This past Friday night (Nov.6th) over 100 teens and Jr. high students from Radford gathered at Radford Worship Center after the Radford/Giles football game for what we thought would be our last 5th Quarter of the football season. It was a great night. At midnight, the Jr. High students went home and the teenagers went to our youth sanctuary for a time of being ministered to by our Heavenly Father.
The worship band rocked as they always do and the kids responded to God in praise. The Word was preached and a great time of ministry followed. There were kids who accepted Christ and there were kids who needed the loving hand of the Father to reassure them that He loves them and has a future for them. It was a great privilege to pray and give out hugs to these precious young people.
After the service, we all headed back over for the basketball tourneys, rock band, pedicures, game room, food and the café. Luke Buzzard and Katie Osterbauer took teams of 5 kids each back over to the educational building for a very creative scavenger hunt designed by Luke. Every young person I talked to who participated in the scavenger hunt loved it and was glad they did it.
Once 5:30am came….we started getting them ready to head home at 6am. It had been a long night but the time was well spent. Everyone was pretty much asleep on their feet which always makes for an interesting time of taking kids home on the vans and bus.
After all of the cleanup at 7:30am and we were ready to head home. The great thing is that since Radford beat Giles, we get to have another 5th Quarter this Friday……oh what fun.
Thanks to all who volunteered, prayed or donated food for this great event.
- Pastor Mike
Pastor LifeChange Youth Ministries
Showing posts with label volunteers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label volunteers. Show all posts
Monday, November 9, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Crossroads Summer Program Prepares to kick off in July
There are so many ministries at the Radford Worship Center and I would like to take some time and let you know a little about one of them, Crossroads Ministry. Crossroads is dedicated to recognizing and meeting the needs of incarcerated youth, adults and their families. We currently are operating within four facilities, providing bible studies, life skills classes, counseling, weekly services and our summer program “Planning for Success on the Outside”.
Most Juvenile Detention Centers have limited funds for programs. As a result there was a hole in the summer schedule during regular school hours at the local juvenile detention center. So they asked if we could fill that hole - a time slot of roughly 8:30 to 3:00 five days a week. We saw this as an excellent opportunity to help these teens grow in Christ. With that began our first year of conducting the “Planning for Success” summer program. This is one of the most exciting opportunities we’ve been given at Crossroads.
The summer program is a unique blend of class room and hands on activities designed to equip the teens with some of the life skills necessary to become successful in life. The really cool thing about the program is the whole thing is centered on Jesus! We invite grounded adults from all walks of life and professions to come and invest in the teens. Last year we had a former home ec teacher do cooking classes, a banker teach on finances, physical therapists taught proper exercise techniques, pastor Mike taught on a biblical view of sex, other ministers came to invest their time with studies, and a former gang member from Atlanta came to share his testimony of how Christ changed his life.
It does not take being around the young people long to realize how much investment it takes with this population to see a real change in their life. In many cases you find yourself having to re-parent them. Last year there were many times that I was reminded of a scripture in 1 Corinthians 4:15 “You may have countless Christian guardians, but you don't have many spiritual fathers. I became your father in the Christian life by telling you the Good News about Christ Jesus.”
The awesome thing about the whole summer is we get to see these young people begin to really embrace a relationship with Jesus Christ. Last year we had many come to Christ, and actually had the opportunity to hold a baptism service in the New River.
We always have opportunities for qualified individuals to come and be a part of what God is doing. Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in what opportunities we have for this year’s summer program. This year we will begin on July 6th.
Pastor Ted Farmer
Director Crossroads Ministry
540-230-3720
Most Juvenile Detention Centers have limited funds for programs. As a result there was a hole in the summer schedule during regular school hours at the local juvenile detention center. So they asked if we could fill that hole - a time slot of roughly 8:30 to 3:00 five days a week. We saw this as an excellent opportunity to help these teens grow in Christ. With that began our first year of conducting the “Planning for Success” summer program. This is one of the most exciting opportunities we’ve been given at Crossroads.
The summer program is a unique blend of class room and hands on activities designed to equip the teens with some of the life skills necessary to become successful in life. The really cool thing about the program is the whole thing is centered on Jesus! We invite grounded adults from all walks of life and professions to come and invest in the teens. Last year we had a former home ec teacher do cooking classes, a banker teach on finances, physical therapists taught proper exercise techniques, pastor Mike taught on a biblical view of sex, other ministers came to invest their time with studies, and a former gang member from Atlanta came to share his testimony of how Christ changed his life.
It does not take being around the young people long to realize how much investment it takes with this population to see a real change in their life. In many cases you find yourself having to re-parent them. Last year there were many times that I was reminded of a scripture in 1 Corinthians 4:15 “You may have countless Christian guardians, but you don't have many spiritual fathers. I became your father in the Christian life by telling you the Good News about Christ Jesus.”
The awesome thing about the whole summer is we get to see these young people begin to really embrace a relationship with Jesus Christ. Last year we had many come to Christ, and actually had the opportunity to hold a baptism service in the New River.
We always have opportunities for qualified individuals to come and be a part of what God is doing. Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in what opportunities we have for this year’s summer program. This year we will begin on July 6th.
Pastor Ted Farmer
Director Crossroads Ministry
540-230-3720
Monday, April 20, 2009
To serve or not to serve
I blame my parents, but not like you might be thinking. Many blame their parents for anxieties and hang-ups…me I gladly blame them for serving. They worshiped God through a lifetime of serving others. They dragged, forced, demanded that their children be involved with serving others.
I remember our family being the first ones there and the last ones out; if there was something that had to be done the priest just had to ask; the answer was always “yes we can do that”. It didn’t matter what needed to be done we did it: nursing homes, mowing the church, painting, remodeling, and yes feeding people. My mother (Marge) often said her idea of heaven on earth would be to run a soup kitchen…constantly feeding people. We were taught early and often that the best way to serve God was to serve others. My dad would tell us boys that while we were mowing the cemetery that we were walking on the graves of saints and that it was an honor and privilege to take care of their grave sites. Plain and simple your life was meant to serve and to be a blessing to others.
The above serves as a backdrop for His Provision food ministry of which we are honored to be a part. His Provision food ministry does several things: 1st it meets the immediate physical needs of the people we serve. 2nd it provides service for the saints to do in a practical manner.
It is humbling to sit across the table with a family of 5 or a precious elderly saint on fixed income, the young mother with several children, the disabled - all in need, all looking for help. To me one of the real blessings is for those who help. Not all of the saints are called to preach but all are called to serve. His Provision provides a place where the saints can meet the physical needs of people in the community. Come and serve, you might be filling plastic bags with food, tearing down cardboard, running food to the cars that pull up, or maybe just holding hands with someone that needs comfort. Believe me we will find something for you to do.
Please join us this Thursday night at 5pm. Come and serve God by serving others
-Dr. David Osterbauer
Director His Provision Food Ministries
I remember our family being the first ones there and the last ones out; if there was something that had to be done the priest just had to ask; the answer was always “yes we can do that”. It didn’t matter what needed to be done we did it: nursing homes, mowing the church, painting, remodeling, and yes feeding people. My mother (Marge) often said her idea of heaven on earth would be to run a soup kitchen…constantly feeding people. We were taught early and often that the best way to serve God was to serve others. My dad would tell us boys that while we were mowing the cemetery that we were walking on the graves of saints and that it was an honor and privilege to take care of their grave sites. Plain and simple your life was meant to serve and to be a blessing to others.
The above serves as a backdrop for His Provision food ministry of which we are honored to be a part. His Provision food ministry does several things: 1st it meets the immediate physical needs of the people we serve. 2nd it provides service for the saints to do in a practical manner.
It is humbling to sit across the table with a family of 5 or a precious elderly saint on fixed income, the young mother with several children, the disabled - all in need, all looking for help. To me one of the real blessings is for those who help. Not all of the saints are called to preach but all are called to serve. His Provision provides a place where the saints can meet the physical needs of people in the community. Come and serve, you might be filling plastic bags with food, tearing down cardboard, running food to the cars that pull up, or maybe just holding hands with someone that needs comfort. Believe me we will find something for you to do.
Please join us this Thursday night at 5pm. Come and serve God by serving others
-Dr. David Osterbauer
Director His Provision Food Ministries
Monday, April 13, 2009
Want a Blessing? Be a Blessing!
One look at the title and a person may think that I am going to talk about sowing and reaping. Well, not today.
The term blessing is thrown around in Christendom like it is the ultimate achievement. With that being said, many times I think believers are being put on a social scale within the church. A scale that does nothing more than feed their flesh and reveal immaturity. The bottom line is as a believer in Christ and having Him dwell in us is the ultimate blessing anyone can have. However, we must also realize that we have already been blessed.
Ephes. 1:3 (GW)
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer.
So, what is all the fuss about with Christians trying to get a blessing, they already have it. The focus for the believer must shift into another area. The Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:35 to remember the words of Christ. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This phrase is a dominical saying, meaning supreme authority. Therefore, there is no higher form of blessing than to give. This means the blessing isn’t in receiving or what is received, the blessing is in the participation of obedience revealing what Christ has done in our hearts.
- Pastor Mike Laster
Senior Associate Pastor
Pastor LifeChange Ministries
Thursday, March 19, 2009
On Any Given Tuesday.... LifeChange
Tuesday nights around the Radford Worship Center are never boring. LifeChange Youth Ministries takes over the campus to bring the Truth to teenagers in the NRV. The teens who come are treated to night of Food, Hanging Out, and a Service where Jesus is the Center of it all. At 5:30 the vans leave to pick up kids that have called saying they need a ride.
The night starts off with a bang as the doors open at 6:15 pm and the teens are able to eat, play basketball, hang out in the cafe, and play video games in the game room.
At 7:30 everyone heads over to the Sanctuary for service. They just keep coming...
and coming...
and coming...
Inside they are met by the Band and who start the service with Praise and Worship...
and get everyone ready for Pastor Mike and what he has for them.
These are our kids, our heart, come out and meet the ones that keep us going... on any given Tuesday.
The night starts off with a bang as the doors open at 6:15 pm and the teens are able to eat, play basketball, hang out in the cafe, and play video games in the game room.
At 7:30 everyone heads over to the Sanctuary for service. They just keep coming...
and coming...
and coming...
Inside they are met by the Band and who start the service with Praise and Worship...
and get everyone ready for Pastor Mike and what he has for them.
These are our kids, our heart, come out and meet the ones that keep us going... on any given Tuesday.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Last Thursday
The fourth Thursday of every month we have His Provision, our food distribution ministry. This past Thursday John Spraker spoke during the service and over 500 people in over 160 families received groceries. Not just a box of food, but bags of groceries, and anyone who has had to haul these groceries knows that there is a lot in those bags. Registration begins at 5:30pm with service starting at 6:30pm. Those that are helping out, we meet at the Food House and begin bagging the groceries while everyone is in service. It takes a lot of people to make the night happen, but we all pull together and have loads of fun while we work.
Here is a peek:
People listen as John speaks on Thursday night.
Lots of people help out during the night:
Lots of groceries to bag...
To move...
And to load into the cars.
-allison
Here is a peek:
People listen as John speaks on Thursday night.
Lots of people help out during the night:
Lots of groceries to bag...
To move...
And to load into the cars.
-allison
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