2012 Canaan Awards Night

Monday, March 19, 2012

Doing Something

On Friday Nights, we have been talking about seeing God's heart for the poor, hungry, and lost. The thing is, we don't want to only see God's heart, but to actually be apart of doing something for those who are in need. However, there is so many good organizations out there. How are we to choose where to give to?

So, this past Friday, we did some research on different humanitarian organizations. The one that many youths liked was Doctors Without Borders. That is why we are encouraging all of us to see how much money we could give towards this organization. We can save up by not going out and buying a meal or setting aside some of the allowance we get. Then we will pool the money together and give it to Doctors Without Borders. Not only that, but Elder Torence mentioned that we will be able to get a matching fund from Cisco (up to $1000), so we will essentially double what we give.

Another organization we liked was Habitat for Humanity. So, we will look to see if we can get involved somehow with them and possibly go do physical labor and help build houses or something. It's time for us to move our faith into action and share God's love to others in a practical way!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Bring Your Laptops to Church?

Yes! This Friday, we will be doing something different as we'll be using our laptops, iPads, smart phones and whatnot not during youth fellowship. So bring one, two, or all three devices if you have it handy. If not, no worries either. Simply come out and join us for fun, fellowship, and growing deeper in our faith!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Activity Night (03.30)

Our Youth Group will be going to a Golden State Warriors basketball game for our next activity! This is a special Fellowship Night as after the game, there will be a short message by the Warriors head coach, Marc Jackson, who is also a pastor. There will also be music and some activities for those who attend.

Here's more information about the night:
Date: Friday, March 30
Time: The game starts at 7:30pm, but we will take BART to the game. Either meet at church at 6:50pm to carpool to the Fremont BART station, or meet us at the Fremont BART station at 7:15pm. Since there is the message and other activities after the game, we won't get back to church until 11:30pm-midnight.
Location: Oracle Arena in Oakland
Cost: Tickets are $12 or $16 (depending on the seats we get) and BART tickets are $7.20 roundtrip.

Please RSVP to Chris Liu by this Friday (03.16) because we need to purchase tickets!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Social Justice

Last Friday, our youth group watched the Kony 2012 video that exploded onto the internet. In this video, the organization called Invisible Children called attention to the Ugandan Warlord, Joseph Kony, who has kidnapped and abducted thousands of children for his own personal army. It is a very well-edited and heart-tugging video.

After the video, we talked about social justice and how this group has the heart to do something about injustice. However, we also talked about how they were accused of not allocating their finances well and how only a limited amount of the money raised really goes towards helping the Ugandans themselves.

The main takeaway for our group was to first have a heart like God. God's heart breaks for the poor and needy and we too should have a heart like His. Second, for us to be mindful of what organizations are out there doing good, but to do our research as well. And finally, to actually do something about it. It's not good enough just to talk about helping the poor, but we need to actually do it.

We will continue talking about social justice and helping the poor this upcoming Friday and what we can do to get involved. We hope that you can join us!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Outside Our Bubble

"Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
    Correct oppression;
Bring justice to the fatherless,
    Plead the widow's cause."

-Isaiah 1:17

...

We often live in a bubble and don't really know what's going on outside of our own lives. We might see or hear a news article here are there, maybe read the 'Top News' from CNN.com, but that's about it. However, there is so much more going on in the world and I hope that we can get outside of our bubble.

Starting this Friday (03.09), we will be starting a new series that will lead up to 30-Hour Famine (which will be on April 20). We'll look at social injustice and poverty around the world and hopefully develop a heart for those in need. We'll also see what we can do to make a difference and take action steps towards helping those causes. 

We hope that you can join us!


Monday, March 5, 2012

Fellowship Sunday (03.04.12)

This past Sunday, we took a break from our "Friendship First" study to have some fun fellowshipping with one another through team challenges. Teams were formed randomly and had to answer wilderness survival questions and random trivia. There were also three lightning rounds to see which team could first answer bible questions, identify celebrities and movies, answer academic problems, and do certain actions.

It was a very close match throughout the whole competition until Team 5, which consisted of Tim C., Annabelle, Chloe, and Joy, ran away with the win in the final lightning round.

Congrats to Team 5!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Best Question Ever (Review)

 For the past couple of months, we've been going through a DVD sermon series by Pastor Andy Stanley called "The Best Question Ever." This past Friday, we finally finished up the series.

Personally, this is one of my favorite sermon series by Andy Stanley, and to be honest, I've led it many times before with the different youth groups I've served. But each time we've gone through this series, I feel like it is still relevant and it really helps the students think about asking the best question ever.

This best question ever is: "What is the wise thing to do? In light of my past experience, my current circumstances, and my future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing to do. Not, what is the right thing to do, but what is the wise thing to do."

The more specific topics that were also covered were: three negative ways people respond to wise counsel,
setting high standards for sexual morality, how to use our time wisely, finding wise counsel from wise people, and finally fearing God which is the beginning of wisdom.

I hope that those of you who have joined did learn a lot and are now making better and wiser decisions in your every day lives!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Youth Ministry



This past Monday, there was tragic news of a High School shooting in Chardon, Ohio. A seventeen year boy, TJ Lane, was arrested and will most likely be charged with the killing of three students at Chardon High School. It was said that he grew up in an abusive and broken home and that there were signs of his violent actions before. Unfortunately, he took things to extremes before anyone did anything. News like this always hits a bit home for me. It's not because I have been in that type of situation before, but it's because this is a big reason why I decided to go into ministry.

In April of 1999, there was the Columbine High School shootings where two high-school seniors went on a shooting spree killing 12 students and a teacher, injuring 21 other students, before they committed suicide. I was a Sophomore in college at that time and I remember it hitting me that teens were in such need of guidance in their lives. The world that we live in today is so corrupt and there are so many things pulling at their lives influencing them. A year later, my dad started serving as a pastor at a church called EFC Irvine. At that time, the current youth leader was just about to step down and so they were looking for someone to work with their youth group. My dad asked my sister and I to help out over the summer and we agreed.

As I served with my sister as the Youth Counselors for EFC Irvine, I received my calling to go into full-time ministry. There was so much joy in working with these teens and trying, to the best of my ability, to help them live a life that has purpose and one that lives according to what God desires for us. That, coupled with the recent shooting, made me see just how important it is for teens to have a place where they can learn solid biblical truths. So after I graduated from college, I decided to go to Talbot School of Theology to get a Mdiv Degree.

It's been more than 10 years now since I first started working with youths and it's neat to see the many lives that have been changed. It's even more of a blessing to see many who are still passionate for God today and still growing and serving Him in whatever capacity they can. I know that it wasn't all me, far from it, but I'm glad that I was able to invest my life in theirs and see God use me.

I really pray that our youth group, Everglow, would be a place where many lives are changed. I pray that we would be a community of believers who are really committed to one another and desiring to see and help one another grow in our faith. I pray that we would be a fellowship who brings God's message of love and grace and truth into the world.

So join me, and partner with us, to be a light to this dark world!