Last Wednesday night was the kickoff of our new Youth competition series: Mini-Mart Mayhem. If you remember the High Energy Challenge from last Spring, this should all sound familiar. Teams are broken up by groups of schools once again, except now each team is represented by a convenience store (Wawa, Rutters, Turkey Hill, UniMart, 7Eleven, Hess, and Toms). The weekly challenge was to eat a Snickers bar and drink a Mountain Dew as fast as possible (which is apparently quite difficult, see pictures). This competition is a perfect 6-week opportunity for you to invite your friends to Youth to help score some points and become acclimated with Frequency!

The sermon series attached to all this is called “Life is a Highway,” and Pastor Jeff started it off by talking about how we often use little stops like mini-marts as “quick-fixes” for our basic needs such as food, gas, etc. In the same way, we can sometimes live our lives in a routine such that our only objective is to keep ourselves “above E (empty),” without ever aspiring to something greater. We limit our own potential when we settle for occasional visits with God on mission trips, at retreats, or during Youth services, only to start burning out soon after until we need another brief pick-me-up. This is not a meaningful or fruitful way to live; when Jesus came across the fig tree that was withered and barren, having produced nothing, he angrily commanded, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered (Matthew 21:18). Pastor Jeff encouraged us to live beyond this bare minimum by consistently praying and reading God’s Word, while also reaching out to the community around us; we don’t want to live in a manner such that if we disappeared tomorrow, nobody else would notice.

Reminder announcements feature Contact: Worship with a Cause (this Sunday night in the Youth Center at 7PM), which is a combination service of both worsip music and prayer for a particular cause we can help in the local area. This month’s cause is Center for Champions, and there will be a guest speaker to inform us about the organization.

Have a wonderful week everyone! =)

Surprisingly, we had a big turnout last night at youth service!  There were around 5 new guests too!  The service was just totally different all around.  Dave and Collin did an acoustic set of songs for worship.

Afterwards Pastor Jeff’s friend, Rob Chaney from Cleveland, came to speak to us. He talked about how we should give God our all and not focus on things we hold as idols such as image, sports, and academics.  He said it’s okay to work on these things, but not to work for them.  We need to put all our focus on God.

Don’t forget to turn in your Great Escape deposit of $50 next Wednesday for early registration!

Youth began with  Dave Wolfe dazzling us (or disgusting us) with one of his announcement creations once again.  Then the two new youth staff members, Jason and Dale, were introduced via the Frequency Hotseat with Pastor Jeff as the host.  Next we went into an awesome time of worship let by Joe Fang and Ryan Ritchey.

Afterwards, Pastor Jeff gave his message on stepping up to the plate.  He talked about how 300 night will be in October and how we should be praying for our lost friends.  Then we were encouraged to write two of our friends names on poster boards to keep them in our thoughts.

As for J-jam, here is your trivia question for 10,000 pts.  Please comment with the answer along with your team name…

What phobia is the fear of long words?

Don’t forget next week is team color day!  See you then!  =]

Last night at Frequency we had a great time worshiping God and listening to Pastor Jeff speak about how to show people Christ in the way we live. Announcements were made about the start of J-Jam coming up this Tuesday at 3:30 PM, See You at the Pole happening at your schools’ flagpoles Wednesday at 7:00 AM and our monthly Friday @ Frequency event on September 25,  in the Youth Center from 7:00 PM-10:00 PM. We also received our own Frequency key-fobs for scanning in our attendance on Wednesday nights. Remember to bring yours back next Youth Group for a chance to win an iTunes gift card!

During the sermon, Pastor Jeff demonstrated how darkness and light cannot exist in the same place by bringing down all the lights in the room. We came to realize that after spending enough time in the darkness, our eyes became less focused; in the same way in our daily lives we can be tricked into forgetting the difference between what is light and what isn’t.

“You are the light of the world; a city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

To close out, we broke into groups for each of our schools and spent time praying together, remembering to ask God to help us live blameless lives as we try to impact our culture and make a difference in the world.

P.S. A favorite funny quote was made by a student: “If I had one month to live, I’d work out for 29 days, then fight a bear.” -Ryan Richard

See you next week!

Check out this video from Wednesday night… The Waxing!!!! http://bit.ly/Dktij

Last night at youth group we had the opportunity to hear Jimmy open up the series “The Secret Life of a Frequency Teenager” with a teaching on Esther.  It was a great night and it was a sermon that really spoke on the importance of taking your opportunities and positions in life to fulfill God’s call for our lives.  Jimmy’s sermon reminded me of a passage in Matthew that calls us into this same action.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Matt 7:7

I think  Jimmy was dead on when he said we need to take the time we have now seriously.  ”I’ll wait until I get older,” “when I graduate high school,” or “When my busy life lets up to do that” are all excuses that get in the way of what God wants to do in and through us.  I think if we really have a desire in our hearts to do God’s will we won’t push it off to the last second or make excuses, and as Jimmy said, it is our responsibility to take that initiative with the time we have now if we want to experience God’s call and blessing in our lives.  As Matt 7:7 says, it’s God’s desire for us to search for him.  It says, “knock, and it will be opened to you.”  How can we expect God to welcome us in and reveal his plans for our lives when we don’t first seek him out?

Last night at Frequency we had Retro Night. It was fantastic! Everyone dug through their parents’ closets for the sweetest outfit. There was an abundance of crazy wigs and tie-die shirts. Everyone had a chance to display their wardrobe in the Frequency Fashion Show. Bright lights, long runways, and energetic commentators were a large part of this event. After worship from Joe and the crew, Pastor Jeff introduced the opportunity to become a Junior Member of CLA. This is a great chance to become an integral part of the church and serve in different ministries. Then he explained why we should be “Purple Cows” to others around us. He did all this in a fantastic plaid suit. We are looking forward to next week’s Frequency’s Got Talent. We want to see your amazing skills on display next week. See ya then!

Service on Wednesday was awesome. We started with the High Energy Challenge Slam Dunk Contest! Every team chose 1 guy and 1 girl to dunk at 7.5 feet. Their were some great dunks and some “EHHH” dunks, but all together it was pretty sweet! Joe Fang then led worship. It was good to have him back!! We love Joe Fang! Pastor Jeff spoke for about fifteen minutes and at the end of service he had the different age groups split up, to pray for each other. It was a very powerful time, and definitely was a great experience!

We kicked off our High Energy Challenge this Wednesday night.  Everyone was dressed in green and we had an exciting putting green challenge.  Each team picked two guys and two girls, and they saw how many putts each team could make in one minute.  Pastor Jeff then spoke about how we always think that the grass is greener on the other side.  We want everyone to be excited about next week’s Slam Dunk Contest.  The color for next week is yellow.  See ya then!

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever… but that doesn’t mean that our love for Him needs to become routine and boring. Have you become NUMB to the presence of God in your life? That is the question that Pastor Jeff proposed to the entire youth group this past Wednesday. I personally believe that Frequency has been in a “dry spot” where we have let God become so familiar that He has become perdictable. WHOA!!!, HOLD UP A SECOND!… God… our mighty God who calmed the seas and defeated the grave…  becoming predictable? I pray that we would break out of that box. Our relationship with God is to be an adventure filled with valleys and mountains, and deserts and flooded lands. It should never become predictable. Mark Batterson calls our pursuit of God and His Holy Spirit a Wild Goose Chase. Its not meant to be predictable. Its meant to be exciting and always new.

Pastor Jeff has diagnosed the problem, next week he will attempt to offer the remedy. Frequency is now stepping into a new era. Its time for a passionate, purposeful pursuit of Jesus. No more playing around! Pastor Jeff made that very clear last week. Lets step up to the plate and take hold of our God given destiny. [youversion]Hebrews 12:2 [/youversion]tells us that God is the author of the story. He is in control. Lets give Him the reigns and let Him pour his fire into us. Its impossible to be numb when the electricity of the Lord courses through your veins. Let the adventure begin!