Awesome night at AMPED…

Last night we had an awesome night at AMPED Youth Group!

We started off by cutting out a range of images from some common everyday magazines of images that appeal to us (Luke I’m just a tad concerned). Then we explained to the group why these images appealed to us. I must say that there was quite a bit of thought put into some of the presentations considering the limited time frame that the youth had… Then we had a discussion around the fact that many of the people portrayed in the imagery try to uphold and protect their image.

We then watched Rob Bell’s nooma DVD Tomato, and some of the young people were fascinated with the man with the pink umbrella that was trying to get people to do things that they knew they more than likely knew they shouldn’t.

This was followed by a fascinating conversation around how we are perceived by ourselves and those around us, and the fact that more often than not we don’t have to keep up appearances around our friends. They want and we want to have REAL friends that will stand by us when the chips are down and help pick us up when we fall, not desert us and move on to the next best friend…

An awesome time of sharing and growing as a group was had; we all need to be there for each other and that’s why we are doing AMPED to create an avenue where you can develop as a group of REAL friends – and remember Karina & I are there for you if you feel that you need to talk to someone just a tad older…

To finish off the night we had a game of tennis-ball war in which Patrick at one point with a perfectly aimed mid-flight throw got Stephen in the side as he was jumping over a couch. India using a number of chairs which offered some protection made a fort, while others tried hiding under tables or behind pillars to avoid being hit. Even Karina (who was just a spectator) managed to loose her cap at one point as a ball came whistling past her face.

There was heaps of laughter as well as a little bit of pain as warring parties ganged up on each other to only be outdone by their team mates as they turned on each other… So ‘till next week when we’ll be looking at the theme “accepting who we are” rest in the Lord and recover well!

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To Save A Life – Discussion Starters

Today I have loaded some discussion starters to help parents open up the dialogue with their children on issues raised in the movie “To Save A Life“, which the AMPED youth group saw on Friday evening.

The film speaks to real-life challenges of teens and their choices, it deals with compelling issues like teen suicide, teen sex and pregnancy, divorce, peer-pressure, drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, and the need to appear in control during times of personal pain and strife. It shows how teens battle intense feelings of lonliness, rejection, frustration, stress, and depression in a variety of circumstances. These same realties affect every teenager walking the hallways of you local high school and their only lasting hope is found in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

The film vividly shows how loving God and loving others gives us the power to find true purpose and fulfillment in life. It also reminds us to stay aware of the pain and loneliness of others and compels us to reach out – especially to those struggling in our families, communities, schools and those on the fringe of acceptance by our culture.

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You may have noticed…

You may have noticed, albeit just briefly, a post that I’ve recently deleted called “To Save A Life” this was supposed to be a new page that I will be developing over the coming weeks as part of the AMPED Page…

We will be opening up some discussion on how we can ‘Change a Life’ one life at a time by being actively involved in the lives of our young people and their peers, so as to help them navigate the multitude of issues that they have to deal with in today’s society.

This will be kicked off on Friday evening by watching the movie ‘To Save A Life’ at our Youth Group/Bible Study with Attitude. And then on Sunday afternoons we will be discussing themes that come up from the movie…

Check here for more info…

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Awesome night out with AMPED…

This week for AMPED we headed downtown to AMF Garden City on Iversen Terrace to try our hand at a couple of games of bowling.

And I must say that after injuring my hand/wrist playing netball/basketball @ the Belfast Primary School afternoon clubs it was a trying time…

That would have to be the worst game of bowling that I have ever had. It’s a bit of a worry when your 7yr old daughter beats you (but then again she did have the gutter guards in place). But an awesome night out was had by all…

There was much laughter at the different techniques that were used to knock over the pins and much frivolity was had by others that I’m sure were playing up to the crowds that were watching…

Lauren top scored for the girls in her second game with 118 – however, that was with the gutter guards in place after having a shocker in the first game. And Wayne top scored for the guys with a first game score of 116.

Out of the four three figure games that featured for our group Wayne’s was the only one which didn’t feature the added bonus of the guards… In fact out of the group of teenagers that attended only one didn’t end up using the guards at all – so well done Rachel although I’m sure the ramp got used from time to time

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Youth Quiz Question for Sunday 26 June

This morning during Annette’s Sermon “The Mystery of Prayer” she looked at a specific area in Jesus’ teaching that focusses on prayer which was directed to His disciples and those gathered. This morning we found out that sometimes God says ‘No’ to our prayers; He sometimes says ‘Slow’; He sometimes says ‘Grow’; and sometimes He says ‘Let’s Go’.

So the question for this week is as follows:

What is the name given to the start of Jesus’ discourse which forms part of His Sermon on the Mount that talks about sins & prayer?

If you know the answer then leave a comment, first in best dressed…

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Go Hard Out For The Hungry

Next weekend the AMPED Youth Ministries are getting behind the 40 Hour Famine and doing a variety of things to raise funds to go towards assisting those who are less fortunate than them.

Did you know that almost a billion people in the world are hungry?

Makes you wonder what we all can do to help doesn’t it…

This year, World Vision are asking Kiwis to help raise $3.15 million in the 40 Hour Famine to feed thousands of hungry children and families around the world. It’s a big goal, but together we can do it.

And when you think about it – that is less than a $1 per person in New Zealand… How about each and every one of us putting aside the money that we would normally spend on the average cost of a Combo meal at BK, McDonalds, Subway or the like and supporting those that are doing the famine.

If we all (young & old alike) did that, then we would be able to raise heaps more… You do the math!  

Population of NZ = 4,405,452 (according to Statistics New Zealand) X Average cost of a Combo $10 (and that’s being conservative) = Well in excess of $40,000,000

This year, the Famine has a specific focus on East Timor, one of New Zealand’s closest neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region.

Half of all young children over there are malnourished. One of these children is 7-year-old Lily.

Read Lily’s story here.

So get behind this awesome opportunity to help those less fortunate…

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