This is my first time ever writing a blog. It should be fun. October is officially over and we are moving into the cold, stormy weather. If it hasn't happened yet, just wait, it will. 

So.. what have we been up to? Good question. Last month we had our Fall Retreat with the Caveman. We were challenged and encouraged by Sam Baker as our speaker, a professor from Corban College. He spoke on Ecclesiastes ....

* Unfortunately the tickets for Friday night did not come through... so Mary is working on some other plans for the girls!  Contact her for more details! (Posted 9:33pm Sept 14th)

Parents & Students,

As you may be aware from time to time we have some last minute opportunities come up for a night out on the town, etc. We have just received a donation of access to a box suite at the Rose Quarter for the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Show. Space is limited so it will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. We will do a girls night and a guys night.

Thursday Night, September 17th GUYS night
Friday Night, September 18th GIRLS night

You can check out the show here:
http://www.ringling.com/TopLanding.aspx?id=15322


We will meet at the church 5:30pm both nights and return by 10:30pm. We only have about 12 spaces each night. You can sign up on the clipboard at 'sign up central' by the entrance to the middle school room on Sunday.

The only cost will be food.  You can either bring a dinner and eat it on the way there or bring money for snacks at the Rose Quarter.

Pastor Joshua

Parents and Students -

I just wanted to let you know our middle school website has been updated with a new theme and look for this year!  Make sure you take some time to check it out at http://www.myyouthgrouprocks.com   It will be updated with all of the latest information about events and activities.

-We had a great time this last Sunday morning welcoming our new 6th grade students and kicking off our new series called 'Friends'.  As we are starting another year of school we are learning Biblical principles about making friends, keeping friends, and being a friend.  Don't miss out on this exciting series Sunday morning at 9:15.

-We also start Gospel Journey Maui this upcoming Wednesday, September 16th from 7-8:15pm in the annex.  Check it out on our website.  

-Big Weekend (Fall Retreat) is coming up!  We've made it really simple to sign up online for this event.  You can also fill out a form at the church.  The cost is $55.  But if you bring 5 friends at $55 you get in free. (WHAT A DEAL!!!!) Sign up fast though!

-Also just to remind you this Sunday at 11am is a very important meeting regarding our building project.  We'll have our regular middle school service at 9:15am in the annex then head over to the sanctuary for this important meeting at 11am.

If you have any questions please contact me... jlindley@salemnaz.org

Looking forward to a great new year!

Pastor Joshua

Hey students and parents.  Make sure you catch a VERY important meeting about the building project this Sunday at 11:00am in the sanctuary!  Pastor Dave has some very important details to share with you and it's vital that you are in attendance.  We'll have our regular middle school service at 9:15am in the annex and continue in our Friends series then we'll head straight on over to the sanctuary for this important time.

Dear Parents,

Wow! Summer is almost over!  I hope it has been a good summer for you. I am excited about the things we have lined up for this year middle school ministries and wanted to take a few minutes and share with you.

I know this letter will arrive in the hands of some who may not have been to the church in a while.  I want to especially encourage you to not miss this new opportunity for your student to become involved in a youth group and learn what it means to live for God.  Our students face challenges today that can lead them down very bad paths in life.  It is crucial we reach students when they are in middle school and younger to help them make good decisions that will last for life.  Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help your student become involved here at the church.

I'm kicking off a new series this month called 'Friends'.  We will be taking a biblical approach to friendships and the relationships we have in life.  This is a great time for your students to bring their Bibles and come to church prepared to learn new things from the Bible and put them to practice in life.  We'll be doing this series during our Sunday morning service, which is 9:15-10:55am every Sunday morning in the annex.

We're doing a 10-week series on Wednesday nights called Gospel Journey Maui. This series takes a look at how we can articulate our faith among a culture of many faiths.  This series will take place on Wednesday nights from 7-8:15 pm in the annex.  We're kicking it off with a special Luau at the Martinsons’ on Wednesday, September 9th.  Their address is: 1634 63rd Ave NE, Salem, OR 97317.  We'd love to see your student at this event!

Our next major event is BIG WEEKEND.  This is our annual fall retreat. The cost this year is $55 and includes all meals, transportation, etc.  The retreat will be held at Camp Tadmor and is the weekend of October 2nd-4th. This event is an amazing opportunity for your student and their friends.  It's a fast-paced weekend full of games, scripture, worship, devotions, quiet time, and connecting time. Time and time again I have seen students who are new or unconnected with few or no friends attend this event and come back completely changed having made some new friends for life.  If there is ANYTHING that stands in the way of your student attending this event let me help.  We have some scholarships available and I am willing to do whatever is necessary to find a way for your student to attend this event.

I'm looking forward to another great year here at Salem First.  If you have any questions or anything I can help you with please let me know!

Pastor Joshua

jlindley@salemnaz.org

Hey guys!   

I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you guys for all the work you did.  You guys were truly the hands and feet of Christ to everyone you met during the trip.  I appreciate your willingness to allow God to do incredible things through you. 

Enclosed is a group picture from the retreat.  I hope you'll put this somewhere in your room where you can see it and be reminded to pray for the people you met and the ministries we worked with during the mission trip. 

I also want to say a special thanks to those who did student devotionals for our sessions.  (Ross, Shannon, Garrett, Joanna, Morris, Allison)  These students did such a great job of sharing their heart with us during the trip. 

Congrats to the PPP.  Your team won the team competition for the week! Your team is invited to lunch on me at Red Robin Sunday, August 16^th, after the morning service.  Please let Mary know if you're going to be able to make it. 

I wanted to remind you about the Go Wide strategy we learned during the mission trip.  It's my prayer we will use this strategy to reach our friends for Christ this year!  If you forgot or need a reminder here we go!  

1.) PRAY: Remember to pray for your friends who don't know Christ.  

2.) PURSUE: Grow in your relationship with your friends.  Find 'forks in the conversation' where you can talk about God.  

3.) PERSUADE:  Help your friend understand the importance of giving their life to Christ!  If they were about to jump off a bridge you'd work really hard to persuade them not to... why not give the same effort to help your lost friends find faith in Christ? 

I'm so proud of you guys and look forward to seeing how God is going to use you this year to reach out to your friends.  Have a great rest of the summer!  See you soon! 

Pastor Joshua