I get pretty excited for the summer. Why? Hm…let me count the ways…More sunlight. More activity. Warm weather (I hate the cold!). Swimming. No school (for you)!! Hanging out Sunday nights after church. Volleyball. Missions trips. CAMP! Vacation. Water activities. Summer plants that grow (I even like the brown hills around here). Fire season (did you see the Pala fire yesterday?) CAMP (did I say that one already?)! I like that the graduates stay, but we ALSO get the new 7th graders in our class! Interns. Camp t-shirts. Picnics (like last Monday). Yard sale. Comedy night. Knott’s. Need I go on?
Summer’s awesome, but MOSTLY because of our new 7th graders. As of TODAY (Promotion Sunday), everyone graduates to the next grade! That means that no matter how young you are, you’re no longer the youngest.
That award goes to the two newest promoting members of our class: Johnathan Jordan (did I spell that right?) and Daniel Theurich (maybe we’ll just call him Daniel T. and not try to pronounce Theurich). Both of these are very cool guys, and I want the Teens of Faith to be a place that they can 1) Grow closer to God, personally, and 2) eventually help others grow close to God, too.
You that are older have a responsibility for everyone younger than you. Since you are older and have heard the teaching in the TOF for at least a year now, your job is to model what’s expected of being a person of faith (a TEEN of faith–Rom. 1:16-17). You should have a clear salvation testimony (saving faith) and try to live as a Christian (growing faith).
There’s nothing better than living for God and helping others do the same. It’s even better than swimming in the hot summer. Love God, love others, and do right.
-Bro. Ryan
Bro. Michael’s Salvation Testimony
Hey! I didn’t grow up in a Christian home where I read the Bible and stuff like that. I wasn’t a drug baby either (you know, those kids whose parents drug them to church every week).
The summer before 5th grade, my family and I moved to a different house in a neighboring town near Indianapolis, Indiana, called Whiteland. It’s where I met a good friend named David. He lived in the neighborhood and rode bikes with me. He asked one time if could stay the night at his house and go to church with him and his family on Sunday. I agreed because David’s mom always kept his house fully stocked with any kind of candy you could ever want. And who doesn’t like free candy in the 5th grade?
Anyways, I started going to church with David and his family every week. After about 6 or 7 months of going to church pretty faithfully, I knew that I wasn’t going to heaven when I died if I didn’t receive Jesus and get saved. I asked David’s mom to tell me how to get saved and she did! Mrs. Lisa (David’s mom) led me to the Lord on January 27, 2007. I knew I needed to get saved but I didn’t know that Jesus wanted to change my whole entire life. I’m thankful He did because now I get to be here in the TOF class with all you guys!