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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.

To God be the glory!

Sherri

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WOW!

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.

Love,
Dianne Hylton

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!

Suzanne

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!

Kelly Gutting, SPUMC Program Director

Justin

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!

-JUSTIN

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.

The next is our Twitter update page for the event. The group will be sending frequent status updates from the road, all of which are immediately posted to their page.  We used Twitter for our recent CHARGE retreat with great success and decided to use it again.  You can either view the Twitter page for the latest update, or you can have their updates sent directly to your cell phone — very useful for concerned parents.

If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to leave a message in our Technical Help forum, or simply leave a comment on this blog entry.

Thanks!

Mickey

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!

Glory be to God!

Kelli McCalla

Chris Davis:

This year Student Ministries decided to take our students to Spiced Right BBQ in Roswell. It was one of the funnest times I have ever had with our students the environment was fantastic. There was a blues band there playing whatever we requested and also allowed a couple of our talented students to sing along on stage, as well as play their drums. Lastly we finished the night with congratulations to the students and musical chairs with the band. It was a great time.

Chris Morris:

Following our wonderful baccalaureate celebration here at Mt Bethel Student Ministries took the seniors to a night out on the town. We went to Spiced Right Rib Shack where we were fed excellent food and listened to an absolutely phenomenal blues cover band. The night included excellent fellowship, great food, and some awesome dancing. It will be an event that I consider to be one of the most fun events that Student Ministries had held or participated in.

We need adult men over 25, preferably married with children who can be a chaperone in a cabin with 10 boys ( rising 5th - 8th ) grade for the week.

There will be 2 chaperones, one adult and one teen or college male.  The chaperones are responsible for knowing where the boys are at all times, leading a small group and general helping out with camp activities.

Cost is $350 to cover the cost of room and board.  It will be a wonderful time for spiritual growth for all involved as well as making new friends in Christ.  Please contact Dianne Hylton if you are available to help.

Ansley Aertker
Courtney Armstrong
Hunter Astor
Jessica Barnes
Sarah Baxter
Brandon Bearden
Matt Bernson
Julianne Biddle
Sarah Bissell
Alexandria Blalock
Rae Ann Boswell
Hannah Bradley
Channing Broderick
Edwin Brower
Stuart Bryan
Rachel Bryant
Madisen Bugbee
Allen Butts
Carrie Cardell
John Carr
Taylor Carter
Elise Cashman
Janna Chapman
Melody Chapman
Pierce Christian
Kate Churchill
Emily Cleveland
Hannah Cleveland
Michelle Cloninger
Emily Collins
Kristin Cooper
Jennifer Corum
Kristin Couch
Kelsey Cox
Mary Kathryn Cox
Terry Croke
Kimberly Curl
Zachary Daly
Brian Davidson
Glenn DeMarcus
Dan DiMonda
Katie Dowell
Christopher Duda
Elizabeth Dunlap
Bryan Farley
Scott Charles Farrant
Michael Field
Kristin Foltz
Tyler Forbes
Max Francis
Megan Fugate
Christopher Getz
David Goodwyn
Kellee Gorski
Greg Greene
Nicholas Greer
Grant Hackett
Haley Hamilton
C. J. Hammond
Jon Hardee
Austin R. Harper
Chase Hartman
Madison Henry
Mary Claire Higginbotham
Anderson Lee Holmes
Allison Horner
Tyler Hosking
Chelsea Howard
Stefanie Hush
Mary Morlan Isom
Matthew Jarrell
Logan Johnson
Mary Charles Kaish
Sean Keating
Matthew Kirk Keller Jr.
Graham Phillip Kennedy
Harrison Kenny
Rachael Kimling
Matthew King
Colin Kirk
Ashley Lawrence
Mackenzie Lee
Allison Legg
Roger Barry Leithead, III
Danielle Leonhardt
Mark Lisivick
John Lively, Jr.
Katie Long
Mitchell Lyons
Emily Martin
Dana Mayfield
Grant McCallum
Will McCorkle
Patrick McCrary
Garrett McDaniel
Evan McGill
Kendall Michaelis
Van Moncrieff
Kendall Michel Moore
Tito Morales
Robert Noel
Sara Nourachi
Lindsey O’Donnell
Kelly Obranowicz
Dana Olsen
Andrew Olson
Kelsey Palermo
Megan Petenbrink
Christopher Phillips
Austin Pilger
Emily Pleasance
Josh Portschy
Luke Powell
Mathew Price
Shannon Puia
Austin Quattrochi
Christian Joseph Radakovich
Kate Ramsey
Russell G. Reitz
Nicole Reynolds
Kelsey Rogowski
Rachel Rose
Cailen Ryke
Cameron Sanders
Jessie Savini
Eric Schlipf
Elizabeth Schultz
John Seely
Ashley Sellers
Drew Seyfried
Christie Shemwell
Alex Sherman
Adam Shreiner
Quetzal Sierra
Courtney Sinclair
Matt Skesavage
Alex Smith
Frank Smith
Luke Smith
Michelle Smith
Grace Snell
Cayla St. Clair
Wynton St. Clair
Logan Stahl
Mikaela Steinwedell
Madison Stewart
Will Stone
Andy Stroman
Owen Sweitzer
Christa Lauren Szabo
Emily Thomas
Abigail-Heys Bates Thompson
Ben Thompson
Evan Thompson
Madison Vick
Erin Wagner
Andrew Walgren
Zoe Walker
Jessica Watts
Lauren Weathers
Grey Westfall
Katelyn Elizabeth Whatley
Brent Whitehead
Brent Wicker
Megan Wilkins
Megan Williams
Claire Woestmann
Christopher Wolcoveick
Shay Womack, Jr.
Carolyn Myers Woodruff
Whitney Wyatt
Blair Yates
Sean Young
Scott Youngblood
Melissa Zoino