Is Jesus the Only Way?

Pastor Christopher preaches on why he believes Jesus is the Son of God and only way to heaven
 

National Fine Arts Festival Results

All of our students have worshipped incredibly through their Fine Arts experiences this week. Make sure to encourage and congratulate them when we return! Here is the list of their results:

Drama Ensemble, Small
Sarah Martin & Sawyer Peacock - Excellent 

Drama Solo
Sarah Martin - Excellent

Visual Art, Three Dimensional
Leah Martin - Excellent
Sarah Martin - Excellent

Visual Art, Two Dimensional
Sarah Martin - Excellent

Poetry
Kyler Burgess - Excellent

Spoken Word
Sarah Martin - Excellent

Vocal Solo, Female, Sr.
Sarah Martin - Excellent

Worship Dance, Solo
Hannah Bottarel - Superior, 7th place overall

Graduation 2014 (Short Version)

Stuff Christians Do Part 8 - Fasting

Pastor Emily Orr preaches on the importance of fasting. Listen below or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

Stuff Christians Part 7 - Acceptance

Jordan Salvato preaches on acceptance. Listen below or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

Stuff Christians Do Part 6 - Prayer

Pastor Christopher preaches on the who, when, where, why, and how of prayer. Listen below or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

Stuff Christians Do Part 5 - Water Baptism

Pastor Christopher preaches on what Jesus has done for us through the imagery of water baptism. Listen below or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. 

National Fine Arts Information

Lodging:

I just reserved 3 rooms at the Hawthorn Suites. These rooms fit 6 people and come with a full kitchen. The hotel itself also comes with free breakfast. I got a great deal for the rooms as lodging will only cost $125 per person for the entire week. You can look at the suites here. 

Registration:

The due dates for registration are coming up. If you want to mail/fax your registration info and money it is due May 16. If you want to do it online, it is due May 30. All details and cost information on registration can be found here. 

Travel:

No definite plans have been made on how we are traveling to Columbus. I'm assuming that we will rent a 15 passenger van, but I do not have an estimate on what they will cost at this point. I need to know who is bringing their own car and who is planning on going with the vans. Once I have this information I can decided how many vans we need and get a cost estimate. 

Fundraising:

There will be a few opportunities for students to fundraise to make the cost of Fine Arts, Camp, and the Missions Trip go down. I will set up some dates that students can go and work at Qdoba, Applebees, and anywhere else they can work and earn their money. The second way students can earn money is to sell stuff. Qdoba has sheets of coupons that are worth $50 each. You buy the sheets at $1 each and sell them for $10. 90% profit! You can easily sell these to people at your work or to students at their schools. 

Have a blessed day,
PastOrr

Stuff Christians Do Part 4 - Tithe & Offering

Pastor Christopher preaches on tithe and offering. Listen below or subscribe to our podcast through iTunes.

Stuff Christians Do Part 3 - Communion

Emily Orr preaches on the significance and meaning of communion. Listen below or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

Stuff Christians Do Part 2 - Sin

Christopher preaches on the power of confession and admitting that we are flawed. Listen below or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

Stuff Christians Do Part 1 - Worship

Kelise Braithwaite quotes Titus 3 (seriously, she quoted the entire chapter. I'm pretty sure she can quote the entire book and several other books of the Bible. Her testimony of hiding God's word in her heart is a challenge to me and should be to you) and gives a devotion on obedience/independence. Pastor Jonathan DiStaulo preaches on how and why Christians worship. Listen, download, or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

New Sermon Series

Last Wednesday, Dr. Marty Mittelstadt wrapped up our series on "The Big Plan." I hope the students have a better understanding of God's will for their lives. That will is to live out His purpose and not be too concerned with His flexible plan. To live out His purpose we need to be willing to do what He wants us to do. Are you willing to raise your hand and say, "Here I am." Will you put aside your fears for the cause of Christ? Our lives have a butterfly effect, either for good or bad. Will you life be defined by obedience or disobedience? Live out the purpose and you'll live out the plan.

This Wednesday begins our new series, "Stuff Christians Do." There are a lot of things that take place in church or in a Christian's life that students are not educated on. Why do we worship in the way we worship? What's communion? Fasting? We believe it is important that students know the significance behind such things. When they have a better understanding, they can apply these good things to their lives. Pastor Jonathan DiStaulo will kick off the series this Wednesday, April 2, on the topic of worship. Be there.

PastOrr

The Big Plan Part 4 + Announcements

Dr. Marty Mittelstadt wraps up our series on "The Big Plan" by discussing God's will and how that lines up with God's call on our life. Listen here, or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. Be sure to check out the announcement video. There is a lot planned for April!

Summer Missions Trip 2014

Youth Missions Trip 2014

Daytona, Florida

July 12-19 (That could change by a day)

Cost: $600 (This could go down)

A deposit of $60 is due April 9th (Otherwise you can't go)

There are limited spots open for the trip, so pay your deposit ASAP
Parents are invited and encouraged to come as well

Why Daytona?

Over the past several weeks, the Connect Leadership team has been praying over what God wants us to do for missions this summer. My missions trips in high school changed my life. I learned about worship, serving, testimony, selfishness, and generosity. I want Connect to provide an opportunity for students to have a similar experience. I want them to work hard and have fun. We decided to go through an organization known as YouthWorks. YouthWorks is used by Evangel University for some of their US missions trips and they pack the week with tons of work and fun. Here is a typical schedule students will have on the trip. Though Daytona may seem like a glamorous choice, the reality is that Daytona is home to a large homeless population and several low income families. We wanted to bring students to a place of brokenness and open up their worldview. Here is a description of the Dayton trip and the community we will be serving in.

Why Mission Trips?

- YouthWorks,

"Here's the deal: We think that every teenager should experience a missions trip that values relationships, respects communities and connects the hands of service with the heart of Jesus. Again and again we see quality mission trip experiences show students how to use their lives to love and value others better. 

You see, we've never thought of missions trips as the youth group's "big event" where students finally get to live out their faith. The "big event" of students' faith happens every day as teenagers find opportunity to love and serve the people God puts in their path. Instead, mission trips equip and encourage students to go home and love the community they travel into every day when they roll out of bed.

And God's mission for us is far more than a trip. But we know, for many, living out the mission begins with a trip. That's why mission trips will continue to be our work and our passion."

Step out of your comfort zone. Live out the Great Commission. Get radical. Go all in. Parents, be a help and not a hindrance. Encourage your children to go! Come with us if you want to! Let's go be light. 

Announcements!

The Big Plan Part 1: What's The Plan, God?

Christopher preaches on how God has a plan and purpose for everyone's life. Please listen and subscribe on iTunes.

Service 2-26-14: The Prodigal Son

Analynn Salvato challenges the students to question what they live for. Church planter, Stephen Feith, shares his testimony.

The Next Generation: Act Like a Man!

Christopher preaches on Biblical manhood through the example of Christ. Listen, download, or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

The Next Generation: Go Make Me A Sandwich

Last night's sermon (2.5.14), "Go Make Me A Sandwich" emphasized the equality of men and women. Several students were not able to make it last night and I wanted to provide a way for parents and students to hear the message. Please take some time out of your week and listen. If you would like to add the sermon to iTunes you can subscribe to our podcast or feel free to click the link in the player to download. The Spoken Word that was used in the middle of the sermon is located at the bottom.  I want to do my best to shepherd souls. God bless. 

Porn is a problem

Parents,

When I was 10 years old I was on the internet trying to find a website to play games. In my search, I accidentally came across a pornographic website. This was the start of an addiction that I struggled with for many years.  As I entered junior high, several of my friends began to make sexual jokes and carried pornography with them at school. In order to fit in with friends, I felt a pressure to engage in pornography and inappropriate behavior. I say all this because I do not want your children to struggle like I did. The first step is to hold yourselves and your children accountable. XXXchurch is an organization that has helped me in my struggle to be pure in heart and mind. They have a program that you download onto your computer and it reports all questionable websites that are visited. I personally own the paid version, but the free version works just fine. You can download the software here. No matter how innocent you think you child is, they will receive the same pressure and temptations that I faced. Take no chances and get accountability software on all of your electronic devices. I would love to be an accountability partner. So after you download the program, you need to put in some email addresses to send reports to. My email is christopherdanyleorr@gmail.com.  Let's raise up Godly men and women.

Pastor Christopher.

Sunday School: Calvinism Part 1

Sunday School Recap: Calvinism Part 1 from Christopher Orr on Vimeo.

Total Depravity

Romans 3:10-12 
John 12:39-40  
1 Corinthians 2:14 
John 6:65  
Romans 8:7-8 
Philippians 1:29 
Romans 9:9-23 

Unconditional Election

Malachi 1:2-3
Romans 9:11
Romans 9:15
Romans 9:21 
John 1:12-13 
John 15:16 
Acts 13:48 
Roman 8:29-30 
Ephesians 1:4-8 

The Next Generation: Sanctity of Life

On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled 7–2 that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion. This topic has forever changed politics and divided the nation into pro-life, pro-choice groups. Not only has this decision divided the political world, but also those in the church. I believe this division in the church is due to a lack of understanding of what the Bible has to say about the issue and faulty reasoning due to our corrupt human nature. That's right, I said it.

 This issue of abortion comes down to one reality. At what point does a soul enter a human being? When does life begin? This fact should be important to every human being as it has huge implications in the debate of abortion. The Bible is very clear on the issue. There is no debate. Psalm 58:3 shows us that our nature is wicked within the womb. Wickedness is a moral state of being that separates man from the rest of God's creation. Our moral compass is a spiritual compass, so when the Bible tells us that we became corrupted in the womb, it is telling us that we were given a soul in the womb. This argument is mentioned in several other places throughout the Bible (Job 14:4, Job 15:14). However, at what point in the womb does that soul enter? At what point does a human fetus become a human being? The Bible will never lead us astray and will answer our questions. Psalm 51:5 reads, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." When does life begin? At conception.

 With this knowledge, it is our duty as Christians to make abortion our heartbeat and defend the least of these. We need to repent for our indifference to the issue and get off the sidelines. So, Connect has teamed up with the Pregnancy Care Center (PCC) to do a Baby Shower drive. Several of the women that are participating in the PCC's programs are in need of several items for which they cannot afford. The list of items needed can be downloaded here. On February 4, Connect will take these items to the PCC and then spend the rest of the evening volunteering on a project to help the center. Parents, get involved. I encouraged the students to do extra chores and raise money so they could purchase at least one item on this list. Let's get off the sidelines, get involved, and make protecting the unborn our consistent heartbeat that drives everything inside of us.

#LeBroning And A New Sermon Series

This past Wednesday we started our new series, "The Next Generation." This series focuses on the next generation finding their identity in Christ. What will define the next generation? Hopefully, Jesus Christ. The first sermon was titled, "The Past Generation of the Next Generation," which focused on how our parents play a pivotal role in our spiritual lives. As parents, your behaviors and actions are not only seen by your children, but can be passed down to them. So what kind of legacy are you leaving in your kids? Is your family one that puts God first, or do other things take priority? Are you disciplined in your devotions? Do you pray? When is the last time you checked in with your kids on their walk with God? The challenge I gave the students was to continue in the good traits that their parents possess and choose to be different in the bad ones. We should not be defined by who our parents are, but should 100% be molded and defined by who Christ is and who we are in Christ.

2014 Winter Retreat: Rise

Winter Retreat: Rise (2014) from Christopher Orr on Vimeo.

Winter Retreat will be January 17-19. We will leave from the youth house at 5 pm. We will stop at a McDonalds on the way to retreat for those that did not have time to eat dinner beforehand. ET is not providing this meal, but will provide the rest of the meals. 

We will arrive at Windemere resorts in Roach, Missouri around 7. 

Our retreat speaker will be Miguel Guerreiro.  

Students will be split up into 4 teams. These teams will bond through competitive and creative games. 

There are about 8 rooms that we will use for sleeping. Students wil be in a room with 3-5 other students of the same age and gender and an adult leader. That leader will have completed a background check before we leave. Saturday will consist of gym games, devotions, board games, team games, and a big service on saturday night. 

Sunday we will have a time to debrief what God has spoken to us over the weekend and then head out to Ha Ha Tonka to hike. We will return by 6pm on Sunday night.

The cost of the trip is $50. The application and money is due Wednesday, January 15th. The application can be downloaded here. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to post a comment or get in touch with me through my cell phone.


Christopher