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Student Ministry February 2018

Dear Church Family,

The Student Ministry has been gearing up for the Spring and Summer by planning for events and putting dates on the calendar. We are really excited for this year’s line-up of things to do together with friends and the rest or our Student Ministry family. It is going to be full of fun times, encouraging fellowship, and spiritual growth. These events are going to be great! But with all that said, I believe there is a danger that we can easily ignore. If we aren’t careful, we will look forward to these events and forget about the essential week-by-week fellowship and worship that we all need. It can be very tempting as believers to operate from one spiritual “high” to another and neglect walking together with Christ. But the Bible doesn’t describe the Christian life as a sprint, but as a faithful and persevering walk with Christ. It is a hike that goes from mountaintops to valleys, from deserts to grassy plains. And we need each other regularly in our lives to keep us looking to Christ no matter what the terrain is.

The reason I say all of that is to mention that it would be a shame for us to make it to all the church events (which would be great!) but miss out on the weekly fellowship and worship that is so important for our Christian walk. While the Student Ministry events will be major  factors in students’ lives, Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night church will be even more influential over time. Missing these regular times to worship, fellowship, and grow together even though you’re making it to all the events would be like only drinking water once a month. It’s simply unhealthy. 

Spiritual health can hardly be overrated, therefore, the Student Ministry is a place where building close, genuine relationships and growing together in Christ is a major priority. And the best way to build relationships is regular, frequent time together. That is why I want to encourage all of us to prioritize the weekly times that we have at our church to fellowship and worship. This is how we build lasting friendships and grow in our faith. My hope for students is that they will enjoy time with their friends as well as build new genuine friendships. My prayer is that they will be growing in their faith in Christ and love for one another simultaneously. But I have no reason to expect those things to happen if we are not gathering together regularly for fellowship and worship. God works miracles sometimes, but very often He works through the most mundane things in life to bring about amazing results. I am praying for Him to do both.

My hope is that the students of Oakhill Baptist Church and their friends from school and elsewhere would come to all of the events we have planned and experience the love and life-changing grace of God in the gospel of Christ. My prayer is that they will also make it a priority like never before to gather together regularly at church to hangout and have fun      together while growing in their faith in Christ. Will you pray for these things with me? Will you pray for these things in your own life and for the rest of our church? We are doing a series on Wednesday nights that will help students know how to defend their faith and have courage sharing the gospel. We will investigate many of the questions that students and even adults have about Christianity. If you have a child or grandchild in the Student Ministry, would you encourage them to come regularly? Come, let us walk together with Christ, from mountaintops to valleys, from deserts to grassy plains.

Sincerely,

Brian Van Doren  

Worship February 2018

Church Family,
I hope this season finds you well as we are almost to the end of winter and to the front of spring. I, for one, am ready for some warmer weather. Being from Alabama, I’ve had about as much as I can take! I’ve never shoveled a sidewalk or driveway in my life until just a few weeks ago. I walked outside with a normal digging shovel when my good friend and neighbor Dale Potts saw me struggling and let me borrow a real snow shovel. I am thankful he helped me or I might have been snowed in!

It’s funny, the feeling of being snowed in. I remember looking out the window and seeing all of the snow, thinking, “There’s no way I can go anywhere, I’m going to be stuck for days!” To my surprise, I went outside and saw people everywhere. I saw people leaving for work, people exercising, ect. I thought to myself, “These people are crazy.” Again, being from the South, I expected the whole city to shut down. But that’s not the way it is here in       Indiana. People still operate in the snow. So I borrowed Dale’s snow shovel, I shoveled my driveway, and I went to work, driving as slow as I could. The funny thing, is that after a couple of days, I didn’t mind driving in the snow. I don’t mind getting out in zero degree weather. It’s not as hard as I thought it would be, and I’m thankful that my life didn’t have to slow down for two weeks just because of some silly snow.

Sometimes, I feel like our walk with God can be like this. We look through our spiritual window, and we see too many things that will keep us from walking with God. We see our sinful desires. We see our temptations. We see our culture. We see the messiness of our lives. And when we look at our lives through a window, sometimes we see things a lot worse than snow. And we think to ourselves, “There’s no way I can walk through this.” We’re tempted to think, “God can’t help me here.” And it’s at this place that we need to be reminded of God’s promises. Psalm 23:1-6 says,

“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.”

I pray that we rest in the promises of God. That He is with us. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us. And even when we feel “snowed in” throughout the messiness of our lives, beneath all of our sin, we have a perfect Savior willing to walk with us, and walk for us. So don’t walk in fear, scared of what lies ahead. Go fourth, confident in the God who called you to live your life to bring Him glory.

In Christ,
Jared