It is safe to say that Camo night was a huge success. I was a little bit scared when the rains hit on Sunday but little did I know God had a bigger plan. The rain stopped just in time for Camo night to happen. At 8:00 students (45+ of them) started showing up with their friends and headed down to the pavilion by the field. It was funny that every time you turned around you saw another design of face paint on each student. The most popular one was the black stripe under each eye. Anyway after a prayer and some quick rules we divided into teams according to birthdays. We divided up into a red team and blue team. The first game we played was Capture the flag. I had the opportunity to sit out and be in charge of the mega phone to start and end the game. It’s sad to say but we had to call the game a tie. As the students were coming in I told three of our Adult volunteers to go and hide in the darkness, when all the students gathered they were given ten minutes to find the three volunteers and they got to use flashlights! Needless to say the students won this one and within the 10 minutes the three adults had been found. Then we played more games of Capture the flag. What made the night fun is you really had no clue who was who because of the face paint and it being dark outside. Also because of the rain the fields were soaked and people would be sneaking around then step in a big puddle and scream because they just got wet thus giving away their location. After the last game of the night (which the red team won) we gathered for a prayer and thanked all people that were involved in making the night happen. It was really funny to then talk with students not only covered in face paint but covered in mud and hearing how they happened to get mud on them. The last fun thing that happened that night was seeing the faces on the parents when they had to let their student get into the car and to overhear the topic of getting hosed off before you walk in the house tonight. I have told multiple people that Camo night this year was one of the best times I have ever had at Mt. Bethel. I miss it and can’t wait till the next time we do it.
Hey Guys! This is Student Ministries and we just wanted to update you all regarding the trip that Mt. Bethel just participated in down in Panama City Beach, Florida called Big Stuf! All eighty of us crammed into one floor of a beautiful beach front hotel. The camp consisted of around 1,500 students from all around the nation from Texas to Indiana. The main theme of the camp was BROADCAST, meaning that everyone’s life broadcasts something, usually what we care about most. They challenged us, leaders and students alike, to question what messages we were sending out into the world and how we could better represent the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in our everyday lives. Big Stuf also partnered with an organization located in Kenya called Compassion which seeks to use our bountiful resources to aid children from Kenya to give them a hope and a future. To better understand what type of experience we had we would like to tell you more about what we learned from Big Stuf and BROADCAST and the Compassion organization.
The camp itself consisted of two daily sessions which included two talks from either Clay Scroggins or Jared Herd, phenomenal speakers, and an incredible worship band! Like we touched on the BROADCAST theme, each session focused on a sub-theme such as Live Loud, Live Clear, or Live True. We feel that the material focused on and the BROADCAST theme was incredibly relevant to all 1,500 of the students, middle school to college, which elected to say “yes” to Jesus and give Him a week of their lives. All together we believe that the kids walked away with a great message and a challenge to live out the message of Jesus Christ and broadcast His love to the world. One of the coolest things that we saw coming from this camp was the fellowship and general love for each other among our students. This was greatly developed through the sessions but mainly flowed from the small group times where the kids were able to be real with each other and get into each other’s lives. We believe that this week fully prepared each of the 1,500 students to now make an effective decision to follow Christ and broadcast His message to the world.
Earlier in the letter we mentioned Big Stuf’s partner organization, Compassion, located in Kenya. The kids were each given an opportunity to sponsor a child in Kenya for 32 dollars a month. This money provides food, education, and medication to allow these children a hope for the future. We believe that whether or not the kids decided to sponsor a child it truly made them question the stewardship of the material that they have been blessed with by God and to open their eyes and make them aware of the poverty throughout the world.
In closing, we as the Student Ministries team would like to thank you for giving your child the opportunity to experience the Big Stuf camp in Panama City Beach. We hope that your child will tell you all about their experience and share with you what they learned. We greatly enjoyed the fellowship that was ignited among us through the sessions, amazing praise and worship, and small group talk. We hope that you will encourage them in their jog with Jesus and encourage them to continue to stay involved with us in student ministries. Let us know if there is anything that we can do for you or your children and we will hopefully see you soon!
To go along with our recaps from a few weeks ago, here are some more thoughts from Camp Infusion (and a video!).
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We are BACK! Camp INFUSION was great. GOD MOVED throughout the week in the kids, leaders, band and speaker. WE ARE PRAISING OUR GOD FOR A WONDERFUL WEEK, GOD IS SO COOL! We also appreciate the support of all the parents and volunteers who gave of their time and prayers.
The first night of camp we all hung out, met our “UNITS” and then rocked out with SERAPH (the band). The excitement was contagious as everyone headed back to the cabins to try and get some sleep. In cabins 11& 12 (my cabins), it was tough to go to sleep with all the stories being told, laughter, and energy that was still reverberating from the band’s amazing kick off.
We started each morning off the right way, with our focus on Jesus! We discussed the importance of quiet time and then had some quiet time where we read lyrics and sat and listened to what God might have to say to us through those lyrics. Later we met again with our UNIT to create an army cadence to show our team spirit. The afternoon consisted of extreme blobs during free time, a hike to the waterfall, etc. That night was our first time to experience the message from Rob. He challenged us to lose our survivor mentality and let God take control.
We kicked off the next two days in similar fashion, except this time we were able to listen to songs during our morning devotional. Fierce UNIT competition continued with shaving cream pictionary and egg creek crossing. At night Rob went into the armor of God (Eph. 6: 10-17) and he went into detail on how we need to use the defensive weapons to stand up for our faith.
Thursday was sadly our last and final full day at INFUSION but the Big Red Ball made a smashing appearance! UNIT competition was intense, with the bananas squeaking out a victory in an epic relay race. The Mt. Bethel staff/ adults proudly brought home a win against the camp Winfield staff. But the day belonged to the ORANGE team (OJ the Christian way) who won the UNIT competition and were crowned champions! Rob concluded his series with a message on the offensive weapons of God, prayer and the bible. After the message the campers were sent to their cabins to write two “love” letters to people who have had an impact on their lives.
Our prayer for all our youth that came to camp is that they will continue to grow their faith and they will know that the leaders pray for them still. Thank you parents for trusting us with your children. I know that I personally did not have any problems with my cabin or unit which is a testimony to how they have been raised. I hope that I have helped give a little insight to our camping experience and I hope your student or students had fun fellowshipping with each other and growing their faith. Thank you again, to God be the glory!
- Drew Peters (Middle School Intern – aka Captain D)
Camp Infusion was held last week and was an incredible experience for all who attended. You can check out a few hundred photos here, or keep reading to hear some first-hand account of the trip.
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Oh what a mighty God we serve!
We watched upper elementary students build relationships with their upcoming student ministry leaders, we watched college interns connect with students, we watched parents that volunteered their service connect with their children and their peers. Several parent leaders ministered side by side with their adult child. God used different generations to build relationships at the foot of the Cross!
I am thankful for the opportunity to partner with Dianne, Sarah Beth, Justin and Chris in prayer, planning, and preparation for an amazing week of ministry at Camp Infusion! What a testimony to see the Holy Spirit at work!
Our prayer is that this week of basic training (2 Timothy 3:16) ignites each student’s desire to grow in relationship through a life of prayer, wisdom through study of the Holy Bible, continued fellowship with the Body of Christ, and an overflowing love that only our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can fill their hearts with.
What a fantastic week we had at Infusion Camp. I wish you all could have been there.
It was an inspiring week. A week where we invested our time with the students and made new friends and built new relationships.
Rob Perry, the speaker and Seraph, the band ingrained the work of God into our hearts and minds.
The students spirits were ignited to go and share the word of God with the world in service to our Lord.
My prayer is that we walked away with hearts, minds and souls ingrained with God’s word and joyfully commit to be contagious with our faith in Jesus. I believe that we accomplished that.
Thanks to Sarah Beth for leading a terrific team, the Sherri for an ultimate unit time where we work together in teams to make missions happen, to Justin who never fails to bring joy and fun to the group and to Chris for the games that will forever be in our memories.
What a pleasure being able to be a part of a new adventure in the Mt Bethel UMC ever expanding ways.
This year’s summer mission/music tour took 42 high schoolers (and 10 adults) to Louisville, Indianapolis and Chicago. (You can check out our itinerary on Google Earth!) We left Friday morning for Louisville, enjoying the fellowship of a truly special group of high school students. Believe it or not (and I know you won’t believe me)…I never heard one complaint from this group…ever! They were positive and appreciative and easy-going. Just a joy to work with!
Here are some highlights from our trip:
In Louisville, we provided lunch, sang and played games with the children from Wesley House. What a blessing it was to see their faces light up when our youth spent time with them!
Orchard Park Presbyterian church in Indianapolis…Sunday morning. We sang two services. In the traditional, we were up and down the stairs to the choir loft all morning…it was like singing while using a Stairmaster. They were so appreciative of our songs and really made us feel welcome. In the contemporary service, the band could barely hold themselves back from playing along!
Sunday evening…A beautiful old Congregational church in Crystal Lake, IL. A very tasty dinner, followed by the first full concert presentation of our tour.
Sight-seeing on Monday…a perfect day! Bike ride along Lake Michigan, deep dish pizza, Chicago’s wonderful museums, Michigan Avenue malls and the lights of the city seen from the Hancock Observatory. What a city!
On Tuesday, we cooked a full breakfast for the residents of the Eckhardt Senior Apartments, a subsidized housing unit for the elderly in Chicago. Eggs, sausage, biscuits, bananas, coffee, oj…prepared and served by our fabulous youth…with some help from a great team of chaperones! After breakfast we simply spent time with each resident, talking and listening. Then we went up to their 20th floor rec room and sang a concert with a great view of the city all around us.
Dinner at Ed Debevics! Don’t talk back and watch what you ask for!!
If you’re ever in Chicago, you need to check out the Chicago Temple! This skyscraper church has an amazing sanctuary…as if an old traditional church has been encased in a high-rise. Every Wednesday, First Methodist Chicago (aka Chicago Temple) has a noon-time communion service. For many people who work in the city, that service is their “Sunday.” We provided music for the service, then ascended 20 floors and 173 steps (whew!) to the Sky Chapel, a small chapel with panoramic views of the city and a rich history.
Wednesday night, we celebrated our time in Chicago. The seniors had a special dinner cruise on Lake Michigan that was lots of fun…despite the thick fog. (Hey seniors…Lola misses you already!) The rest of the crew enjoyed the evening at Navy Pier.
We left Chicago for the drive back to Louisville. Thursday evening, we presented our last full concert for the trip at Friendship House, a senior assisted living home. In a packed, standing room only, oppressively hot room, One A-Chord sang their hearts out…and the crowd responded with enthusiastic applause, lots of smiles, hugs and kisses. It was a fantastic end to the musical part of our journey. Of course the fun didn’t end!
Friday…Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Roller coasters and water rides that afternoon. Friday evening…choir banquet at the Hard Rock Café, followed by our annual superlative awards handed out riverside.
I’ve outlined the main stops, but couldn’t begin to tell you about all the moments in between. Students led wonderful, thoughtful devotions each night. Our wonderful college interns led the group in singing praise songs. “Family” groups who may not have really known each other before tour, spent time praying, talking, and supporting each other. And of course all the fun…movies on the bus, tossing the Frisbee in the park, climbing trees, crawling the malls, cookie dough in hotel rooms and lots and lots of laughter.
Mt. Bethel…you should be very proud of this group. I certainly am. They represented you in fine fashion! I hope you were all in worship last Sunday to hear One A-Chord present their Homecoming Concert. If you weren’t…you really missed something!
And if you’re a high school youth not participating in One A-Chord…join us next year! You don’t know what you’re missing. Check out 56 pictures from the trip, or watch the video below for a recap!
The Mt. Bethel Youth and College Department are joining with St. Philip this summer on Tuesdays for a program called M25. Our first M25 was this week. Fifteen excited students came to St. Philip with footballs, soccer balls, and hula hoops. Most of St. Philip’s children come from an apartment complex that is behind the church, so we headed that direction in search of kids to play with. Before long, we found a good field to play in, and kids started to come out to play. There were a few kids who already attend St. Philip, but most were kids we had never met. It was such a blessing to look across the big field to see everyone playing and smiling despite the heat! At the end, I had the chance to tell the kids about Sunday School and Church at St. Philip and that we will be coming back all summer! The new soccer field at St. Philip can’t come soon enough!
As if the day hadn’t already been wonderful, another huge blessing came. One woman who had been very active at St. Philip had recently stopped coming. I had been told that she had hard feelings toward some people in the church, but we had not been able to contact her to talk with her. I had been praying about a way to get to talk to her, and the opportunity presented itself. Her son came out to play with us, and I sent him home with a note telling his mom that we missed her and to let us know how she is doing. We headed back to St. Philip to get some water and cool down before the Mt. Bethel group got back on the bus. We had a time of prayer, and one of the prayers was for relationships in the church that are strained to be healed. About 5 minutes after the prayer was over, I was in the office alone and heard a knock on the door. The woman I had sent the note to had come to visit. We had a great time talking, and she said she will be back this Sunday. Praise the Lord! God is already answering prayers through M25, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the rest of the summer!
Last year Camp Lee was the highlight of my summer. Now called Infusion, I’m anticipating it to be better than ever. The staff is working hard on all the fun activities as well as spiritual ones that will be going on and we are making sure that if you’re coming that this trip will be the best trip you’ve ever been on. Anyways, I look forward to seeing all of you up at Camp Winfield come Sunday, June 15th. Be ready to be in awe of how big our God truly is.
This Sunday, June 8th is the Third Annual Walk to Brusters in Halloween costumes in the summer. Last year was so much fun and this year will be even better. The time has changed and it is from 4-7. Please bring money for your ice cream and have your signed form in hand. Please meet in the Fellowship hall at 4:00.
Just a reminder to parents there is a parent meeting at 4 in the Upper Room. Hope to see you there. Opps! I forgot to say best costume get free Ice cream!
Our High School choir is on their way to Chicago for their annual tour. They’ll be stopping in various places in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois on their way. We’ve built a few tools to help highlight their trip and give you frequent status updates.
The first is our Google Earth KML of their trip plan. If you have Google Earth installed, simply load this file and it will highlight all of their stops along the way. If you don’t yet have Google Earth installed, you can download it (for free!) from this site. If you have any problems with it, please post your question in our Technical Help forum and we’ll do our best to help you out.
Great Success!!! The summer interns of 2008 arrived Friday the 15th armed with bibles and sleeping bags, unaware of the location for their retreat! As weather worsened, our plans for camping quickly changed to shacking at Gaylyn’s lake house.
Along with paperwork and logistics, the team quickly set off on a mission to bond. Relations grew speedily when we were asked to draw a picture of a life-changing moment in our lives. As we shared, it was requested by the interns that we pray for one another. As we asked the Lord for words of encouragement, He graciously grew our love for people we had only met hours before. Prayer and worship broke out as God led us into His presence, and with the wee hours of the morning approaching, the night was finished.
When we weren’t asking the Lord for MORE!, a continuation of things He has already begun in each of us and in the ministry here at Mt. Bethel, our minds and competitive spirits were sparked with mind riddles and Catch Phrase Tournaments (which I am proud to say, Team Drew/Elise/Katie/Kelli dominated)! Gaylyn and team demand rematches to occur throughout the summer. Saturday continued our fellowship as we huffed and puffed our way up a section of the Appalachian Trail.
Finally, the retreat was concluded with a humbling trip with the Seven Bridges ministry, providing lunch for the homeless and having the honor of praying over and for them. A bonus to the trip included a number of high school and college students here at Mt. Bethel attending, giving us the chance to meet and get to know some of the amazing students we will be graced with this summer!
It is safe to say that Camo night was a huge success. I was a little bit scared when the rains hit on Sunday but little did I know God had a bigger plan. The rain stopped just in time for Camo night to happen. At 8:00 students (45+ of them) started showing up with their friends and headed down to the pavilion by the field. It was funny that every time you turned around you saw another design of face paint on each student. The most popular one was the black stripe under each eye. Anyway after a prayer and some quick rules we divided into teams according to birthdays. We divided up into a red team and blue team. The first game we played was Capture the flag. I had the opportunity to sit out and be in charge of the mega phone to start and end the game. It’s sad to say but we had to call the game a tie. As the students were coming in I told three of our Adult volunteers to go and hide in the darkness, when all the students gathered they were given ten minutes to find the three volunteers and they got to use flashlights! Needless to say the students won this one and within the 10 minutes the three adults had been found. Then we played more games of Capture the flag. What made the night fun is you really had no clue who was who because of the face paint and it being dark outside. Also because of the rain the fields were soaked and people would be sneaking around then step in a big puddle and scream because they just got wet thus giving away their location. After the last game of the night (which the red team won) we gathered for a prayer and thanked all people that were involved in making the night happen. It was really funny to then talk with students not only covered in face paint but covered in mud and hearing how they happened to get mud on them. The last fun thing that happened that night was seeing the faces on the parents when they had to let their student get into the car and to overhear the topic of getting hosed off before you walk in the house tonight. I have told multiple people that Camo night this year was one of the best times I have ever had at Mt. Bethel. I miss it and can’t wait till the next time we do it.
Last year Camp Lee was the highlight of my summer. Now called 
