Monday, May 30, 2011
Letters for Planet Impact Scrapbook
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Time Has Come
Dear Planet Impact.
Six years ago I was sitting in my home in Chesapeake, VA watching the closing date on my house rapidly approach. God had called me to step down from my position at our church without telling me where we were going. After lots of interviews and even turning down some job offers, I was on the house phone with a church in Chicago - the last on my list - when suddenly my cell phone began to ring. Not recognizing the number, and in the middle of a conversation, I let the caller leave a voicemail.
When I hung up my wife asked me how the interview went. “OK,” I replied. “I’m not sure. It could possibly be a fit. They’re talking about flying me out.” She then told me I needed to listen to my voicemail because a church on Long Island had called me. Long Island? I didn’t know anybody on Long Island, and I certainly hadn’t applied to a church there. The message said, “Kevin, this is Roger Erdvig. You don’t know me, but I heard that you are searching for a new ministry position, and I would like to talk to you about an opening we have for a youth pastor.” Within just two weeks or so we had flown to Long Island twice and two days after closing on our house we were en route to work at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle. The rest is history.
It is with mixed emotions that I write to you today. For a while now my wife and I have felt God was moving us on from SGT. Back in November I had some conversations with Pastor Zarlengo about the restlessness in my heart, and I decided it was time for me to resign from my position. For the sake of my family and seeing that the senior class (the kids who were in 7th grade when I arrived) had the experience of only having one youth pastor during their youth ministry years (A rarity! The average American youth pastor lasts less than 2 years), I committed to finishing out the school year.
Thanks once again for the incredible friendships and memories you have provided us with. Some of my most cherished memories are: raising up an incredible team of caring adult youth leaders, getting our students outside the walls of our church and seeing so many of them step up as servant leaders in our own community, beginning youth small groups (today there are 14 different small groups), leading 11 missions trips, winter retreats, connecting the youth of SGT to the Long Island youth network in a deeper way, all of the one-on-one conversations, and the opportunity to grow as a husband, father, and leader through all of the ups and downs.
At the time of this writing I am exploring a few options, but I am still not certain exactly where we will end up. Here we go again! I would appreciate your prayers as we seek to walk the life of faith and enjoy the adventurous life of following Jesus. We look forward to staying in touch.
Six years ago I was sitting in my home in Chesapeake, VA watching the closing date on my house rapidly approach. God had called me to step down from my position at our church without telling me where we were going. After lots of interviews and even turning down some job offers, I was on the house phone with a church in Chicago - the last on my list - when suddenly my cell phone began to ring. Not recognizing the number, and in the middle of a conversation, I let the caller leave a voicemail.
When I hung up my wife asked me how the interview went. “OK,” I replied. “I’m not sure. It could possibly be a fit. They’re talking about flying me out.” She then told me I needed to listen to my voicemail because a church on Long Island had called me. Long Island? I didn’t know anybody on Long Island, and I certainly hadn’t applied to a church there. The message said, “Kevin, this is Roger Erdvig. You don’t know me, but I heard that you are searching for a new ministry position, and I would like to talk to you about an opening we have for a youth pastor.” Within just two weeks or so we had flown to Long Island twice and two days after closing on our house we were en route to work at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle. The rest is history.
It is with mixed emotions that I write to you today. For a while now my wife and I have felt God was moving us on from SGT. Back in November I had some conversations with Pastor Zarlengo about the restlessness in my heart, and I decided it was time for me to resign from my position. For the sake of my family and seeing that the senior class (the kids who were in 7th grade when I arrived) had the experience of only having one youth pastor during their youth ministry years (A rarity! The average American youth pastor lasts less than 2 years), I committed to finishing out the school year.
Thanks once again for the incredible friendships and memories you have provided us with. Some of my most cherished memories are: raising up an incredible team of caring adult youth leaders, getting our students outside the walls of our church and seeing so many of them step up as servant leaders in our own community, beginning youth small groups (today there are 14 different small groups), leading 11 missions trips, winter retreats, connecting the youth of SGT to the Long Island youth network in a deeper way, all of the one-on-one conversations, and the opportunity to grow as a husband, father, and leader through all of the ups and downs.
At the time of this writing I am exploring a few options, but I am still not certain exactly where we will end up. Here we go again! I would appreciate your prayers as we seek to walk the life of faith and enjoy the adventurous life of following Jesus. We look forward to staying in touch.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Lighthouse Mission
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Reach Out Don't Freak Out!
Joshua's passion for the lost is exciting. Wanting to encourage and equip him, a few weeks ago I gave him Greg Stier's new book Reach Out Don't Freak Out - a 30-Day devotional for students to motivate them with practical tips for sharing their faith. As he was reading it, God really deepened his understanding and gave him the boldness to do what he did. When I asked him how the book has helped him, Joshua replied, "I learned how to start spiritual conversations with my friends and ask them questions about God."
If you are looking for simple, practical way to be more effective in reaching your friends for Christ, use the 10% Off Coupon at top of this blog to purchase the book at Simply Youth Ministry. It's listed under "Books for Students" or you can search for it by title: "Reach Out Student Devotional."
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
A Middle School Top 10
Monday night at PI-678 (our middle school program), I had the students get together in small groups and come up with their Top 10 Characteristics of a Good Friend. After having them share their thoughts I gave a talk on friendships.
The Big Idea was: "I have to be the kind of friend I want."
When I got home I compiled their lists. Here are the Top 10 overall qualities they look for in a friend (in order):
The Big Idea was: "I have to be the kind of friend I want."
When I got home I compiled their lists. Here are the Top 10 overall qualities they look for in a friend (in order):
- Kind
- Respectful
- Honest/Truthful
- Caring
- Trustworthy
- Loyal
- Encouraging
- Common Interests
- Helpful
- Good Listener
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Let's Ride 2011 NYC Day 5 (Wednesday)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Let's Ride 2011 NYC Day 4 (Tuesday)
Then this evening we had the privilege of going to the New York City Rescue Mission where we worked with Rev. Ron Panarello. Before the service began we witnessed the "Bed Lottery" at the Mission wherein they select guys to have a bed and shower for the night. Unfortunately, the men who are not selected usually end up sleeping outside in a doorway, under a box, in a dumpster, or in the subway tunnels. It was very humbling to experience. When the service began we did some group singing, Mike and Claudia led a few songs, Ron called on a number of our students to get up and share their testimonies - beginning with my 9-year-old daughter Natalia, I shared, then Ron preached, and our team prayed over the men. The best compliment we received was from Ron who said our students did a wonderful job and we had an open invitation to come and work with him anytime. I was proud of the team!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Let's Ride 2011 NYC Day 3 (Monday)
Last night our team had a powerful time of worship and prayer ministry for about an hour-and-a-half. It was one of those special God-moments and a very special time for us as a team.
Each day on the trip we have a discipleship theme that is discussed at length in small groups and is reinforced by visiting a site in New York. This morning we our theme was the Bible's call for us to be hospitable and welcoming to strangers. So at 11am we boarded a ferry and headed to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We spent about 4 hours visiting the two Islands. After that we walked up to Wall Street (which will tie in with our discussion on Wednesday) then took the train up to Chinatown and Little Italy where the team was able to do some shopping. When we returned to the church we had dinner then did a bunch of cleaning around the church, and some of the girls sorted out items that our team donated, making gift baskets for children who attend the church's after school program. We were also blessed to have Tommy LaBarbera's dad stop by for a visit! After breaking up into our small groups to converse about our experience and unpacked them in light of our biblical study, we enjoyed playing games and some ice cream.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Let's Ride 2011 NYC Day 2 (Sunday)
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