Summer @ TheEdge

Parents and Students we want to keep you updated on all the things going on in the Edge Student Ministry. With Summer upon us there are tons of opportunities for us to grow closer to God as a family and as individuals too. 

This week we are starting a new series in Elevate at 10:45am called JUSTICE in which we will talk about what Justice really looks like, we will cover topics like bullying all the way to racial prejudice and human trafficking. This week we will look at Isaiah 1:16-17.

We still meet at 9:30am on Sunday's for Bible Fellowship -right now the High School students are currently going through the iamsecond series. You can find out more about that here -www.iamsecond.com. 

We also have a smaller mid-week gathering on Wednesdays at 6:30pm. It is a small group that meets here on campus and is led by our former Missionary Interns Derek and Melissa Glynn. 

Here are some updates for you so you know what to look forward to. For June our series for Elevate will be; JUSTICE

July; JUST BREATHE (we will look at what to do when life gets heavy). 

August; PROMISES (from God to us) 

September; SURVIVING SCHOOL. 

We also have an updated SUnday Night schedule for you. Our students will meet every other Sunday night over the Summer, the schedule is as follows; 

June 9: Dodgeball Tournament (fundraiser)

June 23: River Bandits Game

July 7: Duck Creek Park (cookout/ultimate frisbee)

July 21: Whitey's (ave of the cities/16th Moline)

Aug 4: Stephen's Park (Volleyball)

August 18: Lake Day @ Helm's (Tentative -we are still planning this event)  

Another important date to remember is July 15-19, we will be at Student Life Mission Camp at Wheaton College. It is our desire that every teen 7-12 grade attend camp as there is a ton of great bible teaching/preaching, fellowship, and truly living out the gospel on a daily basis. Please let us know how we can get your student there! 

For all the latest updates PLEASE connect with us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/edgewoodstudentministries and twitter as well www.twitter.com/EdgeStuMin

Please let me know if there is anything else I can answer for you.  We are not perfect here at Edgewood but we do work very hard to make sure

everyone that wants to grow in their relationship with Christ has every opportunity to do so. You can reach me by email at jeff@edgewoodbaptist.net or by phone at 309-786-7913.

Pastor Jeff 

Dependent Parenting

DEPENDENT PARENTING

BY: MELISSA TREVATHAN

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from “Intentional Parenting: Autopilot is for planes” by Melissa Trevathan, Sissy Goff and David Thomas of Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville, Tenn. For more practical parenting help, check out their book here.   

At a parenting seminar several years ago, Sissy brought a group of teenage girls for the question-and-answer segment at the end of the class. One mom in the audience asked the girls, “What is something your mom has done for you as you’ve grown up that’s kept you connected to her?” One senior in high school responded immediately. “Every morning, when I come downstairs, I see my mom reading her Bible and writing in her prayer journal. We never talked about it, but it’s had a major effect on our relationship; it’s helped me feel safe and like I could trust her.” 

I spoke with this mom a few days later and told her what her daughter said. Her response was honest and unassuming. “I do that because I have to. It’s not that I choose to have a quiet time every morning because I’m trying to be a godly example for my daughter, although I do want to be that. I read my Bible and spend time praying because I’m compelled to. I don’t have a choice. Raising a child is too hard. I just can’t do it alone.”

Eugene Peterson said, “The parent’s main task is to be vulnerable in a living demonstration that adulthood is full, alive and Christian.” Being vulnerable is difficult when you’re a parent, especially a spiritual parent. You are “supposed to be” strong, together, in control. But the reality, to put it simply, is that you’re not.

 At a mother/daughter conference, Sissy and I were on a panel in front of more than 1,000 women. I was asked the question,  “Can you tell me the secret to making sure my child grows up to be Christ-centered and well-rounded?” I turned to the audience, smiled and said with all of the wisdom and warmth I could muster, “No.” 

I can’t. But the question has intrigued me ever since. What do you hear underneath it? Do you hear the fear (“the secret” – no one has told me it so far, and I need you to)? Do you hear the need for control (“… making sure my child grows up to be….”)? Do you hear the lack of trust? (Why does “well-rounded” follow “Christ-centered”? Shouldn’t being Christ-centered be enough?) I hear those things because I’ve seen them in myself… all too often.

Our fears, the need for control, for guarantees, even for things to be like we think they should, all stifle our vulnerability. Vulnerability involves a letting go of control. It means there are no guarantees, that we’re giving up control over what we think should happen.

It is only as a Christian that I believe we can. We can let go because it is God who takes up. We can give up what we think should happen because what will happen is in His control rather than ours anyway. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him – parents and children alike – who have been called according to His purpose. (His purpose, not ours; it’s in Romans 8:28.)

So let’s go ahead and get it out in the open. You are vulnerable. Even if you’re one of the parents others see as strong, godly and together. You and I know the truth. You’re vulnerable. You’re dependent. You need God severely. And that’s exactly what your children need from you. 

What do you feel when you read the words “dependent parenting?”

How would your children describe your relationship with God?

*Melissa Trevathan, MRE, is founder and executive director of Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville, Tenn. A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Seminary, Melissa has taught graduate courses, spoken to churches and schools across the country, and been a guest on television and radio programs throughout the US and Canada. She is the author of seven books and a video curriculum. She founded Daystar in 1985 after working as a youth director and the head of spiritual life at a school in Nashville.

Summer Opportunities

One of the greatest opportunities for Spiritual Growth in a students life is Summer Camp. It has been said that 1 week of summer camp is worth up to 3 years of Sunday morning teaching. Summer after summer we have seen students surrender their lives to Christ, ministry and various other types of Kingdom service. 
This summer our students will travel to Wheaton College July 15-19 for Student Life's Mission Camp experience (http://www.studentlife.com/events/mission) where our students will participate in corporate worship services with 2500+ students from all across the mid-west as well as participating in Mission projects across the city of Chicago.  It is sure to be a great time of Spiritual Growth. 


It is with that Spiritual Growth in mind that I would like to bring your attention to another opportunity for your student(s) this summer. Kerry and Tami White have been working very hard behind the scenes (and have been very patient with me) with an organization known as Worldview Academy (http://www.worldview.org/). Our Associate Pastor and current Interim Pastor Ed Kuriscak has a great history with Worldview and has taken several of our former students of Edgewood to their summer camps. Worldview Academy's mission statement is as follows; Worldview Academy is a non-denominational organization dedicated to helping Christians to think and to live in accord with a biblical worldview so that they will serve Christ and lead the culture.


Worldview Academy hosts several camps throughout the summer months and they will be hosting a camp near us June 9th-14th in Minnesota at Northwestern College in St. Paul. The White's son Austin will be attending and we want to make the camp available to you as well. This camp provides an excellent opportunity for students to grow and take their faith further. This camp is available for 9-12 grade students however space is limited and on a first come first served basis. If you are at all interested please contact Kerry or Tammy White immediately so that you can get all of the information you need to make an educated decision.

 


I also want you to know that we are committed to you and your student(s) and if your student is unable to attend Worldview Academy this year that next year(2014) we will be taking all of our students to Worldview Academy as our Summer Camp so that every student will have the opportunity to experience Worldview Academy.  

We are here for you and your student(s) and we look forward to having the opportunity to partner with you to equip you and your family to reach your full potential in Christ. 

For additional information please email youth@edgewoodbaptist.net or  whitepiano95@yahoo.com ASAP.

-Pastor Jeff  

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 

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