Prayer Requests for March

Hey all -

Thought I'd post some more prayer requests for you. Thanks for your continued covering. Prayer literally paves the way for life changing ministry.

• Pray for our sermon series going on right now called "U & Me". We're tackling the huge issue of dating and preparation for marriage. It's a big deal in the lives of young people and I'm believing God to bring alignment in all of our relationships.
  
• Continue to cover the issue of purity in our young people. Something broke loose in the church last month in this area and it's caused a great deal of work for us pastorally. It's the best though - young people are being set free!
• Pray for our upcoming mini youth conference called "Define". The date is March 25th. It's kind of a last minute thing, but it's going to impact our youth and our region. Pray that Pastor Poncho Lowder is anointed to bring a powerful word to the youth of our city. We're also going to be doing some service projects at Nampa High School that day.
  
• Pray for Pastors Steve and Taunia. They continue to need health, rest and peace as they fight the good fight of faith and continue to heal from the accident.
• Pray for advancement in every area of the church. We're not in a season of retreat. It's time to advance. Pray for advancement in individual lives and the church as a whole.
  
• Pray for our new semester of life groups that launches on March 8th. It's going to be the best set of groups we've had so far! New groups include Brian Gorseth's and Calvin Abbott's. I'm really excited about them.

Thanks again! We're all in this together.

Creating Culture Part 2 - Encouragement

On with our discussion on creating culture (although I sure would like a few more of you to chime in on this discussion). The culture we're going to look at today is a culture of encouragement.

I think one of the most common weapons used by the enemy on Christian is discouragement. As a youth pastor, if there's anything that can slow me down in ministry it's becoming discouraged that my ministry isn't working, that we aren't reaching enough kids, that my leaders just aren't getting it, etc. With the devil working around the clock to bring discouragement, one of the most important cultures we must have in the church is encouragement.

The church should be a place where people can come and be built up and encouraged. They should leave our gatherings filled with hope and faith. I believe there must be a more concentrated effort from leaders to encourage young people in their life, ministries, and their calling.

Romans 1:11-12 - For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— ^that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

The challenging part is that we're committed to biblical community. So while we want to bring encouragement, love, and hope to people, we're never going to stop preaching against sin and challenging people to change. That would be unhealthy for everyone. We're in youth ministry to transform ordinary young people into radical, world changing disciples.

Our strategy in accomplishing this so far is to have a two pronged attack. From the pulpit, I really preach hard against sin and foolishness. I never apologize or hold back. We bring real, relevant truth to the young people every Wed night. The second part of the strategy is this - there's a youth staff of around 50 young leaders who understand that their main job is to love and encourage young people like they've never experienced. These youth staff minister to students from a place of encouragement and unconditional love.

If both parties do their job, we should be creating a culture that is incredibly encouraging and challenging at the same time. This is a culture where young people can experience real life change. They can't listen to the message preached and stay comfortable in their sin. And when they respond, there are leaders there to walk with them and encourage them that they can and will succeed.

I feel like we are making some good progress with this approach. But I'm always looking for ways to encourage young people more.

What do you think?

What are some things we can do to create a culture of encouragement in the church? (BTW, you certainly don't have to go to FLC to weigh in. I'd love to hear from you wherever you are!!)