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Monday, January 28, 2013


Dear Parents,

Every day, your teenagers are bombarded with hundreds of messages about sex: at school, on TV, the internet - sex is everywhere they look.

There are some harmful messages and inaccurate ideas that lead people to make foolish decisions for their life. These bad decisions can result in people carrying around deep wounds, hurts and painful memories.

I wanted to share with you that we will be exploring the sensitive topic of sex over the next four weeks during our Bible Fellowship time (9:30-10:20) with the students. We will be using The Truth About Sex, featuring Biblical teaching from Doug Fields.

Doug Fields has been a pastor to teenagers and ministry leaders for over 30 years including 18 years as youth and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church with Rick Warren. He is the author of over 50 books including, Purpose Driven Youth Ministry.

The Truth About Sex is a candid and up-front study about the topic of sex. We are going to dive into the Biblical purpose of sex and purity while also tackling some of the temptations that are out there in our culture today. We feel it’s better to be straightforward and real so that students can talk honestly about this topic.

In the four video sessions, we will hear students share authentic stories about the struggles they face regarding sex. Doug Fields will offer Biblical insight into how all teens can make right decisions, live within boundaries, and seek God’s forgiveness when needed. After watching the video, we will dig into our Bibles and study Scripture together.

We encourage you to use this time to ask your teenager what they’re learning in the series and to continue the discussions and honest conversations at home. We are committed to partnering with you, as parents of youth, to help your teenager grow in their faith and pursue purity.

If you have any questions or would like to preview this Bible study video, please call or e-mail me. Thank you for the privilege of serving your family. 

-Pastor Jeff 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Summer Camp Info Already?

Believe it or not Summer Camp is just around the corner! Summer Camp inevitably sneaks up on most of us, while we look forward to it every year it's just so hard to plan for and to keep on the radar.  This year we are going to do all that we can to help you not get snuck up on! 

In an attempt to do just that please allow me to give you some important info that will help you in your planning.

Date: July 15-19
Location: Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL) http://www.wheaton.edu/
Speaker: Wade Morris https://twitter.com/WadeSpeaks
Worship Leader: The Museum http://themuseummusic.com/
Theme: The Kingdom -Matthew 6:10 http://bible.us/116/mat.6.10.nlt
Camp Organization: Student Life http://www.studentlife.com/events/3065/mission-camp-faqs
http://www.studentlife.com/about-us/3052/what-we-believe

Let me give you a few more details about the benefits of Summer Camp just incase you were wondering what "the big deal" is; 

In a study done with over 5,000 families, it was found that:

- 96% of campers say they make new friends at camp.
- 94% said they made friends with people different from themselves.
- 92% said camp helped them feel good about themselves.
- 74% said they did things at camp they were afraid to do at first.
Parents agreed:
- 70% said their child gained self-confidence at camp.
- 69% said their child remained in contact with friends made at camp.
- 63% said their child continued to participate in activities learned at camp.

-The amount of Biblical information gained during one week of Summer Camp is equivalent to 3 years worth of traditional Sunday School. 

-2/3 of all Americans who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior do so before they reach the age of 18. 64% accept Christ before age 18. 43% before age 13. 

My prayer is that you will strongly pray (if you haven't already) about sending your student(s) to camp this summer. I am here to help you every step of the way and am looking forward to partnering with you as you lead your family closer to Jesus Christ.  Feel free to call 309-786-7913 or email youth@edgewoodbaptist.net for more information. 

-Pastor Jeff