Pastor Al Paulauski, From Your Pal Pastor Al

Pastor Al Paulauski

From Your Pal September 2008

Thailand Report

     Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! That is the best way I know how to start off this report of what God did for our group as we went to Thailand this summer. Thank you for all of your support, as many of you contributed financially to our group to make this trip possible. And thank you to all of you who prayed for protection and God's help as we ministered to the Thai people. This trip would not have been a success if you would not have backed us in prayer. For that we thank you again!
      As many of you know we took a team of 13 students and leaders to Thailand in July to work with an organization called the Book of Hope for our summer mission's trip. I am happy to report that it was an incredible success. Many of our team got to experience cross-cultural ministry for the very first time. And I'm sure if you ask them they will tell you that this experience changed their life. From now on many of them will be able to view missions from a different perspective.
     Many of you have asked me how the mission's trip went, so I thought that in my article this month I would give you a snapshot of what took place. As I said, we worked with an organization called the Book of Hope. Their goal is to get copies of the Book of Hope into as many people's hands as possible. In case you are not familiar with the Book of Hope, it tells the story of Jesus Christ and what he has done for all of our lives. It takes certain segments from all four gospels and puts them in chronological order so a non-believer can hear what Jesus has done for them. It also includes puzzles and games for children, and other articles for teens about some of the more urgent problems that they deal with. It truly is an incredible evangelism tool.
     In order to get these books into the hands of many students, we needed to get into the schools. We did that. We accomplished this by connecting with a large Christian church of over 1000 Christ-followers. Through this church there were many teachers and principals who helped open some doors for us. We did about ten school assemblies while in Thailand that consisted of drama, student life applications to a drama, crowd breakers, and student testimonies of how a relationship with God has changed their life. Another key part of every school assembly was a showing of an animated film called the God-Man, that again told the story of God's plan to send Jesus Christ to die for their sin and give them eternal life. I'm sure that through all the assemblies we passed out over 2000 copies of the Book of Hope.
     Along with school assemblies, we also did a few other things. We participated in an evangelism conference for local pastors of some hill tribe churches. We spent some time with a Christian college small group meeting at a local university in which we encouraged their students. We also spent some time with some small groups that met after every Sunday morning service the two Sundays we were there. God really opened some amazing doors for us.
     I would love to tell you all more, show you some pictures, and let you hear from our students, but I can't in this article. My hope is that soon we will be able find a time where we can give you a more detailed report. But until that time, let me say from my heart (and our team) thank you for standing behind us as we went. We felt all of your support in a major way.

September Highlights
1. X-Games: Our biggest five week series of the year is just about here. Every September (when school starts back up again) we have our annual team competition known as the X-Games (the extreme games). This year the X-Games will be taking place from Wednesday, September 10th - Wednesday, October 8th. All of the students will be placed into one of three different teams as they work together to complete many different tasks. They will be awarded points for all sorts of different challenges and tasks. The winning team will again be earning a two-night trip to Chicago in late October. This is one of those events that your teenager will not want to miss.

2. See You At The Pole: Traditionally the fourth Wednesday of every September is recognized by Christians as "See You At The Pole" day for students. It's the day where Christians from every school campus meet at their school flag pole to pray @ 7 am. This year it is Wednesday, September 24th. They pray for their schools, their friends, their teachers and principals, their country and much more. As a student ministry we feel this event is very important. Our schools need prayer and our students need a place to connect with other Christians. Would you encourage your teenager to attend and make sure they have a ride in the morning? If you would like to know more about this event see Pastor Al

3. Parents' Meeting: Our next Parents' Meeting will be Sunday, September 14th after the morning service from 12-1 pm. There will be a light lunch provided for parents of teenagers (and their children) for attending the meeting. Please just inform Pastor Al if you're planning to attend and how many are coming. Parents' meetings are a great way for parents to connect with what's going on in the Youth Ministry program. We will give a report on what's been happening, where we are going, look at the calendar, and have some Q & A time.

4. Youth Convention: This year's Fall Youth Convention will be taking place Friday-Saturday, November 7th & 8th in Grand Rapids and will cost $65 per student. So why bring it up now? Because a non-refundable deposit of $40 is due by Wednesday, October 1st (Early Registration). Students may still go after October 1st but the price goes up to $75 per student and we can't guarantee we will have a spot because of hotel reservation. This is another one of those events we HIGHLY recommend as a student ministry. It's a time for students to meet with 1500 other students for some incredible times with God. Please make this event a priority!