YAM Holiday Happenings

The Young Adult Ministry has had a busy Christmas season this year. We welcomed home many of you students that are studying at colleges and universities outside of the greater Cleveland area. On Sunday Mornings we completed our study of Advent: What Really Happened Christmas Morning, the women's bible study continued to meet through the holiday and we held two activities for the students to be involved with and enjoy each others friendship.

We had a Christmas party that included a white elephant gift exchange, with some pretty creative re-gifting, a canned food collection for the PHBC pantry ministry, games and of course plenty of food.

About 16 members of the Young Adult Ministry went ice skating the Sunday after Christmas at Iceland in Strongsville. Some were on skates for the first time in years others were honing their skills for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Takin' Him To The Malls

On December 13, 2009, the Worship Arts Ministry took 90 minutes of Christ-centered music to Parmatown and Southpark malls.  At 3:30 the "Ron Nelson" jazz trio started playing at Parmatown Mall, followed by the "brassphone 4" and finally our worship choir.  By the time the choir was finishing things up at Parmatown, the jazz trio had traveled to Southpark in Strongsville to begin our program their. 

The whole idea behind this outreach is to draw a crowd that the musicians and people form our church could connect with.  The weather was beautiful, the crowds were very nice and it turned into wonderful night that was really enjoyed by the musicians and audience alike!  Thanks so much to everyone who supported this new endeavor!

Soul'd Out Quartet

What a fun night we had on Tuesday, November 24.  The wonderful, nationally known vocal group "Soul'd Out Quartet" spent a fantastic evening with us.  They entertained us, made us laugh, shared their lives and the gospel of Christ with a nice, full crowd for this year's Thanksgiving week Concert.

The Ultimate SuperCharge Christmas Party

Our 5th and 6th graders had so much fun at our Ultimate SuperCharge Christmas party on December 5. We played games, ate snacks and had a great time with each other.

Waiting on the unveiling of what the SuperCharge challenge would be.

 

We had a gingerbread house making contest. Each team took on a personality of their own.
This team was very organized.

This team was very creative.

 

This team was very festive.

This team was enthusiastic and just plain old messy!

We decorated the Christmas tree and took our family photo. We had a blast celebrating Christmas at SuperCharge and can't wait until the next one.

Bethlehem Project

Grades 1-6 joined together this past Sunday for a special Christmas service. With the use of puppets and modern technology, Sonshine and Gang Puppet Team presented the Bethlehem Project. The program closed out with a devotional entitled “Isn’t it Amazing”? As children realized what amazing things God has done for us, several children chose to give their lives to Jesus for the first time. It’s always exciting to see God work in the hearts of our children. Merry Christmas!

Pioneer Girl Mother Daughter Christmas Event

Surrounded by live music and snowflakes, our moms and daughters enjoyed a festive evening together. They began by making snowflake napkin rings and listened to a devotional about how God has made each one of us unique, just as there are no two snowflakes alike. That was illustrated further as 138 people created their own snowflakes, with no two being alike. The girls were awarded their badges they earned since September. After the girls received their badges, our Junior Guides served hot chocolate and snowflake cake to finish out the evening. We’re so glad our moms and daughters were able to spend quality time together.

Pioneer Girls Junior Guides - Cake Decorating

Once a month the Pioneer Girls Junior Guides get together to do a special project, learn a new skill or sharpen their leadership skills. For the month of November the girls had a night of cake decorating. Each girl was given a small cake and materials to decorate the cake and express their creativity. The group was given instruction on tips and tricks to make their cake look not only beautiful, but appetizing!

YAM-Monster's Hockey Night at the Q

The Young Adult Ministry recently attended a Monster's Hockey night at the Q. For many it was their first time to a hockey game and for some their first time at the Q. Even though the team didn't win we all still had a fun time getting into the action of the game! Afterward, we hung around for a short concert by a local Christian band and the kick-off to a local youth all-nighter. Whether attending the ABF, eating lunch or supporting one of our local sports teams the Young Adult Ministry is focused on Helping Young Adults Find and Follow Jesus Christ!

Becoming One ABF Christmas Social

Becoming One ABF had a great time at our Christmas social, Sunday evening. Lincoln and Glenda opened up their home to host this special occasion. We enjoyed wonderful food and relaxing time with one another. The kids played together while they anxiously awaited their gifts. After the children opened their goodies, the grown-ups really had fun playing a game where each couple took turns choosing a gift, and then the next one could "steal" that gift, until every couple had a gift that they could finally open! We all listened as one of the children read Luke chapter two for all of us, he did a great job!

Integrity Live Worship Conference - What We Learned

We want to share what we learned at worship:

WHAT CAN WORSHIP BE?

- Dynamic - Transformational - Inspired - Free

HOW CAN PEOPLE LEAD WORSHIP?

- Invite people into a sense of community

- Facilitate a Vertical Conversation

- Show people a journey of scripture, prayer and song

- Minister to the Lord

- Minister to people's Hearts

- Have an UNperformance

- Be transparent, so that people see God, not you

- Practice Worship in private

HOW CAN WE WORSHIP

- Show up; give God the offering of your attention

- Be authentic

- Be open to a visit from the Holy Spirit

 OTHER WEE SNIPPETS:

(Kathryn being from Ireland used all kinds of cute colloquialisms
like this throughout the course of the few days)

- You don't need to change to come and worship, worship will change you if you come

- God may not give you a new song, but He may give you a seed that you will need to cultivate and grow
- How we live our lives is an act of worship. We can not put on our "Worship Man" costume every Sunday morning and expect to make worship happen
-Sunday morning service is not the pinnacle towards which we aspire
-Tip: Don't focus on grumpy faces from the congregation during worship
-Tip: Don't guilt or try to force worship. Be respectful of your congregation and meet them where they are