So this is what's up...

Everyone who wants to be on a team at HOPE STUDENT MINISTRIES needs to be interviewed (actually just have casual convo) with either Mr. Tim or me. This includes ALL high schoolers and middle schoolers. Collegiate (college people...) interviewed by Mr. Tim...parents...by Mr. Tim. If you want to be the Powerpoint guy, sound guy, tamborine man, prayer team...all must be interviewed. This takes effect the week after the school-marked-holiday days.

No extra youth ministry outreaches will be conducted, also, until it's leader is interviewed by Mr. Tim AND me. This is to ensure that if you say you just want to have a casual hang out night for a bunch of Christian guys on a weekend, or a lock-in during the break, that it will be that. But if you say, "Let us have Saturday's for dodgeball, so we can use it as an outreach for unsaved people, or people that have just lost track of their spiritual journey," and you instead just meet up there to throw a lil ball and complain about who gets hit...I don't see how you're accomplishing your ministry, since it is laid on the foundation of fun, competition, worldly appeals, instead of Christ (I Corinthians 3:11,12).

Also, I would really appreciate it that when you hear gossip about someone, that you would have the courtesy to ask the person, who is being gossipped about, about it. If it seems really uncomfortable because of the grounds that you're not really friends/close to that person, then the gossip should not be used to share. Find ways to discover the true character of your peers, your brothers and sisters here. If your sister was rumored to have had sex with some male biggot at your school (or vis-versa), would you not ask her about it, instead of saying nothing and labeling her this "slut" for the rest of your life? It's stupid to assume things about people that you see EVERY WEEK. Ask them simply in person (without everyone else around). One of our goals here at HSM (Hope Student Ministries) is to have intimacy. The easiest way to make the experience here impersonal and unattractive is gossip. Malicious, vicious, hateful, bitter gossip will tear anyone's love for us down.

PDA, also, please limit it. If you doing little sweet gestures to your boyfriend/girlfriend, not only is your focus on them rather than God, now their focus is on you rather than God. Of course...why else would you display PDA rather than to make the other person focus on you because your make them feel good. Nothing like macking at church....oh yeahhhhh. True power! True manliness....

Anyways, if you care enough and really love God, then sweet. Chill on the PDA. If you don't passionately love God to where you want to grow more in love with Him daily/weekly/monthly (whatever your spiritual maturity is set at in your mind), then you'll probably begin to feel uncomfortable here at HSM, because we want to create passionate warriors, made for impact, made to make a difference WHEREVER they may be at: home, school, work, sports, workouts, dodgeball. So please be aware that we are not a cool country-club styled hangout, where you, and people just like you, can all hang out together and comfort one another in everything, and say "yea you're rite...omg...I know!" to everything, while hanging up our "jesus" flags. We don't want a group of "goodie-goodie" christian mindsets. We want students to realize that perfection is NOT THE GOAL!

The goal is significance.

You can make a difference...no doubt. You know this, or else you wouldn't come each week, you wouldn't complain with your parents about little and big things, you wouldn't feel cheated, alone, rejected, abandoned, etc. You know you weren't made for these things. And you weren't made complete. You're missing that completion that comes only from a relationship with God, which we are so blessed to have Jesus as our relationship-er. So as we embark on our spiritual journey together (that sounds so hardcore!), focus on making a difference in all aspects of your life, rather than being perfect in all aspects of your life.

I don't know how I ended up typing most of this...oh how my mind doest wander :(

thanks for reading!

joshG.