Current Message Series

This month we are continuing our message series entitled simply, Esther. We are going through the highlights of the entire book of Esther throughout the series. I've been encouraging students to read the whole book (it's 10 chapters) as we continue our series in February. It's a great story, with a series of even greater messages.

Upcoming Events

Confirmation begins February 13th

Confirmation is a class for students 8th grade and older. During confirmation students will learn how to "Claim Their Faith" as their own. If you are interested in confirmation an informational meeting will be held at New Horizon from 4pm - 5pm on Feb. 13th. Both students and parents are invited to this event.


Fire-Up

Fire-Up is a conference for High School students. It is an exciting weekend of worship, praise, and teaching. This dynamic weekend is designed to draw students closer to Christ.

When: February 25-27. We will leave the church at 4pm on the 25th and return to the church by approximately 4pm on the 27th.

Location: Troy United Methodist Church in Troy, IL

Cost: $90.00 This includes the cost of Fire-Up and hotel accommodations. Additional money will need to be provided for 2 fast-food type meals.

Deadline: If you are planning to attend Fire-Up the deadline for sign-up at the $90.00 rate is February 10th. In addition to signing up by the 10th, you will also need to provide us with a signed copy of the "Liability and Medical Release Form" found on this webpage: http://harvestministryteams.com/fireup/index.html. You can still attend the event if you miss the February 10th deadline, but the cost increases to $100.00.

Weather Cancellations

If Axis cancels because of weather, the first place we post the information is on our website: http://www.newhorizonchurch.org Just look in the upper left corner of our home screen for the latest information. The scrolling photos will be replaced with red text.

Ahh September... School is back in session, calendars are getting packed, and you’re wondering how you are going to fit everything into your hectic schedule. With schedules in mind, Axis has several events coming up as we kick-off our fall season. Yet, before you scroll down and continue to mark up your calendar or click over to Google Calendar to start copying and pasting, I have a very important word for you.

I’ve often found that when I’m busy I get way less of this than I should. I’m not simply referring to the hours of sleep each night. Rather, I’m pointing to the rest that Jesus offers us. Here are His words from the book of Matthew:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matt 11:28-29 (NLT)

In our busyness, we need to remind ourselves of the rest that Jesus offers. Instead of continuing the nearly impossible pace of go-go-go, take some time each day to simply rest in Christ. Breathe deep of the autumn air, tell God that He’s good, thank Him for life, and give Him thanks for the myriad of ways in which He has blessed you. Tell Him about all the things that are worrying you, and let Him fill you with peace. You may find serenity in the midst of the craziness that ultimately gives you more energy to sail through your day. Rest. Give God your concerns. Let Him fill You to overflowing with His peace, joy, and comfort. And then trust Him to provide you with everything you need for the remaining moments of your day.

Upcoming Events

September 25 - Kickapoo Canoeing Trip
Axis is heading over to Kickapoo State Park for a day of canoeing and picnicking. The cost is 20 dollars per student which includes the rental of the canoe and lunch. If you would like to attend this event please register at the Axis Welcome Table on Wednesday nights or head over to http://www.newhorizonchurch.org/axis-resources and register using our online form.

September 29 - Mission Impossible 3!!!

This is one of our BIG events of the season. The worship area is completely transformed into an intense obstacle course where students are asked to compete in a high energy competition as they are challenged with “the impossible.” Axis would love to completely pack the house this night so parents, students, volunteers… get the word out about this amazing event!

October 8 - 9 - Ignition Middle School Conference @ NH.
Ignition is a conference for Middle School students (grades 6th- 8th). It is an exciting weekend of worship, praise, and teaching. This dynamic weekend is designed to draw students closer to Christ. New Horizon is thrilled to be hosting Ignition for the second year. The cost for Ignition is $35.00 for early registration. So we can take advantage of the early registration pricing, please bring your registration form and payment to Sally Graning or Dave Plemons by September 22nd. Make checks payable to New Horizon Church. All registrations received past September 22nd are $45.00. For more information please visit: http://www.harvestministryteams.com/ignition/index.html

October 20 – Bonfire at the Nixa’s
One of my favorite events of the year. Jim and Marianne Nixa, long time New Horizon attendees, invite Axis to their spacious property for a night of fall fun. The arrival time for students to be dropped off at the Nixa’s (directions will be provided when the date is closer) at 6:00 pm and picked up at 8:15 pm.

October 27 – Costume Night!
Students are invited to come in costume for a fall celebration. Prizes will be awarded to the top costumes. Additionally, we are having a guest band come to lead our students in worship.

In our teaching team meeting last week, I was reminded of the importance of John Wesley’s “Means of Grace.” John Wesley believed that "means of grace," include both "works of piety" and "works of mercy." As one website states: John Wesley taught that people must be Christians in both word and deed, which were to express the love of God. He believed that Christians must grow in God's grace, which first prepares us for belief, then accepts us when we respond to God in faith, and sustains us as we do good works and participate in God's mission.

Wesley’s “Means of Grace” is so vitally important because in the two-fold process of developing our personal relationship with God in worship and prayer – and then living out that radical relationship with God by actively serving others – we truly model the life that Jesus lived. Jesus would spend solitude with God, but He also healed the sick and served the hurting world that He came to save.

What is indelibly exciting to me is when I see this lived out not just in the lives of individuals, but when entire ministries model this “Means of Grace.” In all honesty, I would like to claim that in the planning for Axis this summer the means of grace was on the forefront of my mind. However, truth be told, as an Axis Leadership Team, we simply planned the summer activities. As I was musing about what to write for this newsletter though, God reminded me that Axis gets to live out the means of grace in the month of June. Not just individually in regards to the lives of students and volunteers, but as a collective whole.

On June 6-11 Axis is heading down to East St. Louis to build, paint, clean, and serve our friends in that community. We have the opportunity, as a ministry, to participate in “works of mercy.” That very next week, during VBS, several of our Axis students will be serving and helping in a myriad of ways to help our Children’s Ministry fulfill their mission of “Leading kids to Jesus for the adventure of a lifetime.”

The next week, on June 20 – 26, Axis will travel down to Beulah Camp for an intensive week of spending some serious time with God in worship, times of solitude, and in community with each other. It is a week full of “works of piety” as we draw near to our amazing God and develop our relationship with Him both as individuals and as a Student Ministry of New Horizon.

With all this in mind, please pray for us as we embark on living out Wesley’s “Means of Grace” this June. Pray that God will use us as only He can, and that we will discover the richness of His presence in new places and fresh avenues. I am consistently blown away by the support and love that you pour out upon me, our students, and the entire Student Ministry Team at New Horizon.

Hey everyone! Just a quick update to let you know that there are new pictures on the Axis website! When you get a few minutes head over there and check them out!

I pray that your Christmas season is going well and that you are experiencing the gift of the Christ Child in profound ways.

-Dave

You know..., it's officially fall, one of my favorite times of year!  To kick off the fall season for Axis, we had a Digital Scavenger Hunt last Sunday. A digital scavenger hunt is when we provide students and adult drivers with a list of items to take digital snapshots of. We launched from New Horizon, scrambled all over Champaign-Urbana, and then back to New Horizon in one major flurry of activity.  We had 35 students attend the event, 8 adult drivers, and several other adult volunteers who made the afternoon an amazing success.  I want to offer a sincere thank you to each parent, student, and volunteer who made our Digital Scavenger Hunt possible.  By donating your time, energy, and resources, you helped fulfill one of the key components relating to the mission statement of Axis: connecting students to God and to each other.  When we have crazy fun events, it truly does help students connect to each other - which in turn, provide a greater possibility for them to support each other when things get rough.  So, thanks again for taking time on Sunday.  Every little thing adds up... it really, really does.

-Dave

Hello again!  We have now started a new message series called Nazareth High, which focuses on what Jesus would be like if he were a student.  One of the main objectives is bringing Jesus more down to earth.  This way we can see Jesus more as a person to emulate than as a God to aspire to.  The other main point that is stressed is how Jesus would influence his peers.  This is especially important now that school is starting up and our students will be away from home for most of the day.  Being good influencers in a public setting is something everyone needs to master as they mature.  We hope to see your student on Wednesday night!

Hello again!  Everyone loves a good game, right?  Well this Wednesday at Axis we are going to play Gold Rush.  This game will take up most of the night and is intended to get as many people as possible to show up.  This will be our latest Andrew Night event, so make sure everyone you can get is coming!  Next week we will be starting a new series called Pixar and God.  We will be looking into "classic" Pixar moments and finding how they relate to our walks with God.  We have been looking to up the attendance at Axis, so invite everyone you can!

-Matt

  Everyone loves theme parks, right?  I know I do.  And although we are not taking the Axis students to Six Flags for four weeks, we are going to be delving into how God and his plans for us relate to different elements of a theme park.  We will be looking at things such as the front gate, the roller coaster, and the ferris wheel.  Through these we will discover, or rediscover, new truths about God and learn more about how our plans fit into, or don't fit into, God's plan.  In our small groups we will figure out how we can use these truths in our everyday life and how we can apply them to extraordinary circumstances.  We hope you or you students will join us for this exciting new message series!

We have a new message series at Axis now, its called How to Annoy Your Family.  No, we aren't telling the youth to climb on the bookshelf, but we are trying to equip them with attitudes and mind sets to get along with their families better.  During the series, we will be taking a look at what God and the Bible says about rebellions against your parents, sibling rivalry, and the like.  By taking an in-depth look at key Bible verses and learning from adults and other, students will learn how to handle tough situations with their families.  We hope to see your kids there!

Axis students will be going to East St. Louis June 7th - 13th and will be hosting a Rock-a-thon to raise money for this mission trip. Teams of students will rocking for 12 hours and will be taking pledges to support them in their endeavor. Now by “rockin’” we don’t mean music but real rocking chairs... you know the kind you use to woo them to sleep when they were just babies. The students will be rocking from 12 noon - 12 midnight and they would love to have you join them in this adventure from 5-9pm to see how they are doing. They will have pizza, goodies and ice cream all available for a donation. There will also be carnival games for younger kids and karaoke contests for the young at heart.

 

Looking over the website recently, several of the staff members noticed that we have neglected this amazing tool called a "blog" keep you updated on what's happening with the various ministries at New Horizon. So, I have picked up the gauntlet that has been thrown down to keep the blog updated and I am in a mad dash to beat my fellow colleagues to the first post in quite some time.  :)

We recently finished up a message series in Axis entitled "Do Something". This message series was focused on encouraging students to not just be aware of the needs in our world, but to actually be willing to take some tangible steps towards making a difference. The steps may be small, but, enough one degree sort of things really do make a measurable impact.

This past Wednesday we began a new message series entitled "Homecoming". This three week series centers around taking an in-depth look at one of my favorite parables from the Bible, the story of the Prodigal Son. I think the reason why that particular parable resonates so deeply with me is that it reminds me of the amazing, unfathomable, and relentless love of God that is always willing to take us back, regardless of how far we think we have fallen.

Finally, on an upcoming events note, confirmation class begins this Sunday. If you are an 8th grade/high school student and you are interested in attending confirmation class, please let me know ASAP.

See you all this Sunday for the 14th Birthday Bash at New Horizon!

-Dave

 

Upcoming Axis events . . .

October 31 -- Great October Days (G.O.D.) at New Horizon from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  A fun, game- filled, candy- filled event for New Horizon children and their friends.  Axis students are welcome and encouraged to help with the event.  Areas of service include:  games, greeting, set up and taken down.  Sign up at Axis on Wednesday, Oct. 22 or 29.

November 8 -- New Horizon Outreach Benefit Concert at New Horizon from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. to support 2009 mission work in Haiti and E. St. Louis.  The concert will feature The Born Again Christians, the New Horizon Worship Band and Lumus.  Also featured:  a bake sale, soft driniks, raffle and art sale.  Students are welcome to help with this event by providing baked goods or helping the night of the event.  Bring your family and friends to help support mission work in 2009.  For more information, contact Doug Berkman - ichthys@mchsi.com.

With summer winding down, students back in school, and the hints of fall slowly revealing themselves, it may seem like a road trip is out of season. However, our student ministries are defying road trip expectations and we are heading on the road for some dates in September & October. This is all due to the building construction and needing to provide space for both Axis and ROCK on Wednesday nights. Once the building is complete, Axis and ROCK can both exist on Wednesdays. So… because road trips are fun, Axis is going to be mobile for some weeks when ROCK resumes for the fall semester. I’ve included a listing below of where Axis will meet from week to week.


September 3 – Regular Axis Night

September 10 – Regular Axis Night

September 17 – Swimming at Centennial High School 
           (drop off and pick up at Centennial)

September 24 – Parking Lot Picnic at New Horizon

October 1 – Bonfire at the Nixa’s

October 8 – Small Group Outing Night


All of the events listed above will be held at normal Axis times.

Fueling up,
Dave

Well, the new site has been up for about three weeks now. I hope that you all are enjoying the new look and the additional features. Thank you to those of you who have emailed and let us know of broken links and missing information. Our website has a lot of pages with a lot of information. So, if something still isn't working correctly or if there is some incorrect/missing info, just use the contact form and let us know so we can continue to make the complete transition to our new site.

On a student ministry note, some of our Axis students and adult sponsors are heading down to Beulah Camp in Eldorado, IL tomorrow after the 8:30 worship experience. I love this week of camp because there is so much focus on worship, teaching, and hearing that still small voice of God speak in truly unforgettable ways.  I know some of our students are coming to camp with some big questions to bring to God. Thankfully, God is more than able to meet each student, right where they are, and reveal His goodness and His divine call on each one of their lives. Pray that God would give us ears to hear and receptive hearts. I would like to invite you to pray daily for us this week. Pray for the safety of every camper at Beulah. And, pray that God would do some truly extraordinary things this week. Thanks in advance for taking the time to pray for us.

Packing my suitcase,
Dave