You know..., it's officially fall, one of my favorite times of year!  To kick off the fall season for Axis, we had a Digital Scavenger Hunt last Sunday. A digital scavenger hunt is when we provide students and adult drivers with a list of items to take digital snapshots of. We launched from New Horizon, scrambled all over Champaign-Urbana, and then back to New Horizon in one major flurry of activity.  We had 35 students attend the event, 8 adult drivers, and several other adult volunteers who made the afternoon an amazing success.  I want to offer a sincere thank you to each parent, student, and volunteer who made our Digital Scavenger Hunt possible.  By donating your time, energy, and resources, you helped fulfill one of the key components relating to the mission statement of Axis: connecting students to God and to each other.  When we have crazy fun events, it truly does help students connect to each other - which in turn, provide a greater possibility for them to support each other when things get rough.  So, thanks again for taking time on Sunday.  Every little thing adds up... it really, really does.

-Dave

Hello again!  We have now started a new message series called Nazareth High, which focuses on what Jesus would be like if he were a student.  One of the main objectives is bringing Jesus more down to earth.  This way we can see Jesus more as a person to emulate than as a God to aspire to.  The other main point that is stressed is how Jesus would influence his peers.  This is especially important now that school is starting up and our students will be away from home for most of the day.  Being good influencers in a public setting is something everyone needs to master as they mature.  We hope to see your student on Wednesday night!

Hello again!  Everyone loves a good game, right?  Well this Wednesday at Axis we are going to play Gold Rush.  This game will take up most of the night and is intended to get as many people as possible to show up.  This will be our latest Andrew Night event, so make sure everyone you can get is coming!  Next week we will be starting a new series called Pixar and God.  We will be looking into "classic" Pixar moments and finding how they relate to our walks with God.  We have been looking to up the attendance at Axis, so invite everyone you can!

-Matt

  Everyone loves theme parks, right?  I know I do.  And although we are not taking the Axis students to Six Flags for four weeks, we are going to be delving into how God and his plans for us relate to different elements of a theme park.  We will be looking at things such as the front gate, the roller coaster, and the ferris wheel.  Through these we will discover, or rediscover, new truths about God and learn more about how our plans fit into, or don't fit into, God's plan.  In our small groups we will figure out how we can use these truths in our everyday life and how we can apply them to extraordinary circumstances.  We hope you or you students will join us for this exciting new message series!

We have a new message series at Axis now, its called How to Annoy Your Family.  No, we aren't telling the youth to climb on the bookshelf, but we are trying to equip them with attitudes and mind sets to get along with their families better.  During the series, we will be taking a look at what God and the Bible says about rebellions against your parents, sibling rivalry, and the like.  By taking an in-depth look at key Bible verses and learning from adults and other, students will learn how to handle tough situations with their families.  We hope to see your kids there!

Axis students will be going to East St. Louis June 7th - 13th and will be hosting a Rock-a-thon to raise money for this mission trip. Teams of students will rocking for 12 hours and will be taking pledges to support them in their endeavor. Now by “rockin’” we don’t mean music but real rocking chairs... you know the kind you use to woo them to sleep when they were just babies. The students will be rocking from 12 noon - 12 midnight and they would love to have you join them in this adventure from 5-9pm to see how they are doing. They will have pizza, goodies and ice cream all available for a donation. There will also be carnival games for younger kids and karaoke contests for the young at heart.

 

Looking over the website recently, several of the staff members noticed that we have neglected this amazing tool called a "blog" keep you updated on what's happening with the various ministries at New Horizon. So, I have picked up the gauntlet that has been thrown down to keep the blog updated and I am in a mad dash to beat my fellow colleagues to the first post in quite some time.  :)

We recently finished up a message series in Axis entitled "Do Something". This message series was focused on encouraging students to not just be aware of the needs in our world, but to actually be willing to take some tangible steps towards making a difference. The steps may be small, but, enough one degree sort of things really do make a measurable impact.

This past Wednesday we began a new message series entitled "Homecoming". This three week series centers around taking an in-depth look at one of my favorite parables from the Bible, the story of the Prodigal Son. I think the reason why that particular parable resonates so deeply with me is that it reminds me of the amazing, unfathomable, and relentless love of God that is always willing to take us back, regardless of how far we think we have fallen.

Finally, on an upcoming events note, confirmation class begins this Sunday. If you are an 8th grade/high school student and you are interested in attending confirmation class, please let me know ASAP.

See you all this Sunday for the 14th Birthday Bash at New Horizon!

-Dave

 

Upcoming Axis events . . .

October 31 -- Great October Days (G.O.D.) at New Horizon from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  A fun, game- filled, candy- filled event for New Horizon children and their friends.  Axis students are welcome and encouraged to help with the event.  Areas of service include:  games, greeting, set up and taken down.  Sign up at Axis on Wednesday, Oct. 22 or 29.

November 8 -- New Horizon Outreach Benefit Concert at New Horizon from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. to support 2009 mission work in Haiti and E. St. Louis.  The concert will feature The Born Again Christians, the New Horizon Worship Band and Lumus.  Also featured:  a bake sale, soft driniks, raffle and art sale.  Students are welcome to help with this event by providing baked goods or helping the night of the event.  Bring your family and friends to help support mission work in 2009.  For more information, contact Doug Berkman - ichthys@mchsi.com.

With summer winding down, students back in school, and the hints of fall slowly revealing themselves, it may seem like a road trip is out of season. However, our student ministries are defying road trip expectations and we are heading on the road for some dates in September & October. This is all due to the building construction and needing to provide space for both Axis and ROCK on Wednesday nights. Once the building is complete, Axis and ROCK can both exist on Wednesdays. So… because road trips are fun, Axis is going to be mobile for some weeks when ROCK resumes for the fall semester. I’ve included a listing below of where Axis will meet from week to week.


September 3 – Regular Axis Night

September 10 – Regular Axis Night

September 17 – Swimming at Centennial High School 
           (drop off and pick up at Centennial)

September 24 – Parking Lot Picnic at New Horizon

October 1 – Bonfire at the Nixa’s

October 8 – Small Group Outing Night


All of the events listed above will be held at normal Axis times.

Fueling up,
Dave

Well, the new site has been up for about three weeks now. I hope that you all are enjoying the new look and the additional features. Thank you to those of you who have emailed and let us know of broken links and missing information. Our website has a lot of pages with a lot of information. So, if something still isn't working correctly or if there is some incorrect/missing info, just use the contact form and let us know so we can continue to make the complete transition to our new site.

On a student ministry note, some of our Axis students and adult sponsors are heading down to Beulah Camp in Eldorado, IL tomorrow after the 8:30 worship experience. I love this week of camp because there is so much focus on worship, teaching, and hearing that still small voice of God speak in truly unforgettable ways.  I know some of our students are coming to camp with some big questions to bring to God. Thankfully, God is more than able to meet each student, right where they are, and reveal His goodness and His divine call on each one of their lives. Pray that God would give us ears to hear and receptive hearts. I would like to invite you to pray daily for us this week. Pray for the safety of every camper at Beulah. And, pray that God would do some truly extraordinary things this week. Thanks in advance for taking the time to pray for us.

Packing my suitcase,
Dave