Amped Student Ministries

Commissioned!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:29:00 +0000

So my devotion really got me thinking this morning. After all the apostles had forsaken Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:50), one would think He would have shunned them after His resurrection. What did He do instead?
1. To Mary at the tomb: "go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)
2. He finds the apostles, stand among them, and says “Peace be with you.” As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! ²¹Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John 20:19-21)
3. To Peter, he says 3 times: "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these^?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

He was telling them "I have not given up on you! I told you what was coming. I never let you go. My command was a promise: "When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."" (Luke 22:32)

Jesus was eager to repair the damage that had been done. Eager to forgive, restore, recommission. He trusts us to take care of His sheep! I believe with my whole heart that 2013 will be the best year in the history of The GBC. We will see more people come to Christ, more baptisms, and more spiritual growth than ever before as we continue to make disciples that make disciples.

The best is yet to come!!!

Skewed Expectations

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:26:00 +0000

***Disclaimer: before you read this blog, please realize that what you are about to read was God talking to ME about MY selfishness and MY short-comings. If you feel convicted too, well, that’s the Holy Spirit.***

I went to the dreaded doctor today. My appointment (well, actually the whole appointment process) really got me thinking “You get what you pay for.” OK, not so much with the doctor. It’s amazing how the one thing we pay the most for, our health, we don’t get to be picky with. This frustrated me. After all, I made an appointment over a week ahead of time. They knew I was coming, yet even thought I arrived 15 minutes before my scheduled time (like the automated confirmation phone call instructed me to), I still sat there waiting long past the appointed time. Then I realized something. Wow, how spoiled are we really?! Let me explain.

Just about anywhere I go that I’m willing to pay, I can expect timely service. Think about it. Restaurants – I expect to have my meal before my stomach eats itself from starvation. Exaggeration? Perhaps. Mechanics – I can expect to have my car back in a timely fashion because I’m paying good money and need it for my daily commute. Beauticians – I can expect my appointment to be on time since I am scheduled and am paying for the services rendered. Side note for my wife: Just give your beautician a break this time of year if she’s running a bit behind. Everyone (ahem, ladies) wants in before the holidays, and they are working day and night to appease your “needs”. I know this because my wife, Jackie, is working 12 hours shifts every day just to make you pretty before Christmas. Some people are compliant, while others better not have a strand of hair out of place. *End rant*

Anyway, back to my point. As spoiled Americans, we expect near perfection almost everywhere we go. It’s all about us. This got me thinking. Is it really any different in the Church? I’m talking about the “Big C church.” Being in ministry I’ve seen people leave because of the Church not catering to them. I’ve seen people leave because of the Church not offering what they want. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years of being a Christian it’s this: the Church is the Body of Christ – NOT the staff of the church you attend or the building you attend it in. Nor is it just the people who have been going there most of their lives. It’s those whom Christ has redeemed through salvation. We (and I’m just as guilty) want to blame the Church for its shortcomings rather than taking responsibility ourselves. One of the best quotes I’ve ever heard regarding ministry is “Don’t complain about something you’re not willing to volunteer for.”

I’m not writing this Blog to get after anyone. To be honest, this whole thought-provoking process was self-reflection. God was talking to me! When we tithe in the Church, we’re not doing so to get something in return or to get noticed. We’re doing so to be obedient to our creator - the one who gave his life for us. We’re doing so to fund the Church so that it’s able to reach more lost people and enlarge God’s kingdom. My whole point of writing this blog is to encourage you this season to love on those around you – no matter where you are or what services you’re paying for. Be the Church outside of the church building. Be courteous. Be patient. Be loving. Be Jesus.

Students vs. Porn (4 of 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 22:44:00 +0000

Tips for parents whose kids are viewing porn:

Recognize that kids want and need adult guidance about sex.
Watch out for teachable moments.
Understand that pornography is not just for boys.
Use parental controls, especially a filter. Monitoring software, like X3watch (www.X3watch.com), can help provide accountability in your home. It monitors where your kids go and will send you information on any questionable sites your child visited, via email. Filtering software, like SafeEyes (www.internetsafety.com/xxxchurch) will block pornographic content on your home computer. SafeEyes also has features for mobile devices.
Ask your kids if they have ever seen something online that made them uncomfortable or curious. Ask them if they have accidentally seen sexual pictures online. If they have seen pornography, ask them how they came across it, what they saw and how it made them feel. Talk to them about whether their friends are looking at pornography. Help them to understand that you are here to help. Do not embarrass or shame them. If your kids are struggling with this content, they need your support and love to help them through.

Keep in mind these are just tips. I am by no means telling you how to parent your children. I just want to see this breakout of perversion put under control. As always, pray before you confront!

Students vs. Porn (3 of 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 23:35:00 +0000

Warning Signs That Your Child May Be Viewing Pornography:

Your child may be viewing pornography if:

You notice that they are showing signs of premature sexual activity or an unusual curiosity about sexuality.
You notice your child using suggestive terms or suddenly dressing more provocatively.
There are increased pop-ups, spam messages, viruses, or other inappropriate content on your family computer.
Your child has erased the computer’s history, if they change the computer screen quickly or become increasingly defensive or secretive, it’s time to have a conversation.

These are just some indications. Porn's effects differ between people's age, gender, etc. Some are better at hiding their secret than others. One common denominator I've found through my studies is that both Christians AND non-Christians alike experience guilt when pornography holds them bondage. I think Paul nailed the reason for guilt on the head when he said:

"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." - 1 Corinthians 6:18 NIV

I also like the way the New Living Translation puts it:

"Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body." - 1 Corinthians 6:18 NLT

"No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does."

Think about it.

Students vs. Porn (2 of 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 23:50:00 +0000

Pornography’s harmful messages

Pornography negatively impacts the emotional and mental health of a child.
A child will often become desensitized and will seek out more deviant, bizarre and even violent content.
Children struggle to distinguish between the pornography “fantasy” and the reality of authentic, intimate sexual relations.
Kids who view pornography will often act out the behaviors they have seen.
Pornography often depicts sex without love and commitment and often pushes the limits of what is physically possible.
Girls and boys who see pornography feel as if they can never measure up and often struggle to perform like the porn stars they have seen online.
Images can never be erased. These facts and statistics remind me of a book I just finished reading this past week about the dangers of pornography. The final chapter details the conversation that took place when Doctor James Dobson interviewed Ted Bundy just 17 hours before he was executed. Ted Bundy became one of the nations most notorious and feared serial killers for beating, raping, and then murdering at least 30 girls and women between 12 and 26. Two things really stuck out to me in this interview:

When asked about his childhood, Ted said that he was raised in a healthy, fine, solid, Christian home and was never physically, sexually or emotionally abused.
Dr. Dobson asked how it happened. "What are the antecedents of the behavior that we've seen?" Ted answered "As a young boy of 12 or 13, I encountered, outside the home, in the local grocery and drug stores, softcore pornography. Young boys explore the sideways and byways of their neighborhoods, and in our neighborhood, people would dump the garbage. From time to time we would come across books of harder nature - more graphic. This also included detective magazine, etc., and I want to emphasize this. The most damaging kind of pornography - and I'm talking from hard, real, personal experience - is that that involves violence and sexual violence. The wedding of those two forces - as I know only too well - brings about behavior that is only too terrible to describe." He later goes on to say that "The issue is how this kind of literature contributed and helped mold and shape the kinds of violent behavior. In the beginning, it fuels this kind of thought process. Then, at a certain time, it is instrumental in crystallizing it into something that is almost a separate entity inside." "Once you become addicted to it, you look for more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Like an addiction, you keep craving something which is harder and gives you a greater sense of excitement, until you reach the point where the pornography only goes so far - that jumping off point where you begin to think maybe actually doing it will give you that which is just beyond reading about it and looking at it."

Ted Bundy was executed at 7:15 a.m. the day after this conversation was recorded.

In closing, I think it is very important to point out one more thing - the most important thing:
It does NOT justify his maniacal behavior, but while in Prison, Ted Bundy did accept the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and became a follower and believer in Him.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

- 1 Peter 3:18

Students vs. Porn (1 of 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:57:00 +0000

This 4-part blog series is meant for parents with children of all ages. I've seen firsthand the destructive consequences that pornography has on children, teens, and adults today. Over the next 4 days I will be passing along some statistics, facts, advice, and tips of the dangers pornography has on our students.

Pornography
Most parents think their kids are immune to the dangers online… that they are too innocent, too smart or too “good” to get involved with pornography, but ultimately any child could get caught up in pornography use. The content that kids are accessing today is far more graphic, violent, deviant and destructive than the pornography that you or I may have encountered when we were young, and no child is emotionally or mentally prepared to deal with this content. It is your responsibility as the parent to protect your children to the best of your ability.

How are kids accessing pornography?

Internet pornography is free and easy for kids to access and most porn sites have hardcore content on the homepage.
There is little to no age-verification to prevent a curious child from entering a porn site.
Pornographers also use a variety of deceptive marketing tactics, so even if your child is not looking for pornography, it’s more likely than not that they can accidentally access pornography through a misspelled word or through clicking on an innocent-looking link.
Some pornography is even associated with popular cartoon characters and teen icons, so a child searching for their favorite celebrity may accidentally come across hardcore pornographic content that way.
Additionally, we are seeing an increase in the amount of cross-marketing between online gaming and the pornography industry; be aware that mature video games may include virtual pornography, sex acts and other inappropriate content, so always check the game ratings before allowing your kids to play.
Kids can also encounter pornography on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, where porn stars or individuals with naked pictures of themselves may message or tweet at a teen to get their attention and expose them to pornographic content.
Finally, a new market is emerging for mobile pornography; your child could have easy access through their mobile device or through pornographic apps, so check up on their mobile Internet usage.

Regardless of how a kid may have accessed pornography, recognize that all kids are curious about sex, and a simple way for kids to learn more about sex is to go online. If you aren’t using filters on your computer or your child’s mobile device, chances are, they could learn some pretty upsetting information about sex through online pornography.

Perfect example: about a month ago I was laying on my couch watching TV with my wife Jackie. I was checking my Twitter and had a direct message from someone I didn't know. In this message this person asked a question about my faith and then had a link to click on. So, naturally, I clicked it, and, to my surprise, it was a pornographic site. I immediately showed Jackie so she didn't think I was viewing porn on my phone. I then showed her the message, and we both agreed it looked 100% legitimate and innocent.
Trust me, if this happened to me, then it's happening every single day to millions of students around the world!
The next 3 days I will talk about Pornography’s harmful messages, Warning Signs, and Parent Tips.
My hope and prayer is that if you are a parent of a child of any age that you'll read these posts each day. Don't worry, the other 3 will be shorter. :-)

Upcoming AMPED info/stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:53:00 +0000

Hey parents,

Just a few of things to remind you of if you have a child that just got out of fifth grade through graduating senior:

1. Those students that just finished fifth grade will be officially moving up to AMPED on Wednesday, June 13. We are so excited to have them! Those that have graduated high school are welcome to keep attending AMPED and all our activities until the next school year starts in August.

2. On Saturday, June 16 we will be having a cookout to welcome those who just moved up. It will be here at the church. If you have a child in AMPED, please come with them! All our volunteers, small group leaders, and the rest of AMPED Student Ministries will be here, and we want you to get to know them. After all, these are the people that your kids are with every week! We will be having burgers, hot dogs, drinks, a bonfire, smores, cornhole, hillbilly golf, and more. Just bring your own chairs! If you have any other games, feel free to bring them too!

3. We still have 11 spots available for the Gatlinburg trip (June 21-24). If you would like some info, please see me asap for price, what we'll be doing, etc.

Finally, please encourage your kids to come throughout the summer and to bring their friends. It will be packed full of awesome activities. We have found that summer is the time to get new kids involved in church because of the fun things going on. Our #1 goal in AMPED is to make disciples that make disciples.

ALSO: Don't forget about VBS June 4-8 at Fort Branch Community School. It's going to be AWESOME!!!

Thanks for allowing us to hang out with your kids!!!

Summer trip to Gatlinburg

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:04:00 +0000

Hey AMPED parents,
It's almost that time of year again when we take our annual summer trip! This year we will be going to Gatlinburg, TN. We sent home permission slips and info sheets with your kids. If they weren't here or you didn't receive them, just see me for the slips and info. This trip will be for any student going into the 6th grade through exiting 12th grade. This is a great time for all of them to bond and get to know each other. Here is the info:

AMPED Summer Trip To Gatlinburg

June 21-24 (Thursday through Sunday), 2012

Day one (June 21) - Leave church in morning, drive, set up camp (camping in tents).

Day two (June 22)

1. Wonder Works http://www.wonderworksonline.com/pigeon-forge/ (mid day)

2. Jon Dee's Hypnotized Comedy Show http://www.gatlinburgshow.com/ (at 8 p.m.)
"Jon is a veteran youth pastor and very passionate about adding the positive message of "The Power Of Our God-Given Minds" to every performance while teaching the kids and teens the ability to say no to peer pressure."

3. Gatlinburg Space Needle http://www.gatlinburgspaceneedle.com/index.html                   (some time during the day and again at night after the comedy show to see the view both during daylight and dark - you get 2 passes per ticket).

Day 3 (June 23) – chillin’ at camp http://www.abcamping.com/abgatlinburg/index.php      (they have a 500 foot waterslide!) and then going to Clingman’s Dome http://www.clingmansdome.com/

Day 4 (June 24) - Pack up and head home.

We will be eating fast food once on the way down, cooking at camp all 3 mornings and evenings, having sandwiches for lunch Friday and Saturday, and eating fast food once on the way home.

Cost is $110 per person

· This includes 3 nights of camping, all food, drinks, and snacks (except for eating out on the way down and back), Wonder Works, Jon Dee’s comedy show, and the Space Needle. The 500 foot water slide in the campground and Clingman’s Dome are both free!

· This does NOT include extra spending money for souvenirs, snacks from gas stations, or meals that we eat out.

***Permission slips and money are due NO later than Wednesday, June 13!!!!!***

***There are only 26 spot available. First come, first served***

ASK!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:14:00 +0000

There is a bumper sticker popular among Christians that demonstrates an anti-questioning attitude perfectly. It says, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it."

That bumper sticker annoys the crap out of me, and here’s why:

Jesus always listened, responded, and even rewarded people who came to him with honest questions. The "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" mentality is just blind acceptance. It makes it seem as if God is not interested in a dialogue with us. This could not be further from the truth!

I love it when I am challenged by a student that doesn't accept everything I say as absolute truth when I teach. This shows me that they are having trouble understanding or even believing what I'm saying and also that they are being honest about their doubt. If there's one thing I can't stand it's a "Yes Man." A Yes Man is someone that never questions leadership and always tells the leader what he or she wants to hear. This is what I love about Middle School and High School students. They are hungry and seeking. That's when I take them to the Bible to see what it has to say about the subject and sometimes even have to seek further counsel by Pastor Steve.

Have you ever lost some money, your keys, a puppy? How do you go about finding them?
You search for them!

Keep asking questions!!!

Churchianity vs Christianity

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:04:00 +0000

Lately a lot of you have been asking EXCELLENT questions about Jesus, salvation, and how to get to Heaven. We talked to one student yesterday that was confused because religion (man's attempt to get to God) tells us one way to satisfy God and then eventually go to Heaven, and the Bible (GOD'S WORD!!!) tells us another. I've compiled a short list to help you differentiate between the two. This doesn't cover everything, but I tried to answer some of the questions you've been asking. The following is what religion tells us compared to what the Gospel (which means "good news") says:

RELIGION vs THE GOSPEL

RELIGION: My relationship with God is based on my performance for Him.
THE GOSPEL: My relationship with God is based on Jesus' performance on my behalf on the cross.

RELIGION: “I obey - therefore I’m accepted by God.”
THE GOSPEL: “I’m accepted by God through Jesus - therefore out of reverence I obey God.”

RELIGION: Motivation is based on fear and insecurity. “I hope I’ve done enough to earn his favor.”
THE GOSPEL: Motivation is based on grateful joy. “Thank you, Jesus, for placing God’s favor on me.”

RELIGION: I obey God in order to get things from Him.
THE GOSPEL: I obey God because I love Him and delight in Him.

RELIGION: “I think a lot about what I’ve done FOR God. I’m a very moral person.”
THE GOSPEL: “I think a lot about what I’ve done TO God. I’m a humbled person because I see that I don’t deserve the love He has given me through Christ.”

If anyone has any other questions...................ASK!!!

(H)SELF

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:06:00 +0000

So lately I have really been trying to control my human tendency to be selfish. Through the last few months God has been making it clear that I have everything I need and SO MUCH MORE, yet I still want and think I need. I "need" (emphasis on the apostrophes ["need"=want]) to be recognized, noticed, acknowledged, exalted.

These past 3 days the staff here at The GBC attended the Newspring Leadership Conference at Newspring Church in Anderson, South Carolina. It was a day full of 7 of the best known pastors in America. It was 8 hours of sermon after sermon spoken by church leaders for church leaders. Needless to say, it rocked my world.

Of all the pastors that spoke, the one message that hit the closest to home for me was not from one of my "favorite" pastors. Don't get me wrong, I think this dude is amazing, but he's not one I typically watch sermons of online. His name is Craig Groeschel. Craig spoke on (coincidentally) my favorite verse in the whole Bible. That verse is Acts 20:24. At first I thought "Sweet! I'm definitely going to relate to this since he's using my favorite Bible verse." Well, I was right, but not for the reason I thought it would be. Here is the verse:

However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

- Acts 20:24

Craig broke this verse down into 4 points. I'm not going to type every point he made, but I am going to share the 2 things that absolutely destroyed me and my ego.

First, his fourth point was selfless passion. He talked about how we say that we agree with this verse, but it's so easy to say and extremely difficult to live. Think about the first sentence "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me...". Who have I been kidding all this time I've been a Christian and lover of this verse?! Of course I consider my life worth everything!

Second, he made a chart with 3 levels - Me, We, and God. The Me level is all about those who want to make a name of themselves. They want to be noticed. We is all about the "look at our church and the difference we're making." This is a step up from Me but still selfish. Finally, the God level is focusing all attention, all glory, all acknowledgement, and all exaltation on our Creator. After explaining all of this, Craig asked people to stand if they felt like they were in the Me category, then the We, then the God. Here's where I'm going to be very transparent: I stood on the Me category. Sad but true. The Holy Spirit had hold of my heart saying "You're always wanting people to notice you." I couldn't argue. I struggle with being noticed by more than just 6-12 graders and their parents. That's crap! The Bible says in Colossians 3:23-24:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly in the We category as well. I am so proud to be part of such an AMAZING church, and I let it be known, but then again, I'm taking the emphasis off of God, making it sound as if our church is awesome because of Us rather than God.

In closing, I just got out of the shower. I do a lot of thinking while taking a shower, mowing my yard, anything that has a constant noise to block out the world's noise all around me. The Holy Spirit just gave me an amazing idea that I will not go into major detail with but would like to share the main point of what I believe He is telling me to make into a sermon series.

"FLESH" is "SELF"spelled backwards with a silent H. Hence the title of this blog: (H)SELF.

A spelling coincidence? Perhaps. Coincidence that I thought of it? Not a chance. That was all God.

I just hope and am striving to make it to the God category level where Kingdom-minded selfless passion is all I know.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

- Galatians 5:24

STEP UP

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:57:00 +0000

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? - 1 John 3:17

Hey GBC,

I can't tell you just how much I LOVE MY CHURCH and how much it excites me to see all of you stepping up to serve our community. For example, we distributed over $2,000 between four ministries that are literally changing lives thanks to the pennies your children brought in at VBS! I just watched a sermon last night talking about how we are to serve the non-Christians, the less fortunate, the poor, the hurting, the lonely and how everything we do for "the least of these" (http://bit.ly/duc0Tf) is free for them. We are to expect nothing back. But, obviously, it isn't free for everyone. Pastor talked about this on Sunday when he mentioned there being many needs in our area. To a "normal" church this may sound like we are begging for your money. Nope. I just want to encourage you to step up and help those in need in our area. Get involved in all that we have going on here - between the soup kitchen that 5:16 does once a month, Angelfood meal donations for families in need, Celebrate Recovery on Friday nights helping those with hurts and hang-ups, AMPED's upcoming trip to Evansville Christian Life Center, etc. There are so many people in need all around us, and we offer so many amazing ministries here at The GBC to help them. Go to our webpage here: http://bit.ly/o6MQVm if you would like to get in touch with any of the ministry leaders. Just speaking from a personal standpoint, our students decided they want to do more than just go and serve for a day at the Evansville Christian Life Center on July 20. They want to bring items that the center uses every day to serve the less fortunate. We have a list of these items on the Welcome Center outside the sanctuary as well as a drop off box just inside the doors at the church.
Let's step up. Let's Be The Change.
Love. Grow. Serve.

Bart Wagner
Student Minister
students@thegbc.net

NUMB3RS

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:19:00 +0000

READ THIS FIRST:
http://bit.ly/ojdMoJ

Believe it or not, I'm constantly being given a hard time about my obsession with numbers when it comes to attendance. One thing is true: if you are so worried about attendance that you spend all your time figuring out how to get people to church but never actually heavily invest time in God's Word with them, preparing them, discipling them, and just plain getting to know them, then the numbers obsession is a stumbling block. But we should never be happy with just having the same kids/people in our youth groups/church each week. Proof: http://bit.ly/5NHTMv I heard this in a sermon that I watched this week, and I am actually going to preach about it in one of my sermons this fall: God is exclusive in that there is only ONE way to Him (http://bit.ly/3cURCT). God is also inclusive in that He invites us all to walk through that door known as Jesus. We as the Church can NOT be content with keeping our faith to ourselves. We may have a personal relationship with Jesus, but it is NOT to be kept quiet! Our motto in AMPED is making disciples that make disciples that make disciples that make disciples...etc. You get the point. (Making disciples that make disciples [for short]). I love how the guy (a high school pastor) ended his blog: "If that’s what being “all about the numbers means”…then yep, I’m all about the numbers, just like Jesus and the apostles. I want more…" Awesome. Jesus was always on the lookout for the lost, hurting, and lonely. Let's mirror that here at The GBC. He also never turned away or ignored anyone in need of His saving grace. Neither should we.

Bart Wagner
Student Minister
The GBC
www.thegbc.net

School's Out For Summer!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:24:00 +0000

Well, so far, it's been an awesome summer. VBS rocked! I still find myself singing the songs. Carrie Butler and I led the students (incoming 5th graders through outgoing 8th graders). We had between 45 and 50 each day just in our group alone. Wow, she was a huge help! Thanks Carrie!

Last Wednesday we rented a 12 foot outdoor movie screen and watched Transformers out on the grassy knoll. The students loved it! Thanks Kevin, Richelle, Carrie, and Meagan for helping set up the BIG screen and serving snacks, drinks, and cleaning up!

You may notice how much we appreciate our volunteers. That's because they ARE the backbone to our ministry...any ministry!!!

Reminder: this next Wednesday 6-7:30 is Human Air Hockey. It's one of AMPED's favorite games. Basically we put an enormous tarp in the grass and cover it with baby oil, shampoo, shaving cream, chocolate syrup, and anything else slimy and slippery we can get our hands on. We then take a watermelon (the "puck") and smear vaseline all over it. Two teams line up on each side of the tarp. When I call their number, members from each team rush out and try to score the "puck" through their goal.

AMPED and parents: Don't forget about "Just Lunch" at Sandy's on Thursday, July7 from noon to 1 p.m. Yes, it is what the title says: Just Lunch. It's a way for us leaders to meet with the students off the church campus to see how their summer is going, what they're up to, etc.

Wednesday, July 20 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. we are going to be serving at the Evansville Christian Life Center. Personally, I am most excited about this event. This will give our students the opportunity to serve the less fortunate in our own community and see that there are many people in need all around us.

We will be leaving for our summer mission trip to Newport, TN on July 31 and returning August 5. The average household income in the state of Tennessee is 43,000 a year. The city of Newport is just half that. While there, we will be hosting a kids club for two days to minister to younger children and also doing home projects for the locals the other two days. Please keep AMPED in your prayers, as this will be an eye-opening trip!

Jackie and I have been meeting with our small group leaders for this fall, and they are on fire! Parents, your kids will be in good hands with these leaders! We have also started a student leadership program. We've only chosen two students to start with. After all, this is new to us as well. The goal of AMPED is to make disciples that make disciples. We have been watching for about the last 6 months or so, and the two we chose to start with have shown very good leadership capabilities. These include: good attendance to class and events, serving others, having a good attitude, praying and speaking up during lessons, and, of course, love for Jesus and giving Him their time daily. We have given them some material to study throughout the summer and are meeting with them periodically to touch base with them. We are very excited about this!

And finally, the LOUDHOUSE Back-to-School Bash is Sunday, August 21 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. We will be grilling out, having blowups, and worshiping Jesus. I'm stoked for this because each Sunday evening after this, we will be having LOUDHOUSE weekly! This will be AMPED's very own church service. We will be beginning and ending with worship as well as a sermon given by your's truly each week. We will also be taking up an offering.

Sorry for the novel. There is just so much going on in AMPED and at The GBC! The best is yet to come!
Love. Grow. Serve.

Bart Wagner
Student Minister
students@thegbc.net

My Jesus high

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:26:00 +0000

I'm still (happily) feeling the effects of the high from Sunday. Wow, this place was so excited about God's calling. It was so amazing to see people step up to join the church. We 100% believe God is calling us to go mobile, but that does NOT mean we don't need your prayers! We can't make this decision without Him, and we can't try to do it on our own even after we are out of this facility and in a new one.
Hebrews 11:6 says: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
It is obvious why I put this verse. We always hear about the first part, but we must also look long and hard at the last part: He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Church, if we want a facility that will better accommodate our ever-growing needs and ministries, we must passionately ask Him what He wants, and most importantly: how we can be used!
Before I end this blog, I just want to say one thing to all my GBC fam: I love you guys. I've never felt so much love, nor have I heard other people say the same so much as what I do now. There is a reason we are growing both spiritually and in numbers. Because we aren't doing church for church people. We are following the Great Commission.
Have a great week. Be praying for Easter and inviting EVERYONE!!!
The best is yet to come. Hosanna!!!

30 DAYS TO A WHITER SMILE!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:35:00 +0000

      I have an obsession. Call it O.C.D., peculiar, self-conscious, whatever. But when it comes to my teeth, I am obsessed! A normal day for me is brushing, flossing, and using mouth wash 4-5 times. I have no idea why. It's something I have dealt with for about the last 10 years or so. So before coming into work today (while brushing of course), I was thinking how my obsession relates to our walk as Christians. At this point you're probably thinking "this dude is off his rocker." Allow me to elaborate.
      First I had to ask myself "Why do I do this?" The question wasn't at all hard to answer.
1. When I smile, I want people to see my shiny ivories. I want people to think "wow, he has pretty teeth."
2. I don't want people to think "holy crap, his breath reeks!"
      Then it occurred to me how hard I work to hide what's behind that "pretty" smile. I'm putting up quite the facade. Although much of what I think never becomes vocal, the smile I work so hard on is just a cover-up. When someone just really ticks me off, I try to just flash the pearly whites and walk away. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad thing, but it causes me to hold it all inside...which leads me to my next point of this bizarre blog.
Last night at AMPED I issued a challenge that will start this Monday, January 24. It's called the "A.P. 30 Day Challenge". My lesson was all about the benefits and biblical reinforcement of having an accountability partner (hence the "A.P.") I mainly pulled this lesson from two verses - one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament:
1. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 - Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
2. James 5:16 - Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
We discussed how when it comes to choosing an accountability partner we can't just settle for whomever. It takes one important thing...PRAYER! We must ask God to send the right person our way. It also takes time. People don't just earn our trust over night. Trust is time-proven. Just like when investing, we don't choose a single stock that's only been around for a year. No, we choose a mutual fund with a good track record. (Thanks Dave.) We also need to find someone who is on the same page as us spiritually. If that person isn't living his/her life for Christ, we may be good for them, but they will just be a stumbling block for us. You will NOT find a suitable accountability partner in gossip groups! One thing we've tried to ingrain in our students heads is that if someone is gossiping to you, they WILL gossip about you. An A.P. must be trustworthy and discreet. And finally, once the A.P. is in place, we must get past the mundane and surface level conversations. We must move beyond:
   "Sup?"    "Nuttin"
                                       "How's it goin?"    "Fine."
                 "Think it's gonna snow today?"    "Hope not."

      So what's the A.P. 30 Day Challenge? Starting this coming Monday, January 24, our students must choose someone to pray with a minimum of once a day for 30 consecutive days. They will each be given a sheet of paper that they both must initial each day after praying together, and they must both pray! Each one prays for the other. After all, that's what an accountability relationship is - two sided. They can pray together one of two ways: either in person or verbally over the phone...no praying via texting! At the end of the 30 days, we will be taking those that didn't miss a single day out to eat to celebrate.
      Obviously, without giving them ample time to pray and find the A.P. that's right for them, they don't have to be 100% transparent. The point of this activity isn't to find a life-long A.P. It's to get them in the habit of having one, holding that person accountable, being held accountable, and praying and caring for someone other than themselves.
      Jackie and I would appreciate your prayers for the next 30 days for AMPED. We believe this will be an eye opening and life changing month for them.

Bye Bye 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:53:00 +0000

        After a little downtime stuffing my face, spending time with family, and opening presents, it was time to get back into the swing of things with our December 29th LOUDHOUSE. This LOUDHOUSE's theme was "TRANSFORMED". We discussed the before and after effects of knowing Jesus and how through Him our lives are completely and forever transformed. The band started it off buy playing and singing "What I've Done" by LINKIN PARK, which by coincidence (or was it??? ;-) hmmm...) is the theme song to the movie TRANSFORMERS. Get it? TRANSFORMERS...TRANSFORMED. There ya go. Our guest speaker was Josh Dilbeck. Josh blew everyone away with his amazing testimony of how God completely broke him in order for the transformation to take place. Ryan Harpe followed up with a great message and an invitation to accept Christ. 5 students gave their lives over to Jesus that night! One student even said it helped him/her in a MAJOR crisis he/she was dealing with in his/her life. Praise God! After giving out the prizes to those whose name got drawn, Jackie and I had one more surprise for them. With money that AMPED had earned by buying and selling LOUDHOUSE bracelets along with a very generous donation from a couple who mean very much to me, we were able to buy our students something they kept hinting about even though I told them we didn't have the money. At the end of LOUDHOUSE we told them they had an hour to hang out downstairs, eat, play pool, the Wii, air hockey, and then told them there was one more thing. We then flashed up on the big screen their new toy: a brand new XBOX 360 and KINECT! They went nuts. The hardest part was peeling each of them away from it so someone else could have a turn. haha!

        Well, 2011 is here. Here are just a few of the upcoming events:

1. This Sunday at 6 p.m. downstairs in the AMPED High School room we will be having a mission trip meeting for this summer for parents. Afterward from 6:30 to 7:30 we are having an UNSEEN meeting for all parents and volunteers. Please come and let us know where you would like to help!

2. February 4 we are going to Louisville to Winter Jam. 10 big name Christian bands for $10!!!

3. February 11 is our second annual UNSEEN.

4. February 25-26 is our trip to Nashville for Acquire the Fire (ATF).

For more info, please see our calendar on www.thegbc.net under Ministries-Student Ministry-Calendar or e-mail me at students@thegbc.net.

p.s. Easter at Gibson Southern is just around the corner!!!

November 19 to now update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Well, we had our Vertical Excape lock-in November 19 and 20. Wow, it was a blast. There were over 30 that attended. I honestly was a little scared going in to it thinking that after climbing for a couple hours that the kids would just be worn out and bored. Oh how they proved me wrong! They literally climbed from 9 at night until 7 the next morning. I practically had to pry some of them off the wall when it was time to leave. A BIG thank you goes out to our volunteers who helped: Kevin and Richelle, Britt, Michelle, Erica, Ryan, Julie, and Shawna. Thank you all for staying up all night and helping. You guys rock! After taking some of the kids home, Jackie and I got home at about 8:30. Needless to say, we crashed. Exhausting but soooo much fun. Our students told be that night that I better plan on doing this at least once a year...or else. Then came Thanksgiving. After eating myself stupid, we began a new Sunday series on Evangelism (this week's was called "Come and See" and a new Wednesday night series on Hope. We normally try to stay consistent with Sundays and Wednesdays, but Jackie came to me and told me God has been putting something on her heart about hope - especially with Christmas coming up. After all, that's why Jesus came to Earth - to give us hope! Sunday's lesson was from John 4:1-42 where Jesus talks to the lone woman at the well. She is so blown away by Jesus knowing everything about her that she goes and tells the townspeople to "Come and See." Wednesday Jackie completely brought it with her message on Hope. I even saw multiple Facebook statuses from our students about how awesome it was. You could tell that God was totally speaking through her. I love my wife! Well, that's all for now. Journey to Bethlehem is December 11 in Washington, IN. We are LEAVING at 5:15 p.m. and returning around 9:30 p.m. If you don't know what this is, here is the website.

This past week

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:47:00 +0000

This past week has been exciting. Wednesday we had 31 students for AMPED. One thing is becoming apparent: with the average of 30 - 35 students each week, we are out of room! This is definitely a good problem to have. It just makes me even more excited about our 4ward campaign. Wednesday we talked about the upcoming events. The excitement from these students is overwhelming! They are on fire! One thing Jackie and I have been doing is talking with a lady that works at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. We are trying to come up with a night where we can take AMPED down there just to visit with the sick (non-contagious of course) children around Christmas. We took a vote Wednesday - the vote was whether to have our AMPED Christmas party (where we bring a $10ish gift to trade) or instead spend the $10 on a less fortunate child and bring them something instead. The vote was unanimous that we serve the less fortunate! We were blown away at the selflessness of our students! Sunday our lesson was "Watch Your Mouth" where we studied James 3:1-12. We learned that just as we can't draw fresh water out of salt water, we also can not (even though we do) let negativity flow from our mouths and live a worldly life and claim to belong to Christ. We must discipline ourselves daily to watch what we say in order to be His example. We had each student write on the back of their hands where they could see it James 3:10 which says: Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. We learned that just as a forest fire is started by the tiniest spark, just one negative comment can blow up beyond anything we could have ever imagined. Gossip spreads like wildfire. The students admitted that they deal with this both personally and with other people on a daily basis. One thing I've learned and shared with them is that no matter how old you get, it will never stop, but if we make it our priority to not be the cause of the negativity, it will make our lives so much easier and pleasing to God. Now for just a couple announcemnets:
1. Friday/Saturday November 19-20 is our Vertical Excape lock-in from 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. We will be LEAVING the church at 8:30 p.m. Parents, by all means take your kids down and pick them up in the morning if you prefer. All students MUST be there at 9 so they can take the safety & belay course. This is mandatory if they are wanting to climb. Also, the $35 and the waiver (permission slip) MUST be turned in by Wednesday, November 17 because they require that I pay 100% of the attendees cover charge in one lump sum.
2. Pioneer Day at Robin Resenbeck's (our Children's Minister) parents' house is Saturday, November 27 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Cecilia, Kentucky. The $10 and permission slips are due Sunday, November 21 so we have an accurate count so they know how much home-cooked food to prepare. We will be stopping on the way down for breakfast at McDonald's (or something similar), so they will need $5 or so for that.

That's all for now. AMPED is growing, and the students are having a blast. I'm so thankful for this group!

Heading into Fall 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:25:00 +0000

I must start off by saying this: I LOVE OUR CHURCH!!! There is so much going on here at The GBC, and I am so proud to be a part of it! This past Sunday we had our quarterly business meeting where we talked about the future of our church and moving "4ward." It was so awesome to see all the excitement everyone has surrounding our future. Now for news about AMPED students ministries:

Before the business meeting Jackie and I had a meeting with the AMPED parents. It went great. I love it when the parents get just as excited as the students! We discussed what our plans are for the remainder of 2010 - both in teaching and in activities. Parents, if you weren't able to make it, I have a printout of the upcoming events, but if you have any questions, please see the website. ALL the information is on there. Go to www.thegbc.net, click the ministries tab, click students, and you can select Calender, UNSEEN, LOUDHOUSE, etc. You and your students can even leave prayer requests that come directly to my email.

We are so stoked with the direction our ministry is heading. The students are bringing friends every week, and we are growing like crazy. Yesterday at AMPED we had two girls that came just because they heard how awesome it is. How cool is that?! They heard it from an ex-AMPED student (now in college), and took it upon themselves to check it out. They had a blast and were so much fun to have! We played human foosball. Basically it was a game to promote team building. They had to hold hands to get the soccer ball in the goal, but couldn't detach hands and had to stay in a line. The point was to see that they had to work as a team in order to get to their goal. We followed up the game with a lesson about the upcoming LOUDHOUSE Back-To-School Bash and how we MUST work as a team to make people feel welcome and loved. The students were so stoked. Every one of them wants to volunteer. They realized that LOUDHOUSE isn't put on for them - rather, it is put on by them for others. It's their way of serving their fellow students.

This Sunday we will continue our seven week study of "Truth or Dare." In this series we are learning the truths of money, media, being nice, authority, self-control, and words. We will end with a lesson on Living the Truth. We are learning these truths and how they affect not only ourselves but also the people around us and then daring them to change the way they think and act.

In case any of you parents don't know Julie Treadway, please introduce yourself if you weren't able to make it to the meeting. She is an amazing woman of Christ. We depend on her so much because of her love of Jesus and her desire to see as many people in this fallen world come to know Him. We are so thankful for her.

Also, as we head into Fall busting out of the seams with the number of students we are gaining, we have made the decision to pass 5:16 college ministries off to someone who is a tremendous man of Christ. That man is Chris Miller. Again, if you don't know him, let me introduce you. He is so awesome. Jackie and I really got to know him this year in Honduras, and he blew us away. I promise your college students will be in great hands! God has told us that with our ever-increasing number of students we are gaining, we need to step out and concentrate strictly on Jr. and Sr. High. God continues to blow my mind by sending people like Julie and Chris our way with the love of students and their betterment in mind.

Another awesome thing is that Jackie is working with Heather Rowe and Carrie Butler in PRAISE. PRAISE is a new ministry here at The GBC for students wanting to use their dancing, singing, acting, etc. talents for the glory of God. Jackie grew up dancing, so she's definitely in her element here!

We have so much coming up this Fall/Winter that my head is spinning, but I absolutely cannot wait! Please be in prayer as we continue to - with God's help - mold the students into disciples of Jesus. We can't do this ourselves. He is our Rock. We are just two messed up people that have been chosen to have the amazing responsibility of mentoring our students to reach out to others to further the Kingdom of God.

Bart Wagner
Student Minister
students@thegbc.net

BUSY SUMMER PLANNED!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:58:00 +0000

HEY YOU GUYS!!! Quick update on what's coming up with AMPED & 5:16: First of all, Youth Sunday and LOUDHOUSE is Sunday, May 16th. We will be honoring the graduating seniors that morning during second service. Way to go guys! That evening's LOUDHOUSE theme is "Gossip Killz". We will be talking about why people gossip and the dangerous effects it has on people. Secondly, it looks like our Summer trip for high school and college is going to be July 8-10 at King's Island for Spirit Song. It's a 3 day event packed full of tons of big name Christian bands along with tickets to the park (including the water park!). Another awesome thing is the 2 week trip to Honduras in June. "Did you say 2 weeks?!" Yes. Yes I did. The second week is going to be our typical going out into the local communities putting on VBS. The first week though, Jackie and I are leading our students down to put on a VBS just for the Faith Home orphanage (which is where we stay every year.) The most amazing part? Our own students will be doing the discipling! Each day will have a different theme and lesson by one of our own followed by separate female and male break out sessions to discuss what we just heard. One HUGE blessing is that Anette Scott will be going with us. Why is this so HUGE? She's a full on fluent Spanish teacher! We will also be performing our new skit "Set Me Free" both weeks. We couldn't find the song in Spanish so Anette got it translated and Jamie Rowe is going to sing and record it for us. Thanks Earl! The students are blowing me away with this skit. We have 6 demons, a tempted and lost girl (Jackie), the typical Jesus Grant, and Christian as Satan (no offense buddy, but you make a great Devil!). That's about all the big stuff. With all of that plus VBS here at The GBC, we don't hardly have time for anything else! Heck, a few of us will be working VBS here all week which ends on Friday and then will be leaving that night around midnight to travel to Louisville to fly out for Honduras. We're going to be exhausted! Oh well, God called us to it. He'll get us through it!

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:11:00 +0000

What's up? Wow, I haven't blogged for quite a while. Well, here is what has been, is, and is about to be going on with our youth here at the GBC:

In June, quite a few of us went to Honduras. It was mine and Jackie's first time to go, so we didn't know what to expect. After a week there, we fell in love with the Honduran children and weren't ready to come back home. It truly was a life changing experience for everyone, whether it was their first time or not. We all grew much closer spiritually that week. We made some new friends whom we didn't even really talk to here at church. The trip really opened our eyes to just how magnificent we have it here in the States. Praise God for supplying our financial needs and allowing us all to go.

Lately we have been doing fundraisers for our whitewater rafting trip to Gatlinburg July 23, 24, and 25. We have had cookouts and babysitting. We have found that the cookouts are what brings us in the most money. It's hard to raise a decent amount of money for each student when there are so many working each fundraiser. That's why we have continued the cookouts. As far as babysitting goes, it's not a huge money maker, but it's a blast. The kids we watch apparently have energy on reserve! Other than a fundraiser, we look a the babysitting as kind of a community outreach, in that it allows parents to be able to get away for an evening to themselves and have cheap childcare (It's donation based as well as the cookouts). All of the money from each fundraiser get divided equally among each student who worked. Our next babysitting will be this coming Saturday (July18), and the next cookout is the following day (July 19). So bring your kids Saturday night and go out to eat, to a movie, etc., and grab a burger or hot dog after either service Sunday!

As stated above, we will be going whitewater rafting in Gatlinburg, TN July 23, 24, and 25, but that's not all we'll be doing. We are going to camp, go to Wonder Works, and basically do anything they want to do. It'll be a blast.

The GB Summit is July 27, 28, and 29. Our youth will be helping run the cameras and video. Wednesday night we get to do our "Everything" skit in front of everyone. We thought we were only going to get to do it at one of the many workshops, but now over 1,500 people will get to see it!

Also, I just ordered curriculum for the start of our college ministry. We are very excited about this because currently our church offers nothing for the college age. We just had 5 graduate and are ready to take their descipleship training to the next level. We have also noticed other college aged people within our church who we would love to come. We are hoping to reach others outside our church as well.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll try to not take so long to blod next time.

Bart Wagner
Youth Minister
Ft. Branch GBC

consumed with Your majesty

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:47:00 +0000

As many of you know, we all just got back from the youth convention Acquire The Fire in Indy this past weekend. I, as well as everyone else, feel like it was a much needed event spiritually. We had some rededicate their lives to Jesus. Seriously, I wish everyone could have experienced it. There were around 15,000 youth that attended. Conseco Fieldhouse, for that day, became God's house. It's unexplainable just how powerful that place was that day. I consider events like this as kind of a pep-rally for our soul...and that it certainly was. We all grew much closer to not only God but to each other. We were all crying our eyes out worshiping the Most High. The Holy Spirit was alive in that place. It really is an unexplainable experience just being in a place filled with thousands of Christ followers. I am so proud of the teens. There was zero drama the entire weekend...no whining, griping...at least none out of the ordinary! haha It was the most amazing time. Thanks so much to our chaperones: My (Bart's) mom, Rob and Karen, Kevin and Richelle, and Andy. Thanks to you all for making this experience possible. Our prayer for that weekend and for our everyday lives is: Father, will you come, and open up our eyes, fill us with your heart, renew us with your life, consume us with your majesty. Glory, honor, and power belong to You.

DATE NIGHT FUNDRAISER

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:22:00 +0000

We had the "Date Night" fundraiser this past Saturday evening, and it was a blast. I believe we had 18 kids, but it felt like 300! haha It's amazing how much energy young kids have! Everything went great, and the youth had a terrific time. This was an excellent fundraiser for us for two reasons: 1. It gave parents a chance to get away by themselves allowing us to help in our local community (all parents need this - just ask Pastor Steve!) 2: It gave each youth responsibility for the night. I was stoked to see how well they did with everyone's children. And for all you parents who asked if we are going to keep doing this, the answer is yes. We do not currently have another one scheduled, but don't worry, we will! We have a whitewater rafting trip coming up in July, and we are wanting AMPED STUDENT MINISTRIES T-shirts, so we will have more Date Nights for you. The youth that helped got to split the proceeds evenly making it much more affordable to attend Acquire The Fire. Thanks to all the parents that trusted us with your children!

Acquire The Fire fundraisers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:49:00 +0000

So the bakesale fundraiser went over quite well. We sold all but 5 items. I'm glad to see the youth working to help pay their way. This is good for them (not to mention for their parents' checkbooks). After all, that's how it works in the real world. Preparation is vital in my opinion. Does this mean they need to work their teenage years away? No. They need to enjoy that freedom, but responsibility and work are always good to have thrown in every now and then for something they want. I believe, in general, todays teens have too much just handed to them. It hasn't been that long since I was in highschool, and I had friends that got everything handed to them as well. I won't go into detail, but let's just say that I have seen the ramifications - ones that include constant phone calls from debt collectors to parents still bailing them out at the age of 25 and beyond. I believe that if we just help to plant the seed of responsibility now, it could continue to grow without them even realizing it's origin 5, 10, 20 years down the road.