Posts Tagged ‘Chosen’

Posted on October 26, 2009 - by Mary

Chosen Youth Conference 2009-Livin’ the Dream

I am a youth leader, and also a coordinator for the Chosen Youth Conference. The reason I am so involved in youth ministry is because I desperately want to see this generation make the best choices for their lives, be as successful as they possibly can be and to help them avoid making some of the same mistakes I made growing up. Youth ministry is one avenue in which I can reach a lot of teens.

This past weekend, we held our youth conference in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario. There were over 200 students in attendance at the Bible Fellowship church. This year’s theme is “Livin’ the Dream”. The speakers, James Scheer, Drew Spanding and Johnny V, all talked about what “Livin’ the Dream” really means…our dreams vs. God’s dreams for our lives.

As the conference unfolded Friday evening, the teens, as well as the adults, were all hyper and excited for this year’s event. Previously, the Chosen conference was in the Sault in May of 2009, for the very first time, for a one day event. This time, we were there for the two day event. The conference opened with some high praise by the Chosen Band, then going into worship. The keynote speaker, James Scheer, gave us a hint of what “Livin” the Dream” means and what to expect during the conference. He used video and some very well thought out messages to get the kids ready for the weekend.

Drew Spanding, who was also the emcee, talked about every teen’s favorite subject…sex. What I like about Drew is that he is so real. Drew is not a professional speaker, though he very well could be. He tells us right away that he’s nervous, that he might stumble over his words and that he’s just a guy with a heart for teens and wants to help them make right choices, that will benefit and add value to their lives. Drew spoke from his heart, not from “the bible”. He explained why God invented sex, why God wants us to have “good” sex, and the only way to have “good” sex. That’s all I’m going to tell you. If you want to know more, you need to attend one of the conferences, or contact me so we can discuss bringing the conference to your church.

Johnny V…aka John Vermilya, gave two very relevant message on Saturday. The first one, he talked about how as Christians, we don’t have to go door to door to tell others about Jesus and that God puts things into motion to help lead others to Him. Very powerful, especially for our teens, because so many times we think in order to be a Christian, we have to go knocking down people’s doors, or that we have to stop every person we meet in the mall or at the grocery store and tell them about Jesus, and frankly, that just freaks people out, and causes them to run away from church all together. But, that’s not the way God works. God sets things in motion so that at the right time and place, you will be where you’re supposed to be. In other words, we’re all dominoes in this thing called life, and if we’re living God’s dream for our lives, we will be on the right track.

John’s second message was even more powerful, especially for today’s youth. He taught us how to explain God’s existence without ever opening the bible. So many times, people shy away from Christians because we tend to want to shove the bible down the throats of non-believers. For some reason we think if we can just get them to read the bible, they will want to become a Christian and turn their lives over to Jesus. But, how often do you see that really happen? Not very, if at all…not in the US anyway.  So, he gave us some practical, very scientific ways to prove God’s existence. Awesome.

The bands that played, in addition to the Chosen Band, were Sargent Avenue and The Mark White Band. The teens rocked it out to Sargent Avenue and worshiped  God in their own style to the Mark White Band. I think it’s awesome how God uses music that we like to speak to us. No matter what style of music you like, there is Christian music available for your listening, or rocking, pleasure.

If you have never been to a Chosen Youth Conference, I recommend you check one out. If you’d like Chosen to come to your church, please contact me so I can get you in touch with the right people.

Posted on June 28, 2009 - by Mary

Visit from my Sister and her Family

This morning was a sad morning. My sister who was visiting us from New Mexico, along with her family, left for home today. She arrived May 31st when Jeff, Karlie and I were in Sault Ste. Marie for the Chosen Youth Conference. They made themselves at home until we arrived the next day.

When I walked in the door to my house, my sister and I hugged for a very long time. It’s been 6 long years since I’ve seen her and we both cried.

The temperatures were quite chilly upon their arrival, but slowly they rose to over 90 degrees so we got some good beach time in. One hot day, we took all the kids to the beach for 7 hours! We both look like Bob the Tomatoe from Veggie Tales! LOL.

Part of the reason my sister came to visit us was because her daughter, Kara, who’s been living here for a couple of years now, graduated high school, as well as my son Kaleb. They also came to enjoy the Big Ticket Festival, and were a blessing by volunteering. My sister’s husband Frank was blessed to be able to be a stage hand on the main stage. He got to help set up and tear down as all the different bands arrived and left. He was one pooped puppy when it was said and done, but he loved every minute of it and others were saying what a blessing he was to have up there and that he really knew what he was doing and so on. Frank couldn’t have been more thrilled or blessed!

My sister helped me with the Chosen promo booth and the Chosen Merchandise booth. She was a huge blessing to have there as well. She was able to see most of the bands she wanted to and got some photos and autographs, as well as some cd’s and t-shirts. Her daughter Katie and my daughter Karlie volunteered by selling BTF programs. It’s a great thing to see our kids helping out like that!

Other than that, we just enjoyed each others company and I showed her some stuff on the computer and about affiliate marketing and working from home. She already has a website, Open Talk Mom, where she talks about living with MS and Diabetes and other issues such as being sexually molested as a child and so on.

I am sad to see them go, but we are planning a trip to New Mexico in the Spring of 2010. Jeff has never been there and it’s been way too long since I’ve been home!

Posted on June 2, 2009 - by Mary

The Chosen Youth Conference-Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

 

This past weekend I had the awesome priviledge of volunteering at the Chosen Youth Conference in Sault Ste. Mario, Ontario Canada. This is the first time we’ve taken Chosen on the road and the 4th conference we’ve put on. The theme of this conference was the Remnant~teaching our youth what it means to be God’s Remnant, the few remaining, standing up for Him. 

The host church, Bible Fellowship, is an old, renovated ski lodge, set in the woods of Sault Ste. Marie, and as soon as we arrived, we could feel the peace and the Holy Spirit there. 

The pastor and his wife are amazing people and have an awesome team of volunteers. We met really great people with a huge heart to serve, and serve they did. The conference went very smoothly, and the reason is because of the Pastor and his team.  If you live in the SSM area, you should give Bible Fellowship a visit. The hospitality and love goes above and beyond.

There were about 300 youth and young adults in attendance, including youth leaders and youth pastors. They opened the conference with “This Little Light of Mine” being sung a cappella, and students entering the darkened auditorium with candles. The student’s lined up on the stage, and as recorded voices described some of the major issues our youth are dealing with, one by one they blew out their candle and left the stage area. As the last one exited the stage, the Chosen Band started playing Praise and Worship music. 

The MC was Drew Spanding of the Big Ticket Festival, and was also a speaker at this conference. He delivered a very powerful message on sex and marriage and that God invented it and wants us to have sex within the boundaries of marriage. We then gave all the teens a book about sex and dating and took up a love offering to help cover the cost of the books.

The day continued on with powerful messages by James Scheer and awesome music by the Andy Stefanic Band and Sargeant Avenue.  About 100 students rededicated their lives or gave their lives to the Lord for the first time after one of James’ messages. 

The conference also included some jokes, funny stories and a skit. During James’ message about having a heart, a “nurse” pushing a “dead patient” on a gurney ran out and upon examination it was determined the patient had no guts and Pastor James pulled out a string of guts (linked sausage). He instructed the nurse to take the patient back and put her guts back in. A few minutes later the nurse and the patient returned to James because she put the guts back in but she was still not moving or talking. Upon further examination, it was discovered that the patient had no heart as James pulled out from under the sheet a heart (a real cow heart, cut in half~it was huge and gross but the kids loved it!). 

The Chosen Youth Conference will again be in SSM at Bible Fellowship in October of 2009. We will be announcing ticket prices and further information on the web. Then we will be in Gaylord, Michigan November 6 & 7, 2009 and the theme is Living the Dream.

If you are in the SSM or Gaylord areas and have youth or are a youth leader or pastor, be sure to check out the Chosen Youth Conference.

You can follow Chosen on Twitter as well as join our group on Facebook. We look forward to hearing from you if you attended Chosen in Sault Ste. Marie, any of the other conferences or plan on attending either of the conferences in the fall.