by Pastor Tim Mitchem
Wow the first quarter of the year
has flown by! In the past few months, we
have been trying to stabilize our youth ministry. We have had some students return that had not
been faithfully attending as well as several visitors. There is still an excitement in the air as we
are settling in. Continue to pray for
our group, and the impact they can have on their friends, family and community.
One thing we have continued and
slightly changed is our weekly youth bible study. We have called it Roasted and have met at the
Chocolate Moose and Chick-Fil-A on Harper Road.
You may ask why I titled this article the way I did, but it is to
explain the name Roasted Bible Study.
Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green
coffee beans into roasted coffee products.
The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of
coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change in taste. Roasting brings out the aroma and flavor that
is locked inside, taking the high temperatures to reach peak perfection.
We started Roasted Bible Study
with a look at the book of James. In
chapter one verses two through four we read this (New Living Translation) Dear
brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an
opportunity for great joy. For you know
that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, for when your endurance is
fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. In Zachariah 13:9, God says, I will bring
that group through the fire and make them pure.
I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. My hope with Sunday School, 4th
Floor worship and Roasted Bible Study is that our youth will be changed from
green to gold! Taking the lives and
bringing from inside them the flavor and aroma that God has locked inside them
and see them transformed.
We have had great
fellowships. In February we went to
Buffalo Wild Wings and enjoyed a meal and fun together. This month we are going bowling at Pin Heads
in Oak Hill on March 15 or 16th.
More details to be announced. So,
if you have a child or grandchild that is Illuminate age, tell them about our
bible study, our Sunday activities or even have them sign up for bowling and
encourage them to be a part of what God is doing in our lives.
This past Tuesday night at
Roasted, Tammy who cleans the dining area, was listening to our bible study, as
were others around us. One of our teens
noticed even people behind us taking our picture. They seemed amazed that others were paying
attention to us. Not us, but Christ
being Illuminated through us!