Youth and Families Ministries this Fall at CPC - Excited yet?

Excited about the Fall? I sure am. I love snow in the winter, spring fever and summer vacation, but there is something special about the first night air chill that make a fleece pull-over a necessity, MLB Baseball playoffs (next year, O's!), the start of NFL season (go Ravens!), not to mention my birthday is in the Fall!
There is also excitement about the Fall around CPC especially as it relates to ministry to our youth and their families. Ministries are coming off their summer break and the Potter's House is buzzing again with activity (they have to buzz around the Potter's House because the Ministry Center is a full blown construction site!).
Pioneer Girls and Christian Service Brigade My family just came home from the opening night of Pioneer Girls and Christian Service Brigade (CSB). They were pretty excited. On Wednesdays from now until the Spring guys and girls from elementary age through high school will be gathering hoping to be unhindered in their mission by the currently limited space on our church campus. My 4 girls and 2 boys have had many opportunities over the years to see mature men and women live out their faith while being instructed in activities like orienteering, cooking, firebuilding, rocket craft, sewing, archery, and tomahawk throwing (I'll let you figure out who does what!). I am grateful to those who serve Pioneer Girls and CSB for making Wednesdays special.
Revolution This week also marks the beginning of our high school and middle school group meetings. My two high schoolers are looking forward to Revolution on Thursday nights (each in their own particular way). I am excited for the start of Revolution as well, in part because I supervise Dan Halley and get to see the 'behind the scenes' planning . There are almost twice as many adult workers this year over last who have committed themselves to regularly gather with the high school group - several of them former youth at CPC! I am personally excited about the practical, interactive lessons that Dan is working on based on 1 Corinthians. The God who chose the foolish, weak and not noble things of this world has a lot in store for our young people, I'm sure.
SHINE My middle schooler is excited about SHINE starting on Friday night. Me too. I get to supervise Jeff Corbett in his role as pastoral intern as part of his studies at Reformed Theological Seminay. I know Jeff is excited to be able to serve alonside the SHINE crew that has faithfully served for the past several years as well as with a great set of middle school parents who served in the high school ministry when I first came to CPC. Our middle schoolers are in for a treat as they encounter all of Mrs. D's games and look at selected passages in the gospel of John to discover the wonder of a God who would take on flesh for the likes of us!
Sunday School Sunday wasn't about to be left out of the minstry to our young people. This past Sunday, Rob Craig highlighted the alternative to the Sunday School that starts up on 9/19 at 8:30am on the CPC campus. It is certainly praiseworthy that God has provided the teachers we needed to staff the various classes.
College-aged gathering We have tried off and on to offer something for our "college-aged" people at CPC (don't have to be enrolled to enjoy!). This Fall we're opening the Flora home on Sunday evenings (when we aren't having Lord's Supper services) for a discussion of various DVD series. First up - R.C. Sproul's 'The Holiness of God', probably followed by a worldview series similar to The Truth Project called "TrueU" - we'll have to see how things go.
UPWARD - nuff said...:-)
There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the Fall. And many more reasons to be grateful to God that we can share this Fall together as a congregation.