We apologize if you have tried to reach us via email or the website over the past week.  Our church server went down taking away our ability to communicate with the outside world - we couldn’t access our files, email, phone numbers, internet, or anything else that would have enabled us to communicate with you.  We wanted to shoot this message out last week so you wouldn’t be in the dark - thanks for your patience and understanding.

Parents Meeting – We are having a parents’ meeting this Wednesday, 3/3/10 from 8:00-8:30pm for a time of Q&A.  If you are unable to attend the meeting and still have questions please contact - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

DEPARTURE - Students need to be at the church - GRACE CHURCH POWELL, 7600 Liberty Rd Powell, Oh 43065 at 3:30 on Friday 3/5/10.  Students will need to register in the church lobby and load their luggage on to the luggage bus.  We will be traveling up on 4 school buses.  The registration process will take a few minutes.  The buses are leaving at 4pm sharp to make our 2 ½ to 3 hr drive up to Kalahari, so please do your best to make it here with time to register and load your luggage.  Don’t just show up at 4pm or you might miss the bus.

Students are encouraged to eat a snack before they load the buses.  We are not able to eat on the buses, so please don’t plan on eating on the bus.  We will arrive at Kalahari by 7pm - no supper is provided.  Students are welcome to pack a supper or purchase food items from the snack shop.  The rest of the meals are provided during the weekend with the exception of Sunday; brunch will be served from 10-11am and students will then be on the road and arrive home by 5pm on Sunday.  Students may want to pack some snacks for the weekend, but they will not be able to eat on the buses.

KALAHARI – The middle school student to counselor ratio is 5 students to 1 counselor who will stay in the room with the students.  The high school ratio is 11 students to 1 counselor.  Students must stay in buddy groups so no one is ever alone.  Students must sit together as a room during the sessions and check in with their leader periodically during the water park time.  Safety is our number 1 goal and we will do our very best to make sure your child is being supervised the entire time.

Modest dress is required during the retreat.  Girls must wear one piece bathing suits or wear a dark colored t-shirt over a two piece.  We do not want to see any underwear during the retreat from guys or girls. Please use discretion about tight form fitting clothing or shirts you can see through.  If in doubt, don’t pack it.

You may bring money if you would like to buy things at Kalahari, however all your meals are provided with the exception of supper on Friday night.  There is a large game room and multiple other areas to spend money, so this is a decision you need to make with your parent.  Please do not bring expensive items that might get lost, damaged, or stolen.  Cell phones, ipods, psp, and other electronics are not permited at the retreat.  You are welcome to bring them for the bus ride up and back, but they must stay in your suitcase the remainder of the retreat. 

Please bring your Bible, notebook, and pen to session every time.  The speaker is going to be sharing from God’s Word, and we want you to take notes and capture all that is shared.

RETURN HOME - We are scheduled to leave from Kalahari at 2pm and we should be back at the church parking lot between 4:30 and 5pm depending on how long it takes the buses. 

Check out the Lessons

2.3.10

2.17.10

 Red Letters...  the words of Jesus... His teaching that has altered the way millions and millions of people live.  During this series we are going to examine what authentic faith looks like.  What did Jesus really expect from his followers? 

The Zone meets on Wednesday nights from 7-8:30 pm as well as during all three services on Sunday morning- 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30am.

This Sunday we discovered that not all chairs are build equally.  Students did their best to create a chair out of 11 peices of wood.  As you can see none of the chairs are the same because everyone had a different idea of how to build their chair.   As we talk about building a godly life we must do three things- 1. Recognize God has the blueprints for our lives. 2. Use the tools He provides us with.  3. Live our lives with passion as we serve him.  Check out the rest of the blog entery to see the notes from the power point lesson.

Have you ever been deceived?  The art of deception is a way of life for all of us because we are living in a fallen world.  Our Adversary is going to use every trick and ploy to keep us from becoming true dedicated followers of Christ.  Knowing that deceptions waited for his followers, Jesus himself told his disciples to be on guard against deceptions saying “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16

In my experience the danger of deceptions isn’t how far from the truth it is, but rather how close to the truth it seems.  A deception has to be believable in order to actually be a deception- an imposter posing as the truth while being a complete lie.

To see the lesson from this week click the title above.