Fall Camp

We are excited to be headed to Fall Camp with our friends at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood in Nov. Horn's Creek (the camp) is located twenty minutes outside of Chattanooga. The cost of camp this year will be $85 and includes everything except travel meals. The theme is Vantage Point looking from different perspectives of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Space is limited this year and you will need to contact Chad to sign up by Nov. 2nd.  More details in terms of what to pack, departure and return time coming soon!! Please make plans to come and invite your friends.  

Summer Sun!

This summer twenty-one of us had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Mexico on a missions trip. Before the trip began, we received rubberbands to remind us to be flexible and open to the culture change. Once in Mexico, we met our host families who gave us the best they could offer. Giving up their own comfort for ours, they gave us the master bedroom, bought matresses just so we wouldn't have to sleep on the floor. They borrowed DVD players and movies to entertain us. They cooked us meals and changed their schedules to fit ours. Their generosity was amazing! In fact, everyone in Mexico was very kind. When going to a store the person behind the counter would patiently try to understand what we wanted.

During the day, we would go to the church worksite and some would paint chairs, while others would work on construction. After work, we would have time to play soccer, go shopping, or just sit and enjoy the company of the host families. After a week in Mexico, it was time to go back home. We left Mexico partly happy to return home and see family and friends, but it was hard to leave those who had showed us more love and respect than we could imagine.



Later in June, we got together again and made a trip to Rock Island. A beautiful area, where one can jump off cliffs into the cool water. The sun was bright and it was a great day to jump. Then in July we soaked up some more sun when we went to the lake! With all this summer heat it's great to have the chance to spend sometime in the cool water. And just because we can't get enough of the sun and water, tomorrow we are going to raft the Ocoee! Can't wait to hit the rapids!

The End

Every so often in life there comes a time for things to end. Even good things eventually come to a close. And with that in mind, I know you are all very distraught to find out that school is almost over... NAW!

This Sunday at FSM we will celebrate the finish of the school year. But with the celebration comes some sad news. Several of our leaders will be stepping down and leaving us. For some, this will be their last Sunday. Come celebrate the end of the school year with us, and help us send off leaders this Sunday.

In the wise words once uttered by Porky Pig... "A-bleh-bleh-bleh-blehde... That's all folks!"

Beyond the U

Disciple Now weekend is in the books, and what an awesome weekend it was! Several students made decisions this weekend to follow Christ. We were challenged by Afshin to live "Beyond the U", by the power of the Holy Spirit, the way Christ called us to live.

We heard Afshin's testimony of God's faithfulness through the cost he paid to follow Christ. Though his relationship with his earthly father was temporarily taken from him, he knew that his heavenly Father was there all the while. I hope you all were encouraged to hear from someone who counted the cost and found that it was worth every bit of that cost to follow Christ.

For those of you who made a decision this weekend, either to follow Christ for the first time, or to take the next step in your walk with Christ, now is a crucial time. Know that the road ahead is never easy or care free. There are always struggles and trials in our path, but through those times we grow in our faith and are reminded of how much we need the Lord.

I pray that each of us can move "Beyond the U" in the weeks ahead and live a life dependent on Christ.

got life?

This week at FSM we had a great reflection time on the meaning behind Easter. We talked about what it means to have life; drinking from the well that never runs dry. It is such a beautiful thing that we have the opportunity to serve a God who came and gave His life for us. But it is only when we take Christ's sacrifice personally and identify it with our sin that we can really understand how much he loves each one of us. I hope you all came away encouraged to find your life in Christ.

Make sure to stay tuned... we have a lot coming up in the next few weeks. This Friday is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter. Sunday morning FSM leaves for Biloxi, Mississippi to help the rebuilding efforts from Katrina. The following Sunday (the 30th) FSM will be hanging out with the Burmese students at 5 PM. Talk to Andy and Alissa if you want to go. In the meantime, we are gearing up for Disciple Now Weekend. Make sure to turn your $30 in soon if you plan on coming. It's going to be an awesome weekend!

Breaking News!!!

Disciple Now Weekend: Coming Soon to a ridiculously cool youth group near you!!! So we checked out the D-Now venue this morning, and I must say, it has some awesome potential! We have a rockin' band called Manic Bloom leading worship for us and a really cool speaker coming in for the weekend. We're going to partner with some other church youth groups to do D-Now, so it should be an exciting weekend.

The dates are April 11th-13th and the cost is $30. Sign up and bring your money ASAP!

In other news, this Sunday afternoon after church we will have another fundraiser for the FSM Mexico Mission Trip at Blue Coast Burrito from 11-2. Invite all your friends and family and come out and help us raise money. This time we get 25% of the proceeds!

More to come. Check back soon!!!

News Flash: FSM students are the coolest on the planet

FSM is at the Church Office this week (Feb. 17th). Make sure you don't go to the YMCA, because we won't be there!

High School GameDay this past week was a blast! The Halo enthusiasts got their fill on four X Box 360s and projectors, while the rest enjoyed some card games.



Our next FSM event is the Biloxi Mission Trip. Make sure you've told Chad you are going and turned in your money ($80). The deadline to sign up is March 1st and there are only a few spots left.

FSM is sending out a weekly newsletter. If you're not already getting the newsletter, e-mail anordine@fbcrc.org with your name and e-mail address.

Monday, February 18th plan on eating out at Chick-Fil-A and invite all your friends and family! We are doing a fundraiser in partnership with the creators of the chicken sandwich. From 5-8 PM 10% of their proceeds from every person that says they are with FSM will go toward the Mexico Mission Trip.

The "Why God?" series we are currently walking through, we know can be a difficult one. Please come to us or your leader and talk to us. We know several of you are walking through difficult times with family situations, friends, injuries, etc. and we want to be here for you. Let us know if you want to talk.

Super Bowl Sunday

This week is Super Bowl Sunday and FSM will be meeting at the YMCA at 5 PM for the game? So who's it going to be the Packers or Giants? Moss, Brady, and mad genius Bill or Eli, Toomer, and Strahan? Don't care about the game? Come hang out and laugh at the always funny commercials!

Don't forget to bring your $5 for pizza! Guys bring a 2 liter of your favorite drink and girls bring a dessert or appetizer.

click play

February 8th at the Church Office at 7 PM is the High School GameDay. Bring your favorite game and join us for cards, video games, and even a board game or two.

February 18th we will be raising money for the Mexico Mission Trip by partnering with Chick-Fil-A. 10% of all proceeds from 5-8 PM of anyone saying they are with FSM that night will go toward the trip. Tell your family and friends to plan to eat at Chick-Fil-A on the 18th!

See you all this Sunday!

Ski Trip is in the Books

14 hours in a van, 2 pukes, some downhill ice skating, a near case of hypothermia, worship with a British accent, and a too-fast-talking preacher later and Ski Trip is officially in the books. Whew! Deep breath! We all made it back alive and ready for a nap!

Hopefully, you guys got something out of the message and worship this past weekend. We talked a lot about the love of God and how it reaches out to us even when we aren't looking for Him. Saturday night we talked about being "born again" and what Jesus really meant by this phrase. It is a beautiful picture of a new life being supernaturally birthed inside us. While the talk of punishment for sin is harsh and unnerving, the message of salvation and Christ taking our place on the "sin train" is an amazing testimony to the love of God.

We will not be meeting this Sunday, but Andy and Alissa are heading up a hang out time with the students from the Burmese Church. Stay tuned for more details and talk to them Sunday after church to see what the plan is.

Sunday February 3rd will be the Super Bowl Party at the YMCA. We will be having drinks and food, hanging out, watching the game, and laughing at the hysterical commercials. This is a great time to bring a friend to hang out with us for the night. More details to follow...

Friday February 8th will be High School GameDay. We will hang out for the night at the church office playing all your favorite games with 30 of your best friends!

Make sure to let me (Andrew) or Chad know this week if you plan on going to Biloxi with us over Spring Break. There are only 20 spots available, and the trip is filling up fast! The dates for that trip are March 23-27 and the cost is $80.