Fall has officially arrived in Charleston!! Woot!

Hi friends! The leaves are FINALLY turning in the lowcountry, and we've experienced some much cooler weather in the past few weeks. Fall is here! I've come up with a list of "fall fun things" you can do to celebrate the season:

* Rake leaves for your elderly neighbor!
* Buy some mums for your "mum" as a surprise and put them on the front porch AND commit to watering them! (BTW, those are mums pictured at the top of the blog)
* Collect canned goods in your neighborhood for The Bread of Life food pantry (lists available)
* Organize a flag football game in your neighborhood...teach the little kids how to play and offer to referee!
* Bake cookies for your best friend AND your worst enemy at school. You can cheat and use those Pillsbury pre-decorated cookies
* Walk the dog on the cold nights and let your mom relax in the warm house!

These are just a few suggestions to get you moving and serving and celebrating. Jesus said that people would know we are his followers by our love. So, get out there and do some loving things for the people in your corner of the world. And do it so that God gets the applause!

CURRENT EVENTS IN YOUTH MINISTRY


Saturday, November 8- Lowcountry Crisis Pregnancy Center Walk for Life begins at 9AM. Call the church office for directions to the starting point.

Sunday, November 9- Flag Football: Youth and College V. Adult 5 and 6. It will be the Aspiring Pros against the Has-Beens and Wannabees...ha! The fun starts at 3PM on the softball field!

Wednesday, November 12- Education and prayer for International Justice Mission begins at 6PM on the youth floor

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 22: Movie Night! Currently taking suggestions for movies AND looking for a host home! We start at 7PM and will be done around 10:30PM. Leave me a comment if you can host!

November 25: Churchwide Thanksgiving dinner- Call the church to make reservations if you and your family will be joining the church body to enjoy T-giving dinner!


VIDEO OF THE WEEK= BAND OF THE WEEK!!!

Did you know that suicide is one of the leading causes of death among people 13-20 in this country? And did you know that cutting often goes hand in hand with alcohol and drug abuse among teens who are depressed? Renee Yohe lived the horror of depression, cutting, drug abuse, and homelessness for years before she finally went into rehab. Because of the love and commitment of friends who loved Renee long before she went into rehab, Renee finally had the courage to seek help. And she found a real relationship with Jesus in the process. Renee is on tour right now promoting her book Purpose for the Pain. Between the Trees, Nevertheless, and Dan Evans are touring with her, and BTT just happens to be one of my favorite bands. It was an honor to see them perform live. The lead singer of BTT was one of those friends that made a difference in Renee's live, simply by loving her the way he believed Jesus loves her. And if you are familiar with To Write Love On Her Arms, then you already know something about Renee...her story sparked a movement that led to the formal organization of this effort to bring light to the seldom talked about subjects of depression, cutting, suicide, and drug abuse. TWLOHA also seeks to get teens into counseling situations so that lives are saved.

To check out more info about Renee's book and To Write Love on Her Arms, click TWLOHA

To find out more about Between the Trees, Nevertheless, and Dan Evans:
click Between the Trees
Dan Evans: Biggest Loser
Nevertheless

And if you have 10 minutes, check out this video of Between The Trees as they do some acoustic songs and talk about their friendship with Renee.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?!

Hi friends!

Looks like we've got a football game coming up! Yes, the Adult 6 class has challenged us to a flag football game on November 9th (that's a Sunday) at 3PM. Sign ups will be this Sunday! Bring a friend, bring some snacks, and bring your game face to the softball field next Sunday and prove to those old guys that youth, speed, and flexibility beat out wisdom and experience every time!

If you aren't interested in playing but you want to watch, no problem! Bring a comfy chair or blanket and come prepared to cheer on the youth department!

LOW COUNTRY CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER WALK FOR LIFE NOVEMBER 8!!

If you support the work of Low Country Crisis Pregancy Center, then walk with us on Saturday, November 8th. The West Ashley walk will begin at 9AM. If you are interested in walking go here for more information and a link to the online registration form. You can also collect donations to support the LCPC in their ongoing efforts to provide information, education, resources, and supplies to women who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy situation.

November Missions Emphasis!

"I am the vine, you are the branches..." -Jesus

As we've studied the book of John, we've learned that Jesus expects his followers to do more than just "say" things about him. He expects his followers to live in Him and "do" things to build the kingdom of God. We have an opportunity to do that every wednesday night in November (except Nov. 26th). Make sure to be there at 6PM every wednesday night in November to participate in the following activities:

Nov. 5: Church wide Operation Christmas Child box packing party! Bring your OCC items that you purchased on our shopping night OR pick up individual items to be part of the boxes we pack on Nov. 5. We will meet in the fellowship hall! To learn more about Operation Christmas Child, go here

Nov. 12th: Prayer focus for International Justice Mission. We will pray for those who work for IJM and those they work to rescue. This will be an eye-opening, prayer filled time that you don't want to miss. For more information about IJM, go here

Nov. 19- Mystery Mission night! Stay tuned for more details!

BAND OF THE WEEK!!!
New on the scene but definitely deserving of some recognition is the Orlando based band "Between the Trees" They are currently finishing up their Purpose for the Pain tour that supports To Write Love On Her Arms (in fact they'll be at Cathedral of Praise on Tuesday, November 4). These guys are super sweet and intent on making sure their music is more than just entertainment. You can check them out on their myspace here

NEWSFLASH!!

Hi friends!

Just a little heads up....

The weather does NOT look good for the weekend. So be on alert about the postponement of paintball! If it is raining Saturday morning, we will not go to paintball of Charleston. Instead, we will wait and go NEXT weekend. That's SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1st

Got it? Good!

Notes for the week!

Hi friends...

Just a quick reminder of some things coming up this week!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Our study of John begins at 6:00. This week we will cover John 13/14 together.

SATURDAY: Remember we MUST have 15 people to go in order to get the group rate. Please call me if you have not signed up! We will meet in the church parking lot at 9AM and leave shortly after. Bring your money, bring a friend, and bring your lunch!

SUNDAY: Jeremy Dixon will join us for Sunday School. Jeremy is an aspiring musical artist who will share his music and his story with us. He's also a youth minister at his church in Florida! We will meet in the activities building for Sunday School. Make sure to bring a friend!

And for today, I leave you with this video. It's my personal favorite animal video on youtube. Enjoy!

Week of October 16!

Hi Friends! Thanks for keeping up with the blog! I hope you are working on inviting friends to Paintball of Charleston on Oct 25th and asking them to be part of our worship on the 26th in order to hear Jeremy Dixon!

In other youth news...

PRAYER GROUP!

Friday Night Prayer group will meet at Barnes and Noble at 5:30PM. Prayer group is led by Austin J. and is a GREAT time to pray for our church, our youth group, your friends, our country, etc. Don't miss out!





YOUTH SPAGHETTI SUPPER FUNDRAISER!


On Wednesday, October 29th you guys will be hosting Wednesday night supper. I've already got some very capable, willing volunteers, but I need 3 more students to supply part of the food and act as food servers. For those of you who do not have a job to do that night, you need to come EAT spaghetti with your family! Call Lynn in the church office to make your reservations. I'll be looking for you!

Fall Family Festival

The church wide Fall Family Festival will be held Friday night, October 31. Come be a part of the fun and volunteer to run a game booth or work at the food table. Sign ups begin this Sunday and we need ALL HANDS ON DECK to make this year's Festival a success. The Festival is a great way to reach out to the surrounding community and give parents a safe alternative to trick or treating (there will be PLENTY of candy to go around!) Oh, and you can dress up, too! Sign up in SS or leave a comment below.


BAND OF THE WEEK:

Check out this video by this week's Band of the Week- Relient K!


Check out Relient K's myspace here

And their official website here


THINGS TO REMEMBER:
October 25th: PAINTBALL starts at 9AM in the church parking lot. Bring a friend!
October 26th: Jeremy Dixon in the Sunday School hour
BOOK OF JOHN STUDY ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT BOOK OF JOHN STUDY ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Very cool stuff coming up!

Hi Friends! I'm hoping you are following along and are getting all the information that you need in order to participate in youth ministry at ARBC. Just a few things to update you on:

Belk's Charity Day fundraiser starts October 19!

All youth are invited to sell $5 coupons that the buyer can use on November 15 from 6-10AM at the Belk's Charity Sale. We keep the $5 and the buyer gets $5 off their first purchase. It's a win-win situation and we can raise money for various youth activities.
Envelopes of 5 coupons have been prepared for you to take with you on Sunday, October 19. You'll need to sign for them, sell them, then bring the money back by November 16th. Those of you who are going on the Winter Retreat can have that money go towards the cost of your retreat.


Mark October 26 as a SPECIAL DAY in Sunday School as we welcome musician Jeremy Dixon to be a part of our time together. Jeremy is Delaney Robinson's cousin's husband (Draw out the family tree for me and you get a bonus!) We will meet in the activities building that morning to hear Jeremy give his testimony and sing for us. I'm hoping you will all invite a friend to come with you (maybe those friends who came with you to paintball!)

You can read more about Jeremy and hear some of his music here

For the week of October 9, 2008

Hi friends! This post, along with those that follow, will be a place for you to catch up on all that is going on at ARBC Youth Rocks. Hold on tight! We've got a great fall line up and we want you to be a part! Each week will feature current youth events, recommended reading, a scripture passage of the week, concert information, and an mp3 of the week. My hope is that some of you will become contributors to the blog either by writing devotionals, music reviews or editorial comments. Enjoy!

WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK!

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11- Mystery Night!

While we won't get to go anywhere in the Mystery Machine (we have to take the church bus) you won't want to miss out on Mystery night. Bring $12-15 and come prepared to be on a mission. Meet in the parking lot at 6PM and don't eat before hand. I'll have you back around 9:30, mission accomplished!








SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12- DEADLINE FOR WINTER RETREAT DEPOSIT! PLEASE DON'T MISS THIS DEADLINE! $50 DUE BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY SUNDAY
Our winter retreat this year takes place December 29-Jan.1 in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area of Tennessee. We'll attend a youth conference and then enjoy a day of outdoor winter activities. Go here for more information


OCTOBER 25, 2008- THOSE AREN'T GUM BALLS... THOSE ARE PAINTBALLS!!

You asked for it, you got it. We are going to have a PAINTBALL DAY at Paintball of Charleston on Saturday, October 25. Sign up and make sure to invite a friend. No money is due now, but bring at least $30 the day of the event. Make sure to bring a sack lunch too...we'll picnic together. You'll need to bring a signed release form which you can find here We'll leave at 9 and return by 3. For more info, email me at susan.lloyd@ ashleyriverchurch.org

CONCERT UPDATES!!

Looking for a great show to go see where you know you'll hear great postive music? While these are not shows that we will go see as a group, there's nothing stopping your from inviting a few friends and heading out for a great night of music!
Here's what's going on during October and November:

October 19th- Art Music Justice Tour featuring Brandon Heath and Sarah Groves at the Gaillard Auditorium. Show starts at 7PM and all seats are General Admission ($10 before, $12 at the door) Go here to purchase tickets on-line

November 1- Family Force 5 at the Music Farm. This is an all ages show with tickets available now for $12. Doors open at 8PM, but this will be a late night! Tickets available here

TobyMac's Winter Wonder Slam in Greenville on Nov. 13 (too bad this is a Thursday night...but I thought I'd let you know about it anyway) Show starts at 7PM at the Bi-Lo Center.


Alright kiddos, that about sums it up until next week. I'll leave you with our featured band this week, Remedy Drive. This is the "other brother band" (watch out Jonas Brothers!!) and is made up of 4 brothers who come from Lincoln, Nebraska. Their debut album entitled Daylight is Coming dropped in late August and is available for purchase on iTunes. You can check them out at their myspace here or their official website here