Growing up, the end of August brought a bittersweet feeling to me.  The end of August meant the summer humidity of Tennessee was about to give way to the beautiful weather of fall and my TV would be full of football games.  It also meant that school was starting back up.  Re: homework, tests, and waking up early.  Again, fall was bittersweet.  But these days?  Fall is all sweet and no bitter.

It still signifies the brutal summer weather giving way to my favorite weather season.  It still signifies the start of football.  GO STEELERS!  And it still signifies going back to school.  But instead of homework and 6am alarm clocks, back to school means students come back to church.  As a student pastor, the start of school is the best season of the year.  Families are back from vacations and students are in school.  Students in school means students spending time with classmates who need to know Jesus.  It’s my experience that August-October is the best time of the year for students to invite their friends and classmates to church.

I can’t wait for the weekend of September 11/12 to get here.  This is our annual back to school kick-off known as Block Party.  It’s a great weekend for your students to not only have fun at church, but invite their friends to a non-threatening introduction to Fuse Student Ministries.  I’d like to encourage you to do everything you can to get your students to church that weekend and pick up a friend while you’re on your way in.

Matt Vairetta

Student Pastor- Central Southwest

Ok, so I know a lot of you have been following the blog and keeping up with camp, but I thought it would be a good idea to give a short overview of the experience we all had up there.  I was able to be a part of both Junior High and High School weeks, and the one thing that stands out to me through both weeks is GROWTH.  Talking with staff, students, small group leaders, and even UCYC staff, GROWTH seemed to be an overwhelming theme from the two weeks of camp.  We saw students that have never been to church before taking huge steps and accepting Christ into their lives, and we saw students that have been a part of our ministry for years take steps in their faith towards a more Christ-like lifestyle!  As a leader, their is nothing more exciting than seeing our students grow.

I also noticed a great sense of COMMUNITY amongst our students.  I’ve never seen our students seem more together than they did these past two weeks.  It was a joy to see them supporting each other, encouraging each other, and even taking steps to restore relationships that were once broken.

The last thing I noticed was how much our small group leaders CARE about your kids.  Never before has it stood out to me this way how much our leaders truly love and want to see our students grow.  These leaders pray, encourage, and celebrate with your kids.  I’ve seen them cry tears of joy when they accept Christ, and they cry tears of empathy when they hear of difficulty going on in your kids life.  I am so proud to be a part of a team that TRULY wants to see students grow!!

All this to say . . . CAMP WAS AMAZING!!  Sure, it had it’s fair share of bumps along the way, but never before have I come home more excited about what God did the past weeks, and what he is up to over the next year!  Thank you for sharing your students with us for a week!  We really do love them and appreciate you as parents!

Josh Bollen | Student Ministries

I have attended many camps over the years at multiple churches, but I have to say this one is truly special. Besides the fun, crazy and messy games God have been moving in incredible ways!

There has been an amazing sense of community going on through out the camp. I have never seen students connect so closely to there small groups and be so honest with one another. I have watched as God has torn down walls and moved mountains in the student’s lives and how they have embraced each other and encouraged one another through it all.

God is at work and has even been restoring relationships. One relationship that was restored was through a brother and a sister. During worship they came together and confronted one another about their broken relationship. Through this they found healing and they were able to forgive one another and have committed to telling their parents about this when they return home. They also plan to ask their parents for forgiveness! This is just one of the many story’s of what our God is doing here at Ignite. God is healing, restoring and creating strong community. Students are building more then just weeklong relationship with God and their small groups but relationships that are going to last.

I will ask though that you would help us pray. With God moving so much here, so is the enemy. A few things you can pray for:

Focus- that students will be able to focus on what God is trying to teach them and to not be distracted

Wisdom- for our leaders, that God would give our leaders the words and knowledge to be able to communicate clearly to your student

Community- that God would continue to build this with in small groups

Truth- That the students would not only hear God’s truth but would be truthful with one another about where they are at

Safety- That God would continue to protect our students from injuries

Thank you so much for your prayers already and all of your support! I can’t wait for each of you to learn what God has done in your students lives this week. I also can’t wait to see what God will do in them when we return home!

Emily Wood

Summerlin

Today as I was riding on a school bus full of high school students who were belting out a Kelly Clarkson song loud and off key I thought to myself, “This camp is awesome!”

My particular group of students was on our way back from an off-site kayaking trip during our rec time this afternoon.  Kayaking is one of many activities offered to our students during rec time each afternoon.  If your son or daughter isn’t kayaking they might be climbing rocks or rock walls.  They might be doing cannonballs into the pool or trying to dunk in pool basketball.  They might be throwing footballs or throwing dodgeballs.  They might be getting bruised with paintballs.  OUCH!  To say it simply, camp is fun!  When your student returns on Sunday, make sure to ask them their favorite free time activity.

I need to finish typing so that I can hop back into the auditorium to participate in our evening worship service.  I can’t wait to worship with these students again and hear our second message of the day on the topic of Biblical community.  This is a crucial message for Christ-followers or every age, but teenagers specifically.  High school can be tough and God did not intend for us to go through it alone.  My prayer is that this week of Ignite will serve as a catalyst to get students into dynamic, Christ-centered friendships.  As parents, you can help make this happen by getting your students to church and signing them up for a Fuse Group when the school year starts back up.

Matt Vairetta

Student Pastor- Southwest Campus

As I sat and watched 40 students walk around our student center this past Saturday night and serve 120 people a hot plate of spaghetti I couldn’t help but get excited what God was doing at our Summerlin Campus. Not only was it a fundraiser to help send these 40 students and others to camp but it became a community event. I watched as each student got to know the table they were serving and built a relationship with their “customers”. After the evening was over I was pulled aside multiple times by parents, church members, and others to let me know how much they enjoyed the night. I heard repeatedly about how much they felt loved by the students that had served them. They talk about how they felt as though, their purchase of buying a ticket to a Spaghetti Dinner was helping change the student’s lives. It inspired them and made them excited about what God was doing in our church! Not only did we raise $2000 that is helping us send kids to camp but our church grew closer that night.

God is moving. The thing ‘s he is doing in the student world is even blessing and affecting the adult world. This is cool. I am not only excited to see what God is going to do with my students at camp the next few weeks but also what he is going to be doing at our church this next year!

Emily Wood

Summerlin

Summer Camp is one of the coolest and possibly most life changing events in the life of a student, whether High School or Junior High. We hang out with our friends, we have crazy and fun competitions, we stay up late, we listen to multiple messages from talented a God-honoring Pastors, and we have small groups where we discuss theological and personal stories and ideas: and best part is that it happens all day, everyday, for an entire week! If your student isn’t signed up for camp, I guarantee it will be an experience unlike any other.

But one of the most difficult parts of Summer Camp is saying goodbye to all your friends and going home. At Camp, studying the Bible, fellowship, and fun are all around us all of the time. At Home, this kind of intense discipleship environment doesn’t exist, and it’s hard. It’s hard to come home and keep that personal discipleship consistent. Three big pieces you and your student can focus on to keep your/their discipleship strong are Prayer, Bible Study and Fellowship. Stay connected to God through an active and thoughtful prayer life. You can even pray WITH your student! If you don’t already, it might seem awkward at first, but it’s a great way to bond AND stay close to God. Bible Study: most students don’t have and extensive library or concordance of Bible resources, but if you have access to a Study Bible (online, or in the 242 café here at Central), they contain lots of good study tools. Encourage your student to stay in God’s Word daily (also a good time to study WITH them). And finally Fellowship: just keep coming to Church. By staying consistent in attendance, your students will maintain great relationships and they will continue to learn more about God!

I hope your student is coming to Camp and will continue to be a Disciple of Christ even after the crazy week of fun! Our whole Family Ministries Team is giving this thing everything we have and we are in continual prayer for your family.

In Him,

Brad- Fuse Junior High

One of the biggest joys in my life is the privilege of being on teams.  Working alongside people that I love to build the Kingdom of Christ is one of the best parts of my life!  Last Thursday, our Fuse Junior High Team completed our June Days Planning together.  At the end of each ministry season (usually in June) we get together a couple of times for 3 purposes:  to look back; to take a critical look at our mission, vision and strategy; and to plan the next calendar year.  It’s a good thing.  Last Thursday, we spent the day together and then had dinner together with our spouses and/or “significant others.”  Looking around that dinner table is so fun for me.  We have some great people working with the kids of Central!

As parents and people that love Central, know that it truly is a “team effort” to build great student ministry. Next time you see a staff person or your kids’ Fuse Group leader – tell them how great they are.  Pray for our team!

Tony Schwartz / Fuse Team

Camp is almost here!!! Ah!!! It’s a little silly how excited I am for these weeks. I believe with all of my heart that camp has the potential to be the most transformative week in the life of a student. I hope that every student from Fuse can come to our camp, Ignite, in Prescott, AZ.

I’m so passionate about camp because of what it did in my own life. As a punk, 16-year old kid I went to a church camp at the insistence of some friends. Prior to going to that camp, I always assumed I was a “Christian,” but I didn’t have a clue what that meant. Personal relationship with Jesus? Nope? God’s grace and forgiveness? Uh, I didn’t know what grace meant. And what did I need forgiveness from?

That week, God broke through to my hardened heart and I experienced his radical, transformative grace for the first time. There was something about getting away from my cell phone, car, and television that God used to break through to me.

My life has never been the same since that first week of camp. I believe that for many of your sons and daughters, God may change their life in a similar way this year.

Please do whatever you can to get your kids there on July 30-August 3 (Junior High) or August 4-8 (High School). If you need more information, contact your ministry leader via e-mail on this website.

Matt Vairetta

Central Students

Student Pastor- Southwest Campus

Most of what I know about kids or students comes from what other parents have told me.  I don’t ever remember getting more “advice” from people than when my wife and I had our little boy.  EVERYONE has their opinion and EVERYONE wants you to know it!!  Despite my slight sarcasm here, we really appreciated all of the advice given and have truly taken it to heart.  However, this last weekend I learned an important lesson as a parent that I will never forget.  I learned how quickly time with your child goes by.  My little boy, Oliver, turned 1 on Tuesday and it hit me like a train . . . only 17 more of those until he moves out!  For some of you this may be exciting  For others, like myself, it is a wake-up call to the reality that the time you have with your child is short.

I don’t want to sound too depressing!  Relationships with children continue after they move out.  In fact, I’m closer with my parents than I ever was when I lived at home.  But despite the countless times friends and family told me how quickly our kids grow up, I didn’t fully realize it until Tuesday.  In fact, I would venture to say I still don’t fully realize how fast time will go by these next 17 years.  All that I do know is how much I want to get to know Oliver and instill in him that his daddy, mommy, and Jesus absolutely love him to death.  Don’t let life fly by without taking the time to love your kids, no matter how old they are!  I’m committing to this as a new dad and I hope you will commit to it along side of me!

Josh Bollen

FUSE Worship Leader

Memorial Day is creeping up and that means a number of things for many of you. Some of you will take a mini vacation. Others of you are excited to pack your vans and suburban’s with your family and head to the beach. Than there are those of you who want to lie in bed, turn on soaps or ESPN and just chill. In other words…you’re exhausted. You have been “running hard” since the New Year began and you are looking forward to a chance to catch some fresh air and renew your spirit.

That is where I am…tired, exhausted, and anxious to rest. Is that not the reality for many of us? If there is one thing I am learning through moments like these, it is to finish strong. God continually communicates to run all the way through the finish line. This is such a difficult thing to do with all the stress and worries of our everyday lives but God simply says press on.

I urge all of you to take this seriously. It is very frustrating but I know our God ask this because he believes in us. When we chose to give our lives to him he said he would forever remain in our hearts. He is right there giving us the strength and courage to continue through the roughest season of every school year. Ask yourselves what you are made of. Keep fighting! Dig deep! Finish strong. And lean on our Father in Heaven as we finish this leg of the race.

Jeff Kiwanuka

Fuse Junior High