Adult Volunteer Retreat

Growing leaders are learners. We want to equip and encourage leaders on how to influence students with the gospel. Last saturday, we spent a morning together on Lake Weir with our adult volunteers! It was a great time to share vision and train new and existing leaders to lead groups at Source!

Highlights of the retreat

Building community: We enjoyed learning more about each other and how to lead in student ministry more effectively. I'm blessed to have a great team of adults who want to influence students for Christ! Learning from each other: I was impressed with many leaders who knew their stuff! I learned a lot from them as we discussed the leader handbook and small group training. Defining expectations: It is great to communicate the expectations of what a healthy small group looks like and how to lead one to grow. What went well: The handouts ended up being a great tool for leaders to follow along with the training. The discussion and excitement of leaders was great and encouraging. Anytime a bunch of adults who love students get together, it is always a great time!

Schedule: 9:00-9:30am - Eat breakfast together 9:30-9:45am - Vision, Values and the main purpose to partner with parents 9:45-10:10 - Ways to serve, explanation of ministries (Source Wednesday nights, Habitudes for middle school, Area Bible studies for high school). 10:10-10:30 - Break 10:30-11:30 - Small Group training (3 elements of a healthy small group, Do's and Don't's of Small groups, The Art of asking questions, Understanding student learning styles). 11:30-11:50 - Boundaries, Code of Conduct 11:50-Noon - Giveaways to leaders (starbucks, cold stone creamery)

Handouts of the training: - Volunteer Handbook 2012-2013: To receive a copy of our volunteer handbook, shoot me an email -Small Group Toolkit(we added this to the back of the handbook. The info was compiled with resources such as simply youth ministry, lifechurch.tv, and my own stuff).

- Get to Know You (we use this tool to get to know students. It is a good reference for small groups leaders to keep so they can care and encourage them throughout the year).

- I gave each leader the book: "7 Best Practices for Teaching Teenagers the Bible." from youthministry360. It is a good tool for leaders to effectively lead groups.

 If you have any feedback, thoughts or suggestions, please comment below! 

Source SM Recap: Volume #8

Teaching series: Rhythm - Week 1 "Wonder"

Main Thought: We will discover that being in rhythm with God means that He alone has captured our sense of wonder

Length of service: 70 minutes. We have separate teaching time for middle school and high school. We have a unified worship experience with the band in the middle of the evening. We have small groups immediately after the teaching and response by grade and gender.

Messsage Explanation:  The first week of the Rhythm series sets up the premise that in the beginning, God established a rhythm. We will be talking about the glory of God in creation and always being captivated by His wonder. We will also look at God’s response to Adam’s sin, and we'll see that God continues to seek relationship with us even after things have fallen apart. The cross isn’t just where Jesus died. It is where we come to die with Him. Scripture: Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3:1-13, Isaiah 53:5-6, Romans 5:10, Luke 19:10, 1 Peter 2:24.

Element of fun: The middle school students played the old school game of "Simon says" but with one of our leaders names, "Jason says." It was a great night to welcome our new 6th grade students into the student ministry!

Music Set: You Deserve, Love, God is Able, All I Need is You, Give Me Faith, It is Finished (closing)

Favorite Moment: Sensing the excitement and passion from the students on our first Wednesday night at Source. We had a great turnout for our first night and look forward to what God has in the future!

What's Next: We will be continuing our series "Rhythm" next week. We will be talking about discovering the heart of discipleship. Jesus died so He could be our life, not just part of it! 

Download Notes from this week: Rhythm - Wonder (teaching outline) Leader Small Group Discussion Guide Student-outline- notes

My Prayer for Micah

Time is flying by as we wait for the arrival of Micah Jordan Robinson! His due date is September 3rd but I have a feeling that he is coming early. A lot has happened in the past few months (moving, new church, meeting new people) and more! We are eagerly awaiting Micah! He is active in the womb everyday. I'm amazed at God's handiwork in the beauty of Cassidy as she carries Micah into the last few weeks of her pregnancy. I have felt a lot of emotions already that are hard to describe. Feelings of inadequacy, fear, uncertainty, excitement, and overwhelming gratitude to name a few. Our journey of praying for a child was answered this past fall. The more I think about it, the more I realize God is in control. It is funny when I hear people say, "wow, you chose a hard time to have a baby in the middle of summer." I usually smile and nod. Most people don't understand that we went through a journey to get to this point. A journey that helped us realize how precious it is to have a child on the way.

I'm grateful that God's timing is always perfect.

One of the reasons we chose the name Micah is the meaning of the name ("Who is like God, God's gift"). One of my favorite passages of scripture is Micah 6:8.

 The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

My prayer for Micah is that he will do what is right no matter what the status quo is in culture. I hope that he will make decisions based upon God's Word.

My prayer for Micah is that he would love mercy. I hope that he will love the least of these. We hope to show him the mercy of Christ and how to pour that out to the world.

My prayer for Micah is that he would walk in humility. I pray he would put others before himself. I pray that he would one day put his faith in Jesus alone for His eternal salvation. I pray that He experiences the love of God and walks in that love daily.