Team Survival Challenge 2014

Well, I did it. I survived my first trip as the leader of a youth group. This past weekend, myself along with 51 other people headed up to Awanita Valley in Marietta, SC for our annual Team Survival Challenge. Now, I had attended this trip 4 times as a youth, and 3 times as a chaperone, so I had a pretty good idea of how it should be run. And it turned out to be an awesome weekend!

The whole premise behind this trip is that the students are split up among 6 different teams based on color, which are led by BUMS Alumni (or now referred to as Bulumni). The teams we had this year were the Yellow Fire Hydrants, the Green Boogers, the Blue Bruisers, The Red Team, the Orange Oracles, and the Pink Ponies! The teams compete in games throughout the entire weekend that earn them points. The team with the most points at the end of the weekend wins the challenge and a treasure chest filled with Candy. The other cool things about the trip is that each team leads a devotion over the course of the weekend, which is an awesome thing. Also, the students are split up into teams with people from various grade levels. So it gives them all a chance to interact with people they may not normally interact with. It is an awesome thing to see.

Some of the games we played this year consisted of a Paper Airplane Challenge, Bucketball, a Marshmallow Home Run Derby, a M&M relay, Torpedo, Scatter Ball, and many others. However, each year on TSC, the trip revolves around one big activity. In the past, teams have been given supplies that they would build a boat out of that they would race across the lake. However, this year, I decided to switch things up.

This year we played a camp wide game of Capture the flag. Each of the teams constructed a base that they decorated and built for some creativity points. Then, each team had five flags at their base and the object was to try and get one flag from each of the other five bases. It turned out to be an awesome game and the kids loved it.

One of the coolest things that happened on the trip was Saturday Night. We talked about discipleship and how God is calling us to reach others. However, we also talked about how stuff in our life often gets in the way of what God is calling us to do. So what every person did is this. They took a piece of paper and wrote down what is distracting them from God. Then, they took that paper, we went out to a campfire, and each student threw their paper into the fire. The fire didn't symbolize that thing disappearing from their lives though. The fire represented Jesus, and that Jesus was going to take whatever was holding them back and consume it. I encouraged the students to turn all of their problems over to God.

It was truly an awesome sight to see. And afterwards, students gathered together, not by my suggestion, but on their own, into small groups and prayed for each other and this group. It was awesome!

So overall, it was a successful trip. I had a blast, and I know all the kids did too. I think we are all still in recovery mode. It was a long, exhausting weekend. Below are a few pics from the weekend. Until next time!

Fun on the Hummer Ride

The Green Team Champions and their signatures on the Treasure Chest!

The entire group! What a wonderful weekend!

Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and please to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Also, check out more pics on our Facebook Page (BUMS Student Ministry) and on our twitter Page (BUMS Twitter Page)!

In Christ,

Todd Handell

So.... What exactly does a youth minister do?

So I couldn't help but title my blog post what I did, because I get ask that question at least 3 times a week! Maybe even more. So, I thought I would open up and update you on exactly what I have been doing.

Since I started this job, I have hit the ground running. There has been absolutely no slowing down, which is great. I absolutely love that! I want to be as busy as I possibly can. After this summer, which was great and relaxing, I was ready to be back to an active lifestyle of doing a lot! And I am absolutely loving it.

The first few weeks of my job consisted of a lot of hanging out with the youth, which was great. It really gave me a chance to reconnect with the youth after being gone for a while, as well as giving me a chance to get to know some of the new youth. These events consisted of having a 7th grade induction party, welcoming in our new youth, "Loving our City" by helping them sort food and supplies at Total Ministries, tubing on the green river, playing lots of indoor soccer, and enjoying lunch and other various activities with the youth. It was a very busy two weeks, but it was great. 

After the first few busy weeks, things slowed down a little bit, but not too much. Since then, I have been busy planning our annual Team Survival Challenge trip. It is a trip where the group splits up into teams and competes in various games, events and challenges throughout the weekend to win the coveted treasure chest, which the winning team gets to sign, and it contains over 10 lbs of candy! It is a great time!

Other than that, I spend a lot of my days doing various odd jobs throughout the day. I honestly just do what needs to be done. There is no better way to explain it, which I know sounds vary vague. But it is true. 

I think probably the coolest thing that just comes along with my job is that I am kind of forced to really study the bible on a more consistent basis, which is awesome! I am really bad at holding myself accountable to reading the Bible on a daily basis as a Christian. But, I teach a lesson every Wednesday Night and some Sundays, and as I am preparing for those lessons, I get to dive into scriptures throughout the week to prepare. Currently on Wednesday Nights, we are doing a series that is looking at some basic questions of Christianity (such as the importance of the bible, Why our religion focus on Jesus and how we can overcome sin, etc). This series has been just as beneficial to me as I hope it has been to my students. It has allowed me to do a lot of biblical research on these questions that I have heard answered throughout my walk with Christ, and have my faith reassured in them and how awesome Jesus Christ is. And as I study and prepare, it gets me excited about how awesome it is that my job is sharing these truths with youth! I absolutely love that! And as I share with the youth, awesome things come of that. One thing that I recently started with my youth group is that I challenged them to read through the bible with me. We are going to be doing a devotional book titled "The One Minute Bible for Students." It gives a quick devotional each day with some commentary to get you in the bible every single day for an entire year. I am looking forward to getting that started with my students in the next month or so! 

But I think the best part of my job, is that I get to teach the love of Christ on a daily basis to my students. People ask me all the time if I miss teaching (like school teaching), and sadly, the answer is no. I miss my co-workers and I miss my students, but I don't miss teaching. I think the biggest reason for that, is because I am so happy here in my new job. All the time, on a daily basis, I remind myself that this is my full time job. Sometimes it still doesn't feel real to me. And every time I think about how I work here full time, a huge smile just comes across my face. Like, I honestly could not be any happier than I with my life than right now. I honestly believe that being a youth minister is absolute the best job in the entire world. Any doubts or fears that I had when I left teaching to take this job are now gone. I know that now, with 100% faith that I am right where I am supposed to be. I love this job. I love the students. I love my church family! 

So that is a little bit about what a youth minister does. For my readers, I ask that you continue to pray for me, that I will continue to seek God on a daily basis, strengthen my relationship with him personally, so that I can share in that faith with the BUMS. Pray for me that as I speak to them, it is not my words, but the word of God being spoken through me. Tonight, we will be studying this.... 

Ephesians 2:6-10 "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I am so thankful for the grace of God that was provided to us, so that even when I sin and mess up, I will still be shown grace through my faith. It is always great to be reminded of that constants Love, Grace, and Forgiveness that we are given from Jesus Christ on a daily basis. That is all for now. Until next time!

In Christ,

Todd Handell