In the coming weeks following Avalanche and Blizzard, we'll be adding some special content for our Roadtrip guests. Roadtrip: where faith, life and community intersect “ROAD TRIP!” Many people resonate with those words. It sparks a sense of excitement, adventure and memorable moments. It’s stepping away from the everyday routine. What’s even more fun is when we get to meet someone we’ve anticipated seeing on the other end,
Blizzard 1 for 2018 was the 49th winter retreat CBOQ Youth has hosted. Our speaker, Matt Adams, brought illusions that blew the mind. (He even performed illusions and hung out with students through the weekend.) More importantly, he drew people to Jesus, sharing how Christ is the greatest hope. Life Support amped up students and leaders in worship, including their rendition (with a lot of crowd participation) of the
“It is finished.” These are the final words spoken by Jesus on the cross before he died for all humanity. They seem conclusive, definitive and, perhaps at that moment, words of defeat?. But on this side of history, we know what comes next. We know who and what is defeated. And we know that Jesus is victorious. New life begins. Jesus claimed that he would be the firstfruit of the
In the next nine weeks, I'll be involved in 3 retreats, 1 leadership conference, organizing 1 Compassion Experience and a Raptors outreach event (plus we'll throw in 3 church consultations). This is our high season at CBOQ Youth. In the midst of the organized chaos, God gave me a reminder from a devotion shared by Gloria Stafford at our last Avalanche planning meeting based on Ephesians 3:14-21. The one phrase
As Advent approaches, I usually hear from our youth leaders this is one of the busiest times of year. (For us at CBOQ Youth, it's actually a slower time because no one really needs us.) While celebrations and other activities take time and energy to plan, I wonder if it becomes over-programmed. For instance, ask yourself some of these questions: As you enter December, do you feel more strained or
I once heard someone remark, "If you really want to get a lot of students to come to your youth group, just bring in a keg of beer." While his comments may be satirical about how some churches overvalue numbers as a marker for success, it does ask a vital question: What is it that separates a youth group from any other youth gathering? All around us, there are seemingly
One of my favourite verses is Luke 14:22. In this passage, Jesus shares a parable of who's invited to God's banquet table. His audience, the Pharisees, believed they were part of the "in" crowd who got to be around the banquet table. However, in this parable, the owner ends up sending his servants to invite those on the streets to attend. Then comes v. 22, where the servant says to
