MARCH 2014

PLUGGED IN
A MONTHL Y PUBLICATIONTO HELP PARENTS BETTER PLUG INTOTHE SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT OFTHEIR STUDENT

March Issue
THIS MONTH

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DODGEBALL @ WAR MEMORIAL (3/12) SE ASIA 301 TRAINING/ COMMISSIONING (3/16) GIRLS MINISTRY (3/16) SE ASIA GO TRIP (3/21-30) SPRING BREAK (3/24-28)

COMING SOON

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MARRIAGE CONFERENCE (4/3) IMPACT LITTLE ROCK (4/5) THE GATHERING (4/16) EASTER (4/20)

CAMPUS IMPACT
HAVE YOU HEARD WHAT IS GOING ON YOUR STUDENTS CAMPUS LATELY? MANY OF OUR STUDENTS HAVE STARTED BIBLE STUDIES ON THEIR SCHOOL CAMPUSES. ITS AMAZING TO HEAR HOW GOD IS BLESSING THIR OBEDIENCE. IF YOU HAVE NOT HEARD, ASK YOUR STUDENT ABOUT IT. THIS MONTH WE HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO IMPACT SCHOOL CAMPUSES ALL OVER LITTLE ROCK THRU DODGEBALL. ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, A GROUP OF LITTLE ROCK STUDENT MINISTRIES (CALLED THE 501 NETWORK) WILL PROVIDE A DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT AT WAR MEMORIAL STADIUM IN HOPES THAT MANY WILL HEAR THE GOSPEL, RESPOND, AND CONNECT TO LOCAL CHURCHES. IF YOU CAN VOLUNTEER, CLICK HERE.
A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014

VOLU NTEER SPOTLIGHT

SUE REEVES

ENGAGE

CELL PHONE USE AND SLIPPING GRADES

EMPOWER!
FROM SELF-ABSORBED TO SELF-SACRIFICING

EQUIP!
HOW TO WRITE A FAMILY MISSION STATEMENT

STUDENT MINISTRY STAFF

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Matt Hubbard
Lead Student Pastor
MOST MEMORABLE FAMILY VACATION! ! Disney World in the late 80s"

Melissa Sponer
Girls Ministry Associate
MOST MEMORABLE FAMILY VACATION! ! 12th Birthday at Disney World"

Ross Spigner
Middle School Pastor
MOST MEMORABLE FAMILY VACATION! ! Family Ski Trips!

Amanda Beach
Ministry Assistant
MOST MEMORABLE FAMILY VACATION! ! White Sands, New Mexico!

From Our Heart!

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This letter is a thank you. I thank you from me to you for many years of encouragement, ceaseless love, and dedication.! First, to my mom and dad, I thank you for following Proverbs 22:6, training me in the way I should go so that when I am older, I will not depart from His word. Most importantly, I thank you for setting our family on a steadfast foundation. Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was to grow up in a home with two parents who loved the Lord, who took me to church every Sunday they could, and who introduced me to my Savior, Jesus Christ. I thank you for answering my questions, for encouraging me in my faith, and for challenging me to live a life that reects my beliefs. Overall, I thank you for providing me with roots to my faith in order that I may grow even more each day and teaching me the importance of my own personal relationship with Him.!

Next, to the other parents who have played a signicant role in my life. Whether it is church staff, Sunday School teachers, or volunteers, I thank you for creating an environment that overows with the love of Christ. I thank you for modeling lives that are examples, not only for me, but for my peers as well. You all do not understand the importance of your love and encouragement. Immanuel Baptist church has granted me the opportunity to have a church family and multiple other parents who continue to challenge me and provide me with the essentials necessary to grow in my faith. Parents, on behalf of the students, I thank you for being imitators of God.!

Parents, you have had a fundamental role in my life and the lives around me. Thank you for listening to His commands and in return, teaching us about Him and providing us with wisdom. Though it is not professed, you truly are appreciated.
A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014 A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014

High School Student

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NT t IN PRI s Hear d il h C a cting Instru

rgy and Ma by Tedd Baucham on y Stins by Rand

Tripp

ith iven Fa r D y il Fam

ie by Vodd

hood ! cal Man li ib B o t A Guide

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT !
SUE REEVES

MY FAMILY: ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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OLAN (BUTCH) (HUSBAND...MARRIED 1987) ! KENT (AGE...25) ! PHILIP (AGE...23) ! SADIE AND SUGAR (MALTESE) I TEACH THE MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS DURING ! THE 10:30 HOUR WITH KIM FENDLEY. ! 24 YEARS. ! GREECE ! JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS.

WHERE I SERVE: ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I HAVE SERVED FOR: !

MY DREAM VACATION DESTINATION IS: ! MY FAVORITE BIBLE STORY IS: ! !

www.vimeo .com/

www.faceb ook.com/

www.twitter .com/

www.insta gram.com/

A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014

2014 / March
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Student Worship MS (5:45-7:15) HS (6:15-8:00)

SEATTLE GO INFO MEETING @5PM

DODGEBALL REGISTRATION DEADLINE

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MIDDLE SCHOOL DODGEBALL FOLLOW UP EVENT

Girls Ministry 12-2

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SE ASIA GO training 301 ! @4pm

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Student Worship MS (5:45-7:15) HS (6:15-8:00) SPRING BREAK! (NO SERVICE)

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SE Asia Go Trip

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SE Asia Go Trip

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SE Asia Go Trip

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SE Asia Go Trip

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COMING SOON

April 3 April 5 April 16 April 18 April 20 May 3-4

Marriage Conference with Kirk Cameron Impact Little Rock The Gathering Good Friday Easter Senior Recognition Weekend

WWW.IBCLRSTUDENTS.ORG !
A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014

ENGAGE

FREQUENT CELL PHONE USE LINKED TO ANXIETY, LOWER GRADES, AND REDUCED HAPPINESS IN STUDENTS, KENT STATE RESEARCH SHOWS
http://bit.ly/1cXVb1w

happiness. Thus, for the population studied, high frequency cell phone users tended to have lower GPA, higher anxiety, and lower satisfaction with life (happiness) relative to their peers who used the cell phone less often. The statistical model illustrating these relationships was highly signicant."

center in the lobby, their rst question usually is, What programs and services do you o$er that our family might enjoy? I once heard Erwin McManus say, Looking for a church to meet my needs sets up a consumer mentalityand the church becomes a pig farm."

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Today, smartphones are central to college students lives, keeping them constantly connected with friends, family and the Internet. Students cell phones are rarely out of reach whether the setting is a college classroom, library, recreational center, cafeteria or dorm room. As cell phone use continues to increase, it is worth considering whether use of the device is related to measurable outcomes important for student success, such as academic performance, anxiety and happiness. "

Earlier this year, a team led by Lepp and Barkley also identied a negative relationship between cell phone use and cardiorespiratory tness. Taken as a whole, these results suggest that students should be encouraged to monitor their cell phone use and reect upon it critically so that it is not detrimental to their academic performance, mental and physical health, and overall well-being or happiness."

Whether we are discipling teenagers or adults, our focus must be on changing their orientation from self to others. Giving believers genuine hearts for others is one of the antidotes to moralistic therapeutic deism." Giving believers genuine hearts for others is one of the antidotes to moralistic therapeutic deism. Scot McKnight says: Everything about spiritual formation for Jesus is shaped by his version of the Shema. For Jesus, love of God and love of others is the core. Love, a term almost indenable, is unconditional regard for a person that prompts and shapes behaviors in order to help that person become what God desires. Love, when working properly, is both emotion and will, a$ection and action."

Photo of Kent State student with cell phoneKent State University researchers Andrew Lepp, Ph.D., Jacob Barkley, Ph.D., and Aryn Karpinski, Ph.D., all faculty members in the universitys College of Education, Health and Human Services, surveyed more than 500 university students. Daily cell phone use was recorded along with a clinical measure of anxiety and each students level of satisfaction with their own life, or in other words happiness. Finally, all participants allowed the researchers to access their o#cial university records in order to retrieve their actual, cumulative college grade point average (GPA). All students surveyed were undergraduate students and were equally distributed by class (freshman, sophomore, junior and senior). In addition, 82 di$erent, selfreported majors were represented."

THE STUDY REPORTED IS PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR (2014), PAGES 343-350, DOI: 10.1016/J.CHB.2013.10.049 AND CAN BE ACCESSED AT HTTP:// WWW .SCIENCEDIRECT .COM/SCIENCE/ ARTICLE/PII/S0747563213003993.

EMPOWER

TEENAGERS: FROM SELFABSORBED TO SELFSACRIFICING

http://bit.ly/1jEj6Fc

Researcher Tim Elmore has found young adults to be a narcissistic or me-centered generation. They have spurts when they want to change the world but have not grown up with strong enough commitments to sustain activity toward change. Youth ministry today shapes future young adults."

Mobilizing teenagers to love and show compassion for others in the name of Christ may be completely comfortable to you. In fact, it might be right at the heart of your youth ministry. But it is also possible you are in a stream of the church that does not give as much attention to this theme."

Results of the analysis showed that cell phone use was negatively related to GPA and positively related to anxiety. Following this, GPA was positively related to happiness while anxiety was negatively related to

The moralistic therapeutic deism that characterizes most church teenagers is almost entirely me-centered. Now we know that teenagers mostly absorb this focus on self from the adult congregation. When prospective church members approach the visitors
A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014

If discussing sacrice, compassion, and justice makes you a little nervous, let me make a suggestion. Just decide you are going to follow the instruction of Scripture alonefrom Genesis to Revelation. And decide you will give closest attention to Gods most complete revelationHis Son." God redeems believers to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). But what exactly is that image to which we are to be conformed? The image of the Son is multifaceted. But one of those facets

was declared by Jesus Himself when He said, For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45)."

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did not visit me. . . . Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me (Matt. 25:4143, 45)."

Believers who imitate Christ are believers who serve. Believers who imitate Christ are believers who serve. Just to make sure we did not miss this, Jesus said it another way in Mathew 20:2528: You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be rst among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

In fact, Christ permeates the entire drama. He commands you to go and be compassionate. He is the commander on His white horse, leading you to address needs and right wrongs. When you get there, He is the servant with towel and basin, already caring for others as your example. His Spirit lls you and empowers you to join Him in what He is doing. And then, as you care for others, He accepts that as loving acts toward Him. From start to nish, it is all Jesus."

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Compassion is not a gimmick. Service also brings healing for teenagers whose view of themselves has been damaged. Jim Burns and Mark DeVries report that teenagers with low opinions of themselves are also extremely self-absorbed. When those same teens are challenged to serve and become focused on the needs of others, their view of self improves."

Compassion for those with great needs clearly is biblical. But is this just a peripheral teaching, or is it something much more than that? David Platt says: Is materialism a blind spot in American Christianity today? More specically, is materialism a blind spot in your Christianity today? Surely this is something we must uncover, for if our lives do not reect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to question just how e$ective we will be in declaring the glory of Christ to the ends of the earth. More pointedly, if our lives do not reect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to wonder if Christ is really in us at all."

We can move teenagers more quickly toward a lifestyle of care and compassion if they see this in their homes. Scot McKnight says, neighborly love begins in the home. In fact, if it is not shown in the home, it is a sham in public."

Some might say it is too radical to hint that lack of compassion reveals a person does not know Christ. Perhaps they need to carefully read Jesus words in Matthew 25: Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal re prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you
A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014

As you immerse teenagers in compassionate ministries, you need to help them avoid two extremes. On the one hand, you must explain that we do not o$er practical help as a trick to get people to hear the gospel. We show compassion with respect because people are Gods creation, because He loves them, because He commanded us to care about them, and because when we get thereHe already will be there serving them. "

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It is unloving to meet someones practical needs and then fail to respectfully share the gospel.

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But on the other extreme, it is unloving to meet someones practical needs and then fail to respectfully share the gospel. Well-fed people who spend forever separated from Godbecause they never once heard the good news have not been treated justly.!

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Stephen Covey describes a family mission statement as a combined, unied expression from all family members of what your family is all aboutwhat it is you really want to do and beand the principles you choose to govern your family life." So, a family mission statement can be a tool to help your children remember and reect on the core values and goals youve established as a family.!

needs to take." It may take the form of a catchy motto, be an acrostic using your familys last name, or take on some other creative form. The easier to remember, the better. But remember, no one size ts all.!

Bottom line: Youth ministry calls and leads teenagers to love others in the name of Jesus by the power of the Spirit for the glory of God.!
By Dr . Richard Ross,Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,Fort Worth, Texas

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Here are ve practical steps you can take to help develop a family mission statement:! Step #1: Engage the whole family: This is a great exercise for the entire family." Set aside some extended time

Step#4: Creatively display and reinforce your family mission statement In order to keep the family mission statement in front of your family, look for ways to prominently display it in your home." Also try and celebrate when a family member honors a value or accomplishes a goal thats been identied. The best mission statement in the world wont do anything if you dont reinforce it. The more it comes up, the more those key ideas take root.!

EQUIP
(NOTE: IBC Student Ministry does not necessarily endorse the content and viewpoints expressed in these articles.They are posted here for purposes of keeping you informed as to what is happening in the world of youth culture.)

5 STEPS TO WRITING A ! FAMILY MISSION STATEMENT !

http://onforb.es/1bbbr vc

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of ones youth." Blessed is the man who lls his quiver with them! Psalm 127:3-5!

to cast vision with your children for why a family mission statement is important." The more your children feel a part of the process, the more likely they will be to embrace it.!

As J.D. wrote in this recent post, When Solomon says that our children are arrows, he is telling us that God gives us our kids so that we can prepare them for his mission. After all, what is the purpose of an arrow? An arrow is designed to be shot!! # Many of you may be absolutely on board with the idea of preparing your kids for missionbut youre equally stuck on how to do that. One way to e$ectively prepare our children prior to launching them is to develop a family mission statement."!

Step #2: Identify specic goals and values based on Scripture As you talk with your children about Gods purpose for their lives, take time to discuss specic values and goals you have for the family." Also let your children speak into the process by sharing specic things God is putting on their hearts.!

Need a little more direction? This article from Focus on the Family gives some excellent examples of family Twitter mission statements." It also has some good questions to ask during the process that will help shape your mission statement.!

Step #5: Evaluate periodically Especially if youve never done anything like this before, it may take a while to land on a family mission statement that actually ts you and your kids. Dont get frustrated if your rst attempt turns out to be a dud. Revisit, revise, and move on. You may also nd that as your children grow and mature that your Faceb family ministry ook statement needs to be modied. Evaluating periodically will allow you to adjust for the di$erent seasons of Instagr life your family will go through.! am

Parenting is an adventurea wild, unpredictable, tiring, rewarding adventure. Start the adventure with the right tools, and you are well on your way to preparing your children to launchlike the arrows that they are.! #
By Will Toburen,Executive Pastor of Discipleship Ministries,Summit Church, Raleigh,North Carolina"

Step #3: Work together to craft a statement Heres where you can get really creative." Theres no one format that your family mission statement
A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014

IBC STUDENT MINISTRY

501 N. SHACKLEFORD! LITTLE ROCK, AR 72211! O | 501.376.3071! WEB | WWW.IBCLRSTUDENTS.ORG

A publication of IBC Student Ministr y. ! www.ibclrstudents.org 2014