I am so proud of our students . They have stepped up to the plate and I believe they Got it. We just started our 21 day turn off. What is a 21 day turn off. I have challenged our students to turn off one or all of the following there cell phones , ipods,video games etc.  We had 30 students at my house Sunday night and to say that God showed up is an understatement. Parents if you are reading this you should be very proud if your student is participating in this. I am excited about what God is going to do over the next several days with our students.

                                                                                                       Love Yall

                                                                                                    Pastor Joey

Hey gang just wanted to brag on our students again. We had a mission yesterday to take 32 dollars and see how we could make an impact on world hunger and the leaders could  not help the students. They did an awesome job. I am so proud of them and believe that there has been  a stirring in the hearts of the students and the leaders here. God has been rocking our worlds this week and we have one more day. Pray that we would finish strong.

                                                                                                                     Pastor Joey

Hey everyone i just wanted to give you an update on what is going on here in Chicago. We did an event today for some kids at  the church who is hosting us. It went really well we had around 50-60 people there and it was a great experience. our Team did a great job organizing and putting it on. The most awesome thing was that our students did it. We kind of set the parameters and then turned them loose. They did an awesome Job. We had children from every nationality that you can think of come. From Latin Americans. to Muslims to people from the Czech republic. It was wild, but the main thing is we showed them the love of Christ and had a blast doing it. God has been doing some awesome things in our students. Please continue to pray for us. we still have a long week to go.

                                                                                                In Him

                                                                                          Pastor  Joey

Hey Folks we have had an awesome day today in Chicago. It is not what I had expected at all. I expected a very impoverished and poor demographic and when I saw the plae that we are serving on the outside it didn’t look poor at all , But after we met the pastor of the church and some of his staff we learned that this area is indeed poor and in need of attention. Except it it spiritual, you see the area that our team is serving is the most diverse zipcode in the US. There are more than 160 dialects of language spoken and over 80,000 people in a two mile radius. These people are from every nation around the world. The place where we spent most of our time today is a melting pot of religious folks from jewish- muslim to hindu to many-other religions who want nothing to do with Jesus. It was very eye opening and yet it was awesome to see our students not caring about the language barriers the cultural barriers , but they still were inviting people to this local church for a family fun day and also asking if anyone needed help with yard work or just anything in general. The last but not least I almost  went to Jail today. I kind of felt like a little persecution was happening, but anyway I will explain. We were handing out water at a park to some kids and we were told we could not do that in that particular place at that time so we went to another spot were there were kids playing soccer and basketball and we gave them water. Then as were leaving the place the Police showed up. Evidently the park manager called the police on us for handing out water bottles and talking to students about our kids camp. So after a 20 minute fiasco I was turned loose to go on my way without incident. What a day we have had. I cant wait to see what happens tomorrow.  Hey God has started to break some of our students it is awesome. Keep praying for us

                                                                                                               Pastor Joey

Well we have been in Chicago all of about 5 hours and already God is rocking students worlds. We have not even started our work project yet and God is showing off. I am so excited about what God wants to do this week. We showed up here today and heard a speaker named Jeff Frazier speak. I dont think it was a coincidence that he ver batim talked about the same thing that I have been teaching on for the last 4 weeks about God View. That was confirmation enough for me that there are some unusual things in store for the Senior High Ministry this week. Our work project is not even normal. We are kind of doing our own thing this week of course we have a structure in place, but we are going to work closely with Poor Children and Homeless people. If you are reading this I ask you to pray for a Gloriosly ruined bunch of students when we come back. I pray also for some gloriously ruined leaders also. I cant wait to see what God has in store. Keep us in your prayers.

                                                                                                       Pastor Joey

Hey gang I just wanted to thank everyone again who helped me with the Golf Tournament . I could not have done it without you. Thanks for coming to the meetings for the last two months. It all payed off in the end. I was so proud of our team and all the hard work that was put into it. You all are the best and it is a privilege to walk with you. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thanks again

                                                                                                               Pastor Joey

So I have braved the doors of three of Disney’s Theme Parks this week with my wife my two year old and my five year old. To say that I have walked 100 miles would probably be an understatement. We went to the Magic Kingdom yesterday which started out with breakfast with Mickey At 7 am and then we stayed in the park until the fireworks were over at 930pm. It was a long day. We made it a mission to see every character Disney has and get there autograph in one day. We were successful. Oh did I mention it was close to 90. It was still a blast we have enjoyed ourselves. It has allowed me to take time and enjoy my children and my wife. If you have been in the daily grind take a step back sometime and look watch and experience your family. It sounds like something that we all do but is it really. I encourage you if you are reading this. Slow down and spend time with your family.

                                                                                               Love You All

                                                                                               Pastor Joey

Hey gang I am in Chicago at a Student Ministry Conference and I heard three speakers today and they were talking about everything that our Church is currently heading toward. It is so awesome that the focus of the church is turning toward the less fortunate and the oppressed people in America. I am excited after hearing the speakers really confirm what I already knew was the right direction that the local church as a whole needed to look at. God is using The Gathering to birth something that is very unusual and is making an impact. If you are new to the church get ready for the ride of a lifetime. God is working in our area and has sovereignly chosen us to be a vehicle for His work. Get ready church because God is moving Forward!!

                                                                                                                              On a Mission

                                                                                                                               Pastor Joey

Hey gang I am excited about some new opportunities that are coming up for our students. We have two new leaders who have come on board and they are gifted in the area of expressive dance and we are now starting to ask students to get involved in this area. I believe this can be an awesome tool in our services. This is another aspect of ministry that I believe can take us to another level . God is so good and he knows what he is doing. You all pray that he would bring wisdom and more great leaders to this ministry. Get ready gang the students are coming. We have to armor up and get ready to go to war because the enemy hates it. Continue to pray for Unity in our ministry and that God would protect us. I love you all.

                                                                                                          Pastor Joey

I was so proud of our team this weekend. The Senior High Praise and Worship band was great. My hats off to Eric Eddy, Chris Dorsten, Amanda Akers and Deandra Rademacher. They have done a tremendous job with them in a very short time. I am so proud of Brennon Carpenter Jordan Mitchell Daniel Frith and Elijah Newman. You all have come together and done an awesome job. I want to thank everyone for their prayers for me. I felt everyone of them while I was speaking. My biggest prayer was that noone would see me but instead would see Jesus in me and they would hear the Holy Spirit. I believe that he spoke to many and again thank you to everyone who prayed for me during the services. Five services are not easy and I see why Pastor Gene has to take time off. When you bare your soul five times it will drain you. Lets Finish Strong this year and watch God move Easter Weekend.

                                                                                               Love you all

                                                                                               Pastor Joey