The Baldivis Church

State Youth Games is fast approaching. The registration forms will arrive any day now and I am getting so excited!! If you are 16 - 28 years of age then we would love for you to join Baldivis Youth this year as we take on the other youth groups for the State Youth Games Title.

SYG will be held from 4th June to 7th June in Bunbury and is a weekend full of sport, friendship, sore muscles and laughter. Put this date in your diary now and look out for more information about State Youth Games 2010!

Sarah

As promised last week, here are the helpful tools that will help you reach your teen:

Found at http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/walts-thoughts-29.html

"Now, your homework. As a parent, you have been given primary responsibility for the spiritual nurture of your children (Deuteronomy 6: 4-9; Ephesians 6:4). Because you grew up in a world that's different from the world of your teen, you must view this calling as a cross-cultural missionary venture. As a result, you must work to stay in touch - like foreign missionaries - with the language and culture of your mission field. Here are three assignments that aren't meant to be burdensome, but helpful.

First, take the advice of the theologian who once said that every Christian should start their day with the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other. In other words, you must begin your day spending time getting to know the One who has sent you, and the message that One has called you to communicate. Be sure that God's truth is coursing through your veins. Then, take the time to use your newspaper to get to know today's world so that you can communicate the Word's truths to the needs of your teenager and his/her world.

Second, read what they read, watch what they watch, and listen to what they listen to. Because of its pervasiveness, media is now the most powerful shaper of the values, attitudes, and behaviors of teens. What media are your teens engaging with, and what are they hearing/seeing/learning as they engage with those media? You can only know by checking it out for yourself. By getting to know your teen's media, you are getting to know your kids. Knowing their media will offer you great opportunities to discuss life in the light of God's Word. You will be able to affirm what they are learning that conforms to God's will and way, and challenge those things that don't.

Finally, spend time perusing the growing number of internet organizations and resources that serve to open your eyes to the changing world of today's teenagers. Check out the "parenting" section of the Lifeway website, the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (www.cpyu.org), and Homeword (www.homeword.com). All of these sites include valuable information on teenagers and their world that's updated daily, growing archives, and dozens of links to other helpful organizations that deal with every conceivable type of youth culture pressure and reality.

As your teen heads back to school, decide that you're going to go back to school as well. If you become a serious student of your teen's culture, your teen will find it easier to navigate the hallways of that culture in a manner that glorifies God."

I am trusting that you have found this to be helpful and don't forget to check out the above resource website. As people working or living with teens, we need all the help and insight we can get.

Sarah

Hi there

This week I am going to share with you some information I found on the history of "teenagers". I have found it rather interesting and helpful to my role as Youth Pastor and I hope it is helpful for you also...

Found at http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/walts-thoughts-29.html

"First, the history. . . . history that will help convince you that every day your kids get out of bed, their world is new in some way, shape, or form. It all starts with the relative newness of adolescence as a distinct period of life and the concept of "teenagers" as we know it today. While there have always been chronological teenagers (humans aged 13 to 19), teenagers as we know and understand them in our contemporary situation are a relatively new development. There was a time - not long ago - when there were no such things as teenagers or a distinct youth culture, as least not as we know them today.

Believe it or not, it wasn't until 1941 that the term "teenager" was first coined and used, in of all places, Popular Science magazine. So where have teenagers and youth culture come from? Most people don't realize that teenagers as a distinct group are actually a social and economic invention. In 1930, teenagers didn't exist. In 1930, the concept of teenagers didn't exist. You simply jumped from being a child to being an adult. Only 50% of young people ages 14-17 were going to school. The other half were in the work force. An effort was made to get them out of the work force and into school so that they could get an education and so that jobs would open up for family men.

When the GI's came home after World War II, America experienced an unprecedented "baby boom." This growing youth population combined with extraordinary economic growth and opportunity in a mix that left marketers drooling. Lots of children and teens with lots of money to spend were too hard to resist. Those who had something to sell segmented teens away from children and adults, creating a distinct youth culture that was targeted with food, clothing, cars, books, movies, and everything else imaginable - all of it made and marketed just for them. By the mid-1950's teens had their own music that spoke specifically to their interests and experience.

Unless you've been asleep, you know the rest of the story. Media and marketing have continued to create and reformulate a youth culture (on a daily basis) that now includes children and teens. Because our teenagers are growing through the change-filled years of adolescence, they are incredibly vulnerable to the youth culture's ability to shape their values, attitudes, and behaviors. The fact that there are a growing amount of competing messages coming at our teens from a variety of different directions, makes it that much more confusing, frustrating, and difficult for parents of teens to understand and connect with their kids. In effect, these changes have made "normal" adolescent development far more complex, added pressures and tensions to the process that never before existed, and widened the cultural-generational gap between teenagers and their parents."

Next week I want to share 3 things we can do together to ensure we are on the right path to be able to reach our kids and shorten the culteral-generational gap.

Til next week
Sarah

Wow! 2010 already. How time flies. I have been busily preparing for an awesome term with both Senior Youth on Friday nights and Youth Connect on Tuesday afternoons from 5-6pm. We have even started a new ministry for 17-24 year olds called "Young Adults", totally original right?? We aren't about fancy names here at Baldivis Youth but we are on about getting to know people and God better. So on that note I am really looking forward to seeing you all at our Youth programs real soon. If you need more info you can browse arund the website or you can send me an email at sarah@baldivischurch.org.au and I will help you the best I can.

See you soon!
Sarah

If you are interested in joining this road trip contact Jody Lightfoot on 0404 491 494 or j.lightfoot@theoaktree.org

Til next time
Sarah

Tonight we are having our last Youth Group for the year :(
But we are going Ice Skating :)
If you are aged 12-19 and would like to join us tonight give me a call before 4:30pm on 9524 2805 and I will reserve you a spot.
We will be leaving from church at 7:00pm and getting back at 10:30pm and it costs $20.00 (covers transport, skating and boot hire).
Hope to see you tonight. If not I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and brilliant New Year!!
Sarahx

More from Thailand...
Hi everyone,
We have finished painting the church with the final coat, men were tiling the stage today and it looks really good. Had a whole team of kids and parents help us on Monday as it was a public holiday for the King's Birthday. PAINT EVERYWHERE! Doors, windows, floor, patches missed, but still they had a great time :) They are very proud of their church and want to help as much as possible. Been a blessing working along side them. Tuesday we went to primary school and today in high school. Me and Kelc taught a class, Hanny and Esther another class and Kylie her own class. We had a great time teaching colours and numbers and games, we had heaps of laughs. Kelc is really sick tonight not sure what from. Son made us spaghetti for lunch but everyone ate it so not sure. We are having an Aussie vs Thai soccer match tomorrow. We went to markets tonight and the other day too. Havnt spent hardly anything. We are bying ping pong table as a present for colony 15 dollars each so quite cheap. Also buying small present for our buddies in the colony. We are paired each with one staff member. Sunday went good. Dad was preaching and we sang two songs above all and one way. Son (embassy lady) wanted us to sing above all with her. Everybody making great friends with all the kids (about 40) and everyone is all out of their "shy" phase.
Love Rach and Mr Tim (haha we call him Timja the Ninja because he has awesome moves lately hehe) plus Nathan, Hanny, Esther, Kylie, Kelc, Brian and Sam who are all sleeping...

Brian and Sam have left for a mission trip in Thailand. Here is an email I received from one of the team leaders...

Hello from hot humid Thailand!
So we made it! Had a very long stressful day with flights and baggage and now we are all gonna get a goodnight sleep. Leaving at 11 tomorrow on the bus to Surin should take approx 6 hours and then be able to check in to hotel and see some markets. Had a rewarding day getting to know each other better under pressure and through the plane trips. Luckily no one got sick apart from the little boy chucking in the seat in front of us but a few dehydrated from the humidity and rushing around. Please pray we can make it through the busy times and always try to get along.
God Bless
Love The Crew xxx

Christmas is fast approaching!! Decorations are going up in shopping centres, trees are for sale, shops are advertising items as great gifts for Christmas. But what does this all mean??
So easily we are consumed by what gifts to buy and probably more so for kids and teenagers, what presents am I going to get? What do I want? How can I convince Mum and Dad to get that for me?
As it approaches the silly season, before we get sucked into it, can I encourage you to take a step back and look at the big picture?
We celebrate Christmas because of God. Because Jesus was born onto the earth for the salvation of man kind.
Let's look at this gift that God has given us, and ask ourselves how can we pass on this gift to others?
This gift is the perfect gift this Christmas. It is a gift that keeps on giving, it never runs out, it is so many gifts wrapped up in one and it's absolutely FREE!
It's PERFECT!!

Til next time, Sarah

Hi everyone

Below is a copy of an email I recieved today about "Driving while Intexticated". I thought it was worth sharing as texting is a very popular way for young people to communicate and it poses a real danger if done while driving.

Please put your phone’s away when driving.

The very real human consequences that can result from driving while 'InTEXTicated'.
An 18-year-old girl plowed directly into the rear of another vehicle. She was going 110km\h. She apparently never even saw them. You see, she had been texting at the time.
You can see that she hit them dead-center with no attempt to slow or evade the collision.

She hit dead-center on her 2008 Yukon SUV as well. She escaped unscathed.

There was no blowout, no wet road, no curve or hill or fog to limit visibility. This girl clearly should have been able to see the traffic conditions at least a half mile ahead had she been looking and not texting. She nearly killed a beautiful 3-year-old child?
Here's a personal look at the real human cost of texting while driving: Griffin before the accident.

Griffen the day after 4 hours of surgery to repair multiple skull fractures. He would surely have died or been severely disabled had they not been minutes away (by StarFlight helicopter) from Austin's world-class children's Dell Children's Medical Center and neurosurgeon Dr. Timothy George.

Day 4 - watching a movie on his Dad's iPhone. The swelling of his head will go away, but that scar from ear-to-ear will be with him forever.

Feeling better. Mmmmm - mac-n-cheese. :-)

Day 5 - feeling much better. My granddad bought me my very own iPod and loaded it with movies. Life is good.

This morning. All my tubes are finally out. I'm going home today! Note how much the swelling has improved in just three days.

It's almost unbelievable that it's been only five days since the accident that nearly claimed his life. All the medical experts involved expect him to make a full recovery. Pretty soon he'll be all healed up and back to normal - thank the Lord! In only six weeks he'll be allowed to be just as active as any other 3-year-old.

Phone company records of text messages are irrefutable and accurate to the second; so it would be an easy matter to prove in court that a person was texting at the time of an accident. As with drunken driving, a jail sentence (no matter the driver's age) will be mandatory whenever anyone is injured by an InTEXTicated driver.

I'm not sure how accurate the last bit is about mandatory sentencing but just for your own safety and the safety of others please don't text and drive.

Sarah

Below are some activities running in the school holidays I thought you may be interested in. They are being run by Youth Services, Rockingham (You can contact Suzanne on 9528 8692 or Suzanne.Blyth@rockingham.wa.gov.au)

Senior First Aid Certificate in 1 day.
Thursday 8th October 8:30am to 4:30pm
Cost : FREE Byo lunch.

Movies & Ice Skating.
Friday 2nd October 9am to 3:30pm
Cost $20 or $15 Concession Byo Lunch or money for lunch

Laser Corps & Mini Golf.
Tuesday 29th September 9am to 4pm
Cost $20 or $15 concession Byo Lunch or money for lunch

Surfing Lessons. 3 day course.
Tuesday 29th September to Thursday 1st October 10:15am to 11:15am or
Monday 5th October to Wednesday 7th October 10:15am to 11:15am
Cost: $30 or $20 concession (includes wetsuit & board hire)

Circus Skills.
Monday 5th October 10:30am to 2:30pm or
Friday 9th October 10:30am ti 2:30pm
Cost: FREE Lunch provided

Hope you take up the opportunity to get your Senior First Aid. It will look great in your resume and is a great skill to have.

Take care!

Sarah

This year I'm biting back at the Global Food Crisis and doing the 40 Hour Famine. I'm giving up CHOCOLATE & my COMPUTER (I know it's going to be near impossible for me) for 40 hours to raise money to help hungry kids affected by the Global Food Crisis. (I can't go without all food because I will be transporting my youth to Albany and I don't want to risk passing out from lack of food - it's a safety issue!)
Would you like to help hungry kids too ? Just $40 helps 5 kids for 1 month! My target is to raise $ 300.
Please donate online now
(https://famine.worldvision.com.au/famine.cgi?a=SPONSOR_&pn=29194398-3).
My 40 Hour Famine Number is: 29194398-3

Donations are tax deductible depending on your personal tax position. The minimum amount is $2. You will receive a tax receipt via email as soon as you've made the donation.

Thanks, Sarah.
PS Below is some info on the situation.

The world's biggest food crisis is on now. and you probably didn't even know it! The Global Food Crisis is into its second year and so far it's plunged another 100 million people into extreme hunger and poverty.

Did you know ?
* People in over 30 countries are suffering from the effects of the Global Food Crisis.
* There are now over 900 million chronically hungry people around the world, and approximately 1.4 billion live in extreme poverty.
* Malnourished children are more likely to die from illnesses like diarrhoea and malaria.
* Every day, an estimated 25,000 children die from hunger and preventable diseases.

Thank you for supporting me and helping hungry kids!
Sarah Baggaley
sarah@baldivischurch.org.au

We are all off to Albany for the 40hr famine weekend 21st to 23rd August!!
We are hooking up with the Albany Church of Christ Youth Group and we have a great weekend planned! Including Whale watching, Fishing competition, Sandcastle comps, Movie night, Church with Albany Church of Christ and of course a celebratory lunch on the Sunday! This is going to be a great weekend that you will be sad if you miss!! So get your forms into me or if you need some more info or forms, call me on 9524 2805 so I can get it to you!
Then don't forget Adrenalin 09 held at Challenge Stadium on the 18th September. Again persmission slips are a must!

This Friday we have "Sea Serpent". Don't know what that is? Come along and find out. Only $4 at The Baldivis Church 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

Sarah
Youth Pastor
The Baldivis Church

We are coming up to our second week of school holidays and can I tell you that I have been having a great time organising next terms program!! We have so many exciting outings...
Young Adults are off to Q-Zar on the 31st July
We are all off to Albany for the 40hr famine weekend 21st to 23rd August!!
Then there is Adrenalin 09 held at Challenge Stadium on the 18th September.
And they are just in between all the other great nights we have planned.

Term 3 begins on 24th July 7:30pm. Can't wait!

Also congratulations to Jordan for coming 1st place in our Tag-It Art Comp last term. And also congratulations to Callum, Jacob & Michael for coming runners up.
All of the art work submitted looks great and one day when we have our own youth building they are going to look fantastic up on the walls!!

Look out for your letter with this terms program in the mail. It will arrive any day now. Make sure you get your parents to sign all the permission slips. I wouldn't want you to miss out!

See you soon
Sarah
Youth Pastor
The Baldivis Church

State Youth Games
Hi everyone, What a blast we had at State Youth Games this year!! Below are a few pics from the weekend.
Well done to everyone involved! We came 5th in the small church comp!!

1st May 2009
What's coming up for Baldivis Youth??

1st May - Friday Night Youth returns: Highschool youth begin the term with a Hawaiian Theme Night!!
5th May - Youth Connect groups start back. Let me know if you want to join a Connect Group
10th May - The EKG Campaign begins in Sunday services: Connect groups with be continuing with EKG study
15th May - Elevation here at Baldivis Youth: all the youth groups from the region will be meeting at the Baldivis Church as one youth group for God. There will be FIREWORKS!! The real ones like we had last year!!
30th May - 1st June - State Youth Games in Bunbury for all those aged 16-28. If you want to be a part this let me know now 0412 535 210.

And that's just May!! You won't want to miss out so if you would like to receive weekly emails about what is happening at Baldivis Youth send your email to sarah@baldivischurch.org.au and I will add you to the database.

Til next time
Sarah