday, a comment was made during our announcement time, "Everyday is a day of Thanksgiving when you're a Christian." This small, simple statement had a lot of power behind it. I sat there and thought to myself about the things in which I can be thankful on a daily basis thanks to my God and Savior. So, I would like to share with you the things I am thankful for on a daily basis because of God and the Christian life. 

I'm Thankful For...

Love: Without love, where would we stand today in our walk with God? Love is above all the most important reason to be thankful. Love for God, love for family, love for our country, love for others, etc. However, it is God's love that we should be most thankful for. Paul knew that God's love would be difficult to understand which is why Paul prayed the people would "grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Eph. 3:18-19). His love surpasses all knowledge, but we can understand just how deep God's love must have been for us when He allowed Christ to be crucified (Rom. 5:8; John 3:16). 

Sacrifice: We have the privilege of living in a country where we experience immense freedom due to the sacrifice of men and women who fought, bled, and died for our sake. We take our freedoms for granted and even abuse it at times, but there's no doubt we have this life because of sacrifice. As a Christian, a sacrifice had to be made in order to have the life that we do. Through Christ's sacrifice we have been set free from the bondage of sin (Gal. 5:1). The sacrifice made by Jesus Christ was a one time deal. He did not die multiple times for my sins or your sin, but He sacrificed himself once for the sins of the world (Heb. 9:24-28). We have freedom from sins thanks to the crucifixion (Rom. 6:6-7) Because of Christ's sacrifice I gain salvation and citizenship.

Citizenship/Salvation: Those who fought for our country, fought for a country where they were citizens, a place they called home. The USA is a wonderful (temporary) place to live, but it pales in comparison to the citizenship that I have in Heaven (Phil. 3:20). Each time I watch someone put on Christ in baptism for the remission of their sins, I am reminded of the great sacrifice of Christ so we can have a relationship with God. I am reminded of the death Christ went through, the burial, and how He overcame death in resurrection. Each time I am reminded of my salvation through Christ's death. I am reminded that we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23) and that we did nothing to earn God's grace but it was a gift freely given to us (Eph. 2:8). Thanks to Christ we have salvation through baptism and receive a new life (Rom. 6:4), eternal life and our citizenship has been transferred to Heaven. 

I could go on and on about the many things each day that we can be thankful for, as Christians. However, these are the highlights of my everyday thanksgiving! What can you be thankful for everyday? I challenge you to give thanks back to God, each day, to remember His love for us which led to sacrifice that, in return, allowed us an opportunity of salvation and a citizenship in Heaven. 

"I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me..." 

Psalm 86:12-13a

Bragging Rights

Generally when I write I try to write something that is encouraging to you, the reader. Something that will make you ponder or make spiritual applications to things going on around me in my life. However, today I want to go in a different direction. This is a direction that, as humans, we don't go in enough. A direction of bragging on people for the accomplishments and good works that they have accomplished.

In today's society we are often times filled with negativity on the news and in our newspaper, but how often do we read of the good that is being done in and around our community. How often do we read of how others are blessing people around the world. When it comes to our youth, the bad tends to be magnified more than the good. So, I intend to take a moment to brag on our youth at Rose Hill Church of Christ.

We have a great group of kids who love to give of themselves whether it is time or money. Over the last year the youth group was challenged to help out the M.O.M. project (Making Orphan Meals) which is a mission of Partners 4 Africa. Each week P4A feeds 700 orphans in Zimbabwe, Africa. Their meal costs $0.50 per plate. Yes, you read that right FIFTY cents it what it takes to feed orphans in Africa. In America we tend to toss our $0.50 to the side or in a change jar to then collect dust at the end of the day. It's not a big deal to have a collection of change laying around our homes.

So, we challenged each student to bring $0.50 every Sunday to help pay for one meal in Africa. Despite not knowing these kids nor getting to ever meet them, our students opened up their hearts and pockets each week. Most of the time our students brought more than the asking donation. The goal was 700 meals by the end of the year. However, our students met and exceeded the goal on Wednesday, October 29th. At that time, they had purchased 736 meals! We are still 2 months away from the goal deadline and our students met that goal! It was great to announce this past Sunday (Nov. 2) that they had met the goal because our missionary, Dorian Flynn, was in town to give us a report on the work being done with Partners 4 Africa!

If that did you heart good, what until you read this next part!

Last night, I met with the student leaders in our youth group to talk about future plans for our ministry. We began discussing how we could continue to help Partners 4 Africa. Our students decided to challenge the youth group with sponsoring a child in Africa this year to help them to be able to attend school and have the supplies they need. The goal is $300 by the end of June, 2015. I have a feeling we will exceed that goal and be able to supply everything necessary for the child to attend school. Joy and I will have an opportunity to meet this child that we are sponsoring when we travel to Africa with our mission team on July 4, 2015.

Our students have agreed to keep a change jar in the Teen Room to continue collecting loose change for the M.O.M. project that helps to feed Orphans each week.

Some of our students plan to talk to their teachers about sponsoring a shoe drive for Africa as their Christmas service project. The goal is to collect 10,000 dress shoes or tennis shoes of any size to send to Africa.

What is so wonderful about these kids? They are becoming disciples of Christ right in front of our eyes and serving the needs of people around the world. Many of them they will never meet but these students are fulfilling their mission of being Christ-like here on Earth by being a blessing to others. Sometimes we could learn a lesson from our kids. Not only do they want to help the people in Africa, they came up with great ideas to be a blessing to our community, as well.


‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’— Matthew 25:35-36